The Miskolc

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

led to death of one accused

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

black marketeer, the wounding of another, and subsequently the death of a Jewish policeman in

Miskolc Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...

, Hungary, July 30 and August 1, 1946. Economic hardship and

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

motivated the riots. Lieutenant General

László Piros László Piros (10 May 1917 – 13 January 2006) was a Hungarian communist politician and military officer, who served as Interior Minister between 1954 and 1956. Career Piros was born in to an impoverished peasant family. He fought in the ...

participated in the riots.

Blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

rumors had led to violence in

Kunmadaras Kunmadaras is a large village in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hungary. History The first written record of the existence of the village is from 1393. According to it the area was given to György Madaras, after whom the village was named, by the ...

and Teplicany, and were present in Miskolc before the riot.

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892
– 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian communis ...

had given a speech in Miskolc some days before the riot attacking "

speculators In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many s ...

" and suggesting death for them. Reports (likely from the police) circulated of the arrest of three black marketeers, two of them Jewish. The prisoners were to be moved to an

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

on the morning of the 31st. A mob awaited them, displaying signs with slogans like "Death to the Jews" and "Death to the Black Marketeers." The mob attacked. One man was murdered, another beaten severely, and a third (not Jewish) escaped. That afternoon, police appeared in force and arrested sixteen people for the lynching. The crowd attacked the police, occupied the police station, and murdered a Jewish policeman.

Hungarian Communist Party The Hungarian Communist Party ( hu, Magyar Kommunista Párt, abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary ( hu, Kommunisták Magyarországi Pártja, abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar ...

propaganda at the time featured posters and brochures denouncing "speculators" depicted with images of Jewish caricatures; likely this was to deflect public grievances about hyperinflation and otherwise poor economic conditions.

References

*
Investigation of Communist takeover and occupation of Hungary. Fifth interim report of hearings before the Subcommittee on Hungary of the Select Committee on Communist Aggression, House of Representatives, Eighty-third Congress, second session, under authority of H. Res. 346 and H. Res. 438. Hungary

References

Further reading