Ferenc József Bajáki (May 6, 1883 – March 3, 1938) was a Hungarian politician and one of the leaders of the

Hungarian Communist Party The Hungarian Communist Party (, , abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary (, , abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar period and briefly after World War II. It was founded on Novem ...

and

Hungarian Soviet Republic The Hungarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Socialist Federative Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived communist state that existed from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919 (133 days), succeeding the First Hungarian Republic. The Hungari ...

. He was murdered during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

Early years

Ferenc Bajáki was born on May 6, 1883, the son of Ferenc Bajáki and Etelka Szelei, in

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...

. At the age of 17, he joined the professional association of locksmiths and the

Social Democratic Party of Hungary The Social Democratic Party of Hungary (, , MSZDP) is a social democracy, social democratic list of political parties in Hungary, political party in Hungary. Historically, the party was dissolved during Government of National Unity (Hungary), the ...

(Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt or MSZDP) in 1900, and later worked as the locksmiths' chief trustee at

Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works The Weiss Manfréd Acél- és Fémművek ("Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works"), or colloquially Csepel Művek ("Csepel Works") was one of the largest machine factories in Hungary, located on Csepel island in the southern part of Budapest, fo ...

. On May 16, 1910, in Erzsébetváros, Budapest, he married Terézia Barina, a reformed tailor, daughter of István Barina and Julianna Mészáros. In 1917, he became the secretary of the locksmith department in the Central Union of Iron and Metal Workers.

Revolution and counterrevolution

In the fall of 1918, he still took an anti-communist stance, but by March 1919 he had already become a supporter of unification and even joined the

Party of Communists in Hungary The Hungarian Communist Party (, , abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary (, , abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar period and briefly after World War II. It was founded on Novem ...

(Hungarian: Kommunisták Magyarországi Pártja or KMP). During the

he was the People's Commissar for Social Production, alongside Jenő Varga,

Antal Dovcsák Antal Dovcsák (March 11, 1879 – 1962) was a Hungarian Communist politician and trade union leader. Biography Dovcsák was born in Budapest and was a lathe worker. From 1911 he was the president of the Central Association of Iron and Metalw ...

, Gyula Hevesi,

József Kelen József Kelen (born: József Klein in Nagybocskó; January 12, 1892 – March 19, 1938 in Moscow) was a Hungarian mechanical engineer, deputy commissar of the Soviet republic of Hungary, then commissar of the Soviet republic of Hungary, brother of ...

and

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892 – 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian communism, communist politician who was the ''de facto'' leader of Hungary from 1947 to 1956. He served first as General Secretary of the Hungarian ...

. On June 24, the Allied Central Steering Committee, elected the previous day by the National Assembly of Councils, elected him chair of the People's Economic Council, along with Varga,

György Nyisztor György Nyisztor (22 December 1869 – 7 January 1956) was a Hungarian politician, who served as People's Commissar of Agriculture during the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919. After the fall of the communist regime he was sentenced to life im ...

and Gyula Lengyel. The council also consisted of nine departments, of which he headed the labor department. On July 31, 1919, he took part in the nighttime meeting led by

Béla Kun Béla Kun (, born Béla Kohn; 20 February 1886 – 29 August 1938) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary and politician who in 1919 governed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. After attending Franz Joseph University at Kolozsvár (today Cluj-N ...

, in which the hopeless situation of the Soviet Republic was discussed. In 1920, following the collapse of the Hungarian Soviet Republic and the seizure of power by

Admiral Horthy Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of th ...

he was a defendant in the people's commissar trial. Found guilty, he was sentenced to life in prison.

Exile, death and rehabilitation

In 1921 he was sent to Soviet Russia as a result of the Soviet-Hungarian prisoner exchange. Here he joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

and took part in the restoration of Soviet industry and the construction of the new socialist large-scale industry. He was arrested on February 28, 1938 on charges of counter-revolutionary activity. He was sentenced to death on March 2, 1938, and executed the next day. His son was also arrested and executed. On February 25, 1956, he was rehabilitated together with Béla Vágó. He was rehabilitated in 1956 alongside Béla Vágó.

Legacy

Csepelen Street was named after him until 2011, when it was renamed Mansfeld Péter Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bajaki, Ferenc 1883 births Hungarian communists 1938 deaths Great Purge victims from Hungary Hungarian Communist Party politicians Soviet rehabilitations Members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union executed by the Soviet Union

Early years

Revolution and counterrevolution

Exile, death and rehabilitation

Legacy

See also

References