The Hungarian People's Union (, MNSZ; , UPM) was a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

active in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

between 1934 and 1953 that claimed to represent the Hungarian community. Until 1944, it was called the Union of Hungarian Workers of Romania ( or , generally known under its Hungarian-language acronym MADOSZ).

Establishment

In September 1932, a faction of the Magyar Party created a dissident movement around the weekly

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

publication ''Falvak Népe'' ("Lumea satelor" or "The World of the Villages"). In June 1933, this movement coalesced into the Magyar Opposition (''Opoziţia Maghiară''), whose leadership included members of the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

(PCR). The Opposition's local committees and the initiative committees of the Hungarian populace, organised around the Cluj magazine ''Népakarat'' ("Voinţa poporului" or "The Will of the People") starting in September 1933, turned into committees of the new, legal organisation MADOSZ. MADOSZ was formally established on August 20, 1934 at

Târgu Mureş Târgu (Romanian language, Romanian for "the market") starts off the names of several places in Romania: *Târgu Bujor *Târgu Cărbunești *Târgu Frumos *Berbești, Târgu Gânguleşti *Târgu Jiu *Târgu Lăpuș *Logrești, Târgu Logreşti *Tâ ...

. The party programme called for defending the peasantry from higher taxes, an end to abuses against grape-growers and loggers, a joint struggle with

ethnic Romanian Romanians (, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a common culture and ancestry, they speak the Romanian language and live primarily in Roma ...

workers for the granting of specific demands, and respect for democratic rights and freedoms.

Sándor Szepesi Sándor () is a Hungarian given name and surname. It is the Hungarian form of Alexander. It may refer to: People Given name * Sándor Apponyi (1844–1925), Hungarian diplomat, bibliophile, bibliographer and book collector *Sándor Boldogfai F ...

was its president from 1934 to 1937, while

Gyárfás Kurkó Gyárfás is a Hungarian surname. Some known people bearing this name are: * András Gyárfás, Hungarian mathematician * Jenő Gyárfás, Hungarian painter See also

* ''Gyárfás-patak'', the Hungarian name for the Ghiorfaş Creek, a tributar ...

held the post from 1937 to 1938. Other notable members included

Imre Gál Imre () is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and He ...

Lajos Mezei Lajos () is a Hungarian masculine given name, cognate to the English Louis. People named Lajos include: Hungarian monarchs: * Lajos I, 1326-1382 (ruled 1342-1382) * Lajos II, 1506-1526 (ruled 1516-1526) In Hungarian politics: * Lajos Aulic ...

Ion Vincze Ion Vincze (born Vincze János and also called Ion or Ioan Vințe; September 1, 1910 – 1996) was a Romanian communist politician and diplomat. An activist of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR), he was married to Constanța Crăciun, herself a ...

and

László Bányai László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. The name has a history of being frequently anglicized as Leslie. It is the m ...

. From April to November 1934, its official publication was ''Székelyföldi Néplap'' ("Gazeta populară din Ținutul Secuiesc" or "Popular Gazette of Székely Land"). MADOSZ found itself under the influence of the PCR. In the fall of 1934, it created action committees to train in rebellion the entire population of the Ghimeş Valley (peasants as well as loggers), an action targeting the Romanian state. It collaborated with organisations supported by the communists, declaring itself against

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

and

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...

-style revisionism. Like all other political parties extant in Romania, MADOSZ was dissolved on March 30, 1938.

Post-coup history

After the

King Michael's Coup King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

of August 23, 1944, numerous followers of Horthy entered MADOSZ. Under the protective shield of democracy, they undertook many destabilising actions, particularly in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. On October 16, 1944, the Braşov Conference decided to transform MADOSZ into the Hungarian People's Union, which recognised the leading role of the PCR. It obtained 29 seats at the 1946 election. The party supported the governments that held power from March 6, 1945 onwards, focusing on the creation of a privileged situation for the Hungarian minority. It dissolved itself in 1953.

Electoral history

Legislative elections

References

*''Enciclopedia partidelor politice din România, 1859-2003'', Editura Meronia, Bucharest 2003, {{Authority control 1934 establishments in Romania 1953 disestablishments in Romania 20th century in Transylvania Defunct socialist parties in Romania Hungarian organizations in Romania Hungarian political parties in Romania Political parties disestablished in 1953 Political parties established in 1934 Political parties in the Kingdom of Romania Regionalist parties in Romania