Torma Attila: Győr a II. világháború sodrásában - Győri Tanulmányok Füzetek. Tudományos Közlemények 15/2014 (Győr, 2014)
Introduction
It wasn’t before the political changes of the early 1990s that an excellent three-volume book giving a true account of the revolution of 1956 in Győr edited by the Győr City Archives was published. The history of the holocaust in Győr by István Nagy was published only last year. This book discusses the most horrific events of the era researched by myself. Nevertheless, the life of the city was influenced not only by these extreme events. There are many publications available on this period but each of them processes only part of the subject. I haven’t come across a comprehensive chronicle of life in Győr in 1945 or a study focusing on refugees. I found documents confined to specific details such as the Arrow Cross or the Soviet dictatorship or some of their important aspects, nevertheless, people living here were challenged by a whole mix of events daily. In the rush of daily life, Győr residents, our fathers and grandfathers could not make a clear distinction between the horrors of different ideologies, important life-changing events, and the terror and suffering inflicted on them by the great powers at war. In my study, I wish to present those major events of the year 1945 that had a direct impact on local residents. They key focus of my work was to identify the number of people leaving Győr and returning to the city. What was the dividing line between those moving voluntarily and those forced to leave? I tried to identify the dates when masses of people left during the last few months of the war. Who were forced to leave and who left based on a voluntary decision? What was their life like in Germany during the war and in the post-war period? How could those who wanted to return come back to Győr? How did they live after that? To give a deeper insight into the human aspects of people’s behaviour, the social environment behind these events is also described. I started my research reading contemporary newspapers and collecting relevant articles about the period in the county library. I hereby thank the staff of the library’s local collection for their valuable support. My research conducted at the Győr Archives of Győr-Moson-Sopron county and the Archives of Győr, a City with County Rights provided me with ample source material, although the number of available documents was limited as most of them perished or were destroyed. My special thanks go to István Áldozó and Tamás Csík for their contribution to my research at the two Archives. In my study, I devoted special care to introducing the Mayors of Győr in office during the year 1945. The personal file of Dr. Árpád Karsay was completed with data from the Archives of Szombathely and I also found some information helping me to give a true portrait of him at the Archives of Vojvodina in Novi Sad (Újvidék). Illustrations used for places and events in my study include copies of my own postcards and photos, as well as pictures available in the sources used for my research. During my research, I also interviewed survivors. Their memories and an edited version of the wagon works clerk’s diary are attached in the second part of my study.- 14-
