A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 7. (Szeged, 2004)

LENGYEL András: József Attila „kedves fiatal professzora”. Tóth Béla (1897-1958)

IRODALOM FEHÉR Ede 1957: A Horger-ügy. In: József Attila emlékkönyv. Szerk. SZABOLCSI Miklós. Bp. 91-96. G. VASS István szerk. 2003: Minisztertanácsi jegyzőkönyvek napirendi jegyzékei 1944. december 23. — 1947. május 31. Bp. (A Magyar Országos Levéltár segédletei 11.) JAVL: József Attila válogatott levelezése. Sajtó alá rend. FEHÉR Erzsébet. Bp. 1976. KJA: Kortársak József Attiláról 1-3. köt. Szerk. BOKOR László, sajtó alá rend. TVERDOTA György. Bp. 1987. KOROMPAY H. János 2003: Horváth János és Barta János. Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények, 1. sz. 87-90. NAGY Csaba 2000: A magyar emigráns irodalom lexikona. Bp. Párisi Magyar Egyesület 1925-1927. Paris, 1927. PÉTER László 1955: József Attila Szegeden. Szeged. PÉTER László főszerk. 1994: Új Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon 1-3. köt. Bp. SZABOLCSI Miklós 1977: Érik a fény. József Attila élete és pályája 1923-1927. Bp. ANDRÁS LENGYEL ATTILA JÓZSEF'S „NICE, YOUNG PROFESSOR" - BÉLA TÓTH (1897-1958) The study presents the course of life and work of Béla Tóth, Attila József s teacher in Szeged. It reconstructs the academic relation between the poet and Tóth (1924/25), however, present paper is the first attempt at reviewing Béla Tóth's career. It is worth attention in itself, how the son of a railway worker, being sent to the front to Italy right after his final examination and starting his university studies only after the First World War, had such a career. He completed his university studies as a member of Eötvös Kollégium, the famous institute for advanced studies. His teachers (e.g. János Horváth) respected his talents and supported his work. Thus he started to work as a substitute teacher in the department of French language and literature at Szeged University. Later he also obtained a scholarship to Paris. Then due to a pragmatic change in his life, giving up his career in humanities, he became the official delegate of the Hungarian Government as assistant secretary of state at the International Labor Office in Geneva. He survived the Second World War in Foreign Service in Hungary between 1940-1948. After 1948 he left the country and continued working at 'the International Labor Office in Geneva. He died of apoplexy there. Interestingly enough his career could develop in a peculiar socio-cultural gap - he was one of those who contributed to Hungary's orientation towards "the West" and represented Hungary in an international organization at the same time conveying the value system of the West to his home country.