A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Ethnographica 6. (Szeged, 2008)

Nagy Netta: Életstratégiák a beszolgáltatás éveiben Csólyospáloson

Life Strategies in Csólyospálos during the Years of Surrender by NETTA NAGY After World War II the government tried to provide food to the public centrally and so, introduced the system of surrender. During the reconstruction period of the country, they wished to withdraw capital from agriculture in order to support the sector of industry. The tool used for this withdrawal was the system of surrender. In 1947 there was a weak attempt at abolishing the system; however, it was not for almost another decade that it could be successfully terminated. The taxes levied on private enterprises were gradually increased; however, what proved to be a larger burden was the system of compulsory surrender, known as "turn-in". The types and quantities of products to be turned in were set centrally and were averaged to administrative units, families and finally, to individuals. The system imposed a heavy burden on all layers of the peasantry. As a result, between 1948 and 1955, not only the peasantry was destroyed financially, but the strength of village life was broken spiritually. In our earlier research studies we aimed at presenting the methods and the institutional background of surrender and turn-ins on the example of Csólyospálos by relying on the available written sources. However, in search of old family documents, records on turn-ins, purchase notes and slaughter permits we found that people have locked a lot of memories from this period. It appears that, apart from the written documents, the oral recollection of memories has greater significance than was assumed earlier. The generation now in their seventies and eighties has locked personal memories from this period. I am going to present the issue of surrender expansively through three life stories. The three biographies, far from drawing generalizing conclusions, shows how individuals - independent of birth and financial status - tried to meet the challenges of surrendering.