Borvendég Zsuzsanna: Fabulous Spy Games. How international trade networks with the West developed after 1945 - A Magyarságkutató Intézet Kiadványai 24. (Budapest, 2021)
EMIL HOFFMAN AND HIS CIRCLES - Nazis reloaded
FABULOUS SPY GAMES respectively.73 These figures come truly as a shock when you remember that the revolution caused Bickenbach serious damage, as the majority of the deals made before October 1956 fell through, so the German businessman needed to borrow significant money (this indicates he was planning to cash in far more in commissions!). The circles managing the country’s finances, however, had a great interest in maintaining Bickenbachs network, which is evidenced by the fact that his Hungarian partners bailed him out. The National Bank of Hungary (Magyar Nemzeti Bank, MNB) opened a bank account with the German bank that also held Bickenbachs account, where they would hold a considerable sum to fund the traders commissions. Since the new Hungarian leadership was focusing on stabilising the new power structure after October 1956, and the nations resistance could manifest itself only in announcing strikes, while a great number of those involved in foreign trade also emigrated to Western countries,74 the economy temporarily lost steam and trade volumes contracted. To cushion the blow, the German bank holding the accounts debited the amount of the lost commission to the bank account of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank without the consent thereof.75 Although this was a highly unusual and also illegal procedure, the protests of the MNB and the foreign trade companies against the unauthorised transaction were in vain. The story as it stands does raise doubt in the reader, but another source confirms its veracity. János Fekete, the deputy director of the FX Division at the MNB, then an agent of state security known as the ‘Editor’, explained in a report that Bickenbach ended up with a debt of 300,000 deutschmarks following the events in October’ at the bank holding his accounts, while the Hungarian Foreign Trade Bank (MKB)76 had double this amount at the time, so the sum in question was 73 ÁBTL 3.1.5. 0-12344/7 p. 43 Executive report, 1 June 1960 74 From the outbreak of the revolution until the summer of 1957, a total of 45 persons emigrated from trade offices abroad, with the Frankfurt office being extremely ‘impacted’ by ‘dissidents’. Budapest Capital Archives (BFL) XXXV- 10-c-1957-186 p. 104 Report to the Party Committee of District V on the cadres of some major ministries, 6 July 1957. 75 ÁBTL 3.1.5. 0-12344/7 p. 44 Executive report, 1 June 1960 76 Mentioning the MKB was only seemingly in contradiction with the fact that it is the MNB account that was mentioned in another report. In 1957, the MKB was still operating in strong subordination to the MNB. The Hungarian Foreign Trade Bank was established 32
