Századok – 1997

Tanulmányok - Hámori Péter: Kísérlet egy „Propagandaminisztérium” létrehozására. A Miniszterelnökség V. Társadalompolitikai Osztályának története 1938–1941 II/353

382 HÁMORI PÉTER of establishing a fascist dictatorship. So the Prime Minister decided to set up a semi-secret organization resembling the one in more moderate Portugal instead of a formal propaganda department similar to those in Italy and Germany. This new organization came to be called Department V of the Hungarian Royal Prime Minister's Office, Department of Social Politics. Its scope was wide but its staff was limited. Its leader was Béla Kovrig, the outstanding expert of the subject in the inter-war period, and a trusted man of Imrédy. The staff consisted of experts of social politics and social security, whose main task was to prepare the public for acceptance of the social political measures of the government, to follow its reactions, and analyse them. Following the propaganda campaign in favour of the reannexation of territories annexed to Czechoslovakia in the Trianon peace treaty the Department started to build out a confidential network for reporting on public opinion and spreading propaganda. The former worked successfully under Prime Ministers Imrédy and Pál Teleki. Imrédy was, however, not satisfied by the slow and uncertain methods of shaping public opinion, so he decided to organize a radical mass movement for that purpose resembling the German SS in its outward appearance. Several details of the first mass meeting of this „Movement of Hungarian Life" [Magyar Elet Mozgalom] were elaborated by Department 5. Since the political elite of the country saw in the movement the first steps toward a dictatorship, Horthy decided to dismiss Imrédy. His successor, Pál Teleki, left the Department intact for a while, but relied on its expert advice less and less. Finally he reorganized it as a public information bureau with a much narrower scope under the name of National Political Service [Nemzetpolitikai Szolgálat],