A Békés Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 34. (Békéscsaba, 2011)
Kocsor János: Az 1945-1948 közötti időszak néhány kérdése a Független Kisgazdapárt Békés vármegyei sajtójában
Kocsor János Some Issues of the Period from 1945 to 1948 in the Békés County Press of the Independent Smallholders’ Party- János Kocsor - Resume The territory of Békés county was occupied by the Soviet troops from 6 to 9 October, 1944. The new invadors made it possible for the political parties, including the Smallholders’ Party, dissolved after the German invasion, to reorganize themselves. The Party’s local branches were built across the county by February 1945. From Békés county, 10 smallholders were delegated as members to the Debrecen Provisory National Assembly. From among them, István Szabó was later appointed Under-secretary of State for Defence and János Gyöngyösi was appointed Foreign Secretary. Following the elections of 1945, Zoltán Tildy, who was a pastor in Szeghalom, was first appointed Prime Minister then the President of the Republic. Already at the Provisory National Assembly, the Smallholders’ Party was unsatisfied with the division of the mandates, namely because the composition of the representatives delegated by the hasty mass-meetings did not mirror actual political proportions and the representation of the Communist Party was larger than its actual social support. Following the elections of the year 1945, the winning Smallholders’ Party tried to proportionate, without success, state and administrative and military positions to actual conditions. The Smallholders’ Party was primarily affected by the so-called „B lists” and the fight launched against reaction and the relevant protest meetings were also primarily directed against the Smallholders’ Party. The Party was summoned to clear its lines and especially István Szabó, Békés county president of the Party was attacked until his withdrawal. Subsequently, the new leadership was unable to resist pressure, which finally resulted in a gradual dissolution of the Party. The study overviews the articles of the Békés county press on the Smallholders’Party in the period from October 1944 to 1948 and examines how the Party’s points were reflected in the newspapers concerning the determinant political themes of the era (understanding democracy; predominance of the principle of private ownership and subsequent land distribution; the issues of co-operatives and nationalization; fight reaction and relation to the relevant „popular verdicts” and demonstrations). Sources of the investigation were the Alföldi Népújság (The Great Plain Popular News [Békéscsaba]), the Gyula Kisújság (The Gyula Small News), the Orosháza és Vidéke (The Orosháza and Surroundings) and the Körösmenti Parasztélet (The Peasant’s Life along the Körös river). Kocsor János Békés Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága H-5600 Békéscsaba, Gyulai út 1. E-mail: kocsor@bmmi.hu 280
