A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 10. (Szeged, 2007)

MARJANUCZ László: A polgárság társadalmi csoportjai Makón a két világháború között

ne gatást. A képviselőtestület 1936. Áprüis 20-án tárgyalta a kérelmet. Nikelszky polgármester a segély megadását javasolta, de Herczeg Sándor képviselő indítványozta: csak akkor adjanak pénzt a könyvre, ha helyi nyomdában készül. Végül a közgyűlés a a választmány javaslatát fogadta el: érdemben nem dönt, mert a mű megjelenése előtt nincs módjában megállapítani, hogy az támogatásra érdemes-e. Lényegében azt mondták ki, amennyiben a kérelmező a segélyre igényt tart, úgy munkáját megjelenés után mutassa be, hogy a képviselőtestület határozatot hozhasson. Ez meg is történt, és 1936. november 9-én végre megszületett a döntés. Lényeges, hogy Erdei könyve kéziratát (Magyar mezőváros- Makó társadalomrajza) „felülbírálás végett" adta be Bécsy Bertalan helyettes főjegyzőnek „ alázatos tisztelettel", aki „volt szíves a munkát részletesen áttanulmányozni". Tájékoztatása után a képviselőtestület megállapította, a mű támogatásra érdemes. így a polgármester kiutalhatta a 100 P-t, melynek átvételét Erdei 1937-ből nyugtázta. LÁSZLÓ MARJANUCZ SOCIETAL GROUPS OF THE BOURGEOIS IN MAKÓ BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS Most of the citizens of Makó were living from agriculture. There was no bourgeois in the traditional sense, since the town was not regarded as a privileged feudal community. Bourgeois elements of the 20

th century were mainly connected to agriculture: they were the merchants marketing products and the manufacturers processing raw material. A significant societal group in the town was that of the officials, whose position was shaken after the First World War, but their work was still considered as one belonging to upper classes. Since the town of Makó was at the same time the county seat, it congregated different experts of administration. This body of civil servants due to its higher level of wages was regarded as a remarkable consumer of culture, promoting cultural endeavours. Thus the 'folk' considered them as part of the intelligentsia. Using noble titles was a sign of their belonging to the upper classes. It had nothing to do with the professional tasks, but it highlighted their official position. A typical representative was Péter Gorcsa, who became the town clerk as a born villain. The other socially distinguished group is the bourgeois intelligentsia. Its peculiarity is that it is not bourgeois in origin, but a social layer emerged from peasantry. In the period between the two world wars those having academic professions had a higher prestige. Especially the social status of doctors and lawyers was remarkable in bourgeois circles. They had the highest wages, and were the representatives of bourgeois education. Interestingly enough, not a single architect's office was found in Makó. Doctors' social position was two-sided: the living standard of doctors with private praxis was ensured and of a high quality, while that of public doctors was instable and low. It was due to this, that many of them left public positions, and there was nobody to apply for public places available either in the town or in the county. The profession of bailiffs was regarded as one of the intelligentsia. Considering the agricultural character of Makó, one may conclude that many lived on utilizing this kind of knowledge. While in reality there were only few people mentioned in the statistics, since landowners were not in search of this kind of special knowledge. 26 CSML Csanád vármegye alispánjának iratai 9251/1936 27 CSML Csanád vármegye alispánjának iratai 3022/1937