A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 13. (Szeged, 2010)

FODOR Péter: A második világháború harci eseményei Csongrád városában és környékén (1944. október 7—12.)

PÉTER FODOR BATTLE EVENTS OF WORLD WAR II IN CSONGRÁD AND IN THE OUTSKIRTS (7-12 OCTOBER, 1944) Csongrád was closely affected in the battles of World War II for one week in October, 1944. The populated area of the town was destroyed only by a bomb from the air causing 2 people's death. The Russian troops, pushing on from the east, with the allied Romanian troops first tried to enter the administrative area at the bridge in Szentes, but they managed to break through in the north at the Mámai landing stage and in the south at Csanytelek. In the end after the withdrawing German and Hungarian soldiers they transferred most of the troops over the pontoon — bridge (built to northwards and southwards from the blown up iron bridge) to the West part of the Tisza. (It is not known for sure how they could manage to blow up the iron bridge but there have been numerous stories for it.). Then the Hungarian and German troops being caught in the crossfire withdrew and after a short gathering of strength they tried to recapture the town. They were able to do it for two days, but it is true enough that just along the line of New Street. They invaded surprisingly almost the whole city center. There have been some serious consequences as a result of these battles for the inhabitants: they escaped to the wine- growing areas, people hiding on the area (mainly in cellars and shelters) suffered heavy losses and a result of it most of their properties mainly food and wine were distrained by the Russian and Romanian troops. Not only the historians' works helped a lot to reconstruct the facts of these days but also the former eyewitnesses' memories. There are pepole in Csongrád, who experienced the terrible events of the war even if they were children or young people at that time. They told me such important stories among these ones which were contribution to the study and helped me to write it in a more varied way. On the other hand there are other people who do live and they have not shared their stories about those days with the posterity. Seeking out these people is those people's task who work with the local history of the town. 263