Nagy Pál - V. Szathmári Ibolya szerk.: A debreceni tímármesterség történeti emlékei (Karcag, 1997)

III. Vallomások - Német és angol nyelvű összefoglaló

Summary This volume consists of some well-defined parts: studies, sources and life stories, which are preceded by the introduction of József Hevessy, the Mayor of Debrecen. He emphasizes the importance of the birth of this book, and the House of Tanners and Artisans. This volume and the collection will enchance the reputation of the town of Debrecen. The introductory study of museum curator László Selmeczi speaks about the history of leathertanning and its ethimology as a folk and industrial branch which is shown in connection with universal scientific results. It increases the value of the book. In the first historical part of the book we can read about the beginnings of the Tanners' and Artisans' House, which was written by Ibolya V. Szathmáry carefully and in detail. The study of József Papp is about the life, job and rates and taxes of the tanners in Debrecen, while Mrs Tibor Both wrote about taxing in the 1930s. Both writings contain important data. The two studies of Ernó' Szűcs are about how the tanning workshops turned into leather factories, and how the tanning workshops were closed. The historical part of the volume finishes with the valuable chapter of manager László Kiss about the Hajdúsági Leather Factory. The second big part of the publication contains sources in six chapters which were collected by Pál Nagy. We must note here that the plan of the whole volume was his idea, and he took part in its realization to the very end, as well. He introduces the life of the Debrecen tanners from 1869 to 1951 based on the articles of the time, then he writes about the Tanners' Society according to records (1945-1950), and the periods of the Second World War, the reconstruction and the takeover. Two chapters deal with the tanner section of the Leather Industrial Co-operative and about the Tanner Craftsmen's Co-operative between the years of 1955 and 1980 based on records. Among the sources we can find the motion of Tanner Youth from 1909, which points ahead with its constitutional innovation and moral claim. The third part of the volume publishes the life, family and job of twentyeight Debrecen tanners, and shows their photos, too. We express our thanks to all those people who assisted the compilation and appearance of this work financially or with documents. Together with the editors we are very grateful to the leaders and workers of the Déri Museum, the County Archives and the Reformed College Library, to all participants for their great help. Let this book enchance the reputation of Debrecen City, let the readers find spiritual delight in it and get strength from it to continue doing their work.