Records of the Balassagyarmat Representative of the Government Commissary for Abandoned Property

A broad selection of the Holocaust-related records is available at the USHMMA (Selected Records of the Holocaust in Nógrád County, Hungary, 1934‐1948; RG‐68.109M) http://mnl.gov.hu/mnl/nml/fond_es_allagjegyzek Letter of support from an academic institution is required Hungarian data protection laws apply Established on March 31, 1945, by decree no. 727/1945. ME of the Interim National Government of Hungary, Government Commissary for Abandoned Property (Elhagyott Javak Kormánybiztossága) was a governmental body to collect, safeguard, manage and maintain real estate, including apartments, factories, shops, landholdings and moveable property (goods, equipment, furniture and personal items, including bonds, securities, jewellery and other assets) that had been abandoned due to the events of war and deportations. The Commissary was authorized to search for abandoned property and investigate specific cases to determine if a property had a legal owner. It registered and kept files about abandoned property, stored goods and movable property, rented out shops and apartments and appointed wardens to operate factories, shops or other enterprises which had special economic importance. The Commissary also had limited authority for legal rehabilitation and restitution, including paying compensation for lost or damaged property and restoring labour relations and legal status of aggrieved parties. The head of the Commissary and his deputy were directly appointed by the prime minister and supervised by a council (elnöki tanács) and the State Audit Office. The Commissary existed between the beginning of May 1945 and the middle of February 1948. After this date, the tasks and function of the commissary were taken over by Department VII. for Liquidating Abandoned Property of the Ministry of Finances. The Commissary had offices in each county and city of municipal rights lead by local representatives (initially 83, later 65). The collection holds records pertaining to real estate and moveable property abandoned between the German occupation of Hungary on March 19, 1944, and the end of the war on Hungarian territory in the middle of April, 1945. The overwhelming majority of the material deals with the property of deported Jews or former labour servicemen. The records include, but not limited to the following types of documents: petitions and requests submitted by Jewish organizations and Jewish individuals for social aid, material support and financial restitution; petitions of owners of factories and other firms requesting exception from abandoned status; petitions for furniture, clothing and other basic items by returning survivors; reports and registers of abandoned lands, shops and apartments registers; appointments of wardens and caretakers; restitution cases, cases about restoring legal ownership; investigation and decisions about stolen or illegally owned property. Letter of support from an academic institution is required Hungarian data protection laws and reproduction fees apply