The effect of structures on the elites in Kecskemét between the two world wars

Abstract

The objective of my research is to examine how diverse (geographical, economic and social) structures impacted the elite social strata of Kecskemét and what influence was exerted on the functioning of the elite classes. The geographical attributes were primarily dominant for country towns. The preferential production conditions, the suitable market-sales opportunities and the beneficial structure of the agricultural community all provided a basis for local economic prosperity during the Interwar years. The public administration reform of 1929 induced a significant alteration in the structure of the local elite strata, which remained temporary in Kecskemét (in contrast with Nyíregyháza). However, the unique local agricultural economy, which produced goods primarily for export, employed a vast physical workforce, resulting in a remarkable wave of immigration into the city’s environs and also a low rate of local unemployment despite the effects of recession in the first half of the 1930s. The wholesalers, and the exporters who operated the city’s trade and commerce, were mainly of Jewish origin. Despite the fact that politics in Hungary and in the local area had shifted towards the extreme right during the second half of the 1930s, the local Jewish community members remained relatively intact until 1943, due to the above mentioned conditions.