REAL-PhD

Farkas, György Tamás

A választási rendszer egy speciális ága – a kisebbségek parlamenti képviseletére vonatkozó választójogi szabályozás Magyarországon és külföldön

Péntek, Dániel Gábor

Alvilágkép a Héber Bibliában : Alvilág-tradíciók a zsoltárköltészetben

Németh, Károly

Nicholas Straussler, a magyar származású brit mérnök, feltaláló és üzletember élete, munkássága

Nagy, Gyöngyi

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Peter Pazmany Catholic University 
Faculty of Arts 
Doctoral School of History 
Social- and lifestyle history workshop 
Workshop leader: Prof. Dr. Ö. József Kovács university professor 
 
 
 
Gyöngyi Nagy 
 
The National Association of Hungarian Women 
1918–1946 
 
Theses of the doctoral (PhD) dissertation 
 
Supervisor: Dr. Iván Bertényi Jr. PhD 
Co-supervisor: Dr. Balázs Áron Sipos, habilitated associate professor 
 
 
Budapest 
2022 
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I. Theme and objective of the research 
The present doctoral dissertation deals with the National Association 
of Hungarian Women (MANSz) operating between the two world 
wars, from its being established in 1918 until its being dissolved in 
1946. 
The largest women's organization of the Horthy era, which has 
developed into a national movement, has so far been dealt with by few 
people, a comprehensive monograph on the topic has not been 
published, only for partial research (Krisztina Kelbert, Szombathely, 
2012; Bernadett Kun, Debrecen, 2014; Tünde Árvai, Pécs, 2016; 
Gyöngyi Nagy, Hódmezővásárhely, 2019-2021), which mainly cover 
the history of the organization's rural branches. The author of the 
present dissertation is the first who has attempted to outline the 
national history of MANSz. 
The organization has been extremely diverse in public life and in 
social matters (of the Jewish as well as of the charity matters), so its 
operation has important social, political and historical aspects in 
addition to its organizational history. 
 
II. Methods followed 
The researcher's work is complicated because of the fragmentation 
and shortcomings of the sources of the topic. The serious shortage of 
resources is due to the fact that in 1944, during the siege of Budapest, 
the headquarters of MANSz on Rózsa Street were hit by bombs, so 
most of the documents were lost. 
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Nevertheless, the primary source base for the topic is provided by 
archival records, although these are not found in one place. Due to the 
destruction of World War II, the few surviving documents of the 
MANSz center, which operated for a quarter of a century, can be 
searched at the Vienna Gate Square and Óbuda branch of the National 
Archives of the Hungarian National Archives. In the latter place, 
documents related to the dissolution of the center and some rural 
branches are available to the researcher. The Budapest Capital 
Archives has preserved material about the MANSz branches in the 
capital district and certain groups in the capital of the railway 
department. You can find out more about the rural MANSz branches 
in the county archives of the Hungarian National Archives, where, 
however, fragmentary documents are also available, mostly between 
the mayor's, the city council's and the association's documents. 
In addition to the archival sources, the main source of the MANSz 
is the Association's central bulletin, The Hungarian Woman, whose 
full grades and numbers cannot be found in any public collection in 
Hungary. In the course of my research, I visited the National 
Széchényi Library, the Parliamentary Library, the Petőfi Literary 
Museum and the Károly Somogyi City and County Library in Szeged 
to obtain it. The MANSz branch in Hódmezővásárhely, in a unique 
way, also had its own fund. The establishment and initial steps of the 
organization in the Southern Great Plain and the list of members were 
published in the Hungarian Women's Journal, which, although it 
lasted only two years, can still be considered a basic source in the 
MANSz research, not only for the Great Plain branch but also for the 
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center. This document is kept in the Local History Collection of the 
László Németh City Library in Hódmezővásárhely. 
In its own bulletin, MANSz most accurately documented its daily 
life and the articles, writings and reports which were also published 
by the capital and county newspapers. Thanks to the Budapest 
Newspaper, The Newspaper, The Hungarians, the National 
Newspaper, the Pest Newspaper and the New Generation, which 
regularly reported on the work and movements of the Association, a 
rich press material is available to the researcher. 
MANSz strived to capture its history and work in its own 
publications. In addition to archival sources, the federal bulletin, and 
abundant press material, these - like the Almanac for the 1920s, are 
15 years old. Pictures from the fifteen years of the National 
Association of Hungarian Women, the 1925 Congress of Women's 
Education of the National Association of Hungarian Women, the 
report of the National Association of Hungarian Women from 
1940/41. and the Yearbook of the National Association of Hungarian 
Women 1943–1944 - form the next important source base of the 
association, and despite the fact that the history of the organization is 
presented unilaterally, only from their own point of view, they are of 
great resource value to the researcher. Another important source is the 
statutes of the MANSz. 
Finally, contemporary recollections are an important category of 
sources on the subject. Without exception, the self-justifying intention 
is an important feature of these, so they should be treated with special 
source criticism, but in their absence the researcher would be in an 
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even more difficult position, as they contribute more or less to the 
relatively accurate reconstruction of MANSz. Such sources of the 
formation of the movement come from the pens of three women who 
were present at its formation. The founder, Cécile Tormay, in her 
literary diary novel, first published in 1920 – In the An outlaw’s diary, 
published in 1922, was the first to record the circumstances of the 
formation of the MANSz.  Emma Ritoók also dedicated in her memoir 
Years and People a lot to the Christian-national congregation of 
women, as she herself also was a founding member. The third 
contemporary personal source of the MANSz is the diary of Mrs. 
János Mór Révay from 1918–1919, which also reports on some 
aspects of the formation of the MANSz. 
From the above sources, we get an idea of the formation and 
activities of the MANSz, as well as how it has taken a position on 
certain internal, foreign and social policy issues, and with their help 
the worldview of the MANSz is unfolding before us. 
Some of these sources have been little or not used in our previous 
historical literature. However, even after reviewing so many different 
document types, the author cannot say that he has all the possible 
sources on the subject. Various documents can be hidden e.g. in the 
Historical Archives of the State Security Services, which can be a 
useful addition to the history, afterlife and life of the leaders or major 
figures of the Alliance, as in post-World War II proceedings against 
members of the Alliance (e.g. in the lawsuits related to the revolution 
of 1956 as well as in the political-testimonial cases) the activities and 
operation of the association were / could be examined. The various 
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family legacies can also provide a grip on the personal life and 
motivations of the members of the association, but also on the image 
of MANSz formed in his own time. That is why this work does not 
mean the research is complete, it is only an important stage and a 
partial summary of its closure. 
The MANSz shows a unified picture based on the sources examined: 
throughout its quarter-century history, members have adhered to the 
slogans of 1918–1919 - God, Home, Family, and the organization’s 
number one leader, Cécile Tormay, even after her death in 1937. 
Throughout the country, rural organizations were guided by the center 
in terms of their activities, with a particular focus on local specificities. 
Attempts were made to bridge generational differences, e.g. by 
supporting college students from the beginning, and by the end of the 
1930s, as their successors, they also formed Girls' Circles. 
My dissertation is primarily of an organizational-historical nature, 
which approaches its subject matter from a methodological point of 
view, partly chronologically and partly thematically, to present the 
organizational structure of the MANSz, its expansion into a national 
network, its customs and objectives. Since my research covers the 
history of the MANSz branch in Hódmezővásárhely in addition to the 
central MANSz, I draw most of the examples from here on how the 
national tendencies of the MANSz could have been realized in the case 
of a rural MANSz branch. My local attachment was just one of the 
reasons why the choice fell on Hódmezővásárhely. It was also 
important that this was one of the earliest established branches, which 
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operated without interruption during its existence, and that a curiosity 
such as Hungarian Woman’s Journal provides data for its history.  
 
III. Issues and thesis of research 
The MANSz was established in opposition to the spread of 
Bolshevik ideology in Hungary, in the interests of the territorial unity 
of Hungary and in order to consolidate the Christian-national 
ideology. Within the latter, it belonged to the neoconservative branch.  
With the formation of the organization brought to life by historical 
necessity, a new era began in 1918 in the history of women's history 
and women's equality in Hungary: feminists were replaced by 
conservative women.  
The main figures of the organization are the writers Cecilé Tormay 
(1875–1937) and Emma Ritoók (1868–1945) and Countess Rafael 
Zichy (1877–1964).  
The official establishment of the MANSz took place on January 11, 
1919, with the cooperation of the National Catholic Women's 
Association, the National Association of Hungarian Protestant 
Women, and the Social Mission Society. Non-denominationalism also 
signaled the need and weight of cooperation. 
The MANSz, however, shared anti-Jewish prejudices in the counter-
revolutionary system, but did not belong to racially anti-Semitic 
groups, as indicated by the fact that it had several baptized members. 
Their work followed the slogans of 1918 - God, Home, Family. 
However, in addition to their main goal, the fight for revision, they 
also engaged in extensive social (support for children, mothers, 
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students) and culture. All this was given increased attention during the 
Second World War. 
Cécile Tormay, the founder-leader and keynote speaker of the 
organization, dominated and influenced Hungarian public life as a 
non-professional politician. Until her death, the members of the 
MANSz regarded her as a spiritual leader, so her cult naturally 
developed in her circles, which she consciously formed after her death 
in 1937. 
The MANSz defined itself as a social association, so that it could 
avoid being openly associated with a political party, and thus appear 
as a non-partisan organization representing national interests. At the 
same time, since István Bethlen, Kuno Klebelsberg and Pál Teleki 
were among their founders and helpers, they joined the political line 
they represented. 
From the symbolic invasion of Budapest on November 16, 1919, 
Miklós Horthy became spiritual ally for the creation of a Christian-
national spirit in the conservative civilian governments. MANSz, 
which thus became the official women's association of the Horthy era, 
enjoyed the financial support of the Hungarian state in return. By the 
1930s, the nationwide women's association, following Bethlen's line, 
had been a proponent of the gradual expansion of suffrage, had 
participated in election campaigns itself, and several of its members 
had participated in political life (e.g., Margit Slachta, Lilla Melczer, 
Mrs. Sarolta Futima Fuchs). 
MANSz has gradually built up its organization in the country. After 
the establishment of the Central Association in 1919, in the 1920s to 
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the cities with rural jurisdiction (towns of Kecskemét, Zalaegerszeg, 
Szombathely, Győr, Békéscsaba, Kiskundorozsma, Tiszafüred, 
Hódmezővásárhely, Pécs, Debrecen, Baja, Szeged, Makó). In the 
districts of Budapest, the more serious organization did not begin until 
the 1930s, but from then on it was continuous and even during the war 
(towns and villages of: Sashalom, Újpest, Pestújhely, 
Rákossszentmihály, Mátyásföld, Cinkota, Rákosfalva, Kőbánya, 
Rákoskeresztúr, Pesterszébet, Pestszébet, Rákoshegy, Kispest, Csepel 
and the districts). Also during the war, the organization started in the 
areas returned in the series (Highlands, Transcarpathia, Transylvania, 
Southern Region), and in these years the occupational departments 
(railway, firefighter, postman, transport sector workers) were 
established. 
In October 1944, the MANSz ceased all activities. It officially 
ceased to exist in 1946, when it was dissolved by the Provisional 
National Government, like right-wing and far-right associations 
operating in the Horthy era. 
 
IV.  Publication activity on the topic 
Gyöngyi NAGY: The life and church career of the Unitarian pastor 
István Barabás. In: Yearbook of the Szeremlei Society of 
Hódmezővásárhely 2018. Local History Studies. 21. Editor: István 
KOVÁCS – Zoltán PRESZTÓCZKI, Hódmezővásárhely, 2018. 35–
60. 
 
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Gyöngyi NAGY: The Early Years of the Hódmezővásárhely Branch 
of the National Association of Hungarian Women, 1921–1923. In: 
Yearbook of the Szeremlei Society of Hódmezővásárhely 2019. Local 
history studies. Editor: István KOVÁCS – Zoltán PRESZTÓCZKI, 
Hódmezővásárhely, 2019. 57–84. 
 
Gyöngyi NAGY: The early years of the Hódmezővásárhely circle of 
the National Association of Hungarian Women, 1921–1923. In: 
Studies on twentieth - century Hungarian history. Edited by András 
DÖBÖR – Péter MIKLÓS – Ferenc ZEMAN. Memorial Point Books 
14. Hódmezővásárhely, 2019. 27–48. 
 
Gyöngyi NAGY: "We are many, we just don't know about each 
other!" Establishment of the National Association of Hungarian 
Women. In: Trianoni Review, July – December 2019, 125–130. 
 
Gyöngyi NAGY: The history of the branch of the National 
Association of Hungarian Women in Hódmezővásárhely between 
1924 and 1928. In: Yearbook of the Hódmezővásárhely Szeremlei 
Society 2020. Local history studies. Edited by Zoltán NAGY Gyöngyi 
– PRESZTÓCZKI, Hódmezővásárhely, 2020. 147–165. 
 
Mrs. János Mór RÉVAY: The Days of Bolshevism. Diary Notes 
1918–1919. Edited by Árpád SZAKÁCS, foreword by Gyöngyi 
NAGY, Kárpátia Studio, Köröstárkány – Balatonfőkajár, 2020. 
 
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Gyöngyi NAGY: The history of the MANSz branch in 
Hódmezővásárhely between 1929 and 1940. In: Yearbook of the 
Szeremlei Society of Hódmezővásárhely 2021. Local history studies. 
Edited by Zoltán NAGY Gyöngyi – PRESZTÓCZKI, 
Hódmezővásárhely, 2021. 107–134. 
 
TORMAY Cécile: Fighting. Memories. Editor-in-Chief: Erzsébet 
SZILÁGYI. Foreword by Gyöngyi NAGY, Kárpátia Studio, 
Köröstárkány – Balatonfőkajár, 2021. 
 
 
 
 


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