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TheeffectsofsocialcoexistenceasexemplifiedbyaregioninHungary
ThepresentationofBékésCounty’srecenthistory
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TheprovisionsoftheTreatyofTrianonof1920considerablychangedthe
lifeofBékésCounty:“Thefrontierengenderedbothathreatandsomepos-
sibilities.Oneoftheregionalcentersofthemanagementofthebuilt-upborder
securitywastransferredtoGyula.Békéscsaba’smilitaryrolehasincreased,
andpermanentmilitaryunitswerealsosettledinOrosházatonewbarracks”
(Kassa&Sándor,1999).Orosháza’ssituationimprovedsincethevastmajority
oftheneighboringcounty’s(Csanád)agriculturalproductiontakenoverbythe
plantsinOrosháza,andthecounty’smerchantsconductedthebusiness.Békés
CountywastransferredtoSzeged’scatchmentareawhichwasalsopreferred
bythegovernment,sincethegreaterpublicinvestmentsoftheregionwere
realizedthere.
Subsequentlytothechangeoftheborders,thestrategicroleofthelow-
landcounties,includingthatofBékés,strengthened,therefore,inadditionto
thecountyseats,someofthelargercitiesalsobenefitedfromstateaid.The
redrawingofbordersgaveregionalpreferencestoBékéscsabaagain.AsArad
andNagyvárad(Oradea)remainedontheothersideoftheborder,theearlier
well-troddeneconomicandtraderelationsceasedtoexist.Thoseareaswhich
hadpreviouslyorientatedtowardsthesetwocities,foundtheneweconomic
centersinBékéscsaba:“Aftertheterritorialchanges,theimportanceofthe
cityincreasedtosuchanextentthatitwasamongthefirst15citiesinthe
country,eventhoughitwasgrantedcitystatusonlyin1918”(Csepelényi&
Attila,2001).
Asaresultoftheeconomicboomofthe1920s,beforetheglobaleconomic
crisis,inBékéscsaba,thegreatestnumberofhousesandpublicbuildingswas
builtinthecounty,anditsrailpassengertrafficsurpassedthatofSzeged,Győr,
andSzombathely.
Inthecounty,aftertheinitialdifficulties,theboomstartedafter1925,but
attheendofthedecade,theunfoldingeconomiccrisisthwartedthisprocess
untilthemid-1930s.Thepermanentjobswerescarce,butseasonalworkforce
demandwassustainableinagricultureandindustry.Itmadeitpossibletocreate
theconditionstoobtainlivelihood.From1930onwards,thesocialproblems
seriouslyaffectingthecountybegantorecede,astheeconomyslowlyrevived.
Allthiswasfacilitatedbytheprolongedlandreformsince1921,asaresultof
whichthepeasantryincreasinglystrengthenedinthesecondhalfofthe1930s
inBékésandCsanádcounties.Thepreparationforthewarbroughtconsider-
ablesubsidiestoBékésandCsanádcounties’treasuries,whichweremainly
utilizedtomodernizetheproductionandprocessingoffoodandindustrialraw
materials.
