Béla Jurcsek (30 August 1893 – 1945) was a Hungarian politician, who served as

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

in 1944 and Minister of Welfare between 1944 and 1945. He was born into a landowning family. He attended secondary school in

Nagykároly Carei (; , ; /, yi, , ) is a city in Satu Mare County, northwestern Romania, near the border with Hungary. The city administers one village, Ianculești ( hu, Szentjánosmajor). History The first mention of the city under the name of "Karul ...

and studied economy in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

. Then he travelled abroad and also worked briefly in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

he took part in the political life of

Fejér County Fejér ( hu, Fejér megye, ) is an administrative county ( comitatus or megye) in Central Hungary. It lies on the west bank of the river Danube and nearly touches the eastern shore of Lake Balaton. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties ...

. From 1916 he was a member of the county's municipality and became chairman of the Alliance of Social Associations' group in

Sárbogárd Sárbogárd (german: Bochart) is a town in Fejér county, Hungary. The town is at the intersection of important railroad routes in Hungary: this is where electrified routes from Balaton and Pécs merge with non-electrifed railways from Baja and ...

. He also founded the local organization of the Revisionist League. After that he went abroad again (

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Germany). He became chairman of the Party of National Unity (NEP) in Sárbogárd. He was elected a member of the National Assembly in 1935 and in 1939 as a representative of the NEP. In Parliament, he gave speeches mainly on agricultural and social policy issues. He was a member of the party's committee which examined the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

question and of the special delegation which smoothed the differences between the House of Magnates and the House of Representatives in connection with the second Jewish law. From June 1940 to February 1941, he served as governor of agricultural processing and marketing. Jurcsek also served as state secretary of the Ministry of Welfare between 1942 and 1944. He devised a delivery system which later was called after him the Jurcsek system. This program tried to improve the deteriorating situation because of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The problem had also appeared during the First World War. Jurcsek wanted to eliminate the

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...

and hiding. After the Nazi occupation of Hungary (Operation Margarethe) in the cabinet of

Döme Sztójay Döme Sztójay ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Стојаковић, 5 January 1883 – 22 August 1946) was a Hungarian soldier and diplomat of Serb origin, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary in 1944, during World War II. Biography Born i ...

, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture. He also held this position in the next government, that of

Géza Lakatos Géza Lakatos de Csíkszentsimon (Hungarian title/name: "Vitéz lófő csíkszentsimoni Lakatos Géza"; in German: Geza Ritter Lakatos, Edler von Csikszentsimon) (30 April 1890 – 21 May 1967) was a colonel general in the Hungarian Army during ...

. After the

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party ( hu, Nyilaskeresztes Párt – Hungarista Mozgalom, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of Nationa ...

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, ...

( Operation Mickey Mouse), he served as Minister of Welfare. He set up the delivery system which served the needs of the German Army to the detriment of the

Hungarian Army The Hungarian Ground Forces ( hu, Magyar Szárazföldi Haderő) is the land branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and is responsible for ground activities and troops including artillery, tanks, Armoured personnel carrier, APCs, IFVs and ground ...

and population. He escaped to Austria. When the

Soviet Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

arrived at

Zell am See Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its Ski resort, ski resorts and shorel ...

, he committed suicide. The delivery system was also used after World War II.

References

Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurcsek, Bela Arrow Cross Party politicians Agriculture ministers of Hungary Hungarian collaborators with Nazi Germany Holocaust perpetrators in Hungary 1893 births 1945 deaths Hungarian politicians who committed suicide Suicides in Austria Unity Party (Hungary) politicians People from Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County People from the Kingdom of Hungary 1945 suicides