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Hungarians in Prekmurje and year 1945

The overwhelming majority of members of the Hungarian national community welcomed the arrival of the Hungarian army in April 1941 with enthusiasm. However, as time passed and war spread, the fervor subsided. With the arrival of the Red Army and following political changes in the spring of 1945, part of the Hungarians in Prekmurje found themselves under attack by the new authorities. Political leaders and certain heads of Hungarian settlements were imprisoned in Dolnja Lendava, while those who joined the NYKP were transferred to the Filovci camp to be »re-educated«. On the night of July 9, 1945, the Yugoslav authorities interned 558 Hungarians from 19 settlements in the Hrastovec camp and then moved some of the internees to the camp in Šterntal (Strnišče pri Ptuju). The majority of the internees (just over 80%) were elderly, women and children. Internees from Hrastovec or Šterntal were able to return home in September 1945. Of the 558 interned persons, 19 died immediately after returning from the camp, mainly because of typhoid.

A number of Hungarians from Dolnja Lendava interned in Hrastovec in 1945, by settlements.
A number of Hungarians from Dolnja Lendava interned in Hrastovec in 1945, by settlements.


Hrastovec Castle in Slovenske gorice, where more than five hundred Hungarians were imprisoned in the summer of 1945. Author: Attila Kovács. Postcard: SI_ PAM/1889 Zavod za urbanizem Maribor, te 4/82.
Hrastovec Castle in Slovenske gorice, where more than five hundred Hungarians were imprisoned in the summer of 1945. Author: Attila Kovács. Postcard: SI_ PAM/1889 Zavod za urbanizem Maribor, te 4/82.


A page of the list of interned Prekmurje Hungarians in Hrastovec. The list was secretly compiled by János Rudas from Radmožanci. Kept by József Biró, Lendava.
A page of the list of interned Prekmurje Hungarians in Hrastovec. The list was secretly compiled by János Rudas from Radmožanci. Kept by József Biró, Lendava.


Tombstone of a Calvinist priest's daughter from Motvarjevci, who died a few days after arriving from the Hrastovec camp. Author: Attila Kovács.
Tombstone of a Calvinist priest's daughter from Motvarjevci, who died a few days after arriving from the Hrastovec camp. Author: Attila Kovács.


Release document from OZNE custody in Filovci in Murska Sobota County. INV Documentation, Lendava Unit.
Release document from OZNE custody in Filovci in Murska Sobota County. INV Documentation, Lendava Unit.


Vaccination certificate at the Strnišče camp near Ptuj. INV Documentation, Lendava Unit.
Vaccination certificate at the Strnišče camp near Ptuj. INV Documentation, Lendava Unit.