Attempted lynching in Szolnok

Rising post-war hardship and anger over food shortages fuelled tensions in Szolnok, where police paraded petty field-thieves through the town with “shame boards.” The spectacle turned antisemitic, as crowds demanded action instead against “profiteering Jews.” Police soon arrested ten alleged “freeloaders,” mostly Jewish. When these detainees were publicly marched through the city on 14 July, the crowd attempted to lynch them, shouting antisemitic accusations. Only firm police intervention prevented killings, revealing how economic frustration and entrenched antisemitism merged into volatile mob violence.