Antisemitic Mob Justice and Pogrom in Miskolc

From the Fight Against “Speculators” to Murder

The riots were triggered by post-war economic collapse and political propaganda. On July 30, 1946, workers from the Miskolc ironworks, protesting against “speculators” and “price gougers,” seized the interned leaders of the Flórián Mill, Sándor Rejtő and Ernő Jungreisz. Sándor Rejtő was beaten to death, while Ernő Jungreisz was brutally tortured, and his body was dragged through the streets.

On August 1, the day the new currency (the forint) was introduced, tensions escalated further. A mob stormed the police headquarters to release those arrested for the previous lynching. They captured Artúr Fogarasi (born Artúr Frenkel), a police first lieutenant and deputy head of the political department, who was of Jewish descent. He was lynched in the street. The incident highlighted how easily political populism and economic misery could be channeled into antisemitic violence in the post-war era.