Police Violence During the “Belle Epoqueˮ. Formation and Activity of the Hungarian Royal Gendarmerie (1881–1914)

Abstract

Drawing on statistical and press data, the article analyses the dynamics and socio-political context of violence on the part of the Hungarian Royal Gendarmerie on the eve of the Great War. It attempts to establish the political context of the formation of the Gendarmerie in Hungary in 1881, to identify situations in which its officers engaged in physical violence, and to trace the dynamics of its development up to 1914. The Gendarmerie, formed in 1881 primarily from ethnic Magyars, was the largest law enforcement body at the direct disposal of the Hungarian government. Its personnel rose from 5,500 in the mid-1880s to 12,000 by 1914. During this time, its law enforcement responsibilities extended beyond the countryside to towns and cities. Gendarmes were regularly called upon by the authorities to suppress mass demonstrations and strikes, and to organise parliamentary elections and conduct political investigations. Official reports indicate that violence peaked in the late 1880s, mid-1890s, and 1905–1910. The Trans-danubian region was the most dangerous zone for the gendarmerie, but the quietest were Felvidék and Transylvania. The death toll at the hands of the gendarmes remains unknown, but the royal gendarmerie reported using weapons around hundred times a year. The article suggests that the violence and relative impunity of the gendarmes undermined public confidence in the government.