1848/1849-es öreghonvédek törvényszéki drámája: a „Gazdagh-féle bűnpör” a sajtó tükrében
The Tribunal Drama of Military Veterans of 1848/1849: The Gazdagh Trial Through Press Reports

Summary/Abstract: On 12th April 1885 a dead body was found in Budapest, on an empty plot near the Honvédmenház (Veterans’ Home) on Soroksári Road. The deceased was identified as Imre Gazdagh, a lieutenant in the 1848–49 Hungarian Revolution, murdered in cold blood. While such criminal incidents were not uncommon in the era of Dualism, the “Murder on Soroksári Road”, and the following “Gazdagh Trial” became one of the cases of the 1880s surrounded by high public interest, similarly to the Tiszaeszlár Affair and the murder of György Mailáth. The study presents the tragic incident that befell the veterans of 1848–49, and the monthslong investigation that turned the lives of the inhabitants of the Veterans’ Home upside down. Several former soldiers had been imprisoned, interrogated, had the details of their private lives publicized, largely due to the uniqueness of the case, the city’s hunger for a scandal, and the profit-motivated journalists. Through this case we can gain insight into the personnel changes at the Veterans’ Home in 1885-1886, which reveals multidirectional mobility in the institution. Many of those involved in the events left, either out of necessity or the desire to change their lives for the better, and found new homes with a patron or their families. The Gazdagh case also revealed the deaths of two officers, and shed light on the familial relations, circumstances and opportunities of the soldiers. Further research on these might clarify the details of entering, staying at, and leaving the Veterans’ Home. It is also worthwhile to examine the relationship between the veterans living inside and outside the institution, since the trial raised the question if the victim was murdered by an inhabitant of the Veteran’s Home to improve his own circumstances by taking over the role of the deceased.

• Details
• Contents