confirmation of Budapest address in 1940-44?

Question

My nephew lived in Budapest in 1940-44, Now he (lives abroad) urgently needs some official confirmation of the fact, and owns no documents . He applied to the Budapest municipality but they told him there is no registration list prior to 1954 . The Hungarian Embassy was of no help Can anybody help with the correct Hungarian authority or institution to apply to? Thanks.

Answer 1

Are you after proof of Hungarian citizenship or proof that he lived at a particular address as well?

You might try asking on Genealogy sites (2nd link), where people are trying to trace their family history. They will have many people of Hungarian descent who know about information sources in Hungary.

Hungary was occupied by the Germans from 19th March 1944 until the end of the war, so that may have a big affect on whether records still exist.

People on Genealogy sites may be able to point you in the direction of church or government records of births, marriages and deaths, which show where these events occur, parents names and occupations, etc. They also use census records, which show all the people who lived at an address every 10 years, or whatever is normal for Hungary.

They may at least provide written proof that he lived Hungary, even if they don't give an exact address. From there, genealogists can tell you how to contact people in hungary to find an exact address (officials or hungarian genealogy enthusiasts). If you don't speak Hungarian yourself, the genealogy enthusiasts in your country might do a bit of searching on the net or emailing for you.

Another source of information may be the Mormon Church. Any genealogist will tell you that the Mormons have gathered computerised records of births, marriages and deaths from many countries for people of all different denominations, not just Mormon. I don't know if that includes Hungary. See 3rd link, a google search for 'mormon genealogy' sites. I don't know whether you can access the records on a Mormon site or get them through a general genealogy site.

You may be able to find a professional family-history researcher in Hungary who can help you quickly at a reasonable price. They will know most of the information-sources available, although your request may need some unusual sources.

Although a full family tree going back many generations costs a lot of money to research, information on a single person shouldn't cost too much.

Were there any organizations that your nephew belonged to at the time, such as scouts or religious youth groups or school-related groups, etc, that might still have records? Did Hungary have a national land/property/home registry at the time? Tell this to any researchers. Are there any records of taxes paid by parents or their birth records to establish their citizenship + proof of his birth in Hungary?