ABSTRACT
During World War II and the period that followed, consumer consumption in Hungary was defined by the need to acquire and fulfill basic necessities. 1 In the years stretching from 1938 to 1945, consumers found themselves dealing with increasingly strict limitations that eventually culminated in a market that operated under centralized control. While satisfying the civilian population’s demands remained important for the purpose of maintaining political and social stability, living in a state of war demanded that priority be given to supplying the military’s needs. As a result, a peculiar sort of dichotomy characterized the process of consumption during this period in Hungarian history. On the one hand, privately owned shops, businesses, and trade networks strove to serve the civilian population’s needs; on the other hand, the fixed system imposed upon society by a wartime economy increasingly limited the opportunities available to both consumers and tradesmen. As the war progressed and shortages made it more and more difficult to acquire a growing number of goods, trade on the black market flourished; as a consequence of the devaluation of the pengő, precious metals took over the role played by paper currency and barter became the main means of procuring food or other supplies.
