Hungary became involved in World War Two largely due to circumstances that were present at the end of World War One. Hungary underwent a variety of governments, leaders, and economic structures that created a difficult political situation – ripe for the embrace of a totalitarian regime. An embrace that they accepted with gritted teeth, but one they accepted none-the-less. Weak leadership, incongruent leadership, and radical ideology all guided Hungary into the arms of the Nazis, an embrace they spent the remainder of the war attempting to loosen.
Avery Scott explains.
Hungarian Arrow Cross forces and a German tank in Budapest, October 1944. Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-680-8283A-12A / Faupel / CC-BY-SA 3.0, available here.
From 1919 to 1921, the White Terror (led by a counter-revolutionist group) occurred in Hungary. The terror was an attempted purge of those the country found undesirable – largely Jews. Archduke Joseph August stepped forward as regent to maintain power within the Hapsburg line. However, allied powers did not recognize August, and therefore he held no authority – requiring abdication. Eventually, the turmoil was cooled slightly in the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary and with Parliament’s selection of Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya to serve as the regent of the Kingdom in March of 1920. Horthy’s power was slightly more limited than a king, but only slightly in that he had free will to appoint ministers and influence legislation. One major goal of Horthy’s rule was to reverse Hungarian losses sustained as a result of the Treaty of Trianon. The Treaty ended World War One but diminished Hungarian landholdings. The loss of land resulted in Hungary struggling economically, just as much of the world was struggling at the time. In 1927, Prime Minister István Bethlen signed a Treaty of Friendship with Benito Mussolini, thus bringing the two nations closely together both politically and economically. A few years later, Prime Minister Gyula Gömbös signed a similar treaty with Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany, acquiescing to many demands of Hitler to spur an economic relationship between the two nations. One major selling point to the Kingdom of Hungary was the promise that Hitler would return land lost in the Treaty of Trianon. This land would be valuable to Hungary in its aim to climb out of the current depression that was wreaking havoc on the nation.
Tilt to the Axis
Gömbös soon died and was replaced by Prime Minister Kálmán Darányi who was forced to step down to be replaced by Béla Imrédy. Both Darányi and Imrédy began their tenure as Prime Minister by trying to court both their fascist neighbors, and the allied powers. This two-faced style worked for neither minister, and ultimately, they were forced to choose a side, typically doubling down on the side of their neighbors. Both passed anti-Semitic laws, and installed members of their cabinet that were pro-German in policy (despite Imrédy’s own Jewish heritage). After Imrédy stepped down, he was replaced by former Prime Minister Pál Teleki. Teleki was more moderate in his stance on involvement with the Nazi regime, and despite being complicit in anti-semitism, was more accommodating in his approach to Jews than other prime minsters had been. Teleki hoped to keep Hungary out of any wars but felt pressure from both the allied and axis powers to pick a side. Teleki hoped that a small war involving Germany could restore more land to Hungary, but he did not want a drawn-out struggle. Despite his moderate stance, Hungary signed the Tripartite Pact which would likely embroil them in the upcoming struggle, as it allied them with the axis powers. However, Teleki also signed a Treaty of Friendship with Yugoslavia in which the two countries would not be aggressive toward each other. As a result of the Tripartite Pact, Hitler felt that Hungary should assist him in is war efforts. Specifically, Hitler’s Nazi regime was adamant that Hungary should allow German troops to march through Hungary to attack Yugoslavia. Teleki wanted Hungary to remain neutral in this, but British pressure was going to force him to pick a side. Unfortunately, before Teleki was able to do so, private arrangements were made for Germany to march through Hungary. As a result, on April 3, 1941, Teleki committed suicide as he could not stand the thought of Hungary being complicit in the war.
War
After the death of Teleki, László Bárdossy became prime minister, and supported a pro-German policy. This was amplified after a bombing raid by Yugoslavia and then another raid allegedly by the Soviet Union. The raid by the Soviet Union was the catalyst that led Hungary to declare war on the Soviet Union. The allied powers warned Hungary that if they did not end their involvement in the war, they would also declare war on Hungary. Bárdossy did not comply (even though he could not even if he had wanted to). Because of this, Hungary was soon fully engulfed in World War Two. In an attempt to distance the country from Germany, Horthy asked for László Bárdossy to resign. Horthy hoped that by doing so, there would be less reliance on Germany thus allowing them to avert any additional consequences. Dr. Miklós Kállay took control as Prime Minister. Kállay was far more moderate than his predecessors and was less willing to work with Germans or follow their commands. Under Kállay, Jews were not treated well; however they were not persecuted to the extent they had been previously. Most importantly, they were not being turned over to the Germans. Kállay, despite still maintaining a relationship with Germany, was attempting to negotiate with the United States and Britain. The Germans found out about this relationship and were infuriated. Germany followed through on their promise to occupy Hungary if support for Germany ended. Thus, when German forces invaded Hungary, Kállay was removed from his post and replaced with Döme Sztójay. Kállay fled but was eventually captured and remained in the custody of the Germans for the remainder of the war. Sztójay only served for a few months as prime minster and was effectively a German puppet during that time. Horthy was very unhappy with many of his decisions, including the deportation of Jews, and was eventually successful in ousting him for Géza Lakatos. Lakatos, similarly, only served for a few months but attempted to end Hungarian involvement in the war with a peace treaty with the allies. However, this was unsuccessful. After Horthy’s son was kidnapped, Horthy surrendered to the Germans, and Lakatos was imprisoned. Ferenc Szálasi was made the leader of the Government of National Unity, essentially a Nazi puppet government. Under his control, Jews were deported, funds sent to Germany, a draft occurred, and Hungary increased overall military presence with the Germans. During this time, Béla Miklós de Dálnok attempted a provisional government with which to fight back against a Szálasi government. This was eventually successful, and he became prime minister from March to November 1945.
Conclusion
Hungary is a tale of a country that was falling into the perfect storm of struggle leading them to accept the dictates of an oppressive government. Hungary courted the Nazis too closely early on and became reliant upon them for trade and commerce. Because of this connection, they were unable to move away from Germany when they no longer agreed with its policies. John Adams once stated that, in the American Revolution, France assisted America in putting their hand “above our chin to prevent us from drowning, but not to lift our heads out of water.” There are many times in history this statement has been true, but possibly none more perfectly than in the relationship of Hungary and Germany. Germany needed a struggling Hungary, as it gave them power over their government.
Additionally, Hungary attempted to be on the allied side, axis side, and neutral all within the same conflict, sometimes within a matter of days of each other. This position was untenable and the direct result of poor leadership. The prime minister was replaced so frequently that it is difficult to understand who was really in power all too often. This greatly reduced continuity of government and did not allow for any one policy to take root. Hungary was led based upon the current leader’s agenda. Horthy did a poor job of vetting ministers and did not exert control over them to effect positive policies for Hungary. This weak leadership allowed for Hitler to come into Hungary and dictate what they would do, and how they would govern. Thus, Hungary became an ally, an unenthusiastic one, but an ally still to Nazi Germany and the Nazi regime that terrorized the world.
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