Hungary in World War II
In 1920, the Treaty of Trianon stripped Hungary of two-thirds of its territory. This loss defined Hungarian politics for the next two decades. The Great Depression deepened the national despair. By 1932, Regent Miklós Horthy appointed Gyula Gömbös as prime minister. Gömbös led international policy toward closer cooperation with Germany. He signed a trade agreement on the 21st of February 1934. This deal pulled Hungary out of economic ruin but made the country dependent on Berlin. Gömbös advocated social reforms and revision of the treaty. His efforts were frustrated by parliament and foreign creditors. He died in October 1936 without achieving his goals. Ultra-nationalism rose during this period. In 1935, Ferenc Szálasi founded the Party of National Will. It evolved into the Arrow Cross Party. This group mimicked Nazi politics and anti-semitism.
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy enforced Hungarian claims on lost territories through diplomatic awards. The First Vienna Award occurred on the 2nd of November 1938. It transferred parts of southern Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia to Hungary. This area covered 11,927 square kilometers. Its population reached 869,299 people. Between November 5 and 10, Hungarian armed forces occupied these new lands. A second award followed later. The Second Vienna Award took place in September 1940. It gave Hungary northern Transylvania. This region spanned 43,492 square kilometers. The population totaled 2,578,100 people. Demographic counts varied between Romanian and Hungarian censuses. Insurgency met the establishment of Hungarian rule. Notable cases included the Ip and Treznea incidents. Later, Hungary annexed sections of Baranja, Bačka, Međimurje, and Prekmurje after invading Yugoslavia on the 11th of April 1941. These returned territories held a population of 1,025,508 people.
Hungary declared war against the Soviet Union on the 27th of June 1941. This happened less than twenty-four hours after the bombing of Košice. The Axis invasion began on the 22nd of June 1941. Hitler did not directly ask for Hungarian assistance initially. Many officials argued for participation to encourage Hitler regarding border revisions. The Hungarian Carpathian Group attacked the 12th Soviet Army on the 1st of July 1941. At the Battle of Uman, fought between August 3 and 8, mechanized corps encircled Soviet divisions. In July 1941, the government transferred responsibility for 18,000 Jews from Carpato-Ruthenian Hungary to German forces. Nazi mobile killing units shot all but two thousand of these individuals near Kamenets-Podolski. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the Hungarian Second Army suffered terrible losses. The Soviet breakthrough at the Don River sliced through Hungarian units. After January 1943, the Soviets crushed the army at Voronezh. Total casualties numbered more than 100,000 men. By 1942, tens of thousands of Hungarians were fighting on the eastern front.
On the 19th of March 1944, German troops occupied Hungary. Prime Minister Miklós Kállay was deposed immediately. Mass deportations of Jews to death camps began soon after. SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann oversaw large-scale operations. Between May 15 and July 9, authorities deported 437,402 Jews. All but 15,000 were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Ninety percent of those arrived were killed instantly. One-third of murdered victims at Auschwitz were Hungarian. In early July 1944, Horthy stopped the deportations. Himmler ordered Eichmann to leave Budapest in late August. A forced labor service system existed since 1939. It affected primarily the Jewish population. Thirty-five thousand to 40,000 forced laborers served in the Second Army. Eighty percent never returned. Approximately half of 6,000 Jewish laborers working in copper mines in Bor were executed during a death march from August to October 1944. The poet Miklós Radnóti died in Abda for being too weak.
Berlin launched Operation Margarethe on the 19th of March 1944. German troops occupied Hungary to prevent separate peace talks. Horthy was confined to a castle under house arrest. Döme Sztójay became prime minister with aid from Edmund Veesenmayer. On October 15, Horthy announced an armistice with the Soviet Union. The Hungarian army ignored these orders and fought desperately. Germans launched Operation Panzerfaust to seize control. They kidnapped Horthy's son, Miklós Horthy Jr., to force compliance. Horthy had to abrogate the armistice and name Ferenc Szálasi as prime minister. Szálasi led a new Government of National Unity controlled by Germany. Horthy resigned and spent his last years exiled in Portugal. He died in 1957. Szálasi attempted to resume deportations but disintegrating communications prevented this. The Arrow Cross launched a reign of terror against Jews in Budapest. Thousands were tortured, raped, and murdered in the final months.
In autumn 1941, anti-German demonstrations took place in Hungary. A crowd of 8,000 people gathered at the Sándor Petőfi monument on the 15th of March 1942. They demanded an independent democratic Hungary. The underground Communist Party published leaflets and newspapers. Five hundred communist activists were arrested. Leaders Ferenc Rózsa and Zoltán Schönherz were executed. Various opposition groups joined forces in May 1944. They formed the Hungarian Front under Communist inspiration. Representatives informed Horthy of plans for an armistice on October 11. They founded the Sovereignty Movement on the 11th of November 1944. General János Kiss was among those arrested and executed. Armed resistance began shortly after occupation. Communist partisan detachments arrived from the Soviet Union in 1944. Commander András Szabó led such units. In December 1944, the USSR supported a government alternate to Arrow Cross rule. Béla Miklós headed this provisional administration. The Volunteer Regiment of Buda composed of POWs assisted the Red Army.
Soviet forces crossed the Hungarian border in September 1944. The encirclement of Budapest completed on the 29th of December 1944. The battle turned into the Siege of Budapest. Most of the remaining First Army was destroyed north of the city between January 1 and the 16th of February 1945. On the 20th of January 1945, representatives signed an armistice in Moscow. Remaining German and Hungarian units surrendered on the 13th of February 1945. The Lake Balaton Offensive launched on the 6th of March 1945. It failed quickly as a final Axis operation. By March 19, Soviet troops recaptured all lost territory. Between March 16 and 25, most of the Third Army was destroyed west of Budapest. From April 2 to 13, the Vienna Offensive took place. By early April, Germans had vacated Hungarian soil. Officially, Soviet operations ended on the 4th of April 1945. On the 8th of May 1945, at 4:10 p.m., American forces accepted surrender of Hungarian divisions near Austria.
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Common questions
When did Hungary declare war on the Soviet Union during World War II?
Hungary declared war against the Soviet Union on the 27th of June 1941. This declaration occurred less than twenty-four hours after the bombing of Košice.
How many Jews were deported from Hungary to Auschwitz between May and July 1944?
Authorities deported 437,402 Jews between May 15 and the 9th of July 1944. All but 15,000 of these individuals were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau where ninety percent were killed instantly.
What territories did Hungary gain through the First Vienna Award in November 1938?
The First Vienna Award transferred parts of southern Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia to Hungary on the 2nd of November 1938. This area covered 11,927 square kilometers with a population reaching 869,299 people.
Who led the Arrow Cross Party that took power in Hungary in October 1944?
Ferenc Szálasi founded the Party of National Will which evolved into the Arrow Cross Party. He became prime minister when Horthy abrogated the armistice and named him leader of the new Government of National Unity.
When did Soviet forces complete the encirclement of Budapest during World War II?
Soviet forces completed the encirclement of Budapest on the 29th of December 1944. The battle turned into the Siege of Budapest before most remaining Hungarian units surrendered on the 13th of February 1945.