Zoltán Böszörmény

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zoltán Böszörmény (5 January 1893-?) was a leading exponent of Fascism in Hungary before the Second World War.

The son of a bankrupt landowner, he first flirted with politics in 1919 when he became involved in activity against Béla Kun, albeit on a very minor scale. Whilst studying at the University of Budapest he became leader of the state student movement and a supporter of Gyula Gömbös.

He formed the National Socialist Party of Work in 1931 and a meeting with Adolf Hitler that same year convinced him further of the benefits of Nazism. As the Scythe Cross, Böszörmény's movement grew to have some 20,000 followers at its peak, although Gömbös, fearing the growing power of the movement, suppressed it.

Despite government attention, Böszörmény managed to hold onto his power base in the Tisza, preaching a mixture of anti-Semitism and land reform. He was impressed by Mussolini's March on Rome and planned to launch a similar coup on Budapest. Dressing his followers in second-hand uniforms, Böszörmény attempted to launch a revolution on 1 May 1936 but it was quickly put down and Böszörmény, who pleaded insanity at his subsequent trial, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He escaped to Germany in 1938 and saw out the war there. He petitioned Mátyás Rákosi to allow him to return to Hungary in 1945 as a member of the Hungarian Communist Party, although permission was denied and he is believed to have died in Germany.