Ferenc Szálasi
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- The native form of this personal name is Szálasi Ferenc. This article uses the Western name order.
| Ferenc Szálasi | |
| Date of birth | January 6, 1897 |
| Date of death | March 12, 1946 |
| Political Party | Arrow Cross Party |
| Political positions |
"Leader of the Hungarian Nation" (Nemzetvezető) (1944-1945) |
Ferenc Szálasi (IPA: [sa:laʃi fɛrɛnts]) (born 6 January 1897; died 12 March 1946) was the leader of the National Socialist Arrow Cross Party - Hungarist Movement, the "Leader of the Hungarian Nation" (Nemzetvezető), and the Prime Minister of Hungary for the final three months of Hungary's participation in World War II. During his brief rule, Szálasi's men murdered 10-15,000 Jews.[1]After the war, he was executed for crimes against the state.
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[edit] Early life
Born the son of a soldier in Kassa (now Košice, Slovakia) of mixed Armenian, German, Hungarian (one grandparent), and Slovak and Rusyn heritage.
Szálasi followed in his father's footsteps and joined the army at a young age. He eventually became an officer and served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I.
In 1925, Szálasi entered the Hungarian General Staff and, by 1933, he had attained the rank of Major. Around this time, Szálasi became fascinated with politics and often lectured on Hungary's political affairs. Szálasi was a fanatical right winger and a strong proponent of Hungarism, advocating the expansion of Hungary's territory back to the borders of Greater Hungary as it was prior to the Treaty of Trianon, which in 1920 codified the reduction in the country's area by 72%.
[edit] First steps in politics
In 1935, Szálasi left the army in order devote his full attention to politics, after which time he established the Party of National Will, a nationalistic group which was unpopular with the people.[citation needed] It was eventually outlawed by the conservative government for being too radical. Unperturbed, Szálasi established the Hungarian National Socialist Party in 1937, which was also banned. However, Szálasi was able to attract considerable support to his cause by adopting views that appealed to industrial workers and members of Hungary's lower classes.[citation needed]
After Germany's Anschluss with Austria in 1938, Szálasi's followers became more radical in their political activities, and Szálasi was arrested and imprisoned by the Hungarian Police. However, even while in prison Szálasi managed to remain a powerful political figure, and was proclaimed leader of the National Socialist Arrow Cross Party (a coalition of several right-wing groups) when it was expanded in 1938. The party attracted a large number of followers and in the 1939 elections it gained 30 seats in the Hungarian Parliament, thus becoming one of the more powerful parties in Hungary. Freed due to a general amnesty resulting from the Second Vienna Award in 1940, Szálasi returned to politics. When World War II began, the Arrow Cross Party was officially banned by Prime Minister Pál Teleki, thus forcing Szálasi to operate in secret. During this time period, Szálasi gained the support and backing of the Germans, who had previously been opposed to Szálasi because his "Hungarist" nationalism place Hungarian terriorial claims above those of Germany.[citation needed]
[edit] Way to power
Following the Nazi occupation of Hungary in March of 1944, the pro-German Döme Sztójay was installed as Prime Minister of Hungary. The Arrow Cross Party was then legalized by the government, which allowed Szálasi to expand the party even further. When Sztójay was deposed in August, Szálasi once again became an enemy of the Hungarian government and Regent Miklós Horthy ordered his arrest. Szálasi, however, was protected by the Germans, who had grown tired of dealing with Horthy and planned to make Szálasi prime minister. Having knowledge of the Regent's effort to come to a separate peace with the Soviets and thus betray the Axis alliance, the Germans forced Horthy to resign in 1944. The Parliament then voted Szálasi as Prime Minister and Head of State; immediately after, Szálasi swore in front of the Crown of Saint Stephen as the "Leader of the Hungarian Nation" (Nemzetvezető).
[edit] In power
Under his rule as a close ally of Germany, the Germans followed the deportation of the Jews, which had been suspended by Horthy because of threats by the Allied powers, although Szálasi personally stood against it, becouse of the loss of manpower. He organised the so-called International Ghetto. In that time some diplomats like Raoul Wallenberg gave protective passports to the Jews, which protected them from deportation. According to the Germans they wasn't valid by the international law, but still this Szálasi's government accepted them.[1] His government promoted martial law, court-martials executed those who were dangerous for the state and the continuation of war according to them. During his rule, Hungarian tangible assets (cattle, machinery, wagons, industrial raw material etc.) were sent to Germany. He conscripted young and old into the remaining Hungarian Army and sent them in hopeless battles against the Red Army.
[edit] Death
When the war ended, Szálasi was captured by American troops and returned to Hungary. He was tried by the People's Tribunal in Budapest in open sessions and sentenced to death for war crimes and high treason. Szálasi was executed in 1946 in Budapest.
[edit] References
- Fiala-Marschalkó: Vádló bitófák. London: Süli, 1958
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Miklós Horthy (as regent) |
Leader of the Hungarian Nation 1944–1945 |
Succeeded by High National Council |
| Preceded by Géza Lakatos |
Prime Minister of Hungary (de facto) 1944–1945 |
Succeeded by Béla Miklós |
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Template:Hungarian national socialism
