Ferenc Szálasi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ferenc Szálasi
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Szálasi in 1944
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| Leader of the Nation | |
| In office 16 October 1944 – 7 May 1945 |
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| Monarch | Vacant |
| Preceded by | Miklós Horthy (as Regent of Hungary) Géza Lakatos (as Prime Minister of Hungary) |
| Succeeded by | High National Council (as collective head of state) Béla Miklós<(as Prime Minister of Hungary) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 January 1897 Kassa, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (today Košice, Slovakia) |
| Died | 12 March 1946 (aged 49) Budapest, Hungarian Republic |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Political party | Arrow Cross Party |
| Spouse | Gizella Lutz |
| Profession | Soldier, Politician |
| Awards | 3rd Class, Order of the Iron Crown |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Austria-Hungary (1915–1918) Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1935) |
| Branch/service |  Austro-Hungarian Army Royal Hungarian Army |
| Years of service | 1915–1935 |
| Rank | Major |
| Commands | 1st Honvéd Mixed-Brigade |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Ferenc Szálasi (born 6 January 1897 – died 12 March 1946) was a Hungarian soldier and politician. He led the Arrow Cross Party and became the head of Hungary's government. This happened when Nazi Germany took control of Hungary during World War II.
Szálasi was a brave officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. Later, he became a staff officer in the Kingdom of Hungary. In the 1930s, he became a strong supporter of extreme nationalism. He wanted Hungary to get back lands it had lost after World War I. In 1937, he started the Hungarian National Socialist Party. His ideas attracted many people, but his followers became very extreme. This led to his arrest in 1938.
While in prison, he was chosen to lead the Arrow Cross Party. This party quickly became very powerful in Hungary. Szálasi was released in 1940. When World War II started, his party was made illegal, so he had to work in secret.
In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary. In October, Szálasi became the head of the government and the head of state. His government worked closely with the Nazis. It was called the Government of National Unity. This government was controlled by the Arrow Cross Party. It brought back strict rules and continued the terrible persecution of Jewish people in Hungary. Szálasi's groups were responsible for the deaths of many Hungarian Jews.
Szálasi's government only lasted for 163 days. It had power mostly in and around Budapest. As Soviet and Romanian armies advanced, Szálasi and his government fled Hungary. He was captured by American soldiers in May 1945. He was sent back to Hungary for trial. He was found guilty of serious crimes against his country and during the war. He was put to death on 12 March 1946.
Contents
Early Life and Military Career
Family Background
Ferenc Szálasi was born in Kassa, a city in the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, this city is called Košice and is in Slovakia. His family had different backgrounds, including Armenian, German, Hungarian, Slovak, and Rusyn roots. His great-grandfather's last name was Salossian, which shows his Armenian heritage.
His grandfather fought as a soldier in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. He married a German woman. Their son, Ferenc Szálasi, Sr., became an officer in the Hungarian army. Ferenc Szálasi had three brothers, Béla, Károly, and Rezső, who also served in the army.
Szálasi's mother was Erzsébet Szakmár. She was Greek Catholic and had Slovak and Rusyn family. She taught her sons about religion. Szálasi once said that his mother taught him to believe in God very strongly. He lived with his mother until 1944.
Becoming a Soldier
Szálasi decided to follow his father and join the army when he was young. He went to military schools in Kőszeg, Marosvásárhely (now Târgu Mureș in Romania), and Kismarton (now Eisenstadt in Austria). He finished his military training at the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt. He became a Lieutenant in 1915.
He fought as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. He was on the front lines for three years. By the end of the war, he was a First Lieutenant. He fought on the Italian Front and later near Verdun. For his service, he received an award called the Order of the Iron Crown. After the war, he worked as a messenger for Hungary's new government.
After World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire broke apart. Hungary went through a time of big changes and fighting. There was a short-lived communist government, followed by a period of violence against communists and others. In 1920, the Kingdom of Hungary was re-established under Regent Miklós Horthy. During these changes, Szálasi was not involved in politics.
Szálasi continued his military career. He attended officer training and was promoted to Captain in 1924. In 1925, he joined the General Staff of the Hungarian army. He was known for his military skills and was popular among the soldiers he commanded. By 1933, he was a Major and led a military unit in Budapest.
Political Journey
First Steps in Politics
Around 1933, Szálasi became very interested in politics. He started giving talks about Hungary's political situation. He became a strong supporter of "Hungarism". This was an extreme nationalist idea that wanted to expand Hungary's borders to how they were before the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. This treaty had made Hungary much smaller.
Szálasi wrote a pamphlet called "Plan for the Building of the Hungarian State". Because soldiers were not allowed to be involved in politics, he was punished and removed from the General Staff. He later asked to leave the army, which he did on 1 March 1935.
After leaving the army, Szálasi started a group called the Party of National Will. This group was very nationalistic. The government saw it as too extreme and made it illegal. But Szálasi didn't give up. In 1937, he started the Hungarian National Socialist Party, which was also banned.
Szálasi gained a lot of support from factory workers and poorer people in Hungary. He appealed to their strong feelings of nationalism and their anger towards certain groups, especially Jewish people.
Rise to Power
After Germany took over Austria in 1938, Szálasi's followers became even more extreme. Szálasi was arrested and put in prison. But even from prison, he remained a powerful figure. He was named the leader of the Arrow Cross Party in 1938. This party was a mix of several extreme right-wing groups. It became very popular, winning 30 seats in the Hungarian Parliament in the 1939 elections.
In 1940, Szálasi was released from prison. When World War II began, the Arrow Cross Party was officially banned. This forced Szálasi to work in secret. During this time, he gained the support of the Germans.
In March 1944, Nazi Germany occupied Hungary. A pro-German leader named Döme Sztójay became Prime Minister. The Arrow Cross Party was then made legal again, and Szálasi could expand his party. Later, when Sztójay was removed from power, Szálasi was once again seen as an enemy by the Hungarian government. Regent Miklós Horthy ordered his arrest. Horthy realized that Hungary was in a difficult position and tried to make peace with the Allies.
However, the Germans did not want Hungary to leave the war. They kidnapped Horthy's son and threatened to kill him. Under this pressure, Horthy signed a document saying he would step down and naming Szálasi as Prime Minister. This made it seem like Szálasi's takeover was legal. Horthy later said that this signature was forced and not truly legal. The Germans then pushed the Hungarian Parliament to also make Szálasi the Head of State.
Leader of the Nation
Szálasi's government, called the Government of National Unity, was like a puppet state controlled by Nazi Germany. It was formed on 16 October 1944, after Regent Miklós Horthy was removed from power.
On 4 November, Szálasi was sworn in as the "Leader of the Nation" (nemzetvezető). He formed a government with sixteen ministers. Half of them were members of his Arrow Cross Party. Even though Horthy's rule ended, Szálasi's government still called the country the Kingdom of Hungary.
Szálasi and his government had little power outside of what the Nazis allowed. Their main goal was to follow their extreme ideas and control the parts of Hungary that Germany occupied. Szálasi wanted to create a country with only one political party, based on his "Hungarism" ideas.
Under Szálasi's rule, working closely with Germany, the terrible persecution of Jewish people started again. This had been stopped by Horthy. Szálasi's government also set up strict rules and military courts. They punished people they thought were dangerous to the state or who opposed the war. During Szálasi's time in power, many Hungarian goods, like cattle and machinery, were sent to Germany. Young and old people were forced to join the Hungarian Army and fight against the Soviet army.
Szálasi's rule lasted only 163 days. By the time he took power, the Soviet army was already deep inside Hungary. His power was limited to a small area around Budapest. On 19 November 1944, Szálasi was in Budapest when Soviet and Romanian forces began to surround the city. He fled the city on 9 December, before the 102-day Siege of Budapest began. By March 1945, Szálasi was in Vienna, and later he fled to Munich.
Trial and Execution
The Arrow Cross Party's government, which had left Hungary, was officially ended on 7 May 1945. This was one day before Germany surrendered at the end of World War II in Europe. Szálasi was captured by American soldiers in Mattsee on 6 May. He was sent back to Hungary on 3 October.
He was put on trial by the People's Tribunal in Budapest in February 1946. He was found guilty of serious crimes committed during the war and against his country. He was sentenced to death.
Ferenc Szálasi was executed on 12 March 1946, in Budapest. Two of his former ministers, Gábor Vajna and Károly Beregfy, and a party thinker named József Gera, were also put to death with him.
Szálasi was buried in the Rákoskeresztúr New Public Cemetery in Budapest, Hungary.
Images for kids
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Szálasi in 1944
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Ferenc Szálasi in Budapest, October 1944.
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The Government of National Unity headed by Ferenc Szálasi (sitting in the center).
See also
In Spanish: Ferenc Szálasi para niños
- Cluj Ghetto
- Hungarian Turanism
