Everything about Ferenc Sz Lasi totally explained
Ferenc Szálasi (born
6 January 1897; died
12 March 1946) was the leader of the
fascist Arrow Cross Party, 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.After the war, he was executed for crimes against the state.
Early life
Born the son of a soldier in
Kassa (now
Košice, Slovakia) of mixed
Armenian,
German,
Hungarian (one grandparent), and
Slovak (or 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'd 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%.
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. 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.
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 fascist
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.
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).
In power
As leader of a
puppet government of
Nazi Germany Szálasi renewed the persecution of the Jewish population, which had been suspended by Horthy because of threats by the Allied powers. He arrested and murdered anyone who advocated neutrality or opposed the already lost war. 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.
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.
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