2-WWII+Hungary+OT

=**Occupied Territory: Hungary **=

By Benson Huang


 * What were the circumstances in the Occupied Territory that compelled the policies implemented by the occupying power there? How was policy shaped to address these circumstances? **

 In September 1938, after the German annexation of the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia, a portion of the area was given to Hungary in order to build relations between the two nations.Over the course of the next three years, as Germany invaded and controlled countries surrounding Hungary, Germany gave Hungary the possession of additional lands. So, by March 1941, the Jewish population in Hungarian controlled land had reached in excess of 725,000 as a result.

 The Hungarian Prime Minister Miklos Kallay, with the knowledge and approval of Regent Miklos Horthy, had been discussing an armistice with the Allies (despite being sided with Germany and the Axis powers). Hitler found out about these discussions and, feeling betrayed by the Hungarians, ordered German troops to implement Operation Margarethe to capture critical Hungarian facilities. A furious Adolf Hitler decided to occupy Hungary, exasperated with the Hungarian duplicity. He concluded that this was the only way of preventing the Hungarians from withdrawing from the War and signing a separate peace treaty to ensure that Hungary continued to support the war effort, as well as get his hands on the surviving Hungarian Jews. When being overthrown, Kallay eluded the Germans and took asylum in the Turkish embassy. Then, Hitler engineered the appointment of Hungarian Fascist Dome Sztojay, as prime minister. The new government began arresting political opponents, banned labor unions, and resumed the deportation of Jews.

 Horthy used the confusion of the invasion on the July 20, 1944, in an attempt to assassinate Hitler to replace Sztojay in August 1944 with General Geza Lakatos and halt the deportation of Jews from Budapest (failed). Of the approximately 725,000 Jews residing within Hungary's expanded borders of 1941, only about 260,500, mostly from Budapest, survived.


 * What were the effects of the occupation of your territory on the occupying power's war effort? This should include basic data such as numbers of troops diverted to the occupation and so forth, but should also take into account less logistical factors such as the psychological effect of occupation on the occupying power, issues of morale, attitudes of occupation forces toward the local population (and vice versa) and the degree to which that sharpened or dulled the occupiers' resolve, etc. **

 Ultimately, Hungary gained territory from its relationship with the Axis, needing their assistance to get it out of their Great Depression. Numerous settlements were negotiated regarding territorial disputes with the Czechoslovak Republic, the Slovak Republic, and the Kingdom of Romania. So, in 1940, under pressure from Germany, Hungary joined the Axis. Although initially hoping to avoid direct involvement in the war, Hungary's participation soon became inevitable with growing German demands. In 1941, Hungarian forces participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia and the invasion of the Soviet Union by supplying troops and war supplies. Having obtained its territorial demands, Hungary showed considerably less enthusiasm for being drawn into the global conflict. Only under hesitation did it contribute to the war in the east, initially around 65,000 men but after German pressure she sent about 250,000 men (primarily minorities).

 The Germans used high- pressure methods to coerce Hungary to increase her economic assistance. In 1943 the German minister Clodius showed Hungarian negotiators statistics proving that Czech industrial deliveries to Germany was many times greater than that of Hungary, although Czech industrial capacity was in ordinary times only three times that of Hungary. As a result, Clodius openly threatened Hungarian independence if it did not help Germany. Since Hungary did not readily comply and was already making plans to surrender to the Allies, Nazi troops occupied Hungary in order to make unlimited use of its natural and human resources to support Germany’s war effort. A puppet government was established in March 1944, which began the decapitation of Hungarian society.


 * What were the motivations/methods/outcomes of resistance and collaboration? How did this affect the Occupied Territory after the war? Use case studies to illustrate. **

 Hungary was supporting Germany in the initial phases of the war; however, there was a resistance movement in Hungary that received a great boost when the Russians started to have military victories against the Germans on the Eastern Front. This movement, supported by Prime Minister Kallay, established contact with Britain in early 1943. Kallay was anti-communism and in September 1943, he signed a secret agreement that stated that Hungarian forces at the end of the war would surrender to the Allies and not to the Red Army of Russia.

 Due to the clandestine nature of Hungary’s siding with the Allies, Germany invaded Hungary in order to ensure Hungary’s participation as part of the Axis powers. As a result of this resistance and collaboration with the “enemies” of the Axis powers, the Gestapo was, as a result, at work rounding up conservative elements, the legitimist nobility, priests, trade union leaders, anglophiles, journalists, nationalists, and of course, Jews, hundreds of whom committed suicide. Between July and October 1944, the Jews within Budapest lived in relative safety. However, when, on October 15, the Hungarian government announced they were going to make peace with the Allies, the Germans toppled the government. They gave power to Ferenc Szalasi and his fascist, and anti Semitic, Arrow Cross Party.

 Immediately, the Arrow Cross began a reign of terror across the city. Almost 80,000 Jews were killed. Many victims were shot on the banks of the Danube River and their bodies thrown in the river. In addition, many thousands were forced on death marches to the Austrian border. In December 1944, while the Soviet Army laid siege to Budapest, around 70,000 Jews were forced into a ghetto. Many thousands died of cold, disease, and starvation. With regard to Hungarian anti-Nazi resistance movements, there were a number of officers who attempted acts of resistance to the pro-German regime installed after March 1944, and particularly the Arrow Cross regime after October 15th. They were nationalist Hungarians: anti-Nazi, but also anti-Communist. They believed in a sovereign Hungarian government. Unfortunately for this band of officers, many of them were arrested, tortured and tried under the Fascist Arrow Cross system. Among the more prominent of these was Jozsef Kovago. (In 1946, Kovago served as the first post-War Mayor of Budapest. He was later unseated by the Communists and for the second time of his life was arrested, tortured, and tried by the government: this time by the Communists). The immediate effects of the occupied territory were apparent. Hungary was in shambles and was quickly occupied by Soviet forces after German troops evacuated the area. Hundreds upon thousands of Jews were victims of the Holocaust, communication and rail systems were shut down (no infrastructure), and there was no legitimate political structure or leader. Hungary was in a devastating period.


 * What were the effects of occupation on women & youth in the Occupied Territory? Use case studies to illustrate. **

 During the Szalasi regime (As prime minister, Sztojay legalized Ferenc Szalasi’s Arrow Cross Party, increased Hungarian troop levels on the Eastern Front, dissolved the nation’s labor unions, jailed political opponents, and cracked down on left wing politicians and activists), Arrow Cross gangs perpetrated a reign of arbitrary terror against the Jews of Budapest. Hundreds of Jews, both men and women, were violently murdered. Many others died from the brutal conditions of forced labor to which the Arrow Cross subjected them.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> In addition to those resistance movements, the Zionist Youth Movements in Hungary actively engaged in rescue and resistance operations (a very underground railroad-esque organization). Their activities were many-sided and crowned with success. It sent more than 100 members of youth movements and other emissaries from Budapest to approximately 200 destinations in ghettos located in country towns, and forced labor camps. They carried with them false identification documents, money and instructions for rescuing Jewish youth. They organized “tiyul,” the illegal crossing of the border into Romania (About 15,000 youth and adults have been rescued in that action). In addition, they established more than 50 children homes in Budapest for children whose parents were taken to forced labor units or deported to Austria. This unique undertaking included the following: rental of buildings, purchasing the necessary equipment, appointing directors and counselors, care for personal safety and security. Although they aided a great number, that amount still tallied to just a fraction of the youth and Jewish casualties that did occur. The resistance movements show what kind of state Hungary was in to generate such a resistance group: women were no less spared than men, and youth sent the ghettos were stripped of families and sustenance.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Bibliography **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1. Benziger, Karl P. Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul., 2005), pp. 465-481. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><http://www.jstor.org/stable/30036338>

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">2. Burant, Stephen R. "Hungary - World War II." Hungary - World War II. U.S. Library of Congress, 1989. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <http://countrystudies.us/hungary/35.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">3. "Case Study: Hungary." Hungary's Allegiance with Nazi Germany. London Jewish Cultural Centre, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/jews-in-occupied-countries/hungary/>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">4. Gur, David. "The Society for the Research of the History of the Zionist Youth Movement in Hungary." Jerusalem Working Group. Jerusalem Working Group, 26 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Dec. 2006. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://jwg.awardspace.info/html/international_conference_on_rescue_dec272006_david_gur.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">5. Historical Boy's Clothing. "World War II Country Trends: Hungary." Historical Boy's Clothing. N.p., 25 Mar. 2005. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/cou/hun/ww2-hun.html>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">6. Montgomery, John F."The German Invasion of Hungary." Hungary - The Unwilling Satellite. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <http://www.hungarianhistory.com/lib/montgo/montgo15.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">7.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Hungary Before The German Occupation." Holocaust Encylopedia. 10 June 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005457>.