80 years ago/March 18-19, 1944

The German Occupation of Hungary

The Hungarian Prime Minister, Miklós Kállay was greeted by Regent Miklós Horthy and others on March 9, 1944 for being in office for two years. They didn’t know that in less than two weeks their lives and the fate of Hungary would completely change They also didn’t know, that in the next few days high-ranking German officials and officers discussed the details of the occupation of Hungary, and, on March 12, 1944, Adolf Hitler gave order to execute the Operation Margarethe.

The task what Miklós Kállay had to solve wasn’t easy. At the end of the 1930’s and at the beginning of the 1940’s Hungary – the Kingdom of Hungary – gradually became a close ally of the Third Reich which also meant the rising of the extreme right in Hungary. During this period the influence of the Nazi Germany grew in the region, and it became the neighbour of Hungary after the Anschluss. Also, with the support of Hitler Horthy could achieve some of the revisionist goals of Hungary. However, the German “goodwill” had a price, there was a pressure – real or imaginary – on the Hungarian government to support the German war efforts and to solve the “Jewish question” in Hungary. Kállay’s job was to comply with the German requests and do gestures towards the Western Allies as well, not to mention to contact them to try to find a way to withdraw Hungary from the war.

For two years Kállay could manage his “hintapolitika” (“Shuttlecock Policy”), even if the German leaders knew about the Hungarian efforts towards an agreement with the Allies. However, in 1944 the Soviet troops were approaching Hungary and Romania, what made Hitler decide to secure the loyalty of Hungary. The two most important reasons which are usually mentioned were that the Germans could reach the Romanian oilfields, which had vital importance, through Hungary, and that Hungary could be important to protect the Third Reich from the Southeast.

After Hitler’s order, the events happened according to a screenplay which contained familiar elements. On March 15, 1944 Regent Miklós Horthy was “invited” to Schloss Klessheim for a meeting with Hitler. Horthy was hesitating, but he was convinced to go at last. The Hungarian delegation left Budapest on March 17, and arrived at Schloss Klessheim on March 18. After their arrival, the members of the Hungarian delegation and their German counterparts had negotiations all day. During the negotiations the Hungarian delegation was informed about the planned occupation, and different complaints and accusations were brought up against the Hungarian leaders. After the meetings, their train left Salzburg in the evening, and they arrived at Budapest the next morning, when the German operations were already under way. The German troops didn’t meet significant resistance. The same morning Adolf Eichmann arrived at Hungary as well. The Gestapo and the SS started to arrest leaders of the Hungarian politics and economy. There were “random” arrests as well, which mainly aimed the members of the Jewish community. Miklós Kállay and his ministers resigned, and Döme Sztójay formed a new government within days. Regent Miklós Horthy, however, with a debatable decision, stayed in his office.

The consequences of the German occupation were disastrous for Hungary. The chance to withdraw the country from the war decreased, the extreme right and the antisemitism got stronger, and the anti-Jewish measures sped up. Until the middle of July, while the Soviet troops were approaching the borders of Hungary, the Hungarian authorities adopted and executed dozens of anti-Jewish decrees, and deported the Jewish community of the countryside.

(About the days before the German occupation see in Hungarian and English the website of the Budapest Holocaust Institute)