Introduction

Hungary joined the Axis powers in 1939.  Soon thereafter, it received numerous territorial concessions, including nearly half of Transylvania.  In December 1941, Hungary declared war on the United States.  In January 1942, Hungary sent troops to attack the Soviet Union.

In 1939, approximately 403,000-455,000 Jews resided in Hungary, out of a population of 9,106,000 (4.4%-5.0%).  Jews were a major part of the Hungarian middle class.  After the acquisition of former Czech and Romanian territories, more than 650,000 Jews were added to the population of greater Hungary. 

Approximately 725,000 Jews lived in Hungary in 1944, including 325,000 in territories that the country had regained from Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia from 1938 to 1941. The Second Jewish Law of 1939 furthermore classified 100,000 Christians who had either one Jewish parent or two Jewish grandparents as Jews (source in Hungarian).

The Jewish community remained virtually intact until the German invasion in the spring of 1944.  In fact, Hungary was a safe haven and refuge for Romania and Slovakian Jews.

Braham 1981 pp. 1230-1231:

The Domestic Climate for Rescue and Resistance

“THE WARTIME LEADERSHIP of Hungarian Jewry has often been censured for failing to do anything meaningful to forestall or at least to minimize the catastrophe. Though aware of the dimensions of the Nazis' Final Solution program, it failed to prepare any contingency plans of rescue or possible resistance. The attitudes and perceptions of these leaders, like those of Hungarian Jewry as a whole, continued to be shaped by a myopic view of the community's position in Hungary since 1867. As a result, when the Hungarian community still remained relatively intact and well-off while the communities in neighboring countries were being destroyed, the Hungarian Jews were developing a false sense of security. To the very end they deluded themselves-constantly rationalizing that they would somehow survive the war, albeit under less favorable economic conditions.”

“When disaster struck with the German occupation of Hungary on March 19, 1944, the Hungarian Jews soon discovered that they were no less vulnerable than their brethren elsewhere in Nazi-dominated Europe had been. One by one, the major pillars upon which they based their hope collapsed. The conservative-aristocratic ruling faction of the Hungarian Right on which they counted so heavily for their continued protection was eliminated; the leftist and progressive opposition which they expected would take a stand against the Nazis remained-postwar Hungarian communist historiography notwithstanding-an impotent shell. Finally, the Christian neighbors with whom they thought they had shared a common destiny for over a thousand years remained basically passive. This was especially true in the provincial communities, where the ghettoization, concentration, and deportation of the Jews were carried out at an extremely rapid pace.’’ (1231).

Braham 1981 pp. 1231-1223:

“I am my brother’s keeper.”
- Genesis

Attitude of the Hungarian Christians

“The generally passive, if not openly hostile, attitude of the relatively large percentage of the Christian population was shaped by many factors. Subjected for over two decades to a vicious anti-Semitic propaganda campaign, a considerable number of the unenlightened population developed a distorted picture of the Jews' historical role in Hungary. In the course of time, many Christians came to accept the ultra-rightist image of the Jews and blamed them for all the failures and shortcomings of Hungary. As in Germany, they viewed the Jews both as harbingers of communism and as champions of plutocratic capitalism. They tended to blame all Jews for the abortive proletarian dictatorship of Bela Kun, even though the overwhelming majority of Hungarian Jewry sided with the Magyars in condemning the Bolshevik adventure and having been identified as both "bourgeois-capitalists" and as devotees of Judaism, proportionally suffered even more than the Christians.’’

“Also even though the great majority of the Jews lived on the edge of poverty, the general public tended to equate all Jews with the small percentage that had played a conspicuous role in the professions and in banking, industry, and commerce. The distorted image also included the notion that Jews shunned manual labor, preferring to exploit the work of others.’’

“In the years before the Holocaust, this anti-Jewish bias was reinforced by the vicious campaign of the German-financed ultra-rightist press, the constant preoccupation of the state radio stations with the Jewish question, the agitation of the representatives of the extremist parties and movements, and the policy declarations of anti-Semitic parliamentarians. The preoccupation with the Jewish question and the demands for its effective solution became ever more frequent following the Anschluss and especially after the declaration of war against the Soviet Union late in June 1941. An Axis partner, Hungary closely observed Nazi Germany's approach to the solution of the Jewish question and at first showed great eagerness to adopt at least some of its features. Anxious to prove its acceptance of Hitler s New Order for Europe, Hungary adopted a Nuremberg-type law-the so-called Third Anti-Jewish Law in 1941-and " resettled" approximately 18,000 "alien" Jews, most of who were murdered near Kamenets-Podolsk in late August 1941. These draconic measures, like the many others that preceded and (1232) followed them, came to be accepted by large segments of the Hungarian people as necessary and desirable for the advancement of Hungary's national interests.’’

“The avalanche of ever harsher anti-Jewish decrees that were adopted almost immediately after the German occupation on March 19, 1941, did not catch the Hungarians totally unprepared. Even the ultimate objective of the Germans-the roundup and deportation of the Jews-was not all that surprising, for such steps had been called for in the Hungarian Parliament several years earlier.' Having been psychologically and politically prepared, many segments of the Hungarian population in fact looked forward to some of the anti-Jewish measures .2 Those with more rapacious instincts applauded the ghettoization-deportation program, hoping to take over the homes, professional offices, and businesses of Jews. No sooner were the Jews placed into ghettos then a veritable competition arose for the acquisition of their apartments and businesses. The competition was especially keen among professionals who were eager to acquire well established offices, equipment, and luxury apartments .3 Christian businessmen joined the bandwagon by requesting the allocation of Jewish businesses or the distribution of their stock.’’ 4

“A segment of the population viewed the measures enacted against the Jews with disgust; but feeling helpless to prevent them, they usually internalized their indignation. A few officials, however, including some prefects, protested the measures by resigning from their positions. 5 The passivity of the majority was not necessarily because of a lack of concern for the Jews; quite often, it resulted from fear inspired by the quisling government. As part of the anti-Jewish drive, the Christian population was threatened with heavy fines and penalties, including internment, for hiding or protecting Jews or their property. Furthermore, most Christians, like most Jews, had no inkling about the ultimate scope of the Final Solution program. The press and radio were silent on the deportations. Most Hungarians who witnessed the ghettoization, concentration, and entrainment of the Jews had been convinced that their removal from their homes involved their eventual relocation "to some distant places where they would be finally made to do physical labor."

“In contrast to such German-occupied countries as Denmark-a country with a long tradition of democracy, pluralism, and toleration-and even to such Axis-allied states as Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania, (1233) where the persecuted Jews received considerable aid from both the people and the indigenous authorities, 6 in Hungary the Sztojay government exceeded the Germans' expectations in its anti-Jewish initiatives and zeal. Ironically, the once-dreaded labor service system emerged as a source of rescue for Jewish men 20 to 48 years of age. Many of them, and in some places even those younger and older, were called up for duty at the time of the ghettoization, saving them from deportation.”

Braham 1981 p. 1233:

“The situation was even worse in the communities in which the Jews were less assimilated. But there were also a number of Christians who risked their freedom, and some even their lives, by hiding Jews 8 or bringing food to their former neighbors, friends, or employers in the ghettos and entrainment centers. In some cases, these Christians were beaten savagely and some were actually forced to join the Jews on the journey to Auschwitz.’’ 9

In March 1944, the reign of terror began.  SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann was given the task of deporting the Hungarian Jews.  In March through July 1944, more than 430,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered at Auschwitz.  In the winter of 1944-1945, 30,000 Budapest Jews died on death marches and in actions.  More than 569,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered within Hungary and its territories.

By July 9, 1944, only 230,000 Jews survived, most of whom were in Budapest.

Hungary – Budapest

After the deportation of the Jews in the Hungarian countryside, Eichmann planned to deport the surviving Jews of Budapest to Auschwitz by the end of July 1944.  The war, however, was going badly for Germany.  The Russians were advancing from the East, the Allies from the West.  With the end of the war nearing, Regent Horthy of Hungary began to resist Eichmann and the deportations. 

By the end of July 1944, the deportations of Hungarian Jews had ceased.  Nevertheless, Eichmann and his SS kept up their reign of terror against the Jews of Budapest.  Hungarian Jews were herded into ghettos and makeshift concentration camps.  The round up of Jews was carried out district by district by collaborating Hungarian Arrow Cross, with Eichmann and his SS men supervising.  Eichmann and his SS troops were surprised by the cruelty of the Hungarian Arrow Cross.

Eichmann continued to abduct Jews for forced marches out of Budapest.  Even so, there was relative calm at this time.  The work of Verolino, Rotta and the other neutral diplomats was not over; the worst was yet to come.

By the end of August 1944, SS commander Heinrich Himmler ordered Eichmann to stop the deportation of Hungarian Jews.  A few days later, Hungarian Regent Horthy appointed General Gezá Latakos, a stalwart Horthy loyalist, as the new Prime Minister.  He was given instructions to stop the persecution of the Jews.  Again, the worst seemed to be over for the Jews of Budapest. 

During this period of relative calm, Eichmann acted on his own murderous authority.  He defied Himmler in coordinating continued deportations.  He continued persecutions, including the round up and murder of Jews.  On August 30, Eichmann was ordered to withdraw from Budapest with his SS command.

On October 12, Horthy planned to sue for a separate peace with the Allies.  The situation improved greatly for the Jews of Budapest.  Many Jews even stopped wearing the Star of David. 

The Nazis discovered Horthy’s attempt to negotiate with the Allies.  Immediately, the Germans brought thousands of troops into Budapest and initiated a coup against Horthy.  The Germans deposed Horthy and installed the fascist Hungarian Arrow Cross party in power, with Ferenc Szálasi as Prime Minister. 

On October 15, 1944, a new reign of terror descended on the Jewish community in Budapest.

At the same time, Eichmann returned to Budapest and told the Jewish community leaders, “You see, I am back, our arm is still long enough to reach you.”  Immediately, widespread arrests and pogroms against Jews resumed.  Nearly 200 people were murdered by members of the Arrow Cross.  Arrow Cross leaders cooperated with the Nazis in the murder and deportation of the Jews. 

Eichmann was delighted with the cooperation and the enthusiastic participation of the Hungarian fascist party.  During this period, Jews were terrorized by bands of Arrow Cross thugs who roamed the city beating, robbing and killing.

On October 20, 1944, Eichmann again began the mass round up of Jewish men.  His plan was to deport the Jews of Budapest on mass death marches.  They were to be taken to the Austrian border to dig trenches and build fortifications against the advancing Russian army.  Hundreds died of exhaustion and starvation on these marches.

Diplomats of the neutral missions and their volunteers traveled tirelessly up and down the roads between Budapest and Hegyeshalom, the route of the death marches.  They brought truckloads of food, medicine and clothing.  Diplomats carried blank protective passes that they issued on the spot.  Thus they saved many thousands of Jews from almost inevitable death.

Hundreds of Jews served as volunteers with the neutral diplomats.  They operated safe houses, hospitals, kitchens, etc.  They printed and distributed thousands of the safe conduct or protective passes.  Numerous Jewish organizations worked to save their fellow Jews in besieged Budapest.

The courage that the neutral diplomats and their volunteers displayed during the German occupation was remarkable.  They would walk up to trains loaded with deportees.  In front of the SS and Arrow Cross officials, they would hand the deportees “safe passes.”

In October-November 1944, the neutral diplomats established numerous “diplomatic” safe houses, leased in the name of the country with the shield and flags of the country prominently displayed on the front door.  They even claimed extra-territoriality, which they did not have.  When Nazis and Arrow Cross soldiers tried to raid these safe houses, the diplomats and their volunteers were able, in most cases, to keep them out.

These buildings under diplomatic protection, along with the protective passes, were the most important tools in saving large numbers of Jews.  The Swiss, Swedish, Vatican, Spanish and Portuguese buildings gave shelter to at least 40,000 and perhaps as many as 70,000 Jews.  The exact number will never be known. 

The lives of diplomats in Budapest were in constant jeopardy.  The Arrow Cross did not consistently recognize the authority of the diplomatic missions to protect Jews in Budapest. 

Close to 17,000 Jews were murdered by the Arrow Cross between October 15 and the liberation of Budapest in the middle of January 1945.

In Budapest, 124,000 Jews survived due to the efforts of numerous organizations and individuals, including neutral diplomats, the Vatican, the Red Cross, and Jewish rescue organizations.  This was the largest Jewish community surviving in Europe.

[Braham, Randolph L. The Politics of Genocide: The Holocaust in Hungary. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1981). Asaf, Uri. Christian support for Jews during the Holocaust in Hungary. In Braham, Randolph L. (Ed.) Studies on the Holocaust in Hungary, pp. 65-112. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990). Gutman, Yisrael (Ed.). Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, 4 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1990), pp. 924-926, 1090, 1444, Lévai, Jenö. Grey Book on the Rescuing of Hungarian Jews. Budapest: Officina, 1946, Lévai, Jenö. Black Book on the Martyrdom of Hungarian Jewry. (Central European Times Publishing, 1948).]

Prime Minister Miklos Kállay of Hungary

“The pro-United Kingdom and -United States government of Prime Minister Miklós Kállay contacted officials from these Allied powers in the neutral capitals of Stockholm, Bern, Lisbon and Istanbul on several occasions in 1943 regarding the conclusion of a separate peace that would withdraw Hungary from the Axis alliance. However, secret meetings between emissaries from Hungary and representatives from the Allied powers, primarily the United Kingdom, initially failed to produce an agreement.’’

“Over a nearly two-year period from 1942 to March 1944, Prime Minister Kállay and Regent Horthy had refused to comply with repeated requests from Hitler and other German officials to deport Jews from Hungary to concentration camps in the General Government and districts of Germany that had been part of Poland during the interwar period and prior to the partitions of the late 1700s.’’

“Jewish citizens of Hungary, although subjected to both official and unofficial discrimination, were physically secure from early 1941 to early 1944”.’’

[Braham, Randolph L. The Politics of Genocide: The Holocaust in Hungary. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1981), pp. 255, 260, 266-267, 270. Lévai, Jenö. Black Book on the Martyrdom of Hungarian Jewry. (Central European Times Publishing, 1948). Levin, Nora. The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry, 1933-1945. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1968), pp. 606-610. Braham, Randolph L. “The treatment of Hungarian Jews in German-occupied Europe.” Yad Vashem Studies, 12 (1977), 127, 142-143, 146.]

Baron Gábor Kemény, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary

Baron Gabor Kemény was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the anti-Semitic Arrow Cross government of Szálasi.  Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg convinced Kemény, whose wife was Jewish, to help Jews during the deportation and attacks on Jews.  Kemény interceded on behalf of Jews on several occasions.

Braham 1981 pp. 1409:

“[Frederick] Born and his associates kept track of the anti-Jewish measures of the Nyilas, including those officially initiated by the government and those that were illegally perpetrated, and appeared frequently before the leaders, especially Baron Gabor Kemeny, the Foreign Minister, to help alleviate the plight of the Jews. It was thanks to these interventions that on October 30 the government (1409) announced the recognition of the protective passes issued by the Vatican and the foreign legations as well as the granting of ex territorial status to all institutions and buildings protected by the IRC.’’ 28

Note

28. In recognition of his services on behalf of Hungarian Jewry, Friedrich Born was honored as a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, on June 5, 1987. 

Braham 1981 pp. 1424-1425:

“Acting in cooperation with Sections A and B of the IRC, the Department of Cooperation had devoted special attention to the protection of children and of children's institutions. Toward this end, Ujvary had been in touch with Baron Kemeny, the Nyilas Foreign Minister. His close associates, including Milan Kosztich and Jozsef Eszterhazy, had maintained contact with Zoltan Bagossy, Kemeny’ s deputy, who reportedly was also a leader of a Nyilas terror group. When the Nyilas authorities decided just before the beginning of the Soviet siege of Budapest to transfer the Jewish children into the ghetto, the Nuncio and the representatives of the neutral states forwarded their third and last collective protest memorandum to the Hungarian government. The memorandum, dated December 20, implored the government to (1425) " allow all children (together with their mothers when the children are not yet weaned) to remain outside the ghetto in the refuges organized by diplomatic missions or in the various Red Cross institutions." The appeal was only partially heeded; thousands of children, especially those in the buildings administered by Section A of the IRC, were taken into the ghetto.’’

[Friedman, Philip. Their Brothers’ Keepers: The Christian Heroes and Heroines Who Helped the Oppressed Escape the Nazi Terror. (New York: Holocaust Library, 1978), p. 169. Braham, Randolph L. The Politics of Genocide: The Holocaust in Hungary. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1981), pp. 786, 820-821, 833, 845-848, 867, 876, 880, 1063, 1074, 1160, 1166, Lévai, Jenö. Black Book on the Martyrdom of Hungarian Jewry. (Central European Times Publishing, 1948).]