In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

9 From Arrow Cross Rule to Soviet Occupation The failure of Horthy’s attempted armistice with the Soviets and the ensuing Szálasi putsch was a catastrophe for Hungary, prolonging the war for five agonizing months. Instead of an armistice the country was subjected to the ‘‘most destructive fighting ever to take place on Hungarian soil.’’1 On October 16 the Arrow Cross government began its efforts to establish Szálasi’s vision of the Hungarista state, while Arrow Cross hoodlums initiated a reign of terror against the Jewish inhabitants of Budapest. Yet the Szálasi administration governed only Budapest and western Hungary. The Soviets had already taken over much of the eastern half of the country , initiating the exodus of primarily middle-class officials, professionals, and property owners who tried to escape from the Bolshevik Red Terror. In the western half of the country the former opposition leaders began to organize a Hungarian resistance, but the resistance was in its infancy, its leaders naive and inexperienced, counting on support from the Red Army, although it is doubtful whether the Soviets ever had any intention of providing support. During the bitter siege of Budapest, which was to last from Christmas 1944 until February 12, 1945, the city was destroyed, as the whole country turned into a battlefield between German and Soviet forces. The Arrow Cross Putsch A few hours after the failed armistice on October 15 an announcement was made that Ferenc Szálasi had been appointed the new prime minister , entrusted with the temporary direction of state affairs. The announcement gave the appearance of legality to the change of government, although it was not until the next day that Horthy finally gave his assent to the appointment.2 The German and the Arrow Cross leadership had prepared for resistance, issuing numerous orders, including a curfew and a ban on assembly, but the measures were not needed; the population greeted the change passively. Shops and factories remained closed in Budapest on October 16 but trams and buses ran as usual, and on the morning of the October 17 factories had resumed production and shops were From Arrow Cross Rule to Soviet Occupation | 335 open. There were only a few absentees among the ministerial staff, amazing the Arrow Cross leadership who had expected resistance.3 Following a meeting of the Council of Regency on October 27, which discussed whether Horthy’s abdication was authentic, the ceremony for Szálasi’s swearing in was prepared. On November 3, Szalási took the oath as leader of the nation at the Royal Castle before the Holy Crown, swearing to uphold Hungary’s laws and ancient customs. He became simultaneously prime minister and head of state, essentially assuming the role of a dictator. Although Parliament was not dissolved, actual power was in the hands of the Arrow Cross. Only 55 members out of the 370 members of the lower house appeared when Parliament convened on November 2, but most public officials complied with the required oath to Szálasi as national leader, and Cardinal Serédi advised all Catholic school teachers to comply, probably to keep the schools intact.4 Many military officers, like the long-time officer, Jeno ⬙ Major, who was named commander of the Second Army on October 16, did not question taking the oath to Szálasi as new commander of the army. Major had always been loyal to legal authority and never got involved in daily politics.5 Szálasi, believing that Hungary’s only hope lay in full cooperation with the Germans, placed the country’s material resources completely at the disposal of German military interests. The amount to be paid to the Germans was raised from the monthly 200 million pengo ⬙ to 300 million. Szálasi hoped to raise fourteen new army divisions based on the idea of national service for all. The government ordered general mobilization, threatening the population with the coming Soviet atrocities, and issued a flood of orders calling up all different categories of the population, but the result was so chaotic that the orders had to be rescinded. There were no arms—not even uniforms—for the supposed new recruits. Szálasi planned to reorganize the country on the basis of his confused ideology of national unity. The Hungarista state, to be known as Hungarian United Ancient Lands, was to encompass the Danubian basin, including all the Magyar-populated territories, as well as areas inhabited by nonMagyar nationalities, Slovaks...

Share