Collection of Hungarian Political and Military Records, 1909-1945

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Országos Levéltára

Title (official language):: Politikai és katonai iratok gyűjteménye, 1909-1945

Scope and content:: The majority of the records in this collection were created by ministries, agencies of or individuals associated with the Ferenc Szálasi government between 15 October 1944, and April 1945. The bulk of them consist of plans or projects that could not be implemented; they pertain to a future state that would have been instituted by the Arrow Cross leadership after the final victory of the Axis forces. Other records pertain to actual diplomatic, military, and administrative problems, some of a routine nature, but others concerning personality conflicts, conflicts with the population as well as conflicts with the German allies. In addition, there are minutes of meetings of the Arrow-Cross Party leadership during the Horthy era, especially after 1941. Also included are speeches, essays, and other writings of Arrow Cross Party leader and “Leader of the Nation” Ferenc Szálasi. There are also some items that appear to have fallen into the hands of the Arrow-Cross. Among these are minutes of meetings between Hungarian, German, and Italian general staffs in the period immediately preceding the war, minutes pertaining to Prime Minister Miklós Kállay’s visit to Italy to see the Pope and Benito Mussolini in early April 1943, the war diary of the Hungarian Chief of the General Staff covering the period Apr to Oct 1944, and many others.

Archival history:: The records in this collection were captured by US Army troops in the territory of Nazi Germany after the armistice in May 1945. Many of the Arrow Cross political and military leaders were extradited to Hungary in 1945, where they were put on trial. However, the records were kept and eventually taken to the United States along with other captured Axis records. The records were microfilmed by the National Archives and Records Service between 1966 and 1972.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Arrow Cross Party (also known as the Hungarist Movement) was the most popular right-wing extremist movement during the Horthy regime from the late 1930s led by former military officer Ferenc Szálasi. After Horthy’s attempt to extricate from war on 15 October 1944, they assumed power with Nazi support. From 16 October 1944, until 28 March 1945, Szálasi was prime minister of Hungary as well as its plenipotentiary head of state, bearing the title “Leader of the Nation.” Following the war, he was sentenced to death and executed.

Access points: persons/families:: Kállay, Miklós; Mussolini, Benito, 1883-1945; Szálasi, Ferenc, 1897-1946

Finding aids:: A list and a brief description of the records are available in the published finding aid Guide to the Collection of Hungarian Political and Military Records, 1909-45. Washington DC: National Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1972. A detailed item-level description of the collection is also available in Hungarian.