Ministry of the Interior, Sections in Transdanubia (Arrow Cross Ministry of the Interior), 1944-1945

Collection

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

Title:: Ministry of the Interior, Sections in Transdanubia (Arrow Cross Ministry of the Interior), 1944-1945

Title (official language):: Belügyminisztérium, Dunántúli részlegek, 1944-1945

Scope and content:: The records in this collection were created by departments of the Ministry of the Interior and other agencies and individuals associated with the Ferenc Szálasi government between 15 October 1944 and April 1945. The bulk of them are executive office documents and cover multiple diplomatic, military and administrative issues, including evacuation of state assets and all kind of movable property, army provisions, law enforcement, families and personnel issues, refugees and repatriation, internment, permits and passports as well as the “Jewish question”.

Archival history:: The records in this collection were held and eventually captured in the western Hungarian town of Szombathely. After 1945, they were taken to Budapest and handed over to the Hungarian National Archives, probably in the 1950s.

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.

Finding aids:: No finding aids exist. The collection requires item-level research.