Miklos Horthy

Admiral Horthy, 1941.

Miklos Horthy was the leader of Hungary from the 1920s through most of World War II. Politically he has been hard to describe but most call him conservative or reactionary, although he was somewhat authoritarian similar to the fascists.

He suppressed the Arrow Cross party, Hungary's fascist group that was pro-Hitler, but also joined Germany as an Axis power.

Horthy's early career was with the Austro-Hungarian navy, where he attained the rank of Admiral. He kept the title even though after World War I, Hungary became landlocked and no longer had a blue water navy.

Although he was rather antisemitic, Horthy resisted German attempts to murder Hungarian Jews, and many of them survived into 1944, when Horthy was deposed, and some made it through to the end of the war.

As the Soviets approached in 1944, Horthy attempted to negotiate a separate peace and switch sides. Hitler prevented this by having Horthy's son kidnapped and held hostage. Horthy was forced to resign, and the Arrow Cross took full control of Hungary, running it as a puppet state of Germany until it was overrun by the Red Army.