Miklos Horthy - the leader of Hungary in the interwar period

After the First World War, Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory. Also, the country lost much of its economic potential and access to the sea. In such a situation, the country as the air needed a strong leader of an authoritarian plan. Miklos Horthy became such a leader.

Years of childhood and adolescence

The future regent was born on June 18, 1868 in a large family of medium-sized landowners. Parents were educated people and believed that their children should also get a good education. Already at the age of 8 Miklós Horthy started his studies at the reform college of Debrecen. In 1878, parents transferred Miklos to a German grammar school (Sopron). In 1882, having passed the selection of 12 people at the competition, Horthy became a student of the Naval Academy in the current Croatian city of Rijeka. He graduated from this school in 1886.

Miklós Horthy: Biography of Growth

Our hero already immediately after the end of the academy began to show outstanding abilities in naval work. The generals of the Austro-Hungarian army noticed his talents. In 1894 the first ship with steam traction appeared on the armament of the army. To test this miracle of technology was entrusted to Miklos. Six years later he was already commander of a large warship. It is clear that with each promotion he was given a new military rank.

Until 1918 Miklós Horthy (photo can be seen in the article) commands several ships. Took part in the battles of the First World War. In the last months of the existence of Austria-Hungary, when the fleet tried to save from disintegration, Karl Habsburg appointed Miklós Horthy a fleet commander.

The Hungarian realities after the end of the First World War

As a result of the adoption of the Treaty of Versailles, Hungary was among the affected states. In principle, the imperfection of these peace treaties could be seen almost immediately, but their acceptance guaranteed the end of hostilities. On the basis of Austria-Hungary, several national states were created. As a result of the artificial division of territories, Hungary lost 30% of its ethnic lands. It is about 3.3 million people.

The Treaty of Versailles actually demeaned the Hungarians as a nation. With Hungary they did almost the same thing as with Germany. Miklós Horthy's task as regent was to restore Hungary's national greatness and influence in Europe.

Domestic policy of the Horthy regime

In the interwar period, Hungary had a unique management system. Formally, the state remained a monarchy. In reality, after the overthrow of the Habsburgs in 1919, there were no kings, since the Entente countries forced Charles IV to abdicate. On top of this, on November 1, 1921, the Hungarian government issued a decree to deprive the Habsburg dynasty of the monarchal throne.

Postwar 1950-1980 historiography regards the stage of the rule of Miklos Horthy in Hungary as a fascist dictatorship. I would like to disagree with this, because:

- a bicameral parliament functioned in the state, which played an important role in making decisions at the highest level;

- a multi-party system was created;

- parties in all directions could participate in free and fair elections;

- The real work of opposition parties in the parliament was established as an element of democracy.

Economically, the situation of the state turned out to be very difficult. The dictator (as it was called by Soviet historians) was not very well versed in the economy, so it is not worth talking about some serious reforms in this area. The absence of changes led to the fact that according to the situation in 1932 more than 800 thousand Hungarians remained unemployed. Compared with 1920, the situation, of course, improved, but not much.

The global economic crisis of 1929-1933 hit the Hungarian economy very hard. In 1930 there was a fall on the Budapest Stock Exchange. And without that, the small growth of the economy was suspended. All the post-war decade wages of workers in the factories remained low.

Foreign policy of the regime

We have already said that Miklos Horthy is a dictator in the view of Soviet postwar historians. The fact is that the basis of the regime's foreign policy was the return of the ethnic territory. The possibility of introducing changes to the Versailles system Horthy saw only by rapprochement with Germany as a victim at the end of the war side and another fascist country - Italy. At the same time, the Hungarian regent did not want to fall under the influence of any state, but sought to create an equal union.

In 1927, the Treaty of Eternal Friendship with Italy was signed. Diplomatic relations were established between the states. The rapprochement with Germany began after 1933. In this alliance, Adolf Hitler, who required the maximum number of allies in Europe, was also interested. Between the odious leaders, several meetings took place, during which the leaders understood each other's positions and came to a common denominator.

In the second half of the 1930s Miklos Horthy (a brief biography is presented above) makes several important international visits. It's about visiting Horthy in Poland, Italy and Austria. In addition, active negotiations were held to attract allies of Yugoslavia.

Territorial acquisitions of the late 1930s

1938 and 1939 were the time of pre-war territorial redistribution. The acquisitions of Hungary were legalized by the so-called Vienna Arbitration. The territory of South Slovakia and the westernmost part of present-day Ukraine (Transcarpathia with the main city of Uzhgorod) have moved to the state of Horthy. The total population of the newly annexed territories was 1 million people. As can be seen from these facts, Horthy did not fulfill his global mission in 1938, and therefore continued cooperation with Hitler.