After World War I, Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory. The country also lost a significant part of its economic potential and access to the sea. In such a situation, a country like air needed a strong leader of an authoritarian plan. Miklos Horthy became such a leader.
Years of childhood and youth
The future regent was born on June 18, 1868 in a large family of medium landowners. Parents were educated people and believed that their children should also receive a good education. Already at the age of 8, Miklos Horthy begins his studies at the Debrecen Reformation College. In 1878, parents transferred Miklos to a German gymnasium (Sopron). In 1882, having passed the selection of 12 people for a place at the competition, Horthy became a student of the Naval Academy in the current Croatian city of Rijeka. He graduated from this institution in 1886.
Miklos Horthy: growth biography
Our hero immediately after graduating from the academy began to show extraordinary abilities in maritime affairs. The generals of the Austro-Hungarian army noticed his talents. In 1894, the first steam-powered ship appeared in service with the army. It was Miklosh who was commissioned to experience this miracle of technology. Six years later, he already became the commander of a large warship. It is clear that with each promotion, he was assigned a new military rank.
Until 1918, Miklos Horthy (photo can be seen in the article) commands several ships. He took part in the battles of the First World War. In the last months of the existence of Austria-Hungary, when they tried to save the fleet from collapse, Karl Habsburg appointed Miklos Horthy as fleet commander.
Hungarian realities after the end of World War I
As a result of the adoption of the Versailles system of treaties, Hungary was among the affected states. In principle, the imperfection of these peace treaties was visible almost immediately, but their adoption guaranteed the end of hostilities. Based on Austria-Hungary, several nation 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 humiliated the Hungarians as a nation. With Hungary, they did practically the same as with Germany. The task of Miklos Horthy as regent was to restore the national greatness and influence of Hungary in Europe.
Khorty regime domestic policy
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. In addition to this, on November 1, 1921, the Hungarian government issued a decree depriving the Habsburg dynasty of its monarchical throne.
The post-war 1950-1980 historiography considers the stage of the reign of Miklos Horthy in Hungary as a fascist dictatorship. I would like to disagree with this, since:
- a bicameral parliament functioned in the state, which played an important role in decision-making at the highest level;
- a multi-party system was created;
- parties of all directions could take part in free and fair elections;
- The real work of the opposition parties in parliament was established as an element of democracy.
In economic terms, the state’s situation was very difficult. The dictator (as Soviet historians called him) was not very well versed in the economy, so there was no need to talk about any 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 to 1920, the situation, of course, has improved, but not by 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. The already small growth of the economy was suspended. Throughout the post-war decade, workers' wages in factories remained low.
Foreign policy regime
We have already said that Miklos Horthy is a dictator in the minds of Soviet post-war historians. The fact is that the basis of the regime’s foreign policy was the return of ethnic territory. Horthy saw the possibility of making changes to the Versailles system only through rapprochement with Germany as the party that suffered at the end of the war 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, an agreement on eternal friendship was signed with Italy. Between the states diplomatic relations were established. The rapprochement with Germany began after 1933. Adolf Hitler was also interested in this alliance, which required the maximum number of allies in Europe. Several meetings took place between the odious leaders, 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 is about Horthy's visits to Poland, Italy and Austria. In addition, active negotiations were underway to attract Yugoslavia to the allies.
Territorial acquisitions of the late 1930s
1938 and 1939 became the time of pre-war territorial redistribution. The acquisitions of Hungary were legalized by the so-called Vienna Arbitration. The territory of Southern Slovakia and the westernmost part of present-day Ukraine (Transcarpathia with the main city of Uzhgorod) were transferred to the Khorty state. The total population of the newly annexed territories amounted to 1 million people. As can be seen from these facts, Horthy did not fulfill his global task in 1938, and therefore continued cooperation with Hitler.