Biography of Miklós Horthy
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- čas přidán 9. 05. 2024
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0:00 Introduction
1:48 Admiral Horthy
7:22 The Fellowship of the Counter-Revolution
27:37 The Return of the King
36:27 The Two Sides (WW2)
_________________________________________________________________
Duke tier Patreons
-Sahni
-DaneToast
-Brandon Weller
-Rare Rirorie
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#history #hungary #magyar #horthy
! Extra Information & Clarifications !
#projectdictator Playlist- czcams.com/play/PLTZaOylOgJT_SJK0TDVk9rc1tDuJ4Pj8N.html&jct=EcnFldDEvsTmHs3r3jC3nfOqVjERfg
2:12 One of his brothers died at the age of 2.
9:56 Szeged was at the time controlled by entente, primarily French, forces and so was out of reach of the Hungarian Communists. This is why the counterrevolutionary government set up there. It was also right on the border between the entente forces and the Hungarian ones and so the counterrevolutionary government could conduct expeditionary missions into Hungary from the safety behind the entente lines. The Szeged government was actually first formed in Banat but was thrown out of Banat to Szeged by invading Romanian troops.
19:12 I don't know who were the Budapest Jews exactly that meat with Horthy during this time so I went with Ignác Goldziher who was one of the most senior members of the Jewish community in Budapest at the time.
19:30 Horthy often compared the White Terror in Hungary to the Bloody Week in Paris, which was the violent suppression of the Paris Commune. czcams.com/video/DQP3IqZuqbI/video.html
He clearly believed that a violent suppression of the communists and Jews, which to him where synonymous at this point, was the only way to "cleanse the country". However, now that was done, Horthy stopped supporting the White Terror.
Sakmyster, Hungary's Admiral on Horseback, p.28.
20:21 Despite the pogrom not happening several hundred arrests of mostly communists and leftist journalists did happen but many of them were later released at the behest of the entente.
21:00 The entente made it clear by 21 of August 1919 that they will not support Habsburg rule in Hungary but there was still an overwhelming sentiment in Hungary that this could be reversed (even though it will later be found out that is not the case) as it will become clearer later. Therefore, I said there was still a chance at this point, at least in most Hungarian's eyes, that Karl could return.
21:51 This election actually had multiple problems. For one some areas of Hungary where still under foreign occupation but where allowed to vote while some others weren't. On top of that Trianon wasn't decided on yet so the exact borders of post-war Hungary weren't known. Meaning some areas which were thought to be in Hungary voted in this election even though after the Trianon they ended being in a different country.
23:30 Taking aside the fact that Horthy on occasions switched some Hungarian words in his sentences with German or English, he also lacked the knowledge of some specific academic Hungarian terms. In one instance he was told that as regent he did not have (fokegyurijog) the right to appoint bishops. To which he replied "What? I wont be able to grant pardons?".
24:39 The parliament did not make all these changes right on the spot but a paper was signed by the parliament and Horthy that stipulated the changes, which Horthy demanded, will be enacted later by parliament. In the end most these changes demanded by Horthy were enacted in the following decade.
26:33 Perhaps due to all these allegations (and wanting to still retain some radical right-wing support) or perhaps due to still holding some antisemtic views, Horthy, despite distancing himself from the right-wing extremists, still over saw the enacting of several antisemtic laws. Like the expropriation of some Jewish land by the state, quotas for the number of jewish students in universities, regulating jewish businesses in state regulated industries like the retail of alcohol, tobacco, cinemas, etc. Although these laws weren’t actually that unusual when compared to other countries in the early 20th century like USA, Canada, Germany, etc. And there're even some historians who argue that post war Hungary looked to the USA for inspiration for laws "controlling ethnicities".
28:27 It was more complicated than just a simple 50:50 split in the parliament but for simplicity sake, and the way it played out, it's easier to explain the situation as a 50:50 split.
37:09 When Horthy meat Hitler in August of 1938. After their meeting Horthy meat with some German political dissidents who were plotting to overthrow Hitler. This just goes to show how very much on the edge was Horthy about Hitler and his intentions.
39:46 When Horthy entered Kosice, a city with a historical Hungarian majority, he gave a speech in which, in Slovak, he stated that he will protect the rights of Slovaks in Hungary to use their own language. Horthy had this idea that most Slovaks wanted to be part of Hungary rather than Czechoslovakia for in Hungary, due to the strong differences between the two languages, Slovak would remain an independent language while in Czechoslovakia Slovak would eventually assimilate into the Czech language. Link to the recording of him. twitter.com/MnLaser/status/1517202768976621572?s=20&t=nokkqcp6TPcuC9VSsc6jBA
43:36 Of course, this wasn't an overnight change and Hungary didn't just "suddenly" go to war alongside Germany. Hungary had been steering closer and closer to Nazi Germany for the past 2 years. They signed the Tripartite Pact in November of 1940 and allowed German troops to cross it to secure oil fields in Romania. All of these events where small metaphorical wars in Hungary between the "sympathizers" and "neutralists" with push and pull on both sides and compromises being made. However, as stated in the video, sympathizers were gaining more and more power and so Hungary was slowly getting closer to Nazi Germany culminating in the War in Yugoslavia.
43:48 Horthy was, however, persuaded to scale back the Hungarian involvement in the war. He only signed off on Hungarian military involvement in areas of Yugoslavia with Hungarian majority and only after Croatia declared independents. Due to this scaled back involvement Hitler had an easy time denying Hungary all the lands it was promised including the port. It is extremely questionable whether Hitler would actually negotiate on behalf of Hungary for a port on the Adriatic even if it did participate in the war fully.
45:58 Before the declaration of war, USSR even tried to send out friendly messages to Hungary in order to prevent it from declaring war against them. These, however, never reached Horthy as the Hungarian fascists intercepted them. Horthy would later say that he was tricked by the fascist politicians in declaring war on the USSR.
46:51 When Hungary’s former Regent, Miklós Horthy, was queried by an American officer about why he did not break with the Germans before he sacrificed twelve to thirteen divisions on the Russian front, Horthy replied in German: “Was konnte ich machen?” (What could I do?).
47:31 There was the famous joke about Horthy in the west originating from a BBC radio broadcast.
"Hull (US secretary of state): I am sorry to announce, Mr. President, that Hungary has declared was on us.
Roosevelt: Hungary? What kind of country is it?
Hull: It is a kingdom.
Roosevelt: Who is the king?
Hull: They have no king.
Roosevelt: A kingdom without a king! Who is the head of state?
Hull: Admiral Horthy.
Roosevelt: Admiral!? Now, after Pearl Harbor, we have another navy on our neck!
Hull: No, Mr. President. Hungary has no navy, not even a seacoast.
Roosevelt: Strange. What do they want from us? Territorial claims, perhaps?
Hull: No, sire. They want territory from Romania and Slovakia.
Roosevelt: Did they declare war also on Romania and Slovakia?
Hull: No. Mr. President. Romania and Slovakia are their allies.
47:43 Before the American embassy left Hungary Horthy even told the American ambassador that "don't be fooled, this declaration of war was not allowed by me nor approved by the parliament". Even though the declaration of war was not approved by the parliament nor the regent it did not matter much as Hungary was part of the Axis and at war with the allies, which USA now joined, meaning USA declared war on Hungary despite the Hungarian declaration of war to the US technically being invalid.
49:05 The deportation of Jews without Hungarian citizenship was done before Horthy knew about the Death Camps. When Horthy, and the rest of the Hungarian politicians, found out about them they started to resist any Jewish deportations to Germany.
One has to also understand the grey area in all of this. Meaning that what the politicians and Horthy felt like and try to enact wasn't always followed by the army and or regional officers. For example, Jewish applications for asylum or even citizenship, when their area got annexed by Hungary, were often processed extremely slowly by administrators so that they can be deported by Hungary for not being Hungarian even though legally they should be counted as Hungarian. This was illegal by law which was enacted by the politicians but as shown, not always followed by the antisemetic officers and administrators in the countryside.
As stated in the video "most" but not all. As said some Jews were deported, some were killed in border areas, and some were pressed into service to act as military laborers on the eastern front. All together these events effected around 60,000 Jews in Hungary but out of an almost 900,000 Jewish population of Hungary this was a minority hence my statement of "most" Jews being protected. None of this, of course, applies after 1944 when Horthy and the rest of the anti-German Hungarian government lost control over the country.
What about a biography of Ion Antonescu next? He was the Miklós Horthy of Romania during World War II. Served in the army ever since the 2nd Balkan War in 1913, allied with the Iron Guard but wasn't part in the Iron Guard. Witenessed as Romania lost 1/3rd of its territory to USSR, Hungary and Bulgaria. Then deposed the King and joined the Axis to try and take back some of the lost territory. He tried to make peace with the Allies after Stalingrad but without losing Bessarabia & North Bukovina, which frankly was impossible, King Michael I knew that Bessarabia & North Bukovina were lost but he could at least save North Transylvania, so he made the coup.
Some quotes:
"I would rather die in a swamp in Greater Romania than in a paradise in a small Romania." - Ion Antonescu
"People don't matter, only what they represent." - Ion Antonescu
"Revolutions aren't acts of violence, but ideas on the march! All real national revolutions were made through building walls, not through demolishing them!" - Ion Antonescu
"Soldiers, I order you! Cross the Pruth river! Liberate our brothers from the red yoke of communism! Reunite the old glory of Bessarabia and noble forests of Bukovina with the motherland!" - Ion Antonescu, 1941"
"I can't form a healthy army from a sick state, first I need to heal the state." - Ion Antonescu
"History will not forget the guilty, and all of us were guilty, some because we stood and watched, some because we were quiet, some because we made mistakes, all because we allowed it." - Ion Antonescu, after the territorial losses in 1940
"Be humane, be upright and recognize that, above all ambitions, intrigues and hates, is the motherland, and that we must always meet there, even if we do not always get along." - Ion Antonescu
"Just as you fight for England, I fight for my country, but out sufferings, battles and threats, you cannot immagine. We were attacked, although we didn't attack anyone, what was ours was taken." - Ion Antonescu to General Maitland Wilson
"If I had won the war, you would have built me statues in every city, but because I lost I will have to die. I ask to be sentenced to death and refuse any pardon." - Ion Antonescu, on his trial
"We Romanians, are looking for great and non-executable solutions. That's why we stand still. Simple, achievable solutions are the best. I applied them in my wars and got results." - Ion Antonescu
And some King Michael I quotes:
"Antonescu and the others considered me a child. When I took the state from under their noses they were so shocked they didn't know what to do." - King Michael I of Romania
"Antonescu's biggest mistake was going to Stalingrad. This couldn't be accepted in Romania. What were we doing out there? Everyone agreed to retake Bessarabia, but no centerpiece from the Dniester." - King Michael I of Romania
"After August 23, the Russian offensive stopped. I suppose they wanted the same result as in Warsaw, where they stopped the offensive, letting the Germans destroy the Poles, then resumed the offensive." - King Michael I of Romania
"If a radical change is made, things will go much faster. But it is important for the simple man to understand, to feel that something is done for him. And this starts from simple things like his home, his land." - King Michael I of Romania
"During the period from 1944 to 1947 I was very unhappy. I can't say I was very hurt, but I was upset and disappointed, because I really hoped that the US and the UK would do something to stop the Russians." - King Michael I of Romania
And there's also a recording of Hitler in Finland where he says that we wouldn't have given away territory of Romania if Romania was on their side by that point (talking about 1940).
And a curiosity of mine: Why didn't Romania just refuse the Second Vienna Award? I mean, Hitler needed oil from Romania, so going to war with Romania would have been really bad for him. If war between Romania and Hungary would have started, he may have more incentive to help Romania for purely pragmatic reasons. Didn't Romania consider this? The Romanians could easily burn their oil fields in Poliesti before the Germans or Hungarian-supporter Germans come to them.
And why did Romania gave up South Dobruja after that? It seemed like it had no backbone despite having a card to play: The oil fields at Ploiesti that Germany really needed. It was like "you need us as much as we need you", but no, Romania just cave in and accepted every German demand.
also bulgaria didnt have southern dobruja until after the 2nd vienna award
Kkjjjj
@@catalinmarius3985 well, Romania just couldn't refuse, Romania first lost Bessarabia, And seeing that Romania was weak and with German backing (which Romania wanted to be an ally of Germany) Hungary demanded Transylvania.
They also couldn't refuse to Bulgarian demands as the Bulgarians also had German backing
In summary: Romania was either occupied by the axis or had to give concession to the agessors.
- Some country called Hungary declared war on us...
- Who is their president?
- Oh, it is a kingdom.
- Who is their king then?
- They have no king.
- Then who is in charge of the country?
- Admiral Horthy Miklós
- Oh, great, so we have to expect another naval attack?
- Actually, they don't have a navy. It is a landlocked country
Actually he had a navy, but river flottila. What the entente left us, after 1920. Austria-Hungary had the world's second strongest riverine navy.. cant recall whose was the first, I guess the US, or perhaps Imperial Russia?
@@alnotz Hungary still has a river navy, sure. But it is mostly used to assist with the removal of bombs found in the danube, and other waters. But they dont have an admiral for the 5-6 ship in the brown water navy
@@k.ferenc2107 I served there... LOL. Well, the river forces were at least 2000 strong that time, even after Trianon, or in the socialist era, that, by army standard is a brigade sized unit, that requires a brigadier general - equivalent of a rear admiral. Pre 1945, the commander position was called Főkapitány (Captain Chief, Master Captain, whatever we can translate that)
@@alnotz I am talking about current numbers
- Do they have any territorial claims against us?
- No.
- Who do they have claims against?
- Slovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, etc
- Are they at war with these nations?
- No, they are allies with those countries.
- Bruh
Entente: “we stand for self determination!”
Hungary: “can we have our king back?”
Entente: “no.”
westerners never change
Funny thing is, Karl would have most likely kept Hungary neutral as he was a staunch pacifist. Also Hitler hated the Habsburgs.
@@boomerix even if he was a pacifist the Entente and the neighbouring countries would still attack Hungary
The people who want the king don't support popular vote, so that makes sense
The Hungarian people don't care about the king, only old aristocrats care at the time and even they don't like him at all.
First time I've even seen someone go over this mans life which is a real shame given how interesting it is. The only thing I wish you mentioned in that in 1993 Horthy's grandchildren returned his body to his home town in Kenderes because Horthy had wished for his body to be returned after "the last Russian soldier has left."
On one of his large wreaths on the tomb, said the ribbon " From the grateful jews"
Only Jesus Christ blood can cleanse us of are sins come to Jesus Christ today
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Come to Jesus Christ today
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Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void.
The Holy Spirit can lead you guide and confort you through it all
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
@@alnotz grateful for what? Lmao dudes troops were so brutal in their treatment of jews it gave whermacht soldiers some trauma
@@augustuslunasol10thapostle: You do realize that Hungary was one of the only countries to actually postpone shipments and argue that they shouldn't be sent outside of the country, right? These actions saved thousands, but obviously we shouldn't have even tried if this is how kids will talk about Hungarians selfless sacrifices to save others.
@@augustuslunasol10thapostle That was the Arrow-Cross.
This was a truly great video, explaining with nuance a complicated topic.
One thing that I could add is that Horthy's regime kept official rekations with the Polish Government in Exile until November 1940 (and unofficial ones until the very end) and many Polish refugees, including some Polish Jews, managed to escape German occupation through Hungary.
Poland also had a courier route to Hungary. After Horthy was overthrown these Hungarians who worked with Polish couriers were tortured to give up informat about polish resistance but they refused.
@@TheBard1999 Yeah, and in the same situation Henryk Sławik - a Polish diplomat and social worker, who was helping Polish and Hungarian Jews, refused to give up the Hungarians that worked with him (while they managed to hide his daughter).
Also, Hungarian troops that found themselves in occupied Poland had secret contacts with the Home Army, most notably during the Warsaw Uprising. It's a topic for a whole video really.
And the passive help during the Warsaw uprising, anyone could pas through the hungarian lines. Can't remember whether the germans took revenge on us later, if not by using Budapest fortress as a living shield against the soviets
Some Hungarians defected to the Polish resistance. The Hungarian troops would play polish songs, because it was forbidden for poles to do so, but the Germans couldn't do much about it when their "allies" were doing it. Hungarians were also "arresting" Polish resistance fighters and would release them at night "Whoops, looks like they escaped again". The Hungarian troops even asked for permission to Join the polish side during the Warsaw uprising, but that was obviously declined (sad though, we were losing anyway, officially attacking the Germans in Warsaw would have been the most honourable way to end that god forsaken alliance). It is very unfortunate that we ended up on opposing sides, but at least there's some good. Thousands of people survived German occupation thanks for Hungarians backstabbing the Germans, helping the Polish at every opportunity.
There was even an incident in which Hungarians arrested Ukrainian soldiers who were looting and desecrating Polish homes/graves. (They proudly showed looted rings with the owners finger still attached to the Hungarian troops, calling the Hungarians stupid for not looting themselves).
The Germans demanded that the Ukrainians be released, to which the Hungarian commanding officer replied "No, they are our pow's, you can have them back after the war".
Later the same day a "stray artillery shell" hit his HQ, killing him and his fellow officers.
@@boomerix whilst there were undoubtedly massive pieces of shit in the hungarian army (as there are in any group of people) it warms my heart to see that people still have compassion. I imagine a similar thing happening if we swedes were forced/tricked into attacking one of our own brotherly people. The generals can bark all they want, but the soldiers on the ground say 'fuck the war, we're brothers through thick and thin!'. If only we could have a similar thing happening in all of the world: soldiers turning around and pointing the guns on the generals saying "no, fuck off. We refuse to fight against innocent people".
Man this story feels like a tragedy for an old 19 century noble which became a regent and an admiral for a kingdom with no king or navy.
I smell a Netflix Series - maybe call it "The man who would be king" starring Sean Bean.
@@CrystalblueMage This proves that there is no national filmmaking in Hungary. On all the political shyte, trash propaganda they spent literally billions. Proof that Hungary is still owned by bolsheviks. renamed to global liberals.
Suffering from the success
He deserves to be forgotten tbh.
Wow. Haven’t really seen to much focus from many people on Horthy. Interesting to see this video 😄👍
Well, someone needed to make a video on him considering how much misinformation there is out there about him. Specifically in Central Europe.
@@MLaserHistory Indeed 😬
@@MLaserHistory thank you for your hard, and perhaps thankless work. It's a tribute to your intention to be factual despite your biases, that you've given us a true picture of a flawed, yet still basically good and honest man.
My great grandfather served on the SMS Novara under Horthy during the battle of Otranto Straight.
We still have his certificate when he received the Medal of Bravery for this battle, as well a some pictures of the Novara.
A great overview of a complicated man. Horthy seems to have been a pragmatist for the most part due to Hungary's geopolitical weakness. But the conditions of the time made it very hard to accurately predict what the future would bring. The Germans defeated France and controlled most of Europe, they reached all the way to Stalingrad. How could anyone know what the future would bring?
He made mistakes in my opinion, but hindsight is 20/20.
I such cases, most people do not understand - when stigmatizing, demonizing historical figures - that they could not know what we know now. They could anticipate, but could not see the future. Pointless to nazify a person who died in 1936 - for example - he could not have a clear view on other powers and even on upcoming 2nd great war
It is also a piece of history and the complicated machinations of an area we thought belonged to the distant past.
Well done.
He did do something that is objectively good.
As long as he remained in power, he protected Hungarian Jews from the deprivations of the Nazis.
The Holocaust didn’t come to Hungary until 1944 when Horthy was overthrown.
And thanks to this delay, the Jewish community in Budapest was saved.
26:30 "They basically became the CZcams comments." That's a good one.
Other than me turning into a giggling 12 year old every time something happens in "segged", this is a highly informative and unbiased video on the guy. Well done man, you make me want to check out this patreon thing I keep hearing about.
I did a research paper on Horthy in college after being recommended to do one by my professor. I was amazed how little there was on him (at least in English). I was really glad he told me to learn more about him cause I don't know if I would've known much of anything about him otherwise.
Yes for me he was always a charicature as so little was written about him in English and other European languages .
This video has given this man his life back and for us to understand and judge.
I have never seen this level of nuance when it comes to discussing the life of Horthy, just amazed by your work, love these long form videos
Same, cant even find a Hungarian video detailing Horthy with this accuracy
One criticism I have is you did not mention horthy's relationship with the entente during his time with the szegard government and before becoming regent, he was in frequent communication with particularly the french and Americans and worked with them to get approval and support for the national army and became basically the main go between with the entente and szegard government and this was also a reason he was supported to become regent because many in parliament hoped his friendly relationships with the entente could revise the treaty of trianon, this was also an important factor in his not supporting Karl's restoration because he knew the entente absolutely would not accept a habsburg and was why he didn't believe Karl when he said he had french support, also a more minor note when you talk about the act of dethronement by parliament you make it seem like the legitimists had lost power and horthy supporters took advantage to dethrone the habsburgs when in fact the law was only reluctantly passed under severe pressure from the entente which can be seen in the publishing of the law stating explicitly that it was done against their will
Yes. I mean all these things are even more extra information that would make the video even longer. As always there's more nuance to the events I described but I had to gloss over things, not mention other things, and simplify things like the dethroning. It's easier/faster to say they got dethroned in one sentence rather than explain the whole more nuanced situation. I simply had to cut things out, I can't talk about everything. I did in the pinned comment say it wasn't a simple 50/50 split in the parliament and it was more complicated but there was just no time to get into it.
@@MLaserHistory This was a very impressive analysis and while it is obviously difficult to adequately lay out the highly nuanced and complex situation, I think you did a great job. Would like your opinion.... if the entente had reconsidered their dismantling of Hungarian lands to the degree that they did (70% was far too much), do you think central Europe (Hungary in particular) would have been stable enough to have remained out of WW2? I feel that it was that deep cut of what was legitimately Hungarian lands that destabilized Hungary and central Europe for the rest of the century and even today.
Szeged government, pronounce Seged
@@Fatima_Garabandal2251Sure!
I am impressed by how intelligent the Hungarian politicians were, like the whole conflict for the restauration, for neutrality, it seems like Hungary was well aware of it’s own situation and made the right choices as long as they could, not restoring the king and trying to stay out of the war for as long as possible despite retaking back lost lands
Read about Grof Apponyi Albert (Count). And his speech on Trianon treaty. The old man said, you have signed the death sentence of Hungary, but we will be standing at the grave of all the empires who had signed this treaty. {.. France, Britain and USA}
@@matuskriska8361 ,,Hungary lasted for a thousand years and it may stand for many more!"
@@matuskriska8361 dream on pajama boy
@@matuskriska8361 keep dreaming. Hungary stood in central Europe for more than 1000 years we ain't going anywhere.
@@alnotz I want to dance on grave of Hungary too
As a Hungarian, thank you so much! It was very well done and educational!
Learning my country's history from an other perspective, changes it so much. My people changed so little since we lost in 1849. The same tolerance and willful ignorance of hate, the want for independence, without standing up to strongmen, and the way they just can't be allied to anyone, instead trying to be some sort of middle ground that ratchets towards the right. Horthy is a quintessential hungarian.
This video helps this westerner understand the present.
I am really grateful for your work sir. As a hungarian who has a special interest in the Horthy regime, I have my deepest graditude to you because your video was on point, and of course there is so much other things to talk about (for example the "ganderarme coup" which was stopped by a loyal officer, Ferenc Koszorús and his armored brigades to the order of Horthy, saving around 200.000 jewish people) but you managed to speak about everything important. Must have been a lot of work!
I kinda feel bad for the man, i think he truly tried to make the best for his country, only if he remained neutral... only for him i love to play as hungary on HoI4, seeing him at power, restoring the habsburg and then having him as an admiral is amazing
He was an idiot
Imagine if there was a mod that lets you turn democratic but keep horthy. Then build up an economy and turn Hungary into a watch tower, then have the challenge to protect every country which gets attacked by the axis. (Yes also china)
He could have avoided responsibility by resigning, but as said, he was a commander not a politician. Stayed till the end to do what can be done. So most of the badmouthing he receives from left to far right at the same time.
@@TankswillRule We actually there was a lot of parties and harsh elections... he was chosen, and all the parlament elected. Horthy had so much power the elite gave him to achieve their goals. More like a constitutional monarchy than an autocracy. A lot more democratic than Italy and even Italy was nowhere near to Germany
@@alnotz yeah but i meant a Hoi4 Mod
“Whatever the future may bring, I beg and pray all Magyars worthy of that name, whether living in silence under foreign overlords or in exile far from their homes,
if it refuses to heed those political agitators who preach class hatred and kindle the passions of the multitude, then, one day, Hungary will regain her freedom. To her defence and protection I dedicated my life.”
― Miklós Horthy,
Really ironic, considering how he spent the last dozen years of his life
Tad perplexing to me that dude hears about his brother dying in a training exercise and thinks 'Now I know what I want to do'
Thank you for this incredible documentary. Especially the difficult position post-WW1 Hungary and the neutralists found themselves in. Though brief, your portrayal of Teleki's near impossible position was spot-on.
Teleki's moral integrity in that situation is quite impressive.
I think so as well.@@hedgehog3180
I was previously given a semi-linear view of Horthy but this has given me greater perspective on his worldview especially on his regency.
As the descendant of White Russian émigrés, I can sympathize with Horthy. I can imagine the Red Terror was deeply traumatic, as was the Russian Revolution has been for generations of my family. I can understand very well why he acted the way he did, even if I can't excuse it. He, like a lot of White Russians, was a 19th-century guy in a 20th-century world.
My family survived the Russian revolution .Some of my family died . we keep it hidden
Yes very indeed, even though i am descendants of white monarch Melayunesian in Indonesia, i fear these red commies revolution by anytime gonna provoke like in russia after ww1, some of my brother melayu crown getting excecuted so brutal during allowed communist party by republic federal government 1945-1965
I think Horthy’s Grandson is married to an Indonesian
Descendant of losers
@ SomeSmallFish
So were 99.99% of the people at Versailles.
Wilson was anti-monarch. But he too had
a mindset of the 19th century (actually
pre-American Civil War 1861-1865) He
thought the emancipation of Blacks
was a catastrophe for the old order of
the South) At the time of his election
many Blacks were employed as civil
servants in Washington, D.C. He
segregated the federal civil service.
I feel like a criminal watching such quality content for free
Romania: exists
Horthy: Now this is an avenger's level threat
-What are you Hungary?
Hungary - A Kingdom
-Who is your king?
Hungary -We don't have one,we have a regent.
-Who is the regent?
Hungary -An admiral.
-How big is his navy?
Hungary -He doesn't have one.
-So you are a Kingdom without a king led by an admiral without a navy.
Hungary - Yes...
Like the fact that you named the video sections according to the Lord of the Rings
you're actually the first person to comment about it :D
Well I was partially right with ''An admiral without a navy'', it's even in the thumbnail 😂
I mean it's the famous joke about him everyone knows so I had to use it in the thumbnail :D
Even as a Czech person, I am deeply saddened by Miklós Horthys life. He was a very good man, deserving of being remembered.
It's surprising to hear such from a Czech, but see we people are no the elite of our countries. Or of those greater powers. Had they not meddled in our region, all of us small nations could live in peace. Perhaps you understand why we look at Benes and Masarik like the jews look on Hitler.. At the same time, at least we got rid of the Habsburgs, we got 400 years of them, but the Czech got a lot more, can't even recall how much huh. Still can't comprehend how some Hungarian can have monarchist nostalgia, when they wanted us to be Ausradiert (and not Hitler said that, fyi, the guy who was shot in Sarajevo)
@@alnotz We Czechs also got "just" 400 years of Habsburgs - King Louis Jagiellon who died tragically at Mohács was also King of Bohemia, and then our Estates elected his brother-in-law Ferdinand of Habsburg. However we usually talk about "300 let poroby" (literally "300 years of subjugation"), beginning with the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620 because until then Habsburg power was constitutionally limited and there was religious freedom
@@alnotz
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
(Not an enlightened guy)
He opposed the idea of the dual kingdom. But his uncle was behind the union so FJ
could not do anything about it. Favoring Hungary was not good for the empire as
a whole. But I don't think anything could have saved the Hapsburgs or the Austrian
Empire with/without Hungary.
My great-grandfather was a Hungarian Jew. His death is made worse by the fact that people like you couldn’t have died instead.
No hope in going to the past come to the loving savior today
Seek his Holy Spirit in prayer today he can give you peace confort and guidance today
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
This man needs a movie made about him.
writes someone who watched a 60 minute movie about the man.
Seriously, a movie usually has a good guy and/or a love story. The most Horthy allows is a documentary. And there are a few already.
One of Miklos Horthy's grandson, Istvan Horthy Jr., later converted to Islam, changed his name to Sharif Istvan Horthy, married Indonesian women, and follow spiritual organization Subud.
That is the weirdest fun fact ever
How many Indonesian women? ;)
Why lol?
That makes his father's story doubly sad
@@miketackabery7521 A regent without a king, an admiral without a navy, and his child without honor.
I finished watching this, and it is one of the best detailed historical videos i've ever seen on youtube. Good job!
Pretty good video man. For a time I was interested in the Soviet Republic Era (all of its 133 days). It was pretty eventful, with more than 500 political posters and tens of thousands of writings and accounts. It influenced Horthy's later politics much, the anti-communism, the White Terror, the numerus clausus (which targeted the "ideological opposition" in its text, with it and practically, many Jews also).
Even today, many nationalist Hungarians label their political enemies as "political children of Kun". A proverb in pro-Fidesz political circles is used even now: "These (left-wing opposition) are the same (as the older communists, of course not just the 1919 ones but the 1949 - 1989 ones)." Also, many reflections and comparisons between some groups and the 1919 communist "terrorists" are still made today.
It wasn't rare but it mostly became frequent and had a rennaisance after a famous communist and opposition historian tried to defend Tibor Szamuely's (the guy who organized the class terrorism, as he called it) actions and the Red Terror in the middle 2010s. This resulted in the state media mocking him and the debate about Horthy, 1919 and the Era being revived.
I can't even imagine being a nationalist for a country like Hungary 🤣 must be depressing as hell
I would highly recommend reading his autobiography he wrote after the war! The only axis leader that wrote one.
I think you are forgetting a very important book by a certain Austrian art student...
@@rmansfield6 XD I meant after the war lol
@@chaseflavel6433 did hirohito or phibunsonkram not write one?
Haven't even started yet but I know this is gonna be good. Thanks for all the effort you put into your videos!
I'm so glad I found this channel. I watched the video on the Paris Commune and now this and plan to come back for more. Thank you for your wonderful work.
Yet again, another masterpiece, thank you for your time and effort you’ve put into researching Horthy’s biography.
The production quality is the best ive seen in history videos, wish you the best!
Wow! Very well done, you are the most underrated history channel on youtube. P.S your voice is really soothing
This is perhaps the best documentary in existence on Horthy, thanks for the wonderful video M. Laser!
If anything I can sympathize with Horthy when it came to his inner turmoil in serving his King and nation. As a staunch monarchist I would never want to find myself in the position he was in at the time.
If it were me I would’ve made the same decision and not return the throne, but it would certainly break my heart.
I can agree, Having to pick between one's Nation or ones Monarch feels like an impossible question but at the end of the day, the monarch to me is the symbol of the nation and all it stands for, not the nation it's self. That being said, having to sit next to the king you want to enthrone as he asks for the very same throne and having to deny him it for THREE HOURS seems like an obsured form of torture and i can 100% understand his feelings.
@@williamarnold3607 In that case, the widely hated austrian monarch was not part of the hungarian nation. Horthy was the adjutant to Franz-Joseph... personal bodiguard or so? It was his personal oath, not related to the nation.
Even though, dualism and reconciliation, 400 years of war and oppression cannot be undone. Especially the words of Franz -Ferdinand.
@@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor based
Consider picking a less stupid political ideology that doesn't put you in these silly dillemmas.
Indeed long, yet beautifully researched and generously written. Thank you, M. Laser. The history CZcams community is in debt to you.
"Who will defend the jew?" got me into tears
Got a good chuckle out of the slanted CZcams icon on a certain red black and white flag. This was a fascinating video, keep up the amazing work
Fantastic video mate, great coverage and detail!
very insightful video. thank you very much for the time and work you put into it!
This was a great video. I watched it a few months ago and wanted to drop in and leave a comment because history documentaries of this video quality need to be supported.
Congratulations, you somehow made me feel sympathetic for a dictator who wanted to expand his country at the expense of mine. He really should have listened to his pro allied instincts, he wouldn't allow the Communists to rule Hungary (if he somehow avoided the war) and lead to probably the worst outcome from his perspective.
How to avoid the war when Hitler demands you to join the Axis and let his troops go trough you?
@Safwaan It would be disastrous if you would be our leader. Hitler demanded Hungary to join Axis. Yugoslavia denied and was invaded. And if Hitler would forgot to invade Hungary, in the Tehran Conference Hungary was clearly in the Soviet sphere of influence and would be invaded by the Soviet Union if it doesn't become it's satellite by it's own will. Here you can't just be friendly with the West and avoid Soviet invasion because at the Tehran Conference they agreed with Stalin that Hungary will be communist.
@Safwaan Its not like Sweden was actually farther away from germany than hungary, making their stance possible..
@@thorthewolf8801 tbf, the Germans conquered Norway in 1940, so the Swedes also had the Germans right at their doorstep. Although Sweden's neutrality and its relation with both the Axis and the Western Allies was a bit complicated, to say the least.
@Safwaan Sweden is not in the centre of Europe... and was never a target to boshevism, or road to bolsheviks to read Berlin (1918,19 etc)
Awsesome video, thank you for making it!
Nice video. Any chance of getting something like this on Tiso or Tuka in the future? Personally, I find them quite intriguing, and not many people know about them, and yet, the basically run Slovakia in WW2.
Maybe, but I am not going to guarantee anything. I mainly did Horthy because his life was really interesting and there's a lot of stuff he did. Tiso and Tuka in comparison are really boring.
@@MLaserHistory Fair enough. I find the period fairly interesting, then again, maybe it's because I came to study to Slovakia in 2019, and before that all I knew about WW2 Slovakia was "They (or We) were the first allies of Hitler and their leader was called Tiso". Tuka, to me looks like a cartoon villain for some reason (not sure why), just look at the guys picture in 14 of March 1939 edition of Slovak (name) newspaper. Also, just out of curiosity, where in Slovakia (which uni) did you study? And during what years (if you are comfortable with saying that, I just genuinely wander, whether we shared/share any profesors in common).
@Baky I never went to uni in Slovakia. I left to go to uni in the states and later UK. Although I did once go to a lecture on the Avar Siege of Constantinople by Martin Hurbanič in Komenskeho.
@@MLaserHistory Fair enough. Just about everybody would probably go if they had the opportunity. As for Hurbanič, yep, he though me (and likely will in the future as well, as I am in 3rd year).
@@MLaserHistory given that there is a possibility of a video on Tiso and Tuka being made in the future, is there any chance a video on Boris III could ever come to fruition?
"They basically became the CZcams comments."
Well played, sir.
Amazing video, keep the work going!
Wow, just wow, that was a REALLY interesting video, truly poetic
So no one is talking about how the video chapters are called "The Fellowship of the Counter-Revolution", "The Return of the King" and "The Two Sides"? Lmao
I think there was one commenter that picked up on it but after a year you are only the second person to notice and mention it.
@@MLaserHistory Lmao, thanks for the reply, nice video btw
It's always exciting to find someone talking about Miklos Horthy, especially such an excellently researched one like this! There's just so little available information about him that's easily available in English (particularly since the best book on him, by Thomas Sakmyster, is or at least was out of print in English & very hard to find), so thank you for making an easily accessible & digestible video like this. That lack is part of why I published my own master's thesis on Horthy (Crosscurrents: Navigating The Turbulent Politics Of The Right During The Horthy Era In Hungary, 1920-1944) so I could at least provide a basic primer for those interested in the topic.
Also, for anyone not aware, there is a small Horthy Museum that you can visit in Kenderes. Most of what's there is only in Hungarian (at least it was when I was there a few years ago), but they know enough English to at least provide an English printout guide to the town, and of course to sell souvenirs, including a short English book about his son Istvan that I couldn't find anywhere else. Their old website no longer works, but they have a Facebook page that appears active for anyone interested in learning more.
Great work, as always.
Thanks man you're really putting light on a dead angle of collective knowledge.great works. Greetings from France
Outstanding video. Well done!
Very good video. You should continue making these kind of videos!
Thank you for making this video. I have always been fascinated by Horthy and what he represented for the interwar period and how much these leaders in Hungary and surrounding countries were suddenly forced to fend for themselves. In my opinion, he was a great man, stuck with an impossible mission, that tried to minimize the suffering of his own people, and stayed loyal to his ideals until the very end.
Great video about very interesting man
Can't wait for more
was reading his memoir and he wrote this about Hungarian agriculture: "I am familiar with Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Italian rice, but I find Hungarian rice has more flavour."
Loved the vid man!
extremly good content, video has the perfect lenght! i watched it entirely
It is stories like this that I love and enjoy history. Excellent work!
Excellent video. A treat to watch.
Congrats for this amazing video, even tough the video is fairly Long, I never losed focus or feel it Was not appropiately narrated, actually I really enjoyed and truthly sympathised with Hungarian history. Is it really true that a country history can be mirrored with the life of its people and leaders.
Amazing work! 👏
Saludos desde México!
Amazing video! You deserve more subscribers
also it should be noted regarding his relationship to the habsburgs: while the line of charles was banned from taking the throne, he kept the habsburgs of the branch of archduke joseph arround until the german invasion of 1944. so long term there might have been a habsburg restoration but not the line of charles
Great video about an obscure but important historical figure I knew almost nothing about.
Holy crap, M. Laser, that was good.
I like the substitute of the swastika with the play button. Very clever nod to CZcams’s content policy disregarding hate videos with literal history
I find it amusing that it has become consensus among all creators and subscribers that the swastika is replaced by the youtube play button. Soon enough the youtube play button will become the official logo for fascism xD
Fantasztikus videó!
Fantastic video!
good job man, very well done
dug the part when the king tried to come back around 30 min
and he learned english from james joyce? wild
Important addition:
The Gestapo have kidnapped his son Miklós Horthy Jr. on the 15th of October, 1944 and taken to firsth Mathausen then the Dachau concentration camp. The next day Horty withdrew all his orders and resigned. He had to pass the governance of the country to the leader of the ArrowCross party, Ferenc Szálasi.
On the next day Horty and his whole family were interned to Wilhelm, Germany.
This man needs a movie, his story is so full of conflict and intrigue
wow, this video was some of the best stuff you ever made, please keep up the excelent work!
Thanks for the long video!! Well it is still, compact enough to fit into an hour. Well done.
I don;t know about your sources, amount or quality, but this was remarkably accurate. Of course I could add a lot more things, of this period, and about him personally... ))
There are some important factor tho which should be mentioned.
- In 1940, before the mobilization (or during that) Hungary was offered the chance to get back the entire area of Transylvania from Romania ("any territorial claims granted") from no other than Stalin himself, who ordered Zhukov to take Besarabia. Plans were to continue and take all of Romania, and Hungary was asked to join with a supporting strike. As a sign of benevolence, the USSR gave back all the war flags and insignias the Imperial Russian forces took in 1849 when they subdued the hungarian liberation war against Habsburg Austria. Needless to say, the pro-german minister and his staff "forgot" to tell Horthy about this offer (in time) so Zhukov did not continue. Just think about it, without romanian oil, Germany would have been doomed from the vert start...
- The role of vitéz Jákfay Gömbös Gyula. He is an even more "debated" figure, directly accused of fascism, nazism and even more. It is impossible to write his story here, but I'd bet if would be even more weird and surprising. He was also war hero, actively fought in WWI, genius organizer, a real mastermind. He organized the first Szeged goverment, he made Horthy a figurehead, regent, head of state, he organized several political parties, and movements (the main one literally called MOVE, translated as Hungarian Countrywide Defense Movement). In the first era he was also defensively-antisemitic*. After he had conflicts with the old guards, he was put aside for some time. But with the Great Crisis a more radical leader was need.. he became Minister of Warfare, and started to rebuild the army. He was warned, and promised not to interfere with other affairs. For now. He became Prime Minister, until his death in 1936. He built up the good relationship with Italy, he was the first to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union (!!!) to the horror of the Entente Minor.. and of course with then no so nazi Germany. His decisions are being attacked most because he organized the first (and the second) meeting between Hitler and Horthy - with the serious warning given about German influence (like the case with national germans in Hungary).
He actually tried - literally to the end of his life - to stand for Austria as an independent state, to have a buffer between us and (now already) nazi Germany and to strenghten the Triangle of Budapest-Vienna-Roma alliance. He was too radical (in good meaning) innovator, thus he gained many enemies from left to far-right, loyalists and of course jews. He died of kindney failure (stones), which was not curable that time.
*He was antisemitic in a way many people felt those days, after the Red Terror which took several thousands of people around the country (some entire villages were burned). On his forums he pointed out the injustice that privileged - and wealthy - families hold on to entire professions, firms, govermental buros, offices where as the youth from the hungarian majority suffer from unemployment, poverty and have no chance for proper education. Also pointed out several secret groups (of aristocrats, bankers, former monarchist generals etc) who were actively interfering with political machinations against the state or for foreign powers. All in all he considered part of the jewish very dangerous to the nation hence he called it "fajvédelem" , literally race-protection in english, but that's not the correct meaning for this term, as used in the '30s. As per his party statements, he intended to defend the nation, it's culture and right for the country against all foreign (and not only jewish!) interference. To put the comma to the sentence, in a speech he stated "I want call all jewish who share their faith with the nations my brothers just as my hungarian brothers. I have seen in the war [the Great War] many jewish heroes, i know many who earned the Golden Medal of Valor, they fought hard and brave. I know jewish men, leaders who prayed with me for the hungarian fate [and justice], and I know that they will be the first to judge those who cannot or do no want to accept the community of the nation"
Damn, amazing video. I knew little of this historical moment of Hungarian history and it's great how you explain how this people as Horthy and his followers became totally radicalized do to the Red terror.
What a great video omg , I loved it !
Well researched. Even-handed. I had lumped Horthy with other minor dictators, but since my visit to Budapest, I've wanted to learn more Now, I've subscribed to your channel and look forwarding to your other videos. Thanks!!
great overview of this unknown history
Great channel, deserves more subs
what a great video! I knew nothing about Horthy, even it existence
Very nice video. I did enjoy it a lot.
"Hmmm..." Horthy Miklós, probably
26:33 "they basically became the youtube comments"
shots fired! 100% accurate quip mind you, but still. It caught me off guard and made me laugh
The absolute mental gymnastics this man was going through to justify his cause are absolutely mind-boggling
Thank you! Very good!
Had never heard of this guy before!
same my man
That was amazing, I was engrossed the whole time.
I LOVED the video!
I have to disagree with your statement about Horthy not stepping up actively against the far-right, Szálasi and other Arrow cross party leaders where imprisoned multiple times before and during active war time, this might not have been the best solution as Szálasi's popularity only grown during his imprisonment but in my opinion it counts as active opposition, but non the less this was a fantastic video.
And if you don't mind my question, what where the main publications you used as source for your work?
All the sources are in the script. www.patreon.com/posts/65670611
As for the active part. I was talking in more broader terms over the course of a 20 year period so of course it isn't perfect. He did make certain laws that would target the right wing radicals like when I said he enacted some laws that effectively stopped the white terror. However, he also definetly tolerated the presents of these people in certain areas like the military. Plus, he even made Gombos PM and his ideology could definetly be argued as fascist (although he did become less radical by the end of his life). Lastly Horthy did not stop the enacting of certain antisemtic laws during the interwar period again letting fascism fester in the system. Basically even though Horthy did do some stuff against right wing radicals he also tolerated them and their laws in certain areas. Over all it wasn't anything that would truly effect the rise of fascism in Hungary even though he could have done so much more. Hence why I said he didn't really do anything "actively".
@@MLaserHistory the 'numerus clausus' was one of the first anti-jewish laws in Europe in the period I don't think you talked about it in the video (just to add to the list of things you write down)
Absolutely he started the "őrsegvaltást" where the military leadership of the country was changed into a young and ambitious core, but the problem was these newly appointed officers where Nazi simpathyzers and during the invasion of '44 undermined the country massively, and most likely some of these people where the ones who leaked information about the secret meetings with the allies to the Gestapo.
My original comment was more of a reaction to the words you used then any kind of active criticism, and from your comment i absolutely see the reason behinde it.
In the end, his involvement with the extreme right is very complex and contradictory (this could be said about his whole political carrier to be fair), I had the luck to read a few of his letters first hand and know people who are interwar period 'specialists' and my understanding of Horthy is that he genuinely wanted to make the country 'better' and he taught he was the best man for the job (even tho he always described himself as a military man and not a politician) and saw the communist and the Arrow Cross / 'hungarists' as the biggest 'enemies' of the country, and that's why I did not fully agree with the "no active resistance against the right" part.
Ahh, yes, "very complex and contradictory" is definetly something that could be said about Horthy in many of his actions and beliefs.
@@MLaserHistory You can call Hungary itself "very complex and contradictory". The country exists in an eternal paradox.
@@boomerix Yes, they always talk about how terrible being conquered by foreing power and their people being split, yet they wanted to conquered Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia.
I really enjoyed this video. Horthy was certainly an interesting character in history.
What a complicated man! Very liked this video!
No one is black or white. or blue or red... Like the way we are being shown... There are shades of grey. Add to that, the winners forge history...
Show demais meu amigo, esse vídeo está muito bom, já deixei o like!
Well done!
I don't think I've ever heard a more tragic, yet inspiring story of a man
I always felt there was an interesting story to Horthy, and this didn't disappoint. While far from a good or heroic person, there's almost a sense of tragedy to him. He seemed to be a true believer in the old ways, and a genuine patriot for his country. While it led him to maintain a stagnant aristocratic government and cooperate with fascists, it also led him to resist the growing influence of those fascists, and even to protect the Hungarian Jews those fascists threatened. One has to wonder how Horthy might have gone down in history if he had been more vigorous in his opposition to the Germans and fascism, or had never gotten involved in the war at all.