Koszorús Ferenc – A becsület útján
Ferenc Koszorús – On the Road of Honour

An Undeservedly Forgotten Hungarian Staff Officer

Author(s): Géza Gecse
Subject(s): Military history, Political history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), History of Antisemitism
Published by: Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, Új-és Jelenkori Egyetemes Történeti Tanszék
Keywords: admiral Horthy; gendarmery; Jews; deportation; colonel Koszorús;
Summary/Abstract: The unparalled military intervention on July 6, 1944 by Colonel Ferenc Koszorus and the Hungarian First Armored Division under his command foiled a coup-like action planned by State Secretary Laszlo Baky. Backed by thousands of gendarmerie, Baky was poisd to deport approximately 250,000 Jews, including refugees, living in Budapest to the Nazi German death camps. A few debate as to who should be deemed primarily res-ponsible for the so-called Koszorus „action”. Should it be the Regent Ad-miral Miklos Horthy, who ordered the First Armored Division into action, or Colonel Koszorús, who after volunteering his services and requesting an order to block Baky, successfully carried out the order. Nonetheless, it is beyond dispute that this casualty-free military operation in German oc-cupied Hungary resulted in the survival of thousands.The article written by Géza Gecse describes the tragic situation in oc-cupied Hungary in 1944. He also sheds light on incontrovertible facts de-monstrating that consistent with their duty of loyalty, there were patriotic and humanitarian Hungarian soldiers who were prepared to act at great danger to themselves even in this dark and perilous time.

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