Hungary is occupied by the Wehrmacht

© Yad Vashem Deportation of the jewish residents of Koszceq, a hungary village (1944)

By joining the „Three Powers Pact“ in 1940, Hungary had become a close ally of the German Reich. The following year Budapest declared war against the Soviet Union and, with its own troops, supported Hitler’s aggression against the country. However, after the German defeat at Stalingrad in early 1943, Hungary initiated secret cease fire negotiations with the Allies. The subterfuge could not remain hidden from Berlin: On 19 March 1944 units of the Wehrmacht and SS occupy the country. In Budapest Hitler sets up a puppet regime under the leadership of Döme Sztójai which guarantees the German Reich provisioning with food supplies. Germany’s takeover of power has terrible consequences for Jews living in Hungary: As leader of a special commando unit there, Adolf Eichmann now organises their persecution and deportation to Polish extermination camps.