Miklós Horthy

Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya, Duke of Szeged and Otranto (Hungarian: Vitéz Nagybányai Horthy Miklós; Kenderes, June 18, 1868 – Estoril, February 9, 1957) was a Hungarian Admiral and statesman and served as the Regent of Hungary from March 1, 1920 until October 15, 1944.

Post-War Life

Although the new Yugoslavia demanded that Horthy be tried as a war criminal, the Allies refused to do so. This was mainly the result of American influence. He was released and settled in Estoril, Portugal, where he died in 1957.

Related Topics:
Yugoslavia - American - Estoril - Portugal - 1957

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While in Portugal he wrote his memoirs, Ein Leben für Ungarn (English: A Life for Hungary), in which he narrated many personal experiences from his youth until the end of World War II, claimed to have distrusted Hitler for much of the time he knew him, claimed that he tried to perform the best actions and appoint the best officials in his country, and gave evidence for Hungary's mistreatment by many other countries since the end of World War I.

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Horthy married once. He had two sons, Nicholas and Steven, who served as his political assistants. Of his four children, only Nicholas outlived him. According to footnotes in his memoirs, Horthy was very distraught about the failure of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. In his will, Horthy asked that his body not be returned to Hungary "until the last Russian soldier has left". His heirs honored the request. In 1993, when Russian troops evacuated their Cold War bases in Hungary, Horthy's body was returned and he was buried in his hometown of Kenderes.¸

Related Topics:
Nicholas - Steven - Hungarian Revolution of 1956 - 1993 - Cold War - Kenderes

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