Interior Ministry state secretary who in 1944 ran the ghettoisation and deportation of Hungary’s Jews with László Baky
Born into a wealthy Abony family, he served as a hussar officer in the First World War and after the fall of the Soviet Republic joined counter-revolutionary groups such as MOVE, noted for his extreme cruelty. Chief magistrate of Gödöllő from 1923 and deputy lord-lieutenant of Pest county from 1938, he called the anti-Jewish laws too mild and imposed his own restrictions, such as banning Jews from beaches. After the German occupation in 1944 he became state secretary under Interior Minister Andor Jaross with far-reaching powers to ghettoise and deport the Jews, and with László Baky helped Eichmann deport over 400,000 Hungarian Jews between May and July. Removed in September, he returned under the Arrow Cross as commissioner for civil administration in the operational areas. Captured by US forces after fleeing in 1945, he was handed back, sentenced to death and hanged in 1946.
Activities and affiliations
- 1923–1945 Government and administration · Hungary
Career Timeline
- 1915–1918Hussar officer
- 1919–1921Active in counter-revolutionary groups
- 1923–1938Chief magistrate of Gödöllő
- 1938–1944Deputy lord-lieutenant of Pest county
- 1944Administrative state secretary, Interior Ministry
- 1944–1945Commissioner for civil administration in the operational areas
- 1946Sentenced by the People’s Tribunal and executed