Horthy de Nagybánya, Admiral of the Fleet Miklós

Horthy de Nagybánya, Admiral of the Fleet Miklós (1868–1957),Austro-Hungarian Empire hero of the First World War who subsequently turned to politics. Hungary technically became a monarchy again in January 1920, but the heir to the throne was not asked back. Instead, Horthy assumed the title of Regent and ruled as a virtual dictator. Though he tried to resist excessive German pressures during the 1930s, and to maintain cordial relations with the western nations, his fear of communism drove him into the fascist camp. In November 1940 he joined the Tripartite Pact. Hungarian forces took part in the German attack into Yugoslavia in April 1941, an act which caused Horthy's prime minister to commit suicide. In June 1941 Horthy declared war on the USSR, and in December 1941 he declared war on the western Allies. But as the war progressed he became less and less anxious to be involved in it, and in March 1944 the Germans, antagonized by his attempts to negotiate with the Allies, occupied Hungary. Eichmann then began implementing the Final Solution on Hungarian Jews by deporting them to Auschwitz, but in July Horthy, under pressure from various western sources, was able to bring these deportations temporarily to a halt. On 15 October 1944, with the Red Army on his doorstep, Horthy publicly requested an armistice but the next day the Germans forced his abdication (see Skorzeny), imprisoned him in Germany, and put a fascist regime into power. It was decided not to prosecute Horthy at the Nuremberg trials and he retired to Portugal.