Gábor Vajna (4 November 1891 – 12 March 1946) was a Hungarian politician, who served as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 1944 to 1945.

Early life

Vajna was born into a Transylvanian Calvinist family in Kézdivásárhely (today

Târgu Secuiesc Târgu Secuiesc (; , ; ; ) is a city in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Lunga (''Nyújtód''). History The town was first mentioned in 1407 as ''Torjawasara'', meaning in Hungarian “Torja Market”. ( Torja ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

); then part of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

on 4 November 1891. He participated in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, as an officer in the 29th Feldjäger Battalion of the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

, and received many honors during his forty-three months of military service. Following the war, Vajna took service in the Hungarian Embassy at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and later worked for the Ministry of Defence. He retired from the

Royal Hungarian Army The Royal Hungarian Army (, ) was the name given to the land forces of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary in the period from 1922 to 1945. Its name was inherited from the Royal Hungarian Honvéd which went under the same Hu ...

as a Major in 1924. After that he was appointed director of the gunpowder factory in

Balatonfűzfő Balatonfűzfő is a town at the northeast corner of Lake Balaton in Hungary. History The earliest settlements in the area were founded by the Celts, Avars and Romans. Material findings dating from the Middle Ages In the history of ...

. When his far-right sympathy was revealed, Vajna was dismissed from that position.

Political career

Vajna was a confidant of Prime Minister

Ferenc Szálasi Ferenc Szálasi (; 6 January 1897 – 12 March 1946) was a Hungarian military officer, politician, Nazi sympathizer and founder of the far-right Arrow Cross Party who List of prime ministers of Hungary, headed the government of Hungary duri ...

, the Hungarian fascist party leader and founder of the extreme right "

Party of National Will The Arrow Cross Party (, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian nationalism, Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Hungary they named the Government of Nation ...

", which later became the

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party (, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National Unity. They were in power from 15 October 1944 to ...

. Vajna was elected Member of Parliament from the regional list of

Veszprém County Veszprém (, ; ) is an administrative county (''vármegye'') in Hungary. Veszprém is also the name of the capital city of Veszprém county. Veszprém county Veszprém county lies in western Hungary. It covers the Bakony hills and the norther ...

during the 1939 parliamentary election. After the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, he maintained a good relationship between the Hungarian authorities and the arriving

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

officials. He helped to overcoming the resistance fighters and prevent sabotage activities. Following the Arrow Cross Party's coup, Vajna took office as Interior Minister in October 1944 and served until March 1945. While responsible for internal affairs, Vajna took a number of actions against Hungarian Jews. In cooperation with requests from German officials such as SS officer

Edmund Veesenmayer Edmund Veesenmayer (12 November 1904 – 24 December 1977) was a high-ranking German SS functionary and Holocaust perpetrator during the Nazi era. He significantly contributed to the Holocaust in Hungary and in the Independent State of Croat ...

, Vajna moved quickly to deport Jews in areas under Hungarian control to the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, where they were used as slaves and many were ultimately killed. As many as 76,000 Jews were delivered into Nazi hands through the end of 1944. During his ministership, the

Budapest Ghetto The Budapest Ghetto was a Nazi ghetto set up in Budapest, Hungary, where Jews were forced to relocate by a decree of the Government of National Unity led by the fascist Arrow Cross Party during the final stages of World War II. The ghetto existed ...

was established on 29 November 1944 which lasted for less than three months.Decree On the Establishment of the Budapest Ghetto at th
Jewish Virtual Library
Following the fall of Budapest, Vajna attempted to escape to

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

but was captured by units of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

along with other members of the government. He was later tried in Budapest by a people's tribunal and sentenced to death for war crimes,

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

and treason. He was hanged in 1946 in Budapest on the same day as Ferenc Szálasi,

Károly Beregfy Károly Beregfy (12 February 1888 – 12 March 1946) was a Hungarian military officer and politician, who served as Minister of Defence in the 1944–45 Arrow Cross Party government. He was born as Károly Berger in Cservenka (Crvenka). He ...

and

József Gera József Gera (24 October 1896 – 12 March 1946) was a Hungarian physician and politician of the Arrow Cross Party. He fought in the First World War and he was honoured. After the war he practised as a paediatrician in Makó. He had been a me ...

References

Sources

Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vajna, Gabor 1891 births 1946 deaths Holocaust perpetrators in Hungary Hungarian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Hungarian Nazis executed for war crimes Christian fascists Arrow Cross Party politicians Ministers of the interior of Hungary People executed by Hungary by hanging People executed for crimes against humanity People from the Kingdom of Hungary People from Târgu Secuiesc