Andor Jaross | |
|---|---|
 Jaross in 1938 | |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 22 March 1944 – 7 August 1944 | |
| Preceded by | Ferenc Keresztes-Fischer |
| Succeeded by | Miklós Bonczos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andor Jaross (1896-05-23)23 May 1896 |
| Died | 11 April 1946(1946-04-11) (aged 49) |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Citizenship | Hungarian (1896–1920, 1938–), Czechoslovak (1920–1938) |
| Political party | United Hungarian Party Party of Hungarian Renewal Arrow Cross Party |
| Occupation | Politician |
Andor Jaross (23 May 1896 – 11 April 1946) was an ethnic Hungarianpolitician most active in interwarCzechoslovakia and later inHungary duringWorld War II. He also notablycollaborated with theNazis.
Born in Komáromcsehi, in theKomárom County of the Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Čechy, Slovakia), he became general secretary of the United Hungarian Party, a group that sought to unite parts of Czechoslovakia with Hungary.[1] As national chairman of the party he sought to forge a united Hungarian identity, claiming in his inaugural address that 'every member of the Hungarian minority should take a united stand on the issues of today and tomorrow'.[2] Although effectively subordinate toJános Esterházy in the party, Jaross became a well-known international figure, notably accepting an invitation toLondon from the Hungarian Committee of the House of Commons to present Hungarian grievances along with fellow United Hungarian Party MPGéza Szüllő.[3]
Moving to Hungary in 1938 he joined the government ofBéla Imrédy as Minister for Regained Territories and was one of the 18 deputies who formed the Party of Hungarian Renewal in 1940 (afar right dissident group of the governing party).[1] After the Nazi regimeoccupied Hungary in March 1944 and raisedNazi sympathizerDöme Sztójay to the Prime Minister's post, Jaross was put in charge of the Interior Ministry. From that position, he took charge ofthe country's Jews and, with his deputiesLászló Endre andLászló Baky, was responsible for circumventingMiklós Horthy's plans by arranging theirdeportation.[1] During this time Jaross, Endre and Baky ran the Interior Ministry as a personal fiefdom and used it to eliminate their enemies, whilst also keeping Sztójay at arm's length in favour of German influence.[4] The ghettoes were inspected in August 1944 byAdolf Eichmann andDieter Wisliceny and, although the Jewish Council sent appeals for better treatment direct to Jaross and Eichmann, the extermination proceeded.[5] A growing figure in Hungarian public life, Jaross even became president offootball clubFerencvárosi TC in 1944.[6]
Removed from his position in August 1944 (after appropriating much Jewish property) he made a brief return in October 1944, after the Nazis deposed Horthy and installed the rabidlyanti-SemiticArrow Cross Party to head thenew government under Prime MinisterFerenc Szálasi.
After the war, Jaross was tried by the Hungarian authorities and executed by firing squad.[1]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of the Interior 1944 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
