Gábor Vajna | |
|---|---|
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| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 16 October 1944 – 28 March 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Péter Schell |
| Succeeded by | Ferenc Erdei |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1891-11-04)4 November 1891 |
| Died | 12 March 1946(1946-03-12) (aged 54) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Political party | Arrow Cross Party |
| Profession | politician |
Gábor Vajna (4 November 1891 – 12 March 1946) was aHungarian politician, who served asMinister of the Interior from 1944 to 1945.
Vajna was born into a Transylvanian Calvinist family inKézdivásárhely (todayTârgu Secuiesc,Romania); then part of theKingdom of Hungary on 4 November 1891. He participated inWorld War I, as an officer in the 29th Feldjäger Battalion of theAustro-Hungarian Army, and received many honors during his forty-three months of military service. Following the war, Vajna took service in the Hungarian Embassy atVienna, and later worked for the Ministry of Defence. He retired from theRoyal Hungarian Army as a Major in 1924. After that he was appointed director of the gunpowder factory inBalatonfűzfő. When his far-right sympathy was revealed, Vajna was dismissed from that position.
Vajna was a confidant of Prime MinisterFerenc Szálasi, the Hungarian fascist party leader and founder of the extreme right "Party of National Will", which later became theArrow Cross Party. Vajna was elected Member of Parliament from the regional list ofVeszprém County during the1939 parliamentary election. After theGerman occupation of Hungary in March 1944, he maintained a good relationship between the Hungarian authorities and the arrivingGestapo andSchutzstaffel officials. He helped to overcoming the resistance fighters and prevent sabotage activities. Following theArrow Cross Party's coup, Vajna took office as Interior Minister in October 1944 and served until March 1945.[1]
While responsible for internal affairs, Vajna took a number of actions against Hungarian Jews. In cooperation with requests from German officials such as SS officerEdmund Veesenmayer, Vajna moved quickly to deport Jews in areas under Hungarian control to theThird Reich, 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.[citation needed] During his ministership, theBudapest Ghetto was established on 29 November 1944 which lasted for less than three months.[2]
Following thefall of Budapest, Vajna attempted to escape toWestern Europe but was captured by units of theUnited States Army 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 and treason. He was hanged in 1946 in Budapest on the same day as Ferenc Szálasi,Károly Beregfy andJózsef Gera.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of the Interior 1944–1945 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
