Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa | |
|---|---|
 Gömbös in 1923 | |
| Prime Minister of Hungary | |
| In office 1 October 1932 – 6 October 1936 | |
| Regent | Miklós Horthy |
| Preceded by | Gyula Károlyi |
| Succeeded by | Kálmán Darányi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1886-12-26)26 December 1886 |
| Died | 6 October 1936(1936-10-06) (aged 49) |
| Political party |
|
| Spouse(s) | Greta Reichert (first) Erzsébet Szilágyi (second) Greta Reichert (third; again) |
Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa (26 December 1886 – 6 October 1936) was a Hungarian military officer and politician who served as thePrime Minister of Hungary from 1932 until his death in 1936.
Gömbös was born inMurga, Tolna County, Kingdom of Hungary, which had a mixed Hungarian andethnic German population. He was the son of Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa (1858–1921), a member of untitledHungarian nobility and Maria Weitzel (b.1867). His father was the villageschoolmaster. The family belonged to theHungarian Evangelical (i. e. Lutheran) Church.[1]
Gömbös entered theAustro-Hungarian Army as a cadet inPécs and quickly became a member of theofficer corps, serving as acaptain duringWorld War I. In the army, Gömbös became a staunch advocate of Hungary's gaining independence fromAustria and a bitter critic of theHabsburgs.
After World War I ended, and Hungary split from Austria, Gömbös joined conservative Hungarian forces inSzeged that were unwilling to support the communistBéla Kun, who had seized control of Hungary in 1919. Gömbös formed his ownparamilitary group, theHungarian National Defence Association (Magyar Országos Véderő Egylet, or MOVE). Gömbös became a close ally ofMiklós Horthy, the leader of the anticommunist government in Szeged, and played a leading role in organizing Horthy’s army.[2] For his services, Gömbös was made minister of defence in the Szeged government.[3]
After theHungarian communist government had been ousted in August 1919, Gömbös helped direct thepurge of communists from Hungarian society. Gömbös also supported certain political actions against Hungary's Jews.
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Gömbös had been aSmallholder before the war but veered sharply to the right in the upheaval following the breakup ofAustria-Hungary. AfterMiklós Horthy was made regent of Hungary in 1920, Gömbös became the primary leader of Hungary’s emerging nationalist movement, which was gaining some support from the people in response to the brief period of communist rule and the signing of theTreaty of Trianon, which had resulted in Hungary losing two thirds of its territory to neighboring nations.
Despite some disagreements with Horthy, Gömbös was active in the widespread purge of Hungarian communists and later organized mass military opposition to the plan of the former Habsburg King,Charles IV, to regain his throne in 1921, a move that kept Horthy firmly in control of Hungary. Later that year, Gömbös became one of the primary leaders of the opposition to Prime MinisterIstván Bethlen. In 1929, Gömbös was made a major general and was appointed Minister of Defense in the Bethlen government by Horthy.
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In 1932, Horthy appointed Gömbös prime minister; Gömbös, in turn, acceded to Horthy's urging not to seek new elections. Upon taking office, Gömbös publicly recanted his previous antipathy to Jews.[4] The country's Jewish political leadership, underBéla Szántó, supported the appointment of Gömbös and his programs in exchange for Gömbös promising not to enact any racially motivated laws and not to cause economic harm to the Jews through his general policies. Gömbös kept those promises. As prime minister, Gömbös was very active in international affairs by seeking support for revising the Treaty of Trianon and pursuing trade deals aimed at reviving the Depression-afflicted economy. One of his major goals was to align Hungary into an Axis withItaly andAustria. In 1933, Gömbös flew to Italy and visitedBenito Mussolini. Mussolini conveyed to Gömbös his approval regarding the revision of the Treaty of Trianon. Also, Mussolini promised Gömbös Italy’s aid if Hungary went to war withYugoslavia andRomania in an attempt to regain Hungary’s former territory from those nations.
Gömbös also formed, with rather greater reluctance, an alliance with Germany. WhenAdolf Hitler becameChancellor of Germany, Gömbös was the first foreign head of government to visit the Nazi leader. Shortly after, Gömbös signed a major trade agreement with Germany in the hope of reducing Hungary's unemployment rate as the 1930s progressed.
That amity, however, failed to endure. Hitler considered Gömbös to be far too pro-Jewish and made it clear to Gömbös that his support of Hungary had a price. The German dictator voiced willingness to take Hungary's side in any effort that Hungary carried out to regain land fromCzechoslovakia, but he would not support Hungary against the territorial ambitions of either Romania or Yugoslavia. Unlike Mussolini, Hitler also resented Gömbös's plans to expand the size and power of theHungarian military.
Gömbös never lived to see his ambitious plans come to fruition. Gömbös, after a long illness, died oftesticular cancer inMunich on 6 October 1936.[5]
Gömbös was buried atKerepesi Cemetery among exceptional circumstances; his funeral procession was attended by hundreds of thousands of Hungarians, and hiscatafalque was visited by many dignitaries because he was the head of the government.
I openly and sincerely declare to the Jews that I have changed my position. I wish to consider that segment of Jewry which is willing to share in the common fate of the nation as my brothers just as I do my Hungarian brothers.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Defence 1929–1936 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Hungary 1932–1936 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs Acting 1933 | Succeeded by |
