Ferenc Rajniss | |
|---|---|
 Ministers of the Arrow Cross Party government. Ferenc Rajniss is in the first from left of the upper row. | |
| Born | Ferenc Rheinisch (1893-07-24)24 July 1893 |
| Died | 12 March 1946(1946-03-12) (aged 52) |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Citizenship | Hungarian |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | Politician andNazi collaborator |
| Title | Minister of Education |
| Term | 1944–1945 |
| Political party | Hungarian National Defence Association,Reform Generation,National Front,Party of Hungarian Life, Party of Hungarian Renewal, National Federation |
Ferenc Rajniss (bornRheinisch) (24 July 1893 – 12 March 1946) was aHungarian journalist, socialite and fascist politician. He held pro-Nazi Germany views in Hungarian politics.
Born inBártfa,Kingdom of Hungary,Austria-Hungary (nowBardejov,Slovakia) to aZipser family, Rajniss's surname initially reflected his German origins before he Hungarianized it. As a journalist Rajniss belonged to theSzeged fascist camp and was a supporter ofGyula Gömbös.[1] He founded his own weekly paper,Magyar Futár, in support of this movement and it soon became notorious for itsanti-Semitism.[2] Before long he had secured funding from Nazi Germany for his political endeavours and this was to be one of his two main sources of income, the other being acting as a 'toy boy' to a number of wealthy old women.[1]
Rajniss was elected to theDiet of Hungary in the early 1930s, initially as a representative of the minor far rightNational Front.[1] However he left this group in October 1937 to join withZoltán Böszörmény andFidél Pálffy in launching the UnitedHungarian National Socialist Party, one of a number of largely failed attempts to bring Hungary'sNazis under one umbrella.[1]
Rajniss then became a supporter ofBéla Imrédy and in 1938 joined the governing party as a result of his change of position.[1] He followed his leader into the Party of National Renewal when Imrédy founded this opposition group in 1940.[1]
Rajniss launched a second paper,Esti Ujság, which he continued to edit until 1944 and which offered a pro-Nazi agenda.[1] He became a trusted ally of the Nazis and specifically collaborated closely with theRSHA.[1] By this time Rajniss had again switched his support, this time toFerenc Szálasi (although he never sympathized with Szálasi's ideology and considered the retired army officer as a "fanatic" and "finicking") and in 1944 he was one of the leaders of the "Nemzeti Szövetség" (National Federation) parliamentary group, which contained about 200 members of Parliament committed to continuing the war on the side of the Nazis.[3] Rajniss played a leading role in Szálasi's rise to power and was appointed part of the three-man governing council with which the Germans replacedMiklós Horthy in 1944, alongsideKároly Beregfy and Sándor Csia.[4] He was also appointed Minister of Religion and Education in the new government, a position he held until his resignation on 7 March 1945, following emerging tensions between Szálasi and him.[1]
Arrested after the collapse of the government he was judged as a leading figure incollaborationism and was executed by firing squad inBudapest.[1][5]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Religion and Education 1944–1945 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
