Fóris Ákos angol nyelvű tanulmánya a RussianStudiesHu szakfolyóiratban

Megjelent Fóris Ákos tanulmánya a RussianStuiedHu, az ELTE ELTE Történeti Intézete által működtetett elektronikus folyóirat 2022/2. számában "Heroes? Victims? Perpetrators? Changes in the image of Hungarian soldiers fighting on the Eastern Front." címmel.

Abstract

Between 1941 and 1945, hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Hungarian Royal Army fought against the Red Army. Perception of these soldiers has changed significantly since World War II. In examining this, I distinguish three different views: that they were heroes, that they were victims, and that they were perpetrators. A hero cult had already emerged in connection with Hungarian soldiers before the war against the Soviet Union. Hungarian society revered veterans of the War of Independence of 1848-1849 and the First World War as heroes. The Horthy regime in particular was characterized by militarism. After the total defeat of Hungary in World War II, power and society in Hungary could no longer consider those who fought against the Soviet Union as heroes. In addition, it was not clear how the new political elite and Hungarian public society would judge the soldiers. An anti-fascist hero cult could not be based on the Hungarian soldiers since significant resistance did not emerge within the Honvéd Army on the Eastern front. The war crimes committed against the Soviet civilian population were not dealt with, as this would have made it more difficult for the Hungarian-Soviet relationship to develop. In the years of state-socialism, the roles played in the war by officers and enlisted men were differently interpreted. Officers were seen as guilty, while rank-and-file soldiers were regarded as victims of the Horthy-fascist regime. According to this narrative, Horthyist military officers committed their sins not primarily against the Soviet population but against the Hungarian people.