Room 19 / From the revisionist achievments to the German and Soviet occupation of the country (1938–1945)
Hungary's fate during the Second World War is presented in this room. First, visitors may follow the euphoria caused by the territorial reattachment between 1938 and 1941, and the military activities and equipment of the Hungarian army. Secondly, relics and documents illustrate the political initiatives and aspirations of the Hungarian government to weaken the German orientation. Eventually, worsening conditions in the home front, the tragedy of Hungarian Jewry and the events of the German and then Soviet occupation unfold before the visitor..
Fun facts:
- Persecuted Jews were helped not only by the International Red Cross but also by members of diplomatic missions of several countries, including Sweden, Spain and Switzerland.
- Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who was at the forefront of the rescue of the Jews of Budapest, was arrested by the Soviets and deported to the Soviet Union.
- After the German occupation, the Gestapo arrested prominent anti-German political and public figures. One of them was Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky, who got into a firefight with the secret police and was shot on the left side of his chest. His life was saved by the five-pengő coin exhibited here.
The sand-coloured BMW motorbike on display here is a symbol of the German invasion in the spring of 1944, a vehicle that had not been deployed by the Africa Korps in Africa but used by units invading Hungary from the south instead.
The commemorative tray is engraved and decorated with punched drawings.
