740.00119 Control (Hungary)/2–2745: Telegram
Mr. Alexander C. Kirk, Political Adviser to the Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater, to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:35 p.m.]
720. Following is No. 2 from Squires14 for Department:
In process of making known our arrival to Provisional Government of Hungary, Merrill and I had the opportunity of talking with Bela Miklos15 for some time and the Prime Minister made the following comments during the conversation:
1. He stated that slow progress is being made in equipping the Hungarian divisions to be activated under the armistice terms.16 10,000 POWs have already been released from a total of 40,000 said to be fit for active duty and he has been promised equipment for two divisions. Discussions are taking place regarding the release of 10,000 additional POWs.
[Page 805]It is known from other sources that Miklos considers the reequipping of the Hungarian Army to be of utmost importance, even though he has expressed no dissatisfaction at the slow progress being made in this matter, and in order to expedite action, he has even gone so far as to threaten resignation.
2. It has been confirmed by the Prime Minister that there have been some deportations of Hungarians of German origin, but he stated that to date the number has not exceeded 30,000. He does not object, and in fact approves, the deportation of those who were recruited for the SS,17 or recently Germanized their names or were members of the Volksbund.18 There have been presented to the Russians, with the request that they be returned, lists of other deported Hungarians of German origin.
It was made clear by the Prime Minister that he does not approve the deportation of “good Hungarians” simply because they have German names. He implied that the positions of the Russians and his Government on this point are capable of compromise and also he appeared to have confidence that this principle would be respected in the future.
3. It was estimated by Miklos that 60% of the people support the program of the Small Holders party and great hope was expressed in the future of same. He expressed the belief that the leadership of the party will come from Tildy,19 Vargha20 and such men as Nagy Ferenc,21 and he depreciated the future influence of Eckhart.22 He greatly regretted the loss of Bajcsy-Zslinsky,23 who he states was executed by the Germans. Miklos stated that he had seen Count Bethlen24 2 days previously on his estate, and found him old and tired, with no evident intention of taking part in political activity.
4. Miklos gave the impression of exercising great care not to be put in the position of complaining about the Russians.
He commented on the cooperation received from the Russian chairman of the ACC25 and referred to the decrees already promulgated [Page 806] to implement the armistice. It is his apparent belief that the only course open to his Government is the total fulfillment of the armistice terms and that his Government will have Russian support so long as it follows this course. [Squires.]
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Leslie Albion Squires, Secretary of the American Mission in Hungary, arrived in Debrecen, Hungary, the seat of the Hungarian Provisional Government, on February 21, at the head of an advance party of the American Mission. Telegram 111, February 8, midnight, to Caserta, for Squires, instructed him in part as follows:
“Upon your arrival in Hungary you should seek immediately to notify your presence to the appropriate Soviet authorities, presumably the President of the Allied Control Commission or his deputy, and make clear to them that you are members of the staff of United States Representative Schoenfeld, who will arrive in Hungary in the near future, and that you are instructed meanwhile to confine yourselves to questions of quarters and other purely administrative matters without engaging in any kind of official activities. You may mention that the United States representation in Hungary is being established in agreement with the Soviet Government and that it will be set up and function independently of the Allied Control Commission as in the case of Rumania and Bulgaria.” (740.00119 Control (Hungary)/2–445)
Telegram 293, April 3, 7 p.m. to Caserta, for Squires, said in part: “You may also regard political reporting as within your instructions. The information contained in your reports of conversations with Hungarian officials has been very useful.” (124.646/4–345)
↩ - Béla Dálnoki Miklós, Prime Minister of the Hungarian Provisional Government.↩
- Article I (c) of the Hungarian Armistice Agreement of January 20, 1945, provided that the Hungarian Government would make available not less than eight infantry divisions for service under the general direction of the Allied High Command.↩
- Schutzstaffel; elite corps of the Nazi Party, used for military and political purposes.↩
- Volksbund der Deutschen in Ungarn; recognized representative body of the German minority in Hungary.↩
- Zoltán Tildy, Leader of the Independent Smallholders Party, the major Hungarian agrarian political party.↩
- Béla Varga, General Secretary, Independent Smallholders Party.↩
- Ferenc Nagy, General President, Independent Smallholders Party.↩
- Tibor Eckhardt, titular leader of the Independent Smallholders Party; in exile in the United States since 1941.↩
- Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinsky, leader in the Independent Smallholders Party and Hungarian resistance leader who was executed by the German puppet government of Hungary in December 1944.↩
- Count Stephen Bethlen, Hungarian Prime Minister 1921–1931; member of the Hungarian Crown Council; arrested and deported to the Soviet Union in 1945.↩
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov, Chairman of the Soviet Element of the Allied Control Commission for Hungary; member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.↩