HUNGARIAN FOREIGN POLICY DURING THE PREWAR CRISIS AND HUNGARY’S ENTRY INTO THE SECOND WORLD WAR

N. V. Filonenko

Peter the Great Voronezh State Agrarian University

The author analyzes Hungarian foreign policy during the period of prewar crisis and the early stage of the Second World War from 1938 to 1941, while paying special attention to the mechanics of the country`s entry into the war on the side of the Axis powers. Filonenko identifies opportunities and limitations for Hungary that resulted from its foreign policy conducted in the shadow of Nazi Germany. On the one hand, the authorities had the opportunity to renegotiate the unfavorable conditions imposed by the Treaty of Trianon to the extent allowed by the Third Reich. On the other hand, the country became increasingly dependent on Germany in political, military, and economic affairs. Indeed, these two dynamics worked together: the more Hungarian authorities took advantage of wartime opportunities, the more dependent it became on Germany; this relationship was exacerbated by Hungary being drawn into the Axis powers. As a result, by the time Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Hungary had become a satellite of the Third Reich, and her declaration of war on the USSR followed soon after.

Keywords: 1938–41, Second World War, Axis powers, Hungary, Germany, Soviet Union.

DOI 10.18413/2312-3044-2017-4-1-69-83

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