© Sputnik / Evgany Haldey
Hungarian soldiers allied with Nazi Germany, who had been taken prisoner by the Red Army. Archive photo.
Hungarian soldiers allied with Nazi Germany, who had been taken prisoner by the Red Army. Archive photo.
The mind-boggling statement is meant to commemorate the Hungarian casualties of the so-called Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh offensive, an operation of the Red Army in what is now southeastern Ukraine, which was launched in January 1943. During the campaign, the Soviets defeated Hungarian and Italian troops that were allied with Nazi Germany, with an estimated 50,000 killed and 70,000 taken prisoner over the course of 15 days.
According to the statement by the Hungarian government, however, Hitler's allies that invaded the USSR "fought for Hungary at the Don River," and should be respected as heroes. How exactly taking part in a war of aggression amounts to fighting for one's homeland was not explained, however.
Hungary, which became a highly nationalistic expansionist state and had close ties with Germany and Italy in the 1930s, became a formal member of the Axis powers in 1940. Budapest provided troops for the Germany-backed occupation of Yugoslavia, and later participated in the German invasion of the USSR, joining the offensive a week after it started.
Comment: Arch-stupid move by Hungary here. Do they really want to go the same route followed by Ukraine, glorifying Nazis? There are other ways to foster a sense of patriotism without reverting to the worst examples of history.