Armed Resistance in Hungary in Yad Vashem Studies, Volume XIX

Jewish and Hungarian Armed Resistance in Hungary

The efforts of Hungarian anti-fascist elements to organize resistance were largely unsuccessful due to rivalry between the groups and internal dissension. Several communist-oriented cells and other underground groups carried out acts of sabotage from August 1944 onward. The prominent role played by Jews in these groups suggests that most Hungarians were not enthusiastic about fighting the Germans and fascists. The Zionist youth groups, supported by the Vaad Ezra ve-Hatzala, the Hungarian Zionist rescue committee led by Israel (Rezsö) Kasztner, undertook resistance activities even though the committee favored rescue through negotiations (pp. 281–288). Zionist youth supplied Hungarian cells with forged documents, goods, and shelter. Also mentioned are the factors which inhibited the development of large-scale Jewish fighting.