With the benefit of hindsight, it's very easy to lament the emergence of the Nazi scourge, as though it was one simple element which could have been opposed and avoided in one political or social movement.
This issue can't be easily summarised in one post. The background to the rise of Adolf Hitler is highly complex.
After WW1, the belligerent nations (that is, those who lost), were stripped of territory, resources and rights. That was, simply, the way things were done. Treaties like Versailles and Trianon 'put them in their place,' to ensure such bloodshed wouldn't happen again. Ironically, this very much created the environment for war to happen again!
It begs the question; 'did the allies create Hitler?'
The economic and social repression of Germany lead to the rise of national fervour, and the desire for change. Desire leads to many other things.
So, does that make Nazi Germany's allies 'evil'?
Hungary's journey into alliance with Nazi Germany is equally complex. The Trianon Treaty cut Hungary down in size, putting Hungarian minorities behind other borders, in regions which were traditionally hostile to the Magyar people. In addition to this, after a period of communism under Bela Kun in the early 1920's, they were determined to avoid a repeat. They saw alliance with Germany as a means to improve their economic and social status.
What happened after that reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. The steps they took to avoid oblivion only brought them closer to it.
What does 'ally' mean, anyway?
Lord Palmerston once said, and I'm paraphrasing slightly: "We have no national allies, nor national friendships, we only have national interests."
And this is the backdrop for our character in my upcoming novel about one Hungarian civilian's journey, a journey which resembles that of his own nation.
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