Lajos Csatay

Who was Lajos Csatay?

Vitéz Lajos Csatay de Csataj was a Hungarian military officer and politician, who served as Minister of Defence between 1943 and 1944. He fought in the First World War then he joined to the Hungarian Red Army to fight against the rebel nationalities. Between 1919 and 1921 he was a teacher of the Military Academy of Budapest. From 1926 he was a commander of miscellaneous brigades. In 1943 he became commander of the Hungarian Third Army.

Miklós Kállay appointed him as Minister of Defence in June 1943. Initially he supported the Nazis and the continuation of the war. Later his opinion changed continuously. After the replacement of the Sztójay administration he kept his position. The new Prime Minister Géza Lakatos' real aim was jumping out of the war. The cabinet wanted to initiate peace negotiations with the Allies. Miklós Horthy moved to reconsolidate his influence and began considering strategies for surrendering to the Western Allies because he deeply distrusted the Red Army. The attempted coup was not successful. Horthy was captured by Edmund Veesenmayer and his staff later on 15 October and taken to the Waffen SS office, where he was held overnight. Lajos Csatay was captured by the Gestapo; as a result he committed suicide along with his wife.