Baják László Ihász István: The Hungarian National Museum History Exhibition Guide 4 - The short century of survival (1900-1990) (Budapest, 2008)

Room 19. From the Successes of Revision to German and Russian Occupation (1938-1945). István Ihász

Arrow-Cross party membership card and armband October 1944 Following the changing of sides by Romania on August 23, 1944, the Soviet Red Army arrived at the then Hungarian northern-Transylvanian borders and what had until then been a hinterland now became an theatre of war. The Regent replaced the government of the collaborator Sztójay (on August 29) and then turned to the Soviet Union with a secret request for an armistice. The preliminary agreement was signed in Moscow on October 11, by the commission led by General Gábor Faragho. (Meanwhile, on October 8, the SS Skorzeny Commandos abducted LieutenantGeneral Szilárd Bakay, commander of the Budapest garrison, frustrating the organisation of any resistance in the capital.) Following its public announcement on October 15, the Nazis prevented Hungary from backing out of the war by means of arms and placed the Arrow-Cross in power, which was ready to collaborate with them.