“The Air Force went to war as a torso” – this way it was expressed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force Johannes Steinhoff in an article in 1969. A crippled Air Force, which was not good „for a multi front war against great powers“. Deficits and wrong decisions with respect to the mate-rial equipment of the Air Force became visible already in the campaign against France. The defeat of the Luftwaffe by the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain and finally in the war against the Soviet Union revealed the real extent of the disaster.

Besides the military failures the ongoing in-terference of the German Air Ministry in the production processes of the aviation industry proved to be contraproductive. Light metal al-loys, different types of steel and plastic materials as Plexiglas were the most important materials in aircraft construction. These materials were subject to quotas given by the Ministry of Göring or the Reich Ministry of Economic Af-fairs, respectively. However, due to permanently changing priorities, they were made available sometimes in greater and sometimes in lesser volumes.

The influence of Hermann Göring was added to this. The Reichsmarschall and Commander in Chief of the Air Force permanently interfered in technical developments, changes to types and production processes. Running procurement programs were changed permanently and not infrequently terminated again after preparations for the start of series production finally had been completed.

Chaos continues – German Air Armament in the Second World

1 Stuka: The dive bomber as a symbol of the Blitzkrieg A Junkers Ju 87 drops bombs in a dive. Bundeswehr Museum of Military History – Berlin-Gatow Airfield

2 Heinkel He 111 H attack formation of battle squad-ron 26, 1940 Bundeswehr Museum of Military History – Berlin-Gatow Airfield

3 Adolf Hitler in Paris Following the successful end of the campaign in the West Adolf Hitler visits Paris together with Albert Speer and is depicted in a propagandistic manner by Heinrich Hoffmann. National Archives, NARA 540180

In 1938, the Aircraft and Motor Company Man-fréd Weiss started the serial production of its indigenous design WM-21 “Sólyom”, a bomber and reconnaissance biplane; a total of 128 air-craft of this type were manufactured. In 1939, they ventured to design the fighter aircraft WM-23 “Ezüstnyíl” (English: Silver Arrow), based on the Heinkel He 112. After the crash of the only prototype in mid-July 1942, the program, however, was discontinued. In 1943, the Aircraft and Motor Company Manfréd Weiss started the license production of the engines DB-605D and of VDM propellers.

In 1938, the Aviation Department of the Hungar-ian State Iron, Steel and Machine Works MÁVAG was vested the right to manufacture the WM-21 “Sólyom”. In 1944, the company was included in the fighter program, which, however, could not be implemented due to the war’s events. The Aviation Department of the Györ Wagon and Machine Works produced a total of 127 Focke-Wulf Fw 58 “Weihe” twin-engine multirole air-craft from 1940 on. In 1941, the works built the prototype of the trainer aircraft “Levente”, and within the scope of the fighter program, they received the order to manufacture the Messer-schmitt Me 109F fighter aircraft. The Hungarian Air Force got 240 out of the around 600 aircraft of this type that had been manufactured by July 1944.

The Danube Aircraft Works started manufactur-ing the heavy fighter and ground-attack aircraft Messerschmitt Me 210, of which one aircraft was produced per day in 1944. About 170 out of the around 270 aircraft manufactured there went to the Hungarian Air Force. On 14 July 1944 it was decided to switch the line of production towards the Me 109 fighter aircraft. The Pestszentlõrinc Industrial Workshops were established as a manufacturing site for the Junkers Ju 52/3m

The Hungarian Aircraft Manufacturers

transport aircraft. Due to delayed construction, the first Ju 52 left the workshops as late as end of March 1944.

1 László Rekettyés, test pilot in Győr, on the bow of his »favorite godchild«.

2 Repair of engine of a Fiat Cr.42 fighter aircraft in Győr Waggon and Machine Factory in 1939.

3 Map of the planned expansion of the Danube Air-craft Works AG.

4 Aerial photography taken after the bombing of the Danube Aircraft Works AG on 13 April 1944 ...

5 ... and the destruction as seen from the ground.

6 American bomber B-24 »Liberator« attacking the Manfréd Weiss Works on 27 July 1944.

Endre vitéz Németh was born in Nagykároly in 1919. When the town was ceded to Romania in 1920, his family resettled to Budapest. From 1936 to 1939 he received military education and training at Ludovica Academy (an officer school in Budapest). After that, he was assigned to the Hungarian Air Force as an observation officer in the 1st Independent Long Range Reconnais-sance Regiment which was equipped with Hein-kel He 70 aircraft.

Endre vitéz Németh conducted his first opera-tional flights within the scope of the military operations against Yugoslavia in April 1941. He achieved his first air victory on the Eastern Front on 2 July 1942; until 13 August 1942, he managed to shoot down another seven aircraft. In spring 1943 he was retrained from the Heinkel He 111-P2 aircraft to the new Junkers Ju 88-D2 type, which he then flew as a pilot. He flew his last mission on 26 April 1943. Until the end of the war Endre vitéz Németh served as a flight instructor. After World War II, he emigrated to Canada with his family, where he worked as head of the representation office of the Ford Mo-tor Company in Vancouver until his retirement.

First Lieutenant Endre vitéz Németh

(1919 – 2007)

1 Trainer aircraft Bücker Bü131 preparing for take-off.

2 Group picture of reconnaissance pilots before a mis-sion somewhere on the Eastern Front.

3 Staff of the reconnaissance squadron in front of a Heinkel He 70 K, winter 1941/1942

4 Lieutenant Endre v. Németh’s wedding photo

5 Reconnaissance Heinkel He 70 K immediately before the start. (Source: Fortepan)

Showcase:1 Awards and personal memorabilia of Lieutenant

vitéz Endre Németh.

The events on the Eastern Front in winter 1941/ 1942 dispelled the faith in a swift victory over the Soviet Union. The Wehrmacht had to make every possible effort to continue operations. On 9 January 1942 László Bárdossy promised that Hungary would do its utmost and go and fight against the Soviet Union. Thus, the Hungar-ian Second Army was established, which moved out in summer 1942. After fierce fighting, it moved into defensive positions along the Don River.

In January 1943, the heavy Soviet offensive re-sulted in the defeat of the Hungarian troops. The country was shocked; conservative circles held Bárdossy responsible for the situation that had arisen. Miklós Kállay, who succeeded Bárdossy in office, wanted to find a way out of the war by pursuing a see-saw policy. While the country continued to fulfill its commitments to Germany, he initiated secret negotiations with England and the USA.

The number of industrial workers increased significantly between 1938 and 1943. The rural population was subject to rigid provisions regu-lating the delivery of their products from 1942 on. In 1941, ration stamps for flour and bread were introduced in Budapest and its hinterland; prices were rising, the lack of goods became increasingly noticeable. A significant part of the grain harvest and strategically important raw materials such as bauxite were exported to Ger-many. When the anti-Jewish laws were passed in 1941 and 1942, the Kállay government still could reject Hitler’s radical demands concerning the Jewish population. Thus, almost 100,000 Jews from the neighboring countries took refuge in the allegedly secure Hungary.

Hungary during World War II

1 Advance of border troops in the valley of the Prut River on 2 Juli 1941.

2 All-terrain vehicle 1938 M Botond drags a 50 mm anti-tank gun 1938 M in the operational area in June 1942.

3 German assault gun StuG III passes Hungarian hus-sars who move through the village Tim, after 2 Juli 1942.

4 Grave of Sergeant Albert Sterk and his comrades in the Hungarian military cemetery Jekaterinowka in August 1942.

5 Hungarian row of trucks in the Ukraine in the winter of 1943/1944

6 Hungarian soldiers march to the front line in front of the Hungarian Artillery Monument in January 1945

Most pilots of the first aviation group received their baptism of fire in Carpatho-Ukraine and in Yugoslavia. On the Eastern Front, they fought from June to November 1941; during this pe-riod, they flew almost 1,500 missions and shot down 30 enemy aircraft. Their own casualties amounted to 17 officers and 15 nonrated men; in terms of air vehicles, the group lost 25 close reconnaissance aircraft, 14 fighter aircraft and 11 bomber aircraft.

Air Brigade 2 faced heavy fighting from May 1942 on. During the Don catastrophe, which began on 12 January 1943, also the air arm suf-fered heavy losses. In total, they lost 36 men killed, 46 missing, 56 wounded and 32 soldiers with frostbite. Almost 50 percent of the aircraft and three fourths of the other material were destroyed. Air Brigade 102, which was newly structured in February and at last had modern German air craft types at its disposal, was placed under German command the whole year.

After Hungary’s occupation by the Wehrmacht in March 1944, it became increasingly obvious that the Allied bomber formations would also target Hungarian towns now. Therefore, 101st Fighter Wing “Puma” was set up on 1 April 1944 for home air defense, which later was increased to the size of a fighter regiment. The first bomb-ing raid on Budapest on 3 April 1944 claimed more than 1000 lives and numerous injured. The last bombardment was conducted on 22 March 1945.

During their missions, Hungarian fighter pilots shot down 61 four-engine and 32 twin-engine Allied bomber aircraft as well as 14 fighter air-craft. Their own losses amounted to 31 pilots and 78 aircraft. From September 1944 on, the Hungarian Air Force limited itself to the sup-port of land forces in the defense against the

The Fights of the Hungarian Air Force on the Eastern Front and for the Defense of their Homeland

advancing Red Army. In May 1945, pushed back on German territory, they destroyed their last remaining aircraft.

1 Fighter aircraft of the type Reggiane Re.2000 »Héja« of the I/1st Squadron »Dongó« on the airfield Stary Oskol on the Eastern Front in summer 1942.

2 German and Hungarian officers get out of a trans-port aircraft Junkers Ju 52 somewhere on the Eastern Front in summer 1942.

3 The commander of the 1st independent Fighter Group, captain Aladár vitéz Heppes of Belényes with a Bergmann machine gun over his shoulder after the outbreak near Ilowskoje in winter 1943.

4 Lieutenant Dániel László before starting at Veszprém Airfield in July 1944.

5 Dive bomber Junkers Ju 87 D with Hungarian cock-ade. In the background is a German machine of the same type.

6 Messerschmitt Bf 109 G 6 of the »Puma« Squadron are preparing for battle to fight Allied aircrafts at-tacking Hungarian cities in summer 1944.

Against the background of Allied air raids on the German armaments production, the German government decided to relocate a part of the aircraft production to Hungary. This decision involved qualitative improvements for the Hun-garian aviation industry and the development of the air arm of the country. On 6 June 1941, the Government Contract on the Messerschmitt Pro-gram was signed in Berlin. Under this contract, an effective aircraft production was to be de-veloped in Hungary, which at that time still was without reach of the Allied air raids. Its produc-tion surpluses were to be delivered to Germany.

The Hungarian aviation industry was vested with the right to manufacture the Messerschmitt Me 109F fighter aircraft and the twin-engine com-bat aircraft (heavy fighter and ground-attack aircraft) Messerschmitt Me 210 as well as the air-craft engines DB-605A and DB-605B. The aircraft produced were distributed between Germany and Hungary at a ratio of 2:1. Later, the arma-ments cooperation was extended to include the transport aircraft Junkers Ju 52/3m, for which the Germans delivered the engines and other components. The production of the airframe, the assembly and the testing of the completed Ju 52 were accomplished in Hungary.

The Messerschmitt Program

1 Technical inspection of a Fighter aircraft Messer-schmitt Bf 109 G 6 from Hungarian production before a test flight

2 Power sources of Messerschmitt aircrafts were made by the Hirth Engine Works.

3 In a factory floor of the Wagon and Machine Works Me 109 cells lined up, 1944.

4 Destroyer Messerschmitt Me 210 from Hungarian production with integrated 40 mm machine gun 34 M and rocket launcher.

5 Junkers Ju 52 and fuselages lined up in a factory floor of Pestszentlőrincer Industry Works AG (PIRT).

6 A Junkers Ju 52 on the Eastern Front, winter 1943/ 1944

From 20 to 25 February 1944 American and British bomber formations carried out heavy air strikes against selected targets of the German armaments industry. Operation »Big Week« should deal a hard blow to air armament largely eliminating it. However, the success of the massive attacks was only short lived. Already in March 1944 the output of German aircraft production was 200 aircraft above the produc-tion of January. In the following time production rates increased more and more.

The losses among experienced and combat tested pilots and crews were much more severe for the Air Force as temporary drops in aircraft production. It was not possible at will to shorten the training of a fighter pilot to operational read-iness - unless at the cost of quality. However, this was the action taken by the Air Force in order to fill the aircraft. New pilots completed courses in flight training schools in ever decreasing times in order to encounter thoroughly and profes-sionally trained allied fighter pilots in the air.

Allied dominance of the skies over Germany increased week by week. At the beginning of the war Hermann Göring had boastfully declared, he wanted to be called »Meier«, should enemy aircraft ever violate the borders of the German Reich. As this was not unusual anymore he was heavily blamed by Hitler. „Your pig sty of an Air Force!“. The reprimanded Göring expressed his bitterness calling the fighter pilots cowards.

The Air Force increasingly fights a loosing battle

1 »Target: Germany« American B-17-bombers during an air raid U.S. Army Air Force, 1944

2& 3 Aerial photographs of Regensburg during and after an air raid on the aircraft plants U.S. Army Air Force, 1944

4 Destroyed fighter aircraft Bf 109 G Allied air raids destroyed numerous operational aircraft on the ground. Bundeswehr Museum of Military History – Berlin-Gatow Airfield

5 Destroyed wonder weapon on the ground The new rocket-propelled fighter aircraft Me 163 was among the wonder weapons, as they were propagated by the NS-Regime, which would enable an »ultimate victory« of Germany. Bundeswehr Museum of Military History – Berlin-Gatow Airfield

During the first years of the war life for people in Germany remained largely normal and unspec-tacular. That changed when the tide turned after the defeat in Stalingrad and the fall of the 6th Army, when the Wehrmacht was put more and more on the defensive on all fronts. Immediately after the disaster at the Wolga Joseph Goebbels propagated on 18 November 1943 in the Berlin Sports Palace employment of the whole civilian population for the continuation of the war.

At the height of his speech the Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda shouted to the about 3,000 »national comrades«: “Do you want total war?” To this very day the subse-quent storm of enthusiasm of the frenetically applauding crowd is considered as an eloquent testimony for the blinding infatuation of people with the National Socialist ideology. The NS-leadership considered the thundering »Yes« as consent of the population to the continuation of the war.

The regime mobilized all means of production and the whole work force for the announced »ultimate victory«. After Hitler first had shown a negative attitude towards the employment of German Women in the armaments industry this personnel reserve was increasingly resorted to. At the »home-front« all men at the age between 16 and 65 years and all women at the age from 17 to 45 years were drafted into service in the armaments industry or within the defense of the Reich. Working hours were extended to up to 14 hours per day.»Do you want total war?« –

Mobilization at the home front

1 German Woman working on the engine block of a Bf 109, Propaganda photo Due to ideological reasons Hitler initially did not want to employ German women in the armaments industry. However, soon young women replaced the workers who were sent to the front. Together with foreign forced laborers they accounted for a large proportion of the work force in the enterprises. Bundeswehr Museum of Military History Dresden

2 „Do you want total war?“ The Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels propagated “Total war” under use of all available means and reserves on 18 November 1943 in the Berlin Sports Palace. German Historical Museum

3 Journal »News from Military District IV« The entire civilian life at the “home front” was geared towards the continuation of the war. The journal “News from Military District IV” was report-ing about total war. The front page depicts a young woman working under the guidance of a Wehr-macht soldier. Bundeswehr Museum of Military History Dresden

The legal basis of labor service was laid by Arti-cle II/1939 on national defense, which entered into force in 1939. Under the aspect of military service, this system was designed to ensure the military fitness of those elements of society that were assessed as politically unreliable and the utilization of their labor. Communists, members of national and ethnic minorities (Gypsies, Ro-manians, Serbs, Slovaks and Ruthenians) as well as Jews were conscripted for the companies to be set up.

In spite of the cruelties which individual com-pany commanders committed misusing their power, the labor service cannot be regarded as an instrument for the systematic extermination of groups of the population. It was as late as spring 1941 that the Jews were deprived of the right to carry arms and wear insignia of rank. The labor service companies mainly constructed roads and airfields and drained swamps both inside the country and in the hinterland of the troops fighting on the Eastern Front. Their casu-alties were approximately proportional to those of the troops fighting on the front.

Labor Service

1 György Erdős, who was of Jewish origin, had been drafted as simple soldier in 1936. Since 1941 he had to carry on as forced laborer without military rank and the right to carry a weapon. (Forrás: HDKE)

2 Forced laborers in Szinérváralja in 1939. (Forrás: HDKE)

3 The 201/5th labor service company at work. In Székelyhíd the men had to destruct the fortifica-tions made by Romanians and collected barbed wire for reusable wire rolls. (Székelyhíd October 1940) (Forrás: HDKE)

4 Winter quarters of labor service in Dolha in Decem-ber 1940. (Forrás: HDKE)

5 The big red letters »Zs«, indicating the Jewish origin (first letter of the Hungarian word »Zsidó« for Jew/Jewish) in the identification papers of Béla Deutsch. (Forrás: HDKE)

6 Forced laborer Sándor Widder with yellow star, after March 1944. (Forrás: HKDE)

As in many other German industrial sectors foreign forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners were used in the field of air armament. Thus German workers drafted for military service should be replaced and the highly increased de-mand for workers should be met. Forced labor-ers and concentration camp prisoners were used in all sectors of local industry but also in the occupied territories. Between seven and eleven million people had to perform forced labor for Germany during the Second World War.

The working slaves came from all countries oc-cupied by the Wehrmacht, on the greater part however from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Their use was a lucrative business for German enterprises enabling enormous savings in terms of personal costs. Also the state earned a lot from the exploitation of the cheap and oppressed laborers by charging rental fees for concentration camp prisoners.

With respect to the Jewish prisoners, the »exter-mination through work« was a deliberately cal-culated contribution towards the »final solution of the Jewish question«. It was not until it turned out in the further course of the war that the pro-curement of forced laborers became increasing-ly difficult and guidance was issued according to which the mortality rate among forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners in the arms industry had to be reduced if possible.

»Extermination through work« – Exploitation in the service of warfare

1 Female forced laborer The clothing indicates probably an Eastern Euro-pean origin. From the very beginning women from occupied territories in the East were employed in the armaments industry. Bundeswehr Museum of Military History Dresden

2 Arrival of forced laborers in Augsburg Augsburg was an important center of the aircraft industry. Forced laborers were deported from the occupied territories to the German Reich. They were only left what they could carry with them. Bundeswehr Museum of Military History Dresden

3 The value of the forced laborers With the advancing annihilation of the Jews there were less and less forced laborers available. The letter indicates that the bad situation of the con-centration camp prisoners with respect to food and clothing caused severe a decline of the labor per-formance. It was necessary to improve conditions in order to ensure progress of work. (National Archives, Washington)

After the defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad the defeat of the Axis Powers became increasingly clear. In this situation Hungary sought to termi-nate the alliance with Hitler and started negotia-tions with the Western Allies. When Hitler heard about that he initiated the occupation of the country by German troops. After the change of allegiance by Romania in summer 1944 the German war economy had lost important crude oil deliveries. Therefore access to Hungarian oil- and bauxite reserves was highly important to the German Reich.

Due to significant the territorial gains through the Vienna Arbitration Decisions of 1938 and 1940 there were than 700,000 Jews in Hungary. Until the country was occupied by the Germans the Government in Budapest had prevented the deportation of the Jews in order to be able to use them for own purposes, for example in unarmed construction parties within the Army. About 40,000 out of 50,000 Jews, who were sent to do labor service at the Eastern Front lost their lives during the withdrawal from the advancing Red Army.

Following the Wehrmacht also SS-Obersturm-bannführer Adolf Eichmann, head of the »Jews Section« of the Central Security Office of the Reich, came to Budapest. Eichmann should per-form the »final solution of the Jewish question« also in Hungary. He got support from the Hun-garian Authorities which proceeded according to German instructions: Registration, marking, deprivation of rights, expropriation, ghettoi-sation, forced labor and deportation About 100,000 Hungarian Jews came to Germany to perform forced labor, the remaining were largely murdered in the extermination camps.

The occupation of Hungary and the fate of the Hungarian Jews

1 Telegraph message of 16 April 1944 The document confirms the cooperation oft the Hungarian authorities and politicians with respect to the deportation of the Hungarian Jews. The 50,000 Jews were followed by another 50,000, sent to the German Reich for forced labor. The remaining about 600,000 Hungarian Jews were taken to the extermination camps within a very short time. Political archive of the Foreign Office

2 Urgent letter to the Foreign Office Political Archive of the Foreign Office

3 Urgent letter of 29 April 1944 The first transport of “2 000 able bodied Jews” from Hungary to Auschwitz started shortly after the tel-egraph message to the Foreign Office. In Auschwitz women and men were selected directly at the ramp. Those who seemed to be unable to work were di-rectly taken to the gas chambers. Political archive of the Foreign Office

4 Telegram of Edmund Veesenmayer, Minister and Reich Commissioner in Hungary The figures mentioned in the telegram refer only to Jews from the Budapest area. Already in June 1944 Veesenmayer had reported to Berlin: „Transport of Jews from the Carpathian mountains and Transylva-nia (…) altogether 289,357 Jews in 92 trains with 45 cars each completed“. Institute of Contemporary History, Munich

5 Deportation of Jews from Budapest The deportation of Hungarian Jews speeded up after the German occupation. The Hungarian au-thorities cooperated efficiently with SS-Oberstrum-bannführer Adolf Eichmann (Federal Archieves, Bild-101I-680-8285A-25)

After Allied troops had landed on Sicily in July 1943, the Hungarian government started consulting the Western Allies with respect to a peace settlement. Hitler, who was informed of these activities by the German intelligence, feared to lose access to raw materials which were important for war such as crude oil and bauxite should Hungary withdraw from the war. Therefore he ordered the Wehrmacht to occupy the country in March 1944. Regent Miklós Hor-thy was allowed to remain in office; however, he was forced to appoint a German-friendly gov-ernment and military leadership.

The occupation placed Hungary completely un-der German control in political, military and eco-nomic terms. The Hungarian armaments indus-try was subordinated to German interests. After the expropriation of their Jewish owners, the Manfréd Weiss Works continued their operations under the designation of Himmler Works. More-over, the deportation of Hungarian Jews began, many of whom died in the extermination camps and as forced laborers in German armaments companies. After Romania had switched sides to join the Soviet Union on 23 August 1944, the German troops increasingly were forced onto the defensive. Horthy wanted to seize the op-portunity to make another attempt to opt out of the forced alliance with Germany.

The poorly organized action took place on 15 October 1944. The German-friendly Hungarian General Staff refused allegiance to the Regent. After the Germans had occupied Buda Castle, Miklós Horthy abdicated and was interned in Germany until the end of war. Ferenc Szálasi became new Prime Minister, who established the reign of terror of the Arrow Cross Party and ordered total mobilization. There was fierce fighting on Hungarian territory even during the last months of the war. World War II claimed the

The German Occupation, the Attempt to Withdraw and the Seizure of Power by the Arrow Cross Party

lives of about 900,000 Hungarians, out of them about 500,000 Jews. 900,000 were taken pris-oner of war. 40 percent of the national property and large parts of the traffic infrastructure were destroyed.

1 Propaganda poster as reaction to the bombardment by the Allies after the occupation of Hungary by German troops on 19 März 1944.

2 A heavy tank Tiger II breaks into the courtyard of the castle during the siege of Buda Castle district.

3 Tiger II tank in the Buda Castle on 15 October 1944.

4 The confiscated weapons of the Life Guard battalion which defended the Buda Castle, 15 Oktober 1944.

5 Ferenc Szálasi, leader of the Arrow Cross Party, came to power after the unsuccessful attempt to opt out of the forced alliance with Germany.

6 Ferenc Szalasi’s meeting with Adolf Hitler in Berlin on 4 December 1944.

In spring 1944 the production of fighter aircraft was given top priority in armaments planning. In order to increase production the so-called »Fighter aircraft staff« was established on 1 March 1944 by the German Air Ministry and the Ministry of Armament and War Production, which was headed by Albert Speer. Members of the managing body were experts from the armaments industry and senior officials of the ministries involved. It was headed by Karl-Otto Saur, the head of the Technical Office of the Ar-maments Ministry.

Just a few days earlier the destruction of produc-tion facilities by allied air strikes during the »Big Week« had brought home the vulnerability of German aircraft production to those responsible. Therefore another task of the Fighter Aircraft Staff was to protect German air armament against the background of the overwhelming allied dominance of the skies. In order to protect them from the bombs the production facilities important to the war effort were spatially divid-ed and relocated to underground bunker sites, mines or forest areas.

A negative result of decentralized production and the large scale employment of conscripted unskilled workers were increasing production failures in the aircraft. From the middle of 1944 onwards corresponding reports from units of the Air Force cumulated. Pilots complained about technical failures and about an in many cases poor manufacturing quality. The problem was aggravated through shortages with respect to the availability of spare parts.

Protection and pooling of productive forces – the »Fighter aircraft staff«

1 The Fighter Aircraft Staff The document records the hierarchical placement of the Fighter Aircraft Staff and defines its respon-sibilities. Federal Archive-Military Archive, BA-MA RL10/5862-5863

2 Telegraph message to Himmler With this telegraph message SS-Commander Hein-rich Himmler was requested to provide concentra-tion camp prisoners for the construction of bunkers and underground plants. Within the framework of this arms project also many Hungarian Jews were employed from 1944 on. National Archives Washington

3 Messerschmitt Me 262 in the plant in the forest Kuno I The Photograph shows part of a camouflaged pro-duction line for the jet aircraft Me 262, which was situated in the forest. The assembled aircraft took off from the highway nearby to their airbases. US Army Photograph

4 Albert Speer together with concentration cam pris-oners The photograph depicts the visit of the Minister for Armaments, Albert Speer, (on the far right) in the concentration camp Mauthausen on 15 July 1944, which was part of the Reich Works Hermann Göring nearby Linz. German Historical Museum

5 Hidden aircraft production An American soldier inspects the hidden production line for the jet aircraft Messerschmitt Me 262. US Army Photograph

6 Relocation of production to underground facilities The document of the Fighter Aircraft Staff of July 1944 shows the armaments which were produced or planned to be produced in underground facili-ties. Federal Archive-Military Archive, BAMA RL7/1214

Pictures

1 On 20 March 1941 Béla Ede Zettl and the Hungarian Optical Works MOM start tests with a machine gun with a high rate of fire. The unanimous view of ex-perts on the first test: »Very promising!« Computer model of the 8-mm cartridge Zettl MOM. (Source: András Hatala)

2 The Weapons Department sees a future for the weapon. In May 1943 the responsibility for the weapons development goes to the Air Force. Schematic diagram of the German implementa-tion of the 15 mm »machine gun« Zettl MOM with cartridge. (Source: András Hatala)

3 Computer model of the second version of the German 15 mm ammunition called HF15, which in October 1943 was separated from the Hungar-ian experiment with 8 mm ammunition and kept strictly confidential. (Source: András Hatala)

4 Hungarian cartridge with eight cartridges Zettl MOM used in firing tests 1944 (Source: Bill Woodin, USA)

5 Although the experiments with the ammunition HF15 lined with expectations, the war ended them prior to the deployment of a prototype. Concept of the weapon’s arrangement. (Source: Fritz Hahn, German Secret Weapons 1939-1945)

6 Reconstruction of the cartridge Zettl MOM on 2 August 1943.

7 Attachment for memorandum No. 3317 about the new ammunition principle developed in Hungary presented in Kummersdorf on 27 August 1943.

8 Page 3 of the memorandum No. 3355 by Company Mauser about a meeting with the General of the Air Defense on 15 October 1943 in Berlin about possi-ble uses of the new cartridge to use Zettl MOM

Responding to the devastating air raids of the allied forces during the »Big Week« in February 1944 the Fighter Aircraft Staff decided in May 1944 to build bomb-proof production facili-ties. Aircraft for the Air Force should be built in gigantic, in part underground bunker sites, un-disturbed by the bombing. Landsberg am Lech, Mühldorf am Inn, and Bedburg in the Eifel and Prag were planned sites for these production fa-cilities. It was planned to build three large-scale buildings of this type nearby Landsberg. How-ever, until the end of the War only two-thirds of the bunker with the camouflage name »Weingut II« were completed.

The facility »Weingut II« was planned with a length of more then 400 meters, a width at its foot of 86 meters and a height of 25 meters at the apex. The »Organization Todt« (OT), an organization with military structures for the re-alization of large building projects, was respon-sible for the construction management. Jewish concentration camp prisoners worked in twelve-hour-shifts under the most difficult conditions on the bunker. The working slaves were accom-modated under terrible conditions in sub camps to concentration camps in the surroundings of Landsberg and Kaufering.

Altogether about 21,000 people were employed on the huge construction site, among them several thousand Hungarian Jews. These were selected for this work after arrival in the extermi-nation camp Ausschwitz. Every day people were injured and died at the construction site. About 6,500 forced laborers did not survive the drudg-ery. Some lost their lives in an especially tragic way: When casting the walls they fell between the formworks and were buried in concrete alive.

Bomb proof aircraft factory – the Bunker »Weingut II«

1 Bunker building Weingut II Clearly visible in the foreground: concentration camp prisoners in striped camp uniforms. Military history collection Weingut II, Landsberg am Lech

2 Formworks for the concrete bunker The bomb proof-bunker was planned with a length of 400 meters, a width at its foot of 86 meters and a height of 25 meters at the apex. Military history collection Weingut II, Landsberg am Lech

3& 4 Situation in the camp The monthly report about diseases and absences among the concentration camp prisoners as well as the hygiene situation in the camp creates the im-pression as if the prisoners were feeling well given the special circumstances. In reality about 6,500 Jews died in a short time during the construction of Weingut II. The so-called infirmary was a place where the death-doomed stayed until the trans-portation to Auschwitz. Dachau Trials, Pros. Ex. 128

5 Protocol from the Fighter Aircraft Staff (Milch pro-tocols) During a meeting in the Fighter Aircraft Staff the issue of the provision of workers for the huge build-ing projects had to be addressed. The consideration, that there would be enough Jews living in Budapest was followed by the deportation of the Hungarian Jews. Federal Archive-Military Archive, BA-MA RL 3/7, Bl. 3758-3793

Showcase1 Shoe of a forced laborer from Kaufering

The concrete stained shoe belonged to a concentra-tion camp prisoner, who was working for the Project Bunker Weingut II in Kaufering. The uncomfortable wooden shoes did not protect against moisture, cold or injuries. Military history collection Weingut II, Landsberg am Lech

After the occupation of the country by German troops, the confiscation of Jewish property on a large scale started immediately. The Germans caught at everything, both in the interest of the Reich and for their own purposes. Unique art objects, valuable furniture and large sums of money disappeared without a trace, office and home furnishings were also stolen by members of the occupying force. Many millions of Hun-garian pengös were extorted from the Jewish communities, but also from individuals within a short period of time.

Some Hungarian towns and internment camps also used this practice. The acquisition of the Manfréd Weiss Works was the greatest example for the robbery of Hungarian Jewish property. SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Becher extorted the appropriation of one of the largest arma-ments and machine works in Central Europe from the Weiss-Chorin-Kornfeld-Mauthner fam-ily. In return, most family members were allowed to emigrate to Switzerland.

In the course of the following months, the Ger-mans increased their economic demands, and after the seizure of power by the Arrow Cross Party, they intended to remove all valuable mov-able assets from Hungary. 55,000 railcars with up to 700,000 tons of goods were shipped to the German Reich; about one fourth of these goods came from Jewish property. A part of the valu-ables stolen from the Jews was shipped by the so-called “Gold Train”. Another train transported the gold reserves of the Hungarian National Bank, objects of art from public collections and other national property to Germany.

Hungary after the Occupation by

German Troops

1 Identification paper of Pál Bács, employed in the military industry and therefore exempted from forced labor with German and Hungarian stamp, September 1944. (Forrás: HDKE)

2 Forced worker Jenő Rosenthal (second for left) in front of a boxcar of the MÁV at the Szombathely Freight Yard in October 1944. (Forrás: HDKE)

3 Yellow reply postcard from members of the Bács family who were conscripted for forced labor (Tamás Pál and György), to the wife of Jenő Bács, 21 Oktober 1944: “Yesterday we slept piled up in Ferihegy, but that’s why we could sleep a bit. Cur-rently we are in Pestszentimre on a meadow and give water, soup and flour food to the workers. We are well, I don’t know where we will go to, probably depending on the profession ...” (Forrás: HDKE)

4 Postcard by Károly Zelenka to his wife in November 1944. “Goodbye! Tomorrow morning they bring us beyond the border to Hegyeshalom. If you can do something, then do it. I kiss you -. Yours Károly” (Forrás: HDKE)

5 “My love! I write from the boxcar, think on you and pray for you. Don’t worry about me, be smart and take care on yourself. Also pray, my love, and be patient! God and our beloved dead protect us. kisses and hugs from your loving Father who lives only for you and worries about you “(Budapest, 1 December 1944) (Forrás: HDKE)

Pictures

1 Blasted and shattered Chain Bridge on the Pest side of the Danube river.

2 The lions of the Chain Bridge with the sight of the destroyed Royal Palace.

3 View of the Margaret bridge, which was blown up too early during ongoing traffic.

4 Streets of Pest after the assault.

5 On the Vérmező Square after the assault in 1945 aircraft wreckages lying around and pulled aside (Source: Fortepan)

6 View from the castle in spring 1945