Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who served as the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary between the two World Wars and throughout most of World War II – from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. He is a controversial figure.
Some historians view Horthy as unenthusiastic in contributing to the German war effort and the Holocaust in Hungary, he attempted to strike a secret deal with the Allies in World War II after it had become obvious that the Axis would lose the war.
Miklós Horthy is described in the novel The Wallenberg Dossier.
Prior to the Nazi occupation tens of thousands of Jews were killed. Zvonimir Golubović, historian, has claimed that not only was Horthy aware of these genocidal massacres, but had approved them.
In October 1944, Horthy announced that Hungary had declared an armistice with the Allies and withdrawn from the Axis. He was forced to resign, placed under arrest by the Germans and taken to Bavaria. At the end of the war, he came under the custody of American troops.