Under the Influence of His Leader Cult: Miklós Horthy’s Self-Image During World War II

Abstract After World War I and the collapse of the Hungarian Kingdom via the Trianon Peace Treaty, a leader cult developed around Miklós Horthy, regent (the head of state) of Hungary between 1920 and 1944. This cult existed throughout the so-called Horthy era, but its intensity and emphasis changed. According to the official image of Horthy, created by many cult-makers and disseminated through different propaganda techniques, he was the only one capable of restoring the national glory and greatness that Hungary had lost after the Great War. As in the cases of other European leader cults of that time, it is very important to analyze the impact of the Horthy cult on the man who was the object of such adulation. This issue has not received sufficient scholarly attention from historians. This article shows how the uninterrupted propaganda, and his oversimplified and exaggerated official image, had a significant impact on Horthy’s self-image during World War II.