Mid Theme Visit: Country Links - Norway and Hungary

 

Mid-Theme Visit: Country Links

Norway and Hungary

Hello, and have a lovely time reading this fresh Country Links article. This time, we are going to be sticking to Europe, but warning: this link is in the confusing turmoil of the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945, therefore, to keep this at a suitable length, there will maybe be some unanswered questions or loose ends, but for another time, therefore, not to worry. For now though, please join me with this article on Northern and Central Europe for a change, as we explore Norway and Hungary.

Their situations were quite tragically similar due to the same event – the infamous Great Depression, most commonly associated with the Wall Street Crash of 1929. This economic disaster occurred after over a decade of unwise financial decisions by everyone, from politicians’ poor policies, to banks’ completely unjustified loans and poor investments by members of the public with little to no fruition. The economic ruin was not just contained to the US, where Wall Street was, and still is, in New York, but all over the place, including Britain and wider Europe.

Norway and Hungary did not escape this travesty either. For one, Norway’s funding into international goods saw no justifiable return as the amount of money earned from sales abroad was 5 times less than the funding provided for the goods being sold with the other money up in smoke. Hungary was left just as, if not even more economically crippled as the international market fell like a tree and there were eyewatering costs for bulk goods domestically.

All in all, they were both left in a sorry state for the decade before World War Two. But, some countries had managed to bounce back or ignore the economic hardships. Germany was one of these, under Adolf Hitler’s leadership as Fuhrer starting in 1933, representing the Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party, known as the world as the Nazis. Hitler’s policies helped Germany rise from the ashes of nationwide economic sorrow, but after this, he wanted more – land that is.

Iron Gold

He brutally actioned this desire by storming through Poland in 1939, prompting the likes of Britain, under Neville Chamberlain, whom Winston Churchill was soon to replace, and France, under Albert Lebrun, amongst others to hinder their progress. A year later, in 1940, Germany communicated with neighbouring Italy, under Benito Mussolini and far off Japan, under Hirohito, who held very similar ambitions, causing them to form the Axis through the Tripartite Treaty.

This is where our subject countries for today join the show. Now, Germany, on top of wanting to spread further, Germany was wary of Britain’s close proximity to Scandinavia, which held invaluable natural resources for war vantage. Hitler, upon reaching this realisation advanced swiftly towards Norway in 1940, taking it from all parts, south, central, and north, while under King Haakon VII. The seaports were crucial, as Germany could gain iron from Sweden, which had remained neutral for diplomatic reasons. Iron was a very precious metal as so many military items could be made from it, such as bullets, firearms, and heavy machinery. Germany, therefore, wanted to get therefore before Britain. Even though Germany lost a battle in a northern section of Norway, Narvik, against the Allies, it still gained hold of Norway, strategizing its sea trade to use against enemies.

This is where Hungary joins us. Now, the Axis, particularly Germany and Italy had been merciful towards Hungary in providing economic relief through trade. Not wanting to endanger this, Hungary committed soldiers to their cause, with over 200,000 joining in total. Also possibly aiding this were Hungary’s past ties with Germany, such as the First World War, starting over 25 years before. This was when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was still at large, having existed for centuries for political convenience and loyalties which Germany was attached to.

This is where we find the links as the Hungarians troops deployed by Hungary’s ruler, Miklos Horthy, would have inevitably used the weapons the Nazis manufactured from the iron attained through trade deals only possible by Germany’s positioning on Norwegian ports. Therefore, the link between Norway and Hungary is military, as Hungarian soldiers fought with weapons procured through Norway.

 

Interesting Facts

-        Germany, in 1942, inserted a puppet government in Norway known as the Quisling regime under Vidkun Quisling who did all of Hitler’s bidding.

-        To maximise control over Hungary, Germany fully occupied the country in 1944.

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