Levente Associations ( hu, Leventeszervezetek) or simply ''levente'' were paramilitary

youth organization The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

s in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

during the interwar period and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. They were established in 1921 with the declared purpose of physical and health training. As of the mid-1930s, they became a

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

method of circumventing the ban on conscription imposed on Hungary by the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

and over time, openly became a paramilitary organization under the leadership of military

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s.Ernst Christian Helmreich (1957) "Hungary", '' Praeger''
p. 45
/ref> As of 1939, under the Act of Defense, all boys aged 12–21 were required to join the ''levente''.Attila Horvath, "War and Peace: the Effects of the World War II on Hungarian Education" in: Roy Lowe (ed.) (1992) "Education & the Second World War: Studies in Schooling & Social Change", The ''levente'' are usually compared to the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and the Opera Nazionale Balilla of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, but while they also undertook military training, the ''levente'' were neither openly fascist nor particularly politicized, although they were not completely removed from the political influences of the time. The ''levente'' had a smaller female branch, ''Leventelányok'' ("Levente Girls"), created as a voluntary organization in June 1942. Under the rule of

Ferenc Szálasi Ferenc Szálasi (; 6 January 1897 – 12 March 1946), the leader of the Arrow Cross Party – Hungarist Movement, became the "Leader of the Nation" (''Nemzetvezető'') as head of state and simultaneously prime minister of the Kingdom of Hungary' ...

, installed by the Nazis in Hungary in October 1944, mandatory ''levente'' duties were imposed on girls aged 12–19, despite strong opposition from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. However, the changes were never implemented because of the advance of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

. By the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, ''levente'' members were forced to serve in auxiliary military forces. During the postwar Soviet occupation, many ''levente'' activists were tried by Soviet tribunals, convicted of "

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...

activities" and deported to the USSR for penal labor.

Gallery

File:Levente movement.JPG, Levente members in Újtusnád, Northern Transylvania after the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all o ...

File:Velodrom - 1928.10.07 (5).tif, Levente members participating in the First National Levente Sports Festival File:Velodrom, Baranya vármegye - 1928.10.07 (3).tif, Levente members from

Baranya County Baranya ( hu, Baranya megye, ) is a county () in southern Hungary. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region and the historical Baranya region, which was a county (''comitatus'') in the Kingdom of Hungary dating back to the ...

participating in the First National Levente Sports Festival

Gallery

References

See also