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József Cserny (18 March 1892 – 18 December 1919) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary who was commander of the Lenin Boys during the
After the Soviet Republic was defeated on 1 August 1919, the communist leadership fled shortly after, however, Cserny and many members of the Lenin Boys remained in Hungary and continued to fight. On August 4, he was arrested by members of the Red Guard. On August 29, 1919, he was transported from the detention center to the Margit körút Prison, where he was interrogated.
On 4 September 1919, deputy attorney general Albert Váry submitted an indictment to the Budapest Criminal Court against twenty-six defendants of the previous Soviet regime. The trial began on November 24, and on December 11, Cserny was found guilty of nine counts of murder and of embezzlement. He was among the fourteen defendants that were sentenced to death. The day before his execution, Cserny made his last will and met with a Reformed priest. He was the last one hanged in the prison yard on 18 December 1919.
József Cserny (18 March 1892 – 18 December 1919) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary who was commander of the Lenin Boys during the Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Socialist Federative Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived communist state that existed from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919 (133 days), succeeding the First Hungarian Republic. The Hungari ...
and was a leading participant in the Red Terror
The Red Terror () was a campaign of political repression and Mass killing, executions in Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia which was carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police ...
.
Cserny was tried for murder and executed following the Republic's fall.
Early life
József Cserny was born on March 18, 1892, inBudapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
into a working-class family. His father was a Catholic carpenter and his mother a Protestant day laborer. He was baptized on December 13, 1892, in the Kálvin Square Reformed Church in Budapest.
Cserny learned to speak both German and Dalmatian and worked as a shoemaker until he served in the Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...
in the First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. In 1918, he escaped to Soviet Russia, where he joined the group of Hungarian communists. He became a student at an agitator training school. In November 1918, following the news of the Aster Revolution
The Aster Revolution or Chrysanthemum Revolution () was a revolution in Hungary led by Count Mihály Károlyi in the aftermath of World War I. It resulted in the foundation of the short-lived First Hungarian People's Republic.
The revolution ...
, the Hungarian Communists in Russia founded the Hungarian Party of Communists.
Revolutionary activities
By December 1918, he had returned to Hungary and joined the sailor detachment of guards, protecting the headquarters of the communist party. The group was autonomous, and only accepted orders that they agreed with, taking orders directly from the communist party leadership. In addition to his role as a paramilitary commander, Cserny also oversaw some trials held in the revolutionary tribunals of the new Soviet Republic. By March, the Communist Party and theSocial Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
had established the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Cserny was commanding over two hundred men, who acted as a gendarmerie
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
force in Budapest. During the first days of the Red Terror, Cserny's men killed over a dozen people, most notably state secretary Sándor Hollán Sr. and his son Sándor Hollán Jr who were shot on Cserny's orders before being dumped into the Danube river
The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...
. Civilians were regularly attacked by the group for perceived "counter revolutionary activities" and were murdered for offenses such as saluting the old national flag, or smiling at a member of the Lenin Boys, which was perceived as an insult. Cserny also arrested, tortured, and hanged people associated with the old government, without trial, on orders from Communist officials.
At the end of April 1919, the new commander-in-chief of the army, the social democrat Vilmos Böhm
Vilmos Böhm or Wilhelm Böhm (; 6 January 1880 – 28 October 1949) was a Hungarian Social Democrat and Hungary's ambassador to Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the S ...
, issued an order to disband all "political terrorist groups or separate groups operating under other names." Cserny's group was called to surrender their weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and their headquarters. After an unsuccessful counter-revolutionary insurgency organized by a number of naval cadets occurred on June, Cserny urgently requested Béla Kun
Béla Kun (, born Béla Kohn; 20 February 1886 – 29 August 1938) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary and politician who in 1919 governed the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
After attending Franz Joseph University at Kolozsvár (today Cluj-N ...
to rearm the group. After his group was reorganized and re-armed, he continued the group's terrorist activities.
Arrest and trial
After the Soviet Republic was defeated on 1 August 1919, the communist leadership fled shortly after, however, Cserny and many members of the Lenin Boys remained in Hungary and continued to fight. On August 4, he was arrested by members of the Red Guard. On August 29, 1919, he was transported from the detention center to the Margit körút Prison, where he was interrogated.
On 4 September 1919, deputy attorney general Albert Váry submitted an indictment to the Budapest Criminal Court against twenty-six defendants of the previous Soviet regime. The trial began on November 24, and on December 11, Cserny was found guilty of nine counts of murder and of embezzlement. He was among the fourteen defendants that were sentenced to death. The day before his execution, Cserny made his last will and met with a Reformed priest. He was the last one hanged in the prison yard on 18 December 1919.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cserny, József 1892 births 1919 deaths Hungarian people convicted of murder Hungarian people executed for war crimes Hungarian Communist Party politicians Hungarian revolutionaries Executed Hungarian people Executed communists Executed military leaders Executed mass murderers Executed revolutionaries Hungarian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I People convicted of murder by Hungary People executed by Hungary by hanging Perpetrators of the Red Terror (Hungary)