At the end of the Second World War, a middle aged woman was brought out accompanied by
an executioner to face her death inside of Budapest.
Hungary had suffered greatly during the Second World War, and hundreds of thousands of people
had been deported to concentration camps such as Auschwitz where they were then exterminated
within minutes of arriving at the largest death camp.
However the images of the woman approaching her execution by pole hanging method inside
the Hungarian capital are rather mysterious, as there are very few pieces of information
regarding this woman.
We know her name, but what can we learn about the execution of the female torturer of Hungary?
Join us today as we look at her story, and as always to support our channel please make
sure to subscribe.
After the end of the war, inside of Hungary there were many executions that took place
outside the Academy of Music in Budapest.
This building became synonymous with the executions of former politicians who had plunged the
country into a tragic and terrible war that saw the land closely allied to the Nazis.
Hungarians would fight alongside German soldiers, and they would be rocked by huge deportations
of people from their lands to concentration camps.
The truth was that there were many politicians who became prime minister and within power
and they collaborated with the Nazis and with Hitler, and after the war a number of these
politicians including Bela Imredy were executed in Budapest.
Thousands would flock to witness these executions and to see what they believed justice being
carried out.
However what is the story of the woman who was executed inside of Budapest in the same
place it’s believed as the former Prime Ministers.
Maria or Manci Nagy it’s believed was a Second World War criminal who had been taken
to a People’s tribunal trial.
These were held to deal with those who were accused of crimes against humanity and of
causing huge suffering inside concentration camps.
Those members of the army who committed atrocities were also tried in this way, and following
her trial Maria was then condemned to death.
But what did she do?
It’s believed that she was a Second World War war criminal who was known for torturing
young Jewish women.
This leads to the possibility that she was actually a woman who worked inside of a concentration
camp.
There were many women who became guards for the SS inside of camps within the Third Reich,
and a number of them were condemned for their crimes.
But usually women like Irma Grese were executed within prison cells.
The name associated with the condemned woman Manci is short for Margaret in Hungary, and
what is strange is that little documented evidence except from pictures and photographs
remains regarding her fate and execution.
She is considered an unknown war criminal, and from the images it is clear that she is
a woman who was rather elderly.
She looks rather respectable and is wrapped in a sweater, looking petrified as she makes
her way to her execution.
But there is another possibility as to why she was executed.
In the final days of the Second World War in Hungary, there was large scale killing
and looting as the Soviets invaded and took city after city.
It’s possible that Manci was one of those who stole the property of displaced people
or that she attacked women who were already suffering.
For her to be sentenced to death, it’s clear she must have done something that was really
serious.
She could also have been someone who was a collaborator, and who passed information to
the Nazis, the SS or the Gestapo about the locations of Jewish women.
There were people who were paid to hunt Jews across Europe, and they acted off tip offs
from neighbours and local people.
Perhaps Manci was one of these collaborators who were considered the lowest of the low
inside of society.
In holland there was one woman who was executed for this crime as she was deemed to have been
a war criminal on the same level as the SS who were deporting Jews to concentration camps.
For Manci Nagy to be executed in front of a crowd inside of Budapest, her offence must
have been incredibly serious and also shocking.
The events of her execution were in keeping with the executions of prominent Hungarians
following the war.
She was led out from her prison and was taken to an execution post and would be executed
using the pole hanging method.
With this the noose was attached to the pole or a large wooden stake through a hook, which
was fed through an eyelet to the executioner who was stood behind the condemned.
When the wooden plank someone was standing now was removed then the executioner would
pull on the noose and strangle the condemned to death against the pole.
Maria or Manci Nagy was accompanied by a priest who remained with her for her final moments,
and the preparations for her execution was done by the executioner who was wearing a
suit and a hat, and also his assistant.
These two would be the ones who also performed the killings, but she would not be alone in
her final moments.
On the pole next to her was a white sheet in which a previously executed person was
covered up in their final moments.
This person would have been executed minutes before and their body was kept out of the
view of Manci as she approached the stake.
With her legs tied and her arms tied and the rope passed around her middle, she then climbed
ontop of a wooden box or step as the executioner fastened the noose and rope around her neck.
The step was then removed and she was left and within minutes she was executed by the
executioner.
The story of Manci or Maria Nagy is one which is shocking.
What did this elderly woman do that was so offensive and evil that she would be taken
in front of a crowd in Budapest and would be executed.
Judging by the shape of the window’s and the brickwork behind her, the execution must
have occurred outside the Academy of Music where former ministers and politicians were
also executed.
These sometimes were executed by firing squad however.
Former Prime Minister Ferenc Szalasi who was considered one of the countries worst war
criminals would be executed on the same stake and in the same manner as this elderly woman.
It’s believed that she would have collaborated with the Germans, and may have given up Jewish
women who were hiding out.
But the sight of the elderly lady making her way to her death was one which has puzzled
some historians, but the aging lady in her sweater in the eyes of the Hungarian officials
and witnesses must have deserved her execution.
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