P l Mal ter

Pál Maléter (1917-June 16, 1958) was born in Prešov, Slovakia, Austria-Hungary, to Hungarian parents. He was the military leader of the Hungarian Revolution.

Maléter studied medicine at the Charles University, Prague, before moving to Budapest in 1938, going to the military academy there.

He fought on the Eastern Front, until captured by the Red Army. Became a Communist, trained in sabotage etc and sent back to Hungary, where he was noted for his courage and daring.

In 1956 he was commander of an infantry division stationed in Budapest. He was sent to suppress the rebellion, but on making contact with the insurgents during the Hungarian Uprising he decided to join them, helping to defend the Corvina Barracks.

As the chief military presence on the insurgents' side he came into contact with the new government, and enjoyed a rapid promotion from Colonel to General, and on 29 October was appointed Minister of Defense. On 3 November he went to Tokol, located near Budapest, to negotiate with the Soviet military forces based there. The following day during discussions, against international law, Maléter was arrested and imprisoned.

He was executed along with Imre Nagy and others in a Budapest prison on 16 June 1958, on charges of attempting to overthrow the Hungarian People's Republic.

Along with the others he was rehabilitated and formally reburied in June 1989.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia article. Browse Wikipedia for more information.