Vilmos Hellebronth


Vilmos Hellebronth was a Hungarian soldier during World War II, after 16 October 1944, minister in Ferenc Szálasi's government.

His life

Vilmos Hellebronth finished his military studies in the Ludovica Military Academy, after that, he was serving in World War I as a lieutenant of infantry. After the war, he became Lieutenant-Colonel and the armament material attendance head of department. In 1939 he was appointed to Colonel in the Chief of Staff of the Hungarian Royal Air Force and in 1942 he got the rank of major-general. Between 1942 and 1944 he was serving on the Eastern Front. After Szálasi's rise to power, he was appointed to the minister of armament industry and he got the rank of Lieutenant-General. In his office, he controlled the relocating of the Hungarian armament industry's to Germany. When the Soviet Red Army arrived to Budapest, he fled to Germany, where he was captured by American soldiers. In 1945 he was brought home, where the Hungarian People's Tribunal sentenced him to death. Before his execution, his sentence was changed to life imprisonment. Finally he was released in 1963, after this he was retired from the politics until his death.