Lajos Tóth was executed 70 years ago

[Csaba B. Stenge]

Well, this sad topic maybe fits here the most (I try to avoid politics always but in this case it is not possible entirely).

Two days ago on 11 June we remembered the 70th anniversary of the execution of Lajos Tóth.
He was an exceptional fighter pilot and commander, one of the most successful Hungarian fighter pilots of Second World War, who ended the war with 26 confirmed kills and as a commander of 101/2. 'Puma' Fighter Squadron.
You can find his detailed biography in my Hungarian aces book, Forgotten Heroes, which is available in English also: https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Her.../dp/1911512684

After the war, from 1948 he served again and contributed greatly to the re-creating the Hungarian military aviation. However, Hungary was under Soviet occupation at this time, and the country was ruled by a Communist puppet regime, which used the WW2 pilots only to train the first generation of the new Air Force. After that, these 'unreliable' pilots for the regime faced serious purges. Lajos Tóth himself was arrested and he was executed after a show trial under trumped-up charges on 11 June, 1951. He was rehabilitated only in 1990 after the Communist bloc collapsed.
I just uploaded to my YouTube channel a speech of mine from Friday, 11 June 2021 at his gave in Budapest. Worth to remember him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ-GOqhMihE&t=905s

[Teresa Maria]

This is very sad. I wish I could understand your speech!