Claim:
The German-Hungarian army defending Buda against the Soviet army broke out of the siege following Hitler’s order to this effect, to ’defend its honour’
Rebuttal:
The claim is false, they broke out of the siege against Hitler’s express orders, with the hope of saving their lives
In detail:
Hitler expressly forbade the defence force to break out of the siege, even though they had asked for his permission to do so several times. Thus the breakout of 11 February 1945 countervened Hitler’s order. The general in charge of the units, SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch decided to do it not because he was acting on his soldier’s honour or his loyalty to Hitler, but because he wanted to avoid being taken POW by the Soviets. However, in the first actually dangerous situation he abandoned his troops and gave himself up. [1]
[1] For more on the question see Ungváry Krisztián: Budapest ostroma. 6. kiadás. Budapest 2006 Corvina.
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