On February 13, 1945, the 108-day offensive and defensive battle in Budapest came to an end. The Soviets became the ultimate winners of the battle.
However, Hungarian civilians who awaited the arrival of the "Liberators" often waved their hands and avoided talking about it whenever they mentioned this past in the future.
For many Soviet soldiers from rural areas, the "watch" was often a symbol of status. Anyone who has a watch, a bed, or a stove is bound to be a "rich man." Because they did not understand the function of the flush toilet, many Soviet soldiers also threw their clothes into it, put them in it to dry or rinse, and once they flushed, these things would all be swept away by the water. Therefore, among Soviet soldiers, flush toilets were also called "machines that steal things".
【Devastation after the Battle of Budapest】
A writer named Endre Illes once recounted the story that Soviet soldiers had an unusual obsession with watches. A Hungarian professor made friends with a group of Soviet soldiers, but his watch was snatched away by another group of Soviet soldiers. So his soldier friends would quickly help him "find" the "lost property" and put on his watch. It's just that this watch was also stolen. A few months later, news about the Yalta Conference was screened in a Budapest cinema, and roosevelt, then President of the United States, raised his hand to show Stalin what his watch was. At this point, someone stood up and joked, "Watch your watch!" ”
The wine cellars on the outskirts of Budafolk are also famous. The local Soviet commander and political commissar actually changed twice in a short period of time. The reason is that the crimes they committed under the stimulation of large amounts of free alcohol forced the upper echelons to take a series of coercive measures. Soviet soldiers not only loved to drink, but even rolled around in the cellar and played. It is said that in a wine cellar in Budafolk, more than 20 Soviet soldiers drowned alive in the pool because they were drunk.
For the defeated prisoners of war, the Soviet soldiers were even more terrifying. They often did not accept surrender, shot at people dressed in German uniforms who did not answer questions in German, and the Waffen-SS were executed on the spot if they were spotted. Many soldiers were forced to dig graves for themselves and then shot dead. The slaughter, abuse and even humiliation of prisoners of war had reached an irreparable point, and it was eventually the intervention of the top that improved.
[Soviet soldiers holding Bobosa in hand, celebrating victory.] Notice the "Horner" accordion in one of them, which is worth a lot. It is likely that it was ill-gotten gains seized during a "special operation". 】
If the Soviet troops needed to do anything, such as pushing artillery into positions and pushing obstacles out of the way, they would also forcibly stop pedestrians passing by and force them to labor. As little as half an hour, as much as half a day. If you are happy, you will give food, and if you are not happy, you will not give. So much so that an overly eager one-eyed Soviet sergeant even stopped two Anglo-American members of the Hungarian Allied Control Board and forced them to carry metal supplies in a train station for hours.
Not only that, but the rape of the victors is also a "stain" that cannot be ignored. According to incomplete statistics, after the liberation of Budapest, more than 20,000 women claimed to have been humiliated by Soviet troops. And the real numbers may never be known.
[Soviet soldiers marching into the city of Budapest.] 】
Soviet soldiers were complacent when they snatched a few watches, but the actions of a group of "professionals" were even more heinous. They went straight to the banks, museums and underground safes in Budapest, and used cars and trucks to remove boxes of precious relics and banknotes, and then they walked away without being subject to military law. Because, this is the acquiescence of the superiors!
On January 20, 1945, after a group of Soviet officers visited the Hungarian General Credit Bank, the bank's 113 million braids and 800 customer suitcases "disappeared". Not only that, but the bank's bonds also "evaporated" and disappeared without a trace. The exact amount is unknown, but it is definitely an astronomical amount.
The Soviets also plundered industrial production equipment around Budapest, transporting it by truck for several days alone.
[Hordes of captured German soldiers.] If it fell into the hands of the Soviets, most of them would die. 】
In the Battle of Budapest, the Total Soviet Casualties amounted to 280,000, while the German-Hungarian casualties reached 137,000. This victory was a disaster for two countries and two regimes. But at this time, Germany was already in a state of edifice. The Soviet army was already in full swing, marching towards the last German territory, Austria. Victory is just around the corner.
After the Battle of Budapest, a Soviet soldier hung up a sign labeled 'Budapest' in Russian. Their next battle was Vienna. 】