László Deák was a Hungarian army officer who served in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He was accused and convicted of war crimes due to his involvement in the massacre of Serbian

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 and Jewish civilians during the Axis

Axis Powers

The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

 armies' invasion of Yugoslavia

Invasion of Yugoslavia

The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...

. He was sentenced to death by hanging and was executed in 1946.

Military record

In the years 1906 - 1909 Deák was a student at the School of Infantry in Sopron

Sopron

In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...

. In 1912 he graduated from the Royal Military Academy “Ludovika” as a Lieutenant. Upon excepting a post to the 19 Infantry Regiment “Honvéd” Austro-Hungarian Army, stationed in Peczu. He took part in the First World War, and after the war he joined the Hungarian Army. He rose to the rank of Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

.

As a Honvéd Colonel who had participated in the "Great Raid"

1942 raid in Novi Sad

The 1942 raid in southern Bačka was a genocidal attack against civilians in Hungarian occupied Bačka in January 1942, after the Axis invasion and partition of Yugoslavia...

 or "Razzia" in January, 1942 in the Bačka

Backa

Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...

 region. In August, 1942, he was pensioned and retired from the army due to his role in the massacres of Serbian and Jewish civilians during the Great Raid in Vojvodina

Vojvodina

Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...

 in present-day Serbia. In August, 1943, he was formally accused of committing war crimes during the Razzia.

On February 2, 1944, he was assigned to the Bánát where he joined the Waffen SS. He was made a Waffen-Oberführer der SS and commanded the SS Kampfgruppe

Kampfgruppe

In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...

 Deak in Vojvodina. In November, 1944, he was attached to the 25th Waffen Grenadier Division der SS “Hunyadi” and was appointed commander of the 61 Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS. The Deák SS Battlegroup consisted of approximately 1,000 men in three infantry companies, a heavy weapons platoon, and a signals platoon. It was engaged in defensive military operations in Bachka and the Bánát. It fought against advancing Soviet troops at Novi Sad

Novi Sad

Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....

.

Conviction and death

After World War II, Hungarian military leaders were extradited to Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 to face war crimes charges. In creating a Nazi-sponsored Greater Hungary, they were accused of committing war crimes against Serbian civilians in Vojvodina. Laszlo Deak was sentenced to death by hanging by the Vojvodina Supreme Court on October 31, 1946, for the mass murder of 5,000 Serbs and Jews in Novi Sad in January, 1942, during the Great Raid. He was executed on November 4 or 5, 1946 in Vojvodina, along with Field Marshal Ferenc Szombathelyi

Ferenc Szombathelyi

Vitéz Ferenc Szombathelyi was a Hungarian military officer, who served as Chief of Army Staff during the Second World War.-Military career:...

 and József Grassy.