Hungary to investigate suspected Nazi collaborator
Hungary has launched an investigation into the case of a suspected former Nazi collaborator who may have been involved in genocide during the Second World War, authorities said today.
Lajos Polgar, who lives in Australia, is accused of criminal actions while a member of the Arrow Cross, the Nazis’ Hungarian allies.
The Jerusalem office of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre asked Hungary to investigate Polgar’s wartime activities.
The inquiry into the case of suspected genocide will be carried out by the National Bureau of Investigation, Jeno Varga, a spokesman for the Budapest Prosecutor’s Office told state news wire MTI.
Copies of court records from the 1940s included in the Wiesenthal Centre’s request allegedly show that Polgar made numerous decisions affecting Hungarian Jews and may have participated in killings and persecutions.
According to Australian media reports, Polgar, 89, acknowledged having been a member of the Arrow Cross but denied committing crimes against Jews.
