| Erno Gero | |
| |
| Historical Figure | |
| Nationality: | Hungary (born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire) |
| Year of Birth: | 1898 |
| Year of Death: | 1980 |
| Cause of Death: | Natural causes |
| Religion: | Atheism (originally Judaism) |
| Occupation: | Politician, Chekist |
| Spouse: | Erzsébet Fazekas |
| Children: | Three |
| Military Branch: | NKVD (incl. Spanish Civil War) |
| Political Office(s): | Minister of Finance, Minister of the Interior, General Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party |
| Fictional Appearances: | |
| The Hot War POD: November, 1950 | |
| Appearance(s): | Armistice |
| Type of Appearance: | Contemporary reference |
| Political Office(s): | Foreign Minister of Hungary |
Erno Gero (born Ernő Singer, 8 July 1898 – 12 March 1980) was a Hungarian communist politician in the period after World War II. He briefly became the de facto leader of the country in 1956 when he succeeded Matyas Rakosi as General Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party.
Born to a Jewish family in the Kingdom of Hungary, he became an ardent communist at a young age. He fled to the Soviet Union after the fall of Bela Kun's government, and became a member of the NKVD. He fought for the Spanish Republicans, during the Spanish Civil War, though he spent most of his time purging Trotskyists, earning himself the nickname the "Butcher of Barcelona". He stayed in the Soviet Union for most of World War II, returning to Hungary in 1944. He quickly became the right-hand man of Matyas Rakosi, the Soviet Union's puppet ruler of Hungary. Gero became premier in 1952, though he was replaced after Joseph Stalin's death the following year. As de-Stalinization began to spread under Nikita Khrushchev, Raskosi was ousted on the orders of Anastas Mikoyan, but Rakosi was able to arrange for Gero to succeed him as General Secretary. However, he was ousted upon the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. After a brief exile to the USSR, he returned to Hungary in 1960, and retired.
Erno Gero in The Hot War[]
Erno Gero was Hungary's foreign minister at the close of World War III. In Istvan Szolovits' opinion, Gero was a "baby Molotov" whereas Matyas Rakosi was a "baby Stalin".
After former People's Army Sergeant Erno Gergely arrived in California, where his former pupil Szolovits was, Gergely amused to tell Szolovits his first name, invoking Erno Gero.[1]
References[]
| Political offices (OTL) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Miklós Nyárádi |
Minister of Finance of Hungary 1948–1949 |
Succeeded by István Kossa |
| Preceded by József Györe |
Interior Minister of Hungary 1953–1954 |
Succeeded by László Piros |
| Party political offices (OTL) | ||
| Preceded by Matyas Rakosi |
General Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party 18 July – 25 October 1956 |
Succeeded by János Kádár |
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