Ferenc Papp

Ferenc Papp was born on 13 November 1917 in Debrecen, his father was a high school principal. After graduating from the Ludovika Academy, he was commissioned an infantry lieutenant in 1939. In 1941 he was sent to an armoured retraining course and during the summer he took part in the operations of the Rapid Corps. For his bravery there, he was awarded the Governor's Commendation with Swords. In 1944, he served as a Divisional Assistant Officer in the 51st Armoured Machine Gun Division, with which unit he took part in the operations of the 1st Armoured Division. Being confined to Budapest, the unit did little combat work of any substance. On 30 January 1945, he was captured with the rest of the unit at 31 Keleti Károly Street. The Russians took everything from him, even his jacket was stripped off, and the crew gave him the most necessary items for his use. From prisoner of war he tried unsuccessfully to enlist in the new army. He returned in December 1947. At this time he did not attempt to return to the army, graduated from the Technical University and got a job at the Institute of Field Machinery Development. Despite the fact that they could not prove anything negative, he was stripped of his rank after 1956.

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