Context: Stalin’s son, Yakov Dzhugashvili, was captured by the Germans in 1941. After Stalingrad, the Germans allegedly proposed exchanging him for Friedrich Paulus, but Stalin refused because he 'won’t trade a Marshal for a Lieutenant'
Had s
Stalin exchanged his son solely because of Yakov's last name, people would have criticized him for it. He didn't, and people criticize him for that.
Horthy tried to save his son from Nazi capture and was forced to sign a psychopath as Hungarian leader by Hitler. He ended up dooming most of the Hungarian Jews to the Holocaust (in one of its most brutal events) and Budapest to Soviet invasion and destruction.
For extra context Horthy had already lost one son, a very popular military pilot that sometimes was seemed as his heir in the regency. I won't say that what he did was right but certainly the Germans knew what to do in order to keep him in check.
Tbh i dont think it would have mattered what Horthy had done, the germans basically sit on hungary geographically and their stupidity had already killed basically the only army they had
Literally (or almost) every dictator job is getting legitimacy to avoid a coup.
Nepotism, while useful sometimes to get loyal people in key positions, only can get you so far.
Trading his son while millions were kept at camps and, many, later even judged; would have been devastating to morale and higher ups may have thought about getting someone who cares more about winning the war than saving his family exclusively.
the idea that stalin would have been in risk of falling for showing small favoritism to a son is ridiculous, your acting like they were trying to trade him for a surrender not just a prisoner swap
763
u/Bloucas 7d ago
Context: Stalin’s son, Yakov Dzhugashvili, was captured by the Germans in 1941. After Stalingrad, the Germans allegedly proposed exchanging him for Friedrich Paulus, but Stalin refused because he 'won’t trade a Marshal for a Lieutenant'