Order of Vitéz

The Knightly Order of Vitéz
Badge of the Order
Awarded by Regent Miklós Horthy
Type	State Order (formerly) House Order (currently)
Established	20 August 1920 – 23 February 1945 (National Order)
Awarded for	Civil and Military Merit
Captain General	Vacant
Statistics
First induction	1920
Last induction	1944 (officially)

Order of Vitéz (Vitézi Rend in Hungarian) (frequently spelled in English as 'Vitez') is a Hungarian order of merit which was founded in 1920. It was awarded as a state honour from 1920 to 1944.

During World War II, many members of the Hungarian government and military were members of the Order; as such, members were involved in both contributing to the Holocaust in Hungary as well as leading efforts against it. The United States Department of State lists the Order of Vitéz as having been "under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany.

The Order of Vitéz has several successors; one, the Order of Vitéz under General Captain vitéz József Árpad von Habsburg, is recognised by the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry as an "Institution of Chivalric Character".

The Hungarian word Vitéz is of medieval Slavic origin and means "valiant", "gallant soldier" or "knight". The Vitézi Rend (Order of the Valiant) should not be confused with the 17th-century Vitézlő Rend (Fighting Estate), which refers to a rebellion of former peasants and craftsmen whose homes had been destroyed by the Ottoman Empire. These men took up arms and formed an estate within society that received charters, rights and privileges over the centuries, mainly from the princes of Transylvania, but which were eventually recognised by the Habsburg kings of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Following the peace Treaty of Trianon, which banished the ruling House of Hapsburg from Hungary, a constitutional assembly decided to return to the monarchical form of government and replace the incumbent Habsburg regent, Archduke Joseph August von Habsburg of Austria, with Vice-Admiral Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya. It was mainly his idea to help re-build the shattered country by giving land to soldiers who had proven themselves on the battlefield. This way, the poverty brought on by World War I could begin to be alleviated and soldiers could be rewarded.