Dr. Béla Király (14 April 1912 – 4 July 2009) was a Hungarian resistance fighter during World War II, as well as a military historian, author, and politician. He was born in Kaposvár, Hungary. Commissioned as a second lieutenant of the Hungarian Army in 1935, he fought actively in World War II. Following the war, he joined the Hungarian Communist Party, and rose to the rank of major general in the Hungarian army. In 1951, he was arrested on what many felt to be false charges and sentenced to death. On appeal, the sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. In September 1956, however, he was released from prison. [citation needed]