the trade treaty gyula gömbös signed with germany in 1934 was an important factor in stimulating the economy, but it also became a critical factor in deciding the fate of hungary for the remainder of the decade and during the war. though the agreement did give hungary a favorable price for sales of her wheat, the money earned remained in an account in germany and had to be used to purchase german industrial goods. by 1938 the terms of trade agreement provided germany with economic domination over hungary, along with most other countries in the region, and left hungary inextricably tied to germany for the duration of the interwar period and leading into world war ii; hungary, because of her unbreakable ties to germany, ultimately joined the war on the side of the axis powers. when the tides of the war began to turn, hungary, as in world war i, was again on the losing side. as the allies began to defeat germany the red army began liberating much of eastern europe, reaching hungary in december 1944. the occupation of the red army which began in 1944 played a role in preparing hungary for an eventual communist takeover.