They were established in 1921 with the declared purpose of physical and health training.

[1] As of the mid-1930s, they became a de facto method of circumventing the ban on conscription imposed on Hungary by the Treaty of Trianon and over time, openly became a paramilitary organization under the leadership of military veterans.

[6][7] As of 1939, under the Act of Defense, all boys aged 12–21 were required to join the levente.

[7] The levente are usually compared to the Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany and the Opera Nazionale Balilla of Italy, but while they also undertook military training, the levente were neither openly fascist nor particularly politicized, although they were not completely removed from the political influences of the time.

Under the rule of Ferenc Szálasi, installed by the Nazis in Hungary in October 1944, mandatory levente duties were imposed on girls aged 12–19, despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church.