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4th Of June: A Date Which The Hungarian Nation Mourns
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94 years have passed since the signing of the Treaty of Trianon, which ended the First World War for Hungary and, more importantly, brought drastic changes to the country by removing more than two thirds of itsoriginal territory.
www.historicaltextarchive.com
Hungary was on the side of the Central Powers in the World War I and as such, was on the losing side. The war was devastating for the entire world, more than 37 thousand civilians and soldiers died. For Hungary, however the true catastrophe only came two years after the fightings ceased on the battlefields.
It all started in 1919, during the Paris Peace Conferences, where the allied victors laid down the peace terms for the Central powers. Each losing country was treated in a different treaty at different times. Germany, for example, signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 while Austria the Treaty of Saint-Germain in the same year.
The nature of these treaties was heavily disputed during the conferences. Everyone from the allies had different ideas to approach the issue. The famous Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, was a quite optimistic and idealistic. Nobody knows, however, how it could have worked because the leaders of the Allies from Europe discarded it as they were seeking their national interests and retribution over the Central Powers rather than making peace peacefully and hence ease the tension.
This meant that instead of Wilson’s Fourteen Points the rather radical approach of these sides, especially the French Prime Minister George Clemenceau’s, were equipped during the negotiations. The aim of France was to completely nullify the power and possible threat of Germany. It certainly put the country into despair for a while. Nevertheless, many people criticized the conditions, claiming that the treaties are too strict and are rather counter-productive in this way.
Just some remarks:
Kárpátalja (or Zakarpattia, or Transcarpathia) wasn’t given to Ukraine (neither to the Soviet Union) in 1920. That time Kárpátalja (just like “Felvidék”) was also given to Czecoslovakia. Then later after WW2 (1944) when Sovietunion occupied Central-Eastern Europe, it was given to the Soviet Union (thus to Ukraine).
1. So correctly what happened with Hungarian territories in 1920:
Erdély (Transylvania): to Romania
Felvidék (“Upper Land”) + Kárpátalja (Transcarpathia): independence as “Slovakia”
Croatia: independence
Vajdaság (Vojvodina): to Serbia (as autonomous province)
Burgenland: to Austria
2. New countries as the result of independence from Austria and Hungary:
Slovakia (getting it’s independence from Hungary) and Czechia (getting it’s independence from Austria) formed together Czechoslovakia, starting from the very same day of their independence.
Serbia (already existing country), Croatia (independence from Hungary), Slovenia (independence from Austria), Bosina (released from Austro-Hungarian military control) and some other counries forming the “Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes” which later in 1929 became the “Kingdom of Yugoslavia”.
At the same period the same thing happened to Macedonia with a difference that the whole teritory was divided in 3: one to Serbia, one to Greece, and one to Bulgaria. The part taken by Serbia is the current Macedonia thanks to Tito. The other two parts are gone. This is the reason why Greeks are complaining.
Good article. I agree with the comments. I am glad to have found a good paper regarding Hungarian events, Hungary and Hungarians living in the States that is written in English.
Próbálják velünk elfelejtetni,de aki igaz mag(yar) az nem fogja soha!