Post WWII Hungarian-Slovak population exchange anniversary marked in Tótkomlós

A commemoration was held in Tótkomlós, in south-eastern Hungary, to mark the 70th anniversary of post WWII Hungarian-Slovak population exchange on Saturday.

Addressing the event, Zsolt Németh, the head of Hungarian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said that although Hungarian-Slovak relations had significantly improved over the past 27 years of democracy, there were still some issues waiting to be addressed before “full reconciliation” can be achieved between the two countries. He mentioned compensation payment for the victims of deportation and ensuring minority rights as examples to such issues.

Concerning the 70th anniversary, Németh noted that in 1947 some 170,000 ethnic Hungarian residents of Czechoslovakia had been forced to leave their native land, with around 80,000 of them deported to Hungary. He said that around 1,500 settled in Tótkomlós.

“This forced transfer of people had brought about a lot of suffering,” Németh said.

The commemoration ended with the unveiling of a bilingual plaque reading “2017 – A Year of Reconciliation”.

Source: MTI