Why is Trianon still so devastating for Hungarians even after 100 years?

The Treaty of Trianon, signed on 4^th June 1920, is still a social trauma for many Hungarians even though a hundred years have passed. According to György Csepeli’s representative survey in 2010, 66% of respondents, which grew to 68% two years later, have called Trianon the greatest tragedy in Hungarian history. The revolution of 1956 and the subsequent retaliation is in second place, while the Holocaust, the persecution of Jews and their deportation is the third most tragic event in Hungarian history.

24 writes that, according to the findings of Publicus Institute in 2018, 73% of Hungarians believe that the Trianon Treaty was the most tragic event in the long history of Hungary. In 2020, this number rose to 83%, with no relation to political beliefs among respondents.

Even according to an international poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre this year, two-thirds of Hungarians agreed that certain parts of neighbouring countries should belong to Hungary to this day.

It is completely understandable why Hungarians, who have directly become minorities and who even experience discrimination directly because of the treaty, find it difficult to accept the event, but how did the detachment of areas affect those who were not directly involved in it? Why do they experience it as a trauma, and how can a historical event survive in the public consciousness? Why does the Treaty of Trianon still hurt after 100 years?

Historical traumas affect us from generation to generation

We know a lot of things about the nature and effects of personal trauma. However, we do not know as much about stressful events remembered for generations by people belonging to a group or a nation. The Treaty of Trianon is a collective, historical trauma for many Hungarians.

Certain events can, in fact, cause shock, anxiety, or depression without direct personal involvement.

This phenomenon was first observed in the children of Holocaust survivors, but later, the same behaviour was detected in other groups, and the theory got confirmed. Such historical trauma can be a one-time event, but it can also be centuries of discrimination and oppression. The latter, long process obviously has a stronger effect on the condition of direct survivors and their offspring as well. According to some research, the effect passed on through generations can be psychological, but it could also be social, cultural, neurobiological, or, according to some, it could even be genetic.

The perception of such traumatic events by individuals, however, can be greatly influenced by their communities. The events that have happened in the past but that are still active parts of contemporary culture will legitimately affect the current state of mind of people and their interpretation of current problems as well.

Therefore, a collective trauma can be felt not only by those who are directly connected to it via the experience of discrimination, or those that have family photos or memories connected to the event, but also by other people through various social and political phenomena, symbols, or actions that remind the group or nation of the incident.

As a result of historical trauma, a collective victim identity is often developed when a group of people believes that they are the victim of other groups or tragic events, thus creating a kind of collective reality for their members. To experience this, one needs to identify with the group, feel direct continuity with the events of the past, and experience such a defeat as one’s own. This victim identity can increase the sense of togetherness of affinity of the group towards its members. It can reduce stress, or even motivate members to take action.