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Borders of Trianon Had Been Determined on May 8, 1919, One Year Before the Signing of the Peace Treaty

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Borders of Trianon Had Been Determined on May 8, 1919, One Year Before the Signing of the Peace Treaty FOREWORD The Peace Treaty of Trianon was Hungary’s turn of fate—a second Mohács. Hungary was compelled to sign it in one of the downturns of its history. Pál Teleki, the Prime Minister at that time who presented the peace treaty for parliamentary ratification, filed an indictment against himself in Parliament because he felt responsible... Recently, there has been increased interest concerning the Peace Treaty of Trianon. The subject of Trianon is inexhaustible. Nobody has yet written about Trianon in its complexity, and perhaps it will be long before anyone will. The subject is so complex that it must be studied from different angles, various scientific approaches, and using several methods. It remains unsettled, as its scholars can always discover new perspectives. This study - perhaps best described as a commentary - is not a scientific work. Rather, its goal is to enhance public awareness and offer a more current and realistic synthesis of the Peace Treaty of Trianon while incorporating more recent observations. Intended for a broad audience, its purpose is not to list historical events - as the historians have done and will continue to do - but rather to provide data regarding those geographic, economic and geo- political aspects and their correlation which have received inadequate attention in the literature on Trianon so far. Perhaps this work will also succeed in providing new perspectives. It is not as difficult to interpret and explain the text of the treaty as it is to write about and focus public attention on its spirit and its open and hidden aims. It is difficult - perhaps delicate - to write about its truths, how it really came about, and what effects it had on the Hungarian nation. The author wishes to interpret truth from two different angles: first, as it appears in our current, everyday political language, and second, the question of historical truth. Stalinism has attributed different meanings to dozens, maybe hundreds of concepts. During the last 40 years, Hungarians have become accustomed to a schizophrenic political language, often not noticing its falsity and manipulation. Their initial, true meaning must be returned to these concepts. They must once again be used with the proper thoughtfulness, carefulness and wisdom. More grave, however, is what Stalinism has done to history. Several chapters of Hungarian history have been falsified or hidden from public view. Justice must be served. But what is historical truth? The author’s view - and he is not alone in this respect - is that the real meaning of historical truth is very close to the concept of historical objectivity. One might ask: is there, or can there be a separate Hungarian history without the nationalities and the neighbors? Can we speak about historical truth only from the Hungarian point of view? There was a time (at the beginning of the century) when Hungarian history was interpreted in this way, most often leading to harmful one-sidedness, blindness and self-cheating. Such interpretations led to mistakes. Hence, historical truth cannot be in contradiction with historical 1 Figure 1. State Boundary Railway Line Adjoining State Boundary Population Overwhelmingly Hungarian Mixed objectivity. This means that historical events and processes must be evaluated in light of their interaction and relations. The history of a nation or country must be studied not only from the perspective of its internal processes, but also from the angle of its external relations or coexistence with its neighbors. In this respect, there are two sides of the coin, and both should be considered: the interests and perspectives of the Hungarian nation on the one hand, and that of the nationalities, neighbors, and adversaries on the other. This is especially relevant in the Carpathian Basin, inhabited in the past and present by several nations. The author has thought a great deal about whether or not historical truth can be evaluated objectively and encourages the reader to do the same. Indeed, the road towards objectivity lies beyond knowing our own interests, through a certain acceptance of the interests of our rivals. It is difficult to realize the first, and more difficult to recognize the second. The peace established in Trianon nearly 70 years ago continues to have an indirect impact on the Hungarian nation, particularly in light of Trianon’s two greatest legacies: the frontier issue and the question of Hungarian minorities. The first step in facing these legacies is to become as well-informed as possible regarding their evolution and effects. In this volume, one who has researched this question for decades, attempts to bring the reader closer to a better understanding of these vital problems by offering an encompassing, current and European analysis of Trianon. We could not aspire, however, to provide a complete analysis. The only completed part - the geo-political analysis of the borders - is based mostly upon yet unpublished research materials; but their present exposure is just the draft of a larger work. Other parts of this study are mostly contributions toward the enhancement of public awareness and the development of a new perspective in this subject matter. I would like to express my special thanks to the well-known library-historian, Dr. András Tóth, for his editing work; the Transylvania-researcher Júlia Balogh and publicist Dr. Imre Del Medico, for their useful comments and advice. Last but not least, I would like to express my appreciation to Gábor Visnyovszki for the maps. This volume will have reached its purpose if it can convince the reader that studying the Peace Treaty of Trianon can never be put aside. Dr. Zoltán Palotás “... We put our truth in writing, presented it and, inasmuch as we were given time, vocalized it even when the Hungarian peace delegation was in Paris and had to accept the dictated peace. When they asked me, the preparer of the peace delegation’s work, why we wrote down so much, for no one here will read all of it, I answered: “I am aware that they won’t read it today, but they will read it once. Teleki 2 FOREWORD .............................................................................................................................................................................1 I. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................................5 WHAT AND HOW?....................................................................................................................................................................5 “HATRED. BY COMMON AGREEMENT” ..............................................................................................................................6 ANTECEDENTS: THE MONARCHY.........................................................................................................................................7 THE HUNGARIAN NATION AND THE NATIONALITIES.....................................................................................................9 THE NATIONALITY QUESTION—FROM THE INSIDE ......................................................................................................15 What was the Real Situation with the Nationalities? .............................................................................................15 The Nationality Question from the Outside ...............................................................................................................16 DID HUNGARY OPPRESS ITS NATIONALITIES?...............................................................................................................17 FATAL OMISSIONS ..................................................................................................................................................................18 THE QUESTION OF RESPONSIBILITY..................................................................................................................................19 ONE AND A HALF YEARS BEFORE TRIANON.....................................................................................................................20 AUSTRIA’S NATIONALITIES ..................................................................................................................................................22 FEDERATION: A POSSIBLE SOLUTION?..............................................................................................................................24 ASPECTS OF POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................26 THE POPOVICI FEDERATION-PLAN ....................................................................................................................................28 TRIANON’S EUROPEAN SETTING........................................................................................................................................30 II. COMMENTS ON THE TEXT OF THE TREATY OF TRIANON ..............................................33 THEORY AND PRACTICE ........................................................................................................................................................38 III. THE SPATIAL ASPECTS OF TRIANON .................................................................................................40 A GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE TRIANON BORDERS .............................................................................................40 THE
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