Treaty of Trianon

The Treaty of Trianon was an agreement that regulated the situation of the new Hungarian state that replaced the Kingdom of Hungary, part of the former dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy, after World War I. It was signed on June 4, 1920, at the Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles, France.

The main parties to the Treaty were the winning powers, their allied countries, and the losing side. The winning powers included the United States, Britain, France and Italy; their allies were Romania, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed to Yugoslavia in 1929) and Czechoslovakia; and the losing side was the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy, represented by Hungary.

Frontiers of Hungary

Hungary proclaimed its independence from Austria on November 16, 1918. The de facto temporary borders of independent Hungary were defined by the ceasefire lines in November-December 1918. Compared with the former Kingdom of Hungary, these temporary borders did not include:

Part of Transylvania south of the Maros river and east of the Szamos river, which came under the control of Romania (Ceasefire agreement of Belgrade signed on 13 November 1918). On December 1, 1918, the National Assembly of Romanians in Transylvania declared the union with the Kingdom of Romania.
Croatia-Slavonia, Vojvodina, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which joined the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, along with the cities of Pécs, Mohács, Baja and Szigetvár (Ceasefire agreement of Belgrade signed on 13 November 1918). Since the official international recognition of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1919, the ceasefire line had a character of temporary international border until the signing of the Treaty.
Slovakia, which became part of Czechoslovakia (Status quo set by the Czechoslovak legions and accepted by the Entente on 25 November 1918).
The city of Fiume, which became a subject of dispute between Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

As the Romanian Army advanced far beyond this ceasefire line and the Entente powers asked Hungary (Vix note) to acknowledge the new Romanian territory gains by a new line set along the Tisza river, the First Hungarian Republic collapsed and communists came into power. The Hungarian Soviet Republic was formed which rapidly set up the new Hungarian Red Army. A temporary success of the Hungarian Red Army against the Czechoslovak Legions (see Slovak Soviet Republic) made it possible for Hungary to reach nearly the line of the former Galitian (Polish) border in eastern Slovakia, cutting the Czechoslovak and Romanian troops from each other.

After a Hungarian-Czechoslovak ceasefire signed on July 1 1919, the Hungarian Red Army left Slovakia by July 4, as the Entente powers promised Hungary to invite a Hungarian delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference. However, instead of an invitation to the peace talks, the Romanian army attacked at the Tisza river on 20 July 1919 and the Hungarian Red Army rapidly collapsed. The Royal Romanian Army marched into Budapest on 3 August 1919.

The Hungarian state was restored by the Entente powers, helping Admiral Horthy into power in November 1919. On 1 December 1919 the Hungarian delegation was officially invited to the Versailles Peace Conference, however the new borders of Hungary were nearly finalized without the presence of the Hungarians.

The final borders of Hungary were defined by the Treaty of Trianon signed on 4 June 1920. Beside the previously mentioned territories, they did not include:

the rest of Transylvania together with former Eastern Hungary, which became part of Romania;
Carpathian Ruthenia, which became part of Czechoslovakia, pursuant to the Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1919;
most of Burgenland, which became part of Austria, also pursuant to the Treaty of Saint-Germain; the district of Sopron opted to remain with Hungary after a plebiscite held in December 1921 (it was the only place where a plebiscite was permitted in the decision);
Međumurje and Prekumurje, which were assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

By the Treaty of Trianon, the cities of Pécs, Mohács, Baja and Szigetvár, which were under Yugoslav administration after November 1918, were assigned to Hungary.

Compared with the former Kingdom of Hungary, the population of post-Trianon Hungary was reduced from 20.8 million to 7 million and its land area decreased by 72%.

After 1918, Hungary did not have access to the sea, which the former Kingdom had had through the Croatian coast and the port of Fiume for over 800 years.

With the help of Nazi Germany and Italy, Hungary expanded its borders towards neighbouring countries at the outset of World War II, under the Munich Agreement (1938), the two Vienna Awards (1938 and 1940), following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia (occupation of northern Carpathian Ruthenia and eastern Slovakia) and following German aggression against Yugoslavia. This territorial expansion was short-lived, since the post-war boundaries agreed on at the Treaty of Paris in 1947 were nearly identical with those of 1920 (with a minor loss of three villages ceded to Czechoslovakia).

Consequences of the treaty

Demographic consequences

According to the census of 1910, the largest ethnic group in the Kingdom of Hungary were the Magyars (usually called "Hungarians" in English), who were approximately 48% of the entire population (or 54% of the population of the territory referred to as "Hungary proper", i.e., excluding Croatia-Slavonia). The Kingdom of Hungary was not a nation-state as were many Western European nations.

Some demographers believe that the 1910 census overstated the percentage of the Magyar population, arguing that there were different results in previous censuses of the Kingdom and subsequent censuses in the new states. Another problem with interpreting the census results is that the 1910 census did not record the respondents' ethnicity, but only the "most frequently spoken" language and the religion, thus the presented census numbers of ethnic groups in the Kingdom of Hungary are actually the numbers of speakers of various languages, which may not correspond exactly to the ethnic composition.

The territories of the former Kingdom of Hungary not assigned to independent Hungary by the treaty had a majority population of non-Magyars, but also a significant Magyar minority.

The number of Hungarians in the different areas based on census data of 1910 are as follows:

In Slovakia: 885,000 - 30%
In Transylvania (Romania): 1,662,000 - 32%
In Vojvodina (Serbia): 420,000 - 28%
In Transcarpathia (Ukraine): 183,000 - 30%
In Croatia: 121,000 - 3.5%
In Slovenia: 20,800 - 1.6%
In Burgenland (Austria): 26,200 - 9%

Population of mentioned territories based on census data of 1910:

In Slovakia (Czechoslovakia): 1,687,977 Slovaks and 1,233,454 others (mostly Hungarians - 886,044, Germans, Ruthenians and Roma) to the 1921 census, however, there were 1,941,942 Slovaks and 1,058,928 others
In Carpathian Ruthenia (Czechoslovakia): 330,010 Ruthenians and 275,932 others (mostly Hungarians, Germans, Romanians, and Slovaks)
In Transylvania (Romania): 2,829,454 Romanians and 2,428,013 others (mostly Hungarians and Germans)
In Vojvodina and Croatia-Slavonia (Yugoslavia): 2,756,000 Serbo-Croatians and 1,366,000 others (mostly Hungarians and Germans)
In Burgenland (Austria): 217,072 Germans and 69,858 others (mainly Croatian and Hungarian)

On the other hand, a considerable number of other nationalities remained within the frontiers of the new Hungary ^*:

some 300 000 - 400 000 Slovaks (399,170 "Slovak speaking" persons according to the 1920 census, including 141,882 "Slovaks"; note that there were officially 287 000 "Slovak speaking Hungarians" in the 7 counties of present-day central Hungary even according to the 1910 census)
some 800,000 Germans (811 770 "German speaking" persons according to the 1930 census; 551,211 "Germans" according to the 1920 census)
some 80,000 Serbs and Croats (82,003 "Serbo-Croatian speaking" persons according to the 1930 census; 36,000 Croats and 17,000 Serbs according to the 1920 census)
some 45,000 Romanians (46 014 "Romanian speaking persons" according to the 1930 census; 23,760 "Romanians" according to the 1920 census).

The percentage of all non-Magyar nationalities decreased in the next decades. Using the lower numbers of Hungarian statistics (i.e. for example not the "Slovak speaking persons" but only the "Slovaks"), in 1920 minorities made up 10.4% of the total population, in 1930 8%, in 1941 7% (on the post-Trianon territory). After WW II about 200,000 Germans were deported to Germany according to the decree of the Potsdam Conference. Under the forced exchange of population between Czechoslovakia and Hungary, approximately 73,000 Slovaks left Hungary. After these population movements Hungary became an ethnically almost homogeneous country.

Political consequences

Officially, the treaty was intended to be a confirmation of the concept of the right for self-determination of nations and of the concept of nation-states replacing old structures of power. From one point of view, after centuries of foreign rule, most of the peoples of former Austria-Hungary (often called a 'dungeon of nations' by them), would finally achieve a right for self-determination and independence and be united with other members of their nation. On the other hand, many argue that after centuries of ethnic co-existence and relative prosperity, the territories of the former Austria-Hungary have become for the most part monoethnic mini-states. Some claim that the real motive of the treaty was an attempt to dismantle a major power in Central Europe. Compared with the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, post-Trianon Hungary had 60% less population and its role in the region significantly weakened.

Many cities and regions that were ethnically diverse in the 19th century became for the most part monoglot (unilingual), or dominated by a single language and culture.

The main controversy about the Treaty of Trianon are the borders of Hungary. While the majority of the areas that had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary but were not part of independent Hungary after the Treaty were inhabited by non-Hungarian nationalities, there were also many areas, inhabited mainly by Hungarians, which were not located within the borders of Hungary after the Treaty. These Hungarian-inhabited areas include north-eastern parts of Transylvania (see: Székelyföld) and some areas along the new Romanian-Hungarian border, southern parts of Slovakia (see: Komárno), southern parts of Carpatho-Ukraine, northern parts of Vojvodina (see: Ethnic groups of Vojvodina), etc. No plebiscites were held in any of these areas with the exception of the city of Sopron. Many Hungarians consider the treaty a national tragedy still today.

Other consequences

Economically, 61.4% of the arable land, 88% of the timber, 62.2% of the railroads, 64.5% of the hard surface roads, 83.1% of the pig iron output, 55.7% of the industrial plants and 67% of the credit and banking institutions of the former Kingdom of Hungary became part of other countries. Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia had to assume part of the financial obligations of the former Kingdom of Hungary on account of the territory placed under their sovereignty.

Military considerations diverted the Treaty from the Wilson principles , making centuries-old economic cooperation within the Carpathian Basin more difficult. The borders severed old transport links as in the Kingdom of Hungary the road and railway network had a radial structure, with Budapest in the centre. Roads and railways running along the new borders and interlinking radial transport lines got into the territory of Hungary's neighbours.

The military conditions were similar to those imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles; the Hungarian army was to be restricted to 35,000 men and there was to be no conscription. Further provisions stated that in Hungary, no railway would be built with more than one track.

Hungary also renounced all privileges in territory outside Europe that belonged to the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Articles 54–60 of the Treaty required Hungary to recognize various rights of national minorities within its borders.

Reference

^* Marko A., Martinický P.: Slovensko-maďarské vzťahy: história a súčasnosť vo faktoch. Bratislava 1997

External links

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