Treaty of Trianon
 |
The Grand Trianon at Versailles, site of the signing |
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.
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).
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) [according 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)
Minorities in post-Trianon Hungary
On the other hand, a considerable number of other nationalities remained within the frontiers of the new Hungary:
According to the 1920 census 10,4 % of the population spoke one of the minority languages as mother language:
* 551,211 German (6.9%)
* 141,882 Slovak (1.8%)
* 23,760 Romanian (0.3%)
* 36,858 Croatian (0.5%)
* 17,131 Serb (0.2%)
* 23,228 other Southern Slavic dialects, mainly Bunjevac and Šokac (0.3%)
The number of bilingual people was much higher, for example 1,398,729 people spoke German (17%), 399,176 people spoke Slovak (5%), 179,928 people spoke Serbo-Croatian (2,2%) and 88,828 people spoke Romanian (1,1%). Magyar was spoken by 96% of the total population and was the mother language of 89%.
The percentage and the absolute number of all non-Magyar nationalities decreased in the next decades, although the total population of the country increased. Bilingualism was also disappearing. The main reasons of this process were spontaneous assimilation and the Magyarization policy of the state. Minorities made up 8% of the total population in 1930 and 7% in 1941 (on the post-Trianon territory).
After WWII 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 except the rapidly growing number of
Roma people in the second half of the 20th century.
Political consequences
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Bordermark on the Hungarian-Romanian border near Csenger |
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.
*
Treaty of Versailles*
History of Hungary*
History of Romania*
History of SlovakiaFor minorities in post-Trianon Hungary:
* József Kovacsics: Magyarország történeti demográfiája : Magyarország népessége a honfoglalástól 1949-ig, Budapest : Közgazd. és Jogi Kiadó ; 1963 Budapest Kossuth Ny.
* Lajos Thirring: Az 1869-1980. évi népszámlálások története és jellemzői [kész. a Központi Statisztikai Hivatal Népesedésstatisztikai Főosztályán], Bp. : SKV, 1983
*
Text of the Treaty*
Hungarian Government Office for Hungarians Abroad*
Map of Hungarian borders in November-December 1918*
Links related to Treaty of Trianon (in Hungarian)
*
Oskar Krejčí:
Geopolitics of the Central European Region. The view from Prague and Bratislava Bratislava: Veda, 2005. 494 pp. (Free download, in English)
