"Trianon", the peace treaty which officially ended the
First World War for Hungary, signed in Versailles in the Trianon Castle on the 4th of
June, 1920, is one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the Hungarian Nation.
With this "treaty", the Allies or more commonly the 'Entente' implemented the decision
by which Historic Hungary was dismembered. This is how, under the pretext of founding new
nations, the largest minority group in Europe, the Hungarian
minority, was created.
Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the 1911 Hungarian parliamentary session.
Among other things, like this: "I feel I need to thank the Hungarian nation is in Europe since the beginning of existence behind it lies constantly defended against the incursions of the barbarians of Europe.
But this was not only for Europe, but for America in Europe's womb of America, the whole New World. If I do I can not, then I would consider myself a cultured man, but because I know I'll tell you, and I thank the Hungarian nation! "
This decision, which was made without hearing Hungary's argument,
forced 3.2 million Hungarians to live
in other countries, suffering scorn and discrimination. This
decision was made in spite of the fact that almost all territories inhabited by Hungarians
could have been left within the borders. The territories with the largest Hungarian minority are situated in a
bloc just outside the present borders. Transylvania is the only exception, with
communities that are farther from the borders and there are many areas still populated by
pure, ethnic Hungarians. The new borders, imposed by the treaty, had a "more
far-reaching" effect than the dismemberment of the Hungarian nation: this decision sowed the seeds of the outbreak of
the Second World War. It increased
tension between Hungary and its 3 neighbours: Czechoslovakia, Romania, and the
Serbian-Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom (Yugoslavia) to the bitter end. At the same time, this
created an opportunity for Germany, led by Hitler, to take advantage of these conflicts of
interests in order to use them for its own purposes.
That this devastating effect could have been predicted is
proved by Premier Károly Huszár's speech, January 1920: "What is waiting for us will
decide not only the Hungarians' fate, but it will also mean the permanence of Europe's
peace. A just peace will mean peace and safety for the European civilization, but an unjust one will be a newer suicidal attempt for
Europe's peace." Certainly, these considerations were not taken into account
at the decision-making. The main
purpose was to fulfill the demands of the 3 previously mentioned neighbouring countries and, by this, to assure their long-standing
Entente-friendly policy, which later proved to be unsuccessful. They also wanted to make the economic recovery of
Hungary more difficult.
*
Our aim is neither to
incite hatred for the neighbouring countries and nations, nor to solve the problems that
have existed for centuries. The former, like the wish to completely reverse the unjustice
with the slogan of MINDENT VISSZA is also condemned by us. We prefer the latter,
encouraging the more competent to search for a solution. Finally, we would like
to publicize those historic facts which have not actually been concealed in Hungary but,
in our opinion, are not given enough emphasis. It is time (it has been time for 80 years) for others to learn what was committed against Hungarians among others.
We gladly accept everybody’s opinion and
constructive criticism in connection with the above written article. If you feel like writing, please do so to this e-mail address: trianon@norma.hu.
Rostás
Attila and Semperger Zsolt students of Bethlen Gábor Reformed Academic Grammar School Hódmezővásárhely
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