Trianon, the unfair judgment

We arrived at the most sensitive and most hurting part of Hungarian history. At the peace treaty closing the First World War which was signed at the Versailles’ Little Trianon palace. For us Hungarians it is the most hurting because it took the ¾ of our 1000 years old country’s land and 2/3 of our population were lost or rather were taken. The most sensitive for those who got these as a gift and even after 100 years they have to assert that they think it happened rightfully. Most of the beneficiaries start from the prehistoric times to prove their precedence upon this land, but to put it gently proof from this period could only be strongly doubtful. One thing is for sure, what we have a ton of written evidence and archeological proof of is the centennial old Hungarian background in the Carpathian basin. If a mankind independent court could or could’ve made an objective ruling, then the small nation-states based on their growth in the meantime, could have gained territorial autonomy or even border modification but on a much smaller scale. But we know that here people made the decisions and the majority lobby handed in an ultimate to our homeland which in no other way could have been explained. For 93 years Europe tries to asseverate that this has happened and even if it occurred unjustly we have to accept it. Everything else can be questioned but we should forget about this. There is no guiltless nation, nor are we one, but that much guilty we are not and have never been, and all intelligent people know that. No more no less would be the solution here that those lands that for 100 years are moaning the burden of second and after 100 years are still having a very significant Hungarian population would get territorial and cultural autonomy. Let’s see what led to this.

In 1916 the Triple Entente secretly promised Transylvania and Eastern Hungary until the line from Vásárosnamény-Debrecen-Csongrád-Tisza River to the Kingdom of Romania if it declares war on the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. After Romania was almost immediately defeated and made a separate peace treaty with the Monarchy and only in the last days of the World War had declared war again, the Entente first was reluctant to recognize the justness of the Romanian territorial claims.

On the top there were three men debating the Hungarian matter: Lloyd George British prime minster, Henri Berthelot French general, the second in command of the French Army and Francesco Nitti Italian prime minister. The British and Italian heads of state would improve on the Hungarian’s situation but the French official stiffly resists: Lloyd George proposed, that they want 2,75 million Hungarians, one third of the total population to detach, and according to him “this proposal wouldn’t be easy to defend”.

“Berthelot: The statistical data are known to be unreliable. After all who are the Hungarians? The population of Hungary consists of unnationalized people. The original population of the country is not Hungarians but the nations that lived there previously. […] He strenuously opposes the reraising of the question in any way or form. If the council led by the intention to propitiate the Hungarians, who anyway proved to be a particularly insidious nation, reopens this question, what will our allies then think?”

According to Lloyd George Berthelot got into a self-contradiction, because if he agrees with the fair peace then he should be more flexible.

“Whether it is possible that Mr. Berthelot truly thinks that peace will prevail in Middle Europe if with time it will come to light that the Hungarian’s claims were just, and that whole communities were given to Czechoslovakia and Transylvania like idiots simply because the conference refused to consider the case of Hungary.”

According to him this will lead to war and the Germans and Russian would use the Hungarians, said wisely the British prime minister, who despite his wisdom mixed up the words of Romania and Transylvania. Lloyd George added that except the Breton and Welsh all nations in Europe are very mixed, in particularly emphasized the French.

At the end of the debate Berthelot confessed that the French government had previously promised the occupied Hungarian territories to the Czechoslovaks, the Yugoslavs, and the Romanians, so it is impossible to debate any further on the borders.

Lloyd George was completely taken aback that without the consent of the British government the French have committed themselves on such an important matter. The debate was closed with that that the renegotiating of the borders was not announced but they will examine if some of the Hungarians’ claims can be acknowledged.

Eventually the French standpoint was implemented.

How Trianon was seen by the Hungarian public: “Austria was split up as one autocratic state over many nations would not be tolerated in Europe. And instead of one Austria they made a Czechoslovakia consisting of Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks, Polish, Hungarians, Germans and Little Russians; made a Romania consisting of Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, Serbs, Bulgarians, Turkish, Tartars and Gypsies; and made a Yugoslavia consisting of Serbs, Bosnians, Croats, Slovenians, Turkish, Hungarians, Montenegrins, Wends, Romanians, Albanians, Italians and Vlachs. So instead of one Austria they made four.”

Charles Tisseyre a representative of the French Parliament wrote a book about the circumstances of the war’s outbreak: “István Tisza was the only leading statesman in Europe who seriously raised concerns against the war.” He was voted down on the Privy Council following the assassination by those ethnic politicians who were then still considered Austrian and whose homeland was later considered among the winning parties, and were actively taking part in the misinterpretation of Hungary’s role in the war in front of the World’s public opinion.

Edvard Benes, Parisian peace talks

The earl Mihály Károlyi wrote in his memoirs: “At the end of 1916, when we stood best on the battlefields nor István Tisza nor Hungary had any conquering intentions.”

We could go into detail with what we described here, but there is no need for it. From the aforementioned quotes we can clearly see the truth, so we shouldn’t forget this.

László Göncz: “The mother country should not be looked for on the maps, but in the heart and soul.”

But soul is needed for it!