Four Conversations About The Treaty of Trianon

Is there such a thing as the loneliness of Hungarians when it comes to their history? The anniversary of the Treaty of Trianon signed on 4 June 1920 is chiefly a Hungarian date: it is due to battles of memory politics that it appears on the calendar of neighbouring countries. It is obvious that the war after World War 1, the period between 1918 and 1920, stands for the era of national renewal for the countries of East-Central Europe, except for Hungary. This goes for the Baltic States and Finland that gained their independence. A new era began for Poland too, that revived like a Phoenix while it engaged militarily with nearly all its neighbours to some extent. The Czech state revived in the form of Czechoslovakia and became a multi-ethnic state just like Romania that expanded in territorial terms and the Serb-Croat-Slovenian Kingdom, which practically coincided with the territory of Greater Serbia. Conversely, we had to forgo two thirds of the territories. This tragedy overshadows independence after having lived in a “marriage” burdened with conflicts for four hundred years. The idea of an independent Austrian state sounded just as impossible as it seemed unlikely that the partioned Hungary would be viable. Leading political parties of present-day Austria – ranging from social democrats to nationalists advocating the idea of Greater Germany – all dreamed of German unity. Although the international boundaries of Austria and Hungary still follow the coordinates set out in Versailles, in other aspects, the treaties proved less durable. Most importantly, it did not bring peace and security to the region. The bloodshed of 20^th century was a labour pain that brought the misery of small states to the world on the ruins of Austria-Hungary, the former liberal empire. The small states of our region ended up being tied to the imperial politics of Germany and the Soviet Union, the latter inheriting the imperial legacy of Russia. Therefore, the research horizon of Trianon cannot be exclusively Hungarian. On the contrary: it can only be Central European and needs to be based on the heterogeneity of historical experiences and needs to make efforts to integrate new problems that come to light.

Keywords: Trianon, memory policy, interetnic relations, identity, interview