Greater Hungary (political concept) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Greater Hungary is the informal name of the territory of Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

before the 1920 Treaty of Trianon

Treaty of Trianon

The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...

. After 1920, between the two World Wars, the official political goal of the Hungary was to restore those borders. After World War II, Hungary abandoned this policy, and today it only remains a political goal of small marginalized groups of Hungarian revisionists. The Treaty of Trianon redefined the borders of Hungary so that it lost about 72% of its territory and about two-thirds of its inhabitants, almost 3 million people of Hungarian ethnicity. In its foreign policy, Hungary was seeking the revision of the peace treaty: this policy insulated it politically in the 1920s and pushed it towards Hitler's Germany in the 1930s.

The arguments of Hungarian revisionists for their goal were: the presence of Hungarian majority

Hungarian diaspora

Hungarian diaspora is a term that encompasses the total ethnic Hungarian population located outside of current-day Hungary.There are two main groups of the diaspora...

areas in the neighbouring countries, historical traditions of the approximately 1000-year-old Hungarian Kingdom

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

, or the geographical unity and economic symbiosis of the region within the Carpathian Basin, although some Hungarians preferred to regain only ethnically Hungarian majority areas surrounding Hungary.

Hungary, supported by the Axis Powers

Axis Powers

The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

, was partially successful in peacefully gaining some (mostly ethnic Hungarian) regions of the former Kingdom in the Vienna Awards

Vienna Awards

The Vienna Awards are two arbitral awards by which arbiters of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sought to enforce peacefully the claims of Hungary on territory it had lost in 1920 when it signed the Treaty of Trianon...

of 1938 and 1940, and also with military force gained regions of Carpathian Ruthenia

Carpathian Ruthenia

Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...

in 1939 and (ethnically mixed) Bačka

Backa

Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...

and Baranja, Međimurje, and Prekmurje

Prekmurje

Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...

in 1941. Following the end of World War II, the borders of Hungary as defined by the Treaty of Trianon were restored, except 3 more Hungarian villages were given to Czechoslovakia. These villages are part of Pozsony (today Bratislava). Historical revisionism

Historical revisionism

In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...

was often used by both proponents and opponents of Greater Hungary. Today, almost a century after the Treaty of Trianon

Treaty of Trianon

, some Hungarians still feel nostalgic for the old Hungarian Kingdom, but outright territorial revisionism remains a marginalized political position.

Middle Ages

The independent Hungarian Kingdom

Kingdom of Hungary

was established in 1000 AD, and remained a power in Central Europe until Ottoman Turks

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

conquered its central part in 1526 following the Battle of Mohács

Battle of Mohács

The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....

. After the battle, the territory of the former Hungarian Kingdom was divided into three portions: in the west and north, Royal Hungary

Royal Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...

retained its existence under Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

rule; the Ottomans controlled the south-central parts of former Hungary; while in the east, the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom

Eastern Hungarian Kingdom

The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom was the name of the area under the rule of King John I of Hungary. John I of Hungary was the former voivode of Transylvania and the wealthiest and the most powerful landlord after Mohács, secured the eastern part of the kingdom with the help of the Ottomans...

(later the Principality of Transylvania) was formed as a semi-independent entity under Ottoman suzerainty

Suzerainty

Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...

. Between 1699 and 1718, the Habsburg Monarchy conquered all the Ottoman territories that were part of the Hungarian Kingdom before 1526, and incorporated some of these areas into the Habsburg ruled Hungary.

For centuries, rulers such as Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

Matthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...

(15th century) had maintained a relatively cosmopolitan kingdom. Because this identity existed for centuries, modern Hungarian culture includes significant elements from places which belonged to Hungary in various parts of its history. Also, a considerable number of the figures who are today considered important in Hungarian culture were born in what are - since 1920 or since 1945 - parts of Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

and Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

(see List of famous Hungarians who were born outside of present-day Hungary). Names of Hungarian dishes, common surnames, proverbs, sayings, folk songs etc. also refer to these rich cultural ties. After the Ottoman conquest in Hungary, the ethnic structure of the kingdom started to become more multi-ethnic because of immigration to the sparsely populated areas. After 1867, the non-Hungarian ethnic groups were subject to assimilation and Magyarization.
After a suppressed uprising in 1848-1849

Hungarian Revolution of 1848

The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...

, the Kingdom of Hungary and its diet

Diet (assembly)

In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...

were dissolved, and Hungary was divided into 5 districts, which were Pest & Buda

Buda

For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...

, Sopron

Sopron

In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...

, Pozsony, Kassa

Kassa

Kassa can either mean:* Košice a town in Slovakia*Kassa, Mali* Kassa A Dutch consumer protection TV program* Kassa an African ruler* Iles de Los*Kassa, Italian Artist and Designer, http://www.kassa.it...

and Nagyvárad, directly controlled from Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

while Croatia, Slavonia, and the Serbian Voivodship and Tamiš Banat were separated from the Kingdom of Hungary between 1849-1860. This new centralized rule, however, failed to provide stability, and in the wake of military defeats

Austro-Prussian War

The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

the Austrian Empire

Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

was transformed into Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, by which Hungary became one of two constituent entities of the new dual monarchy

Dual monarchy

Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing...

with self-rule in its internal affairs.

Partitioning of Hungary into five territories was ended on April 19, 1860, Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was dissolved on December 27, 1860, Muraköz regained from Croatia on January 27, 1861. After the formation of the dual monarchy

Dual monarchy

, Croatia and Slavonia were merged into Croatia-Slavonia, who compromised with Hungary on November 17, 1868; Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

reunited with Hungary on December 6, in 1860. Fiume passed to Hungary on July 28, 1870. Finally, the Military borderlands is reunited to Croatia-Slavonia within Hungary in 1872.

This was followed by a period of backlash against the long-standing Austro-German cultural influence in the Kingdom of Hungary, which included policies of Magyarization

Magyarization

Magyarization is a kind of assimilation or acculturation, a process by which non-Magyar elements came to adopt Magyar culture and language due to social pressure .Defiance or appeals to the Nationalities Law, met...

of non-Hungarian nationalities. Among the most notable policies was the promotion of the Hungarian language

Hungarian language

Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....

as the country's official language (replacing Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

and German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

); however, this was often at the expense of Slavic languages

Slavic languages

The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...

and the Romanian language

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

. The new government of autonomous Hungary took the stance that Hungary should be a Hungarian nation state, and that all other peoples living in Hungary—Germans

Ethnic German

Ethnic Germans historically also ), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, refers to people who are of German ethnicity. Many are not born in Europe or in the modern-day state of Germany or hold German citizenship...

, Jews, Romanians, Slovaks

Slovaks

The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...

, Ruthenes

Ruthenians

The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...

, Serbs

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

, and other ethnic minorities—should be assimilated. (The Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

were to some extent an exception to this, as they had a fair degree of self-government within Croatia-Slavonia, a dependent territory within Hungary.) Most of the increase came at the expense of the Germans and Jews, who were scattered in small communities throughout the country and proved most willing to assimilate and become Hungarians. The Romanians and Slavic peoples of Hungary, on the other hand, who were largely peasant

Peasant

A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...

peoples, proved much more resistant to the government's efforts.

World War I

The peace treaties signed after the First World War redefined the national borders of Europe. The dissolution of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

, after its defeat in the First World War, gave an opportunity for the subject nationalities of the old Monarchy to all form their own nation states (However, most of the resulting states nevertheless became multiethnic states comprising several nationalities). The Treaty of Trianon

Treaty of Trianon

of 1920 defined borders for the new Hungarian state: in the north, the Slovak and Ruthene areas, including Hungarian majority areas became part of the new state of Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. Transylvania and most of the Banat

Banat

The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...

became part of Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, while Croatia-Slavonia and the other southern areas became part of the new state of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

.

Post-Trianon Hungary had about half of the population of the former Kingdom. The population of the territories of the Kingdom of Hungary that were not assigned to the post-Trianon Hungary had, in total, non-Hungarian majority, although they included a sizable proportion of ethnic Hungarians and Hungarian majority areas. According to Karoly Kocsis and Eszter Kocsis-Hodosi the ethnic composition in 1910

Region	Hungarians	Germans	Romanians	Serbs	Croats	Ukrainians (Ruthenians)	Slovaks	Note
Transylvania	31.7%	10.5%	54.0%	0.9%			0.6%	Hungarians concentrated in Székely Land Székely Land The Székely Land or Szekler Land refers to the territories inhabited mainly by the Székely, a Hungarian-speaking ethnic group from eastern Transylvania... (Hungarian majority).
Vojvodina Vojvodina Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...	28.1%	21.4%		33.8%	6.0%	0.9%	3.7%
Transcarpathia	30.6%	10.6%				54.5%	1.0%	1.0% Slovaks and Czechs
Slovakia	30.2%	6.8%				3.5%	57.9%	with Hungarians concentrated in the south, which has a Hungarian majority today.
Burgenland Burgenland Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...	9.0%	74.4%			15%

Trianon thus defined Hungary's new borders in a way that made ethnic Hungarians the overwhelmingly absolute majority in the country. Almost 3 million ethnic Hungarians remained outside the borders of post-Trianon Hungary, which has led to disputes and hostilities between Hungary and its neighbors. A considerable number of non-Hungarian nationalities remained within the new borders of Hungary, the largest of which were Germans

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

(Svabs) with 550,062 people (6.9%).

Aftermath

After the Treaty of Trianon

Treaty of Trianon

, a political concept known as Hungarian revisionism

Historical revisionism (negationism)

Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light. For the former, i.e. the academic pursuit, see...

became popular in Hungary. The Treaty of Trianon was an injury for the Hungarian people, and Hungarian revisionists have created a nationalistic ideology with the political goal of the restoration of borders of historical pre-Trianon Kingdom of Hungary.

The justification for this aim usually followed the fact that two-thirds of the country's area was taken by the neighboring countries with approximately 3 million Hungarians living in these territories. Historians generally concede that one of the goals of the treaties made at Trianon Palace

Grand Trianon

The Grand Trianon was built in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles at the request of Louis XIV, as a retreat for the King and his maîtresse en titre of the time, the marquise de Montespan, and as a place where the King and invited guests could take light meals away from the strict...

was to punish Imperial Germany

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

and Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

for fighting against the Entente during the war and make them incapable of starting another lengthy war. Several municipalities that had purely ethnic Hungarian population were excluded from post-Trianon Hungary, which had borders designed to cut most economic regions (Szeged, Pécs, Debrecen etc.) half, and keep railways on the other side.

Revisionists often dismiss or ignore the fact that most of these territories had ethnic majorities of non-Hungarians and minimize the role that forced Magyarization played in stirring nationalist feelings among non-Hungarian groups. Thus, the majority of the local inhabitants of these areas (Croats

Croats

, Romanians

Romanians

The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

, Serbs

Serbs

, Slovaks

Slovaks

, Ukrainians

Ukrainians

Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

, Slovenes, etc.) regarded separation from the Kingdom of Hungary as liberation.

Near realization

Hungary's government allied itself with Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

during World War II in exchange for assurances that Greater Hungary's borders would be restored. This goal was partially achieved when Hungary expanded its borders into Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia at the outset of the war. These annexations were affirmed under the Munich Agreement

Munich Agreement

The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...

(1938), two Vienna Awards

Vienna Awards

(1938

First Vienna Award

The First Vienna Award was the result of the First Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace on November 2, 1938. The Arbitration and Award were direct consequences of the Munich Agreement...

and 1940

Second Vienna Award

The Second Vienna Award was the second of two Vienna Awards arbitrated by the Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Rendered on August 30, 1940, it re-assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.-Prelude and historical background :After the World War I, the multi-ethnic...

), and aggression against Yugoslavia (1941), the latter achieved, for formal reasons, one week after the German army had already invaded Yugoslavia.
The population of Northern Transylvania

Northern Transylvania

Northern Transylvania is a region of Transylvania, situated within the territory of Romania. The population is largely composed of both ethnic Romanians and Hungarians, and the region has been part of Romania since 1918 . During World War II, as a consequence of the territorial agreement known as...

, according to the Hungarian census from 1941 counted 53.5% Hungarians and 39.1% Romanians

Romanians

The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

.

The Yugoslav territory occupied by Hungary (including Bačka, Baranja, Međimurje and Prekmurje) had approximately one million inhabitants, including 543,000 Yugoslavs (Serbs, Croats and Slovenes), 301,000 Hungarians, 197,000 Germans, 40,000 Slovaks, 15,000 Rusyns, and 15,000 Jews. In Bačka region only, the 1931 census put the percentage of the speakers of Hungarian at 34.2%, while one of interpretations of later Hungarian census from 1941 states that, 45,4% or 47,2% declared themselves to be Hungarian native speakers or ethnic Hungarians (this interpretation is provided by authors Károly Kocsis and Eszter Kocsisné Hodosi. The 1941 census, however, did not recorded ethnicity of the people, but only mother/native tongue http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-zZ_NVM9mNEC&pg=PA120&dq=Northern+transylvania++hungarians+romanians+number&hl=en&ei=FQkfTdjRKdKZhQeQ4Zi3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CGAQ6AEwCTgK#v=snippet&q=1941%3A%20Hungarian%20census%20data%20%28mother%2Fnative%20tongue%29&f=false). Population of entire Bačka numbered 789,705 inhabitants in 1941. This means that from the beginning of the occupation, the number of Hungarian speakers in Bačka increased by 48,550, while the number of Serbian speakers decreased by 75,166.

The percentage of Hungarian speakers was 84% in southern Czechoslovakia and 15% in the Sub-Carpathian Rus.

The establishment of Hungarian rule was followed by war crimes against the local non-Hungarian population in some areas, such as Bačka

Backa

Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...

, where Hungarian military between 1941 and 1944 killed 19,573 civilians, mainly Serbs

Serbs

and Jews, but also Hungarians who did not collaborate with the new authorities. About 56,000 people were also expelled from Bačka.

The bloodshed was repaid in turn to Hungarian civilians, both in Yugoslavia by Yugoslav partisans (the exact number of ethnic Hungarians killed by Yugoslav partisans is not clearly established and estimates range from 4,000 to 40,000; 20,000 is often regarded as most probable), and in Transylvania by Maniu guards (the estimates on the number of killed Hungarians vary widely, depending on the used source, between a few individuals and a few thousands ) towards the end of WWII.

The Jewish population of Hungary and the areas it occupied were partly diminished as part of the Holocaust against the wishes of the Hungarian community. Tens of thousands of Romanians fled from Hungarian-ruled Northern Transylvania, and vice versa. After the war the occupied areas were returned to neighboring countries and Hungary's territory was slightly further reduced by ceding three villages south of Bratislava to Slovakia.

Modern era

The following table lists some areas with Hungarian majority today:

Region	Proposed autonomy	Main city (political / cultural center)
parts of Transylvania Transylvania Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical... in Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... (mainly in Harghita Harghita County Harghita is a county in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea-Ciuc.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 326,222 and a population density of 52/km².Hungarians- 85%... , Covasna Covasna County Covasna is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Sfântu Gheorghe.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 222,449 and the population density was 60/km².Hungarians – 73.79% *Romanians – 23.28%... and part of Mureş Mures County Mureș is a county of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș.-Geography:The county has a total area of 6,714 km².... county, Central Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... ), see: Hungarians in Romania Hungarians in Romania The Hungarian minority of Romania is the largest ethnic minority in Romania, consisting of 1,431,807 people and making up 6.6% of the total population, according to the 2002 census....	Székely Land Székely Land The Székely Land or Szekler Land refers to the territories inhabited mainly by the Székely, a Hungarian-speaking ethnic group from eastern Transylvania...	Târgu Mureș
parts of Vojvodina Vojvodina Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad... in northern Serbia Serbia Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans... , see: Hungarians in Vojvodina Hungarians in Vojvodina Hungarians are the second largest ethnic group in the Vojvodina province in northern Serbia. According to the 2002 census, there are 290,207 ethnic Hungarians in Vojvodina who compose 14.28% of the provincial population. The number of ethnic Hungarians in the whole of Serbia is 293,299, and their...	Hungarian Regional Autonomy Hungarian Regional Autonomy The Hungarian Regional Autonomy is the name of a proposed new administrative unit in the northern part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia...	Subotica Subotica Subotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
parts of southern Slovakia Slovakia The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south... , see: Hungarians in Slovakia Hungarians in Slovakia Hungarians in Slovakia are the largest ethnic minority of the country, numbering 520,528 people or 9.7% of population . They are concentrated mostly in the southern part of the country, near the border with Hungary...	/	Komárno Komárno Komárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
parts of Zakarpattia Oblast Zakarpattia Oblast The Zakarpattia Oblast is an administrative oblast located in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Uzhhorod... in southwestern Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia... , see: Hungarians in Ukraine Hungarians in Ukraine The Hungarians in Ukraine number 156,600 people according to the Ukrainian census of 2001. Hungarians are largely concentrated in the Zakarpattia Oblast, where they form the largest minority at 12.1% of the population...	/	/

Most people in present-day Hungary reject annexation of neighboring lands though the general public opinion in Hungary is that the Treaty of Trianon

Treaty of Trianon

was not fair. Territorial revisionist organizations want to change borders and to create Greater Hungary. However, even among these groups there are differences: some want to include only areas with Hungarian ethnic majority, while others want to restore the borders of the pre-Trianon Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

regardless of ethnic compositions of neighboring countries.

The majority of Hungarians both within Hungary and in neighboring countries accept the Trianon borders as a geopolitical reality and do not strive to alter the status quo, especially not by violent means. However, the fact that one fourth of the world's ethnic Hungarians lives outside the borders of Hungary is not emotionally accepted by most Hungarians. There is a growing opinion among Hungarians that if the Hungarian minorities were granted a certain level of cultural autonomy or self-government, like those in Tyrol for instance, this would be sufficient to preserve the national character of the Hungarian minorities abroad, and would thus remove the emotional anxiety most Hungarians feel about the Hungarian minorities' future. For the host countries, this solution might bear the advantage of creating additional loyalty towards the state, via a local self-government that these minorities can perceive as their own. It is notable that concern for cultural preservation, sometimes even for equal social chances of and legal dealings toward Hungarians grows with increased economic hardships of the given country, no one worries for the cultural preservation of Hungarians living in Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

or Austria

Austria

.

The important difference between emotional attachment of Hungarians to some territories that were not left to Hungary after the Treaty of Trianon and the general acceptance of the current situation as a geopolitical reality is often ignored by some members of the surrounding nations (see Gheorghe Funar

Gheorghe Funar

Gheorghe Funar is a nationalist Romanian politician, who rose to fame as mayor of Cluj-Napoca between 1992 and 2004-Biography:...

, Ján Slota

Ján Slota

Ján Slota is the co-founder and President of the Slovak National Party, an extremist nationalist party. Slota as the leader of SNS entered into a coalition with Robert Fico's Smer in 2006...

etc.) and manifestations of a mainly cultural affection are often depicted as irredentist tendencies, especially by the right wing parties in Hungary's neighbors. Another typical mistake is to identify Hungarian political parties or cultural organizations that fight for cultural autonomy (some even for regional autonomy, both are accepted forms of self-government in Europe, but the alarm caused by the latter in the political climate caused by history can be considered justified by more types of people in the surrounding countries) as irredentist groups that support border revision.

During the Communist era, Marxist-Leninist ideology and Stalin's theory on nationalities considered nationalism to be a malady of a bourgeois capitalism. In Hungary, the minorities' question disappeared from the political agenda. Communist hegemony guaranteed a facade of inter-ethnic peace while failing to secure a lasting accommodation of minority interests in unitary states.

The fall of Communism aroused the expectations of Hungarian minorities in neighboring countries and left Hungary unprepared to deal with the issue. Hungarian politicians campaigned to formalize the rights of Hungarian minorities in neighboring countries, thus causing anxiety in the region. They secured agreements on the necessity for guaranteeing collective rights and formed new Hungarian minority organizations to promote cultural rights and political participation. In Romania, Slovakia, and Yugoslavia (now Serbia), former Communists secured popular legitimacy by accommodating nationalist tendencies that were hostile to minority rights.

The latest controversy caused by the government of Viktor Orbán

Viktor Orbán

Viktor Orbán is a Hungarian populist and conservative politician and current Prime Minister of Hungary...

is when Hungary took the presidency over the EU in 2011 when the "historical timeline" features was presented - among other cultural, historical and scientific symbols or images of Hungary - an 1848 map of Greater Hungary

Greater Hungary

Greater Hungary can refer to:*The Kingdom of Hungary before 1920, informally also known as "Greater Hungary" or "Historic Hungary".*Greater Hungary , an official political goal of the Hungarian state between the two World Wars and a political goal of small marginalized groups today.*Hungary during...

, when Budapest ruled over large swathes of its neighbors.

Slovakia

Under great pressure from the EU and NATO, Hungary signed a bilateral state treaty with Slovakia on Good Neighborly Relations and Friendly Cooperation in March 1995, aimed at resolving disputes concerning borders and minority rights. Its vague language, though, allows rival interpretations. One cause of conflict was the COE's Recommendation 1201 which stipulates the creation of autonomous self-government based on ethnic principles in areas where ethnic minorities represent a majority of the population.

The Hungarian Prime Minister insisted that the treaty protected the Hungarian minority as a "community". Slovakia accepted the 1201 Recommendation in the treaty, but denounced the concept of collective rights of minorities and political autonomy as "unacceptable and destabilizing". Slovakia finally ratified the treaty in March 1996 after the government attached a unilateral declaration that the accord would not provide for collective autonomy for Hungarians. The Hungarian government therefore refused to recognize the validity of the declaration.

Romania

After World War II, a Hungarian Autonomous Region was created in Transylvania, which encompassed most of the land inhabited by the Székelys. This region lasted until 1964 when the administrative reform divided Romania into the current counties. From 1947 until the 1989 Romanian Revolution

Romanian Revolution of 1989

The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...

and the death of Nicolae Ceauşescu

Nicolae Ceausescu

Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...

, a systematic Romanianization

Romanianization

Romanianization or Rumanization is the term used to describe a number of ethnic assimilation policies implemented by the Romanian authorities during the 20th century...

of Hungarians took place, with several discriminatory provisions, denying them their cultural identity. This tendency started to abate after 1989, the question of Székely autonomy

Székely autonomy initiatives

The Székely Land is a region of central Romania. According to official data from the Romania's 2002 census, 668,471 persons in Mureş, Harghita and Covasna counties consider themselves Hungarian...

remains a sensitive issue.

On 16 September 1996, after five years of negotiations, Hungary and Romania also signed a bilateral treaty, which had been stalled over the nature and extent of minority protection that Bucharest should grant to Hungarian citizens. Hungary dropped its demands for autonomy for ethnic minorities; in exchange, Romania accepted a reference to Recommendation 1201 in the treaty, but with a joint interpretive declaration that guarantees individual rights, but excludes collective rights and territorial autonomy based on ethnic criteria. These concessions were made in large measure because both countries recognized the need to improve good neighborly relations as a prerequisite for NATO membership.

Vojvodina, Serbia

There are five main ethnic Hungarian political parties in Vojvodina:

Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians
The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians ; , Savez vojvođanskih Mađara ) is an ethnic Hungarian political party in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. Its chairman is István Pásztor. The former party chairman József Kasza is now its honorary president...

, led by István Pásztor
István Pásztor
István Pásztor is an ethnic Hungarian politician in Serbia. He graduated from the University of Novi Sad...
Democratic Community of Vojvodina Hungarians, led by Áron Csonka
Democratic Party of Vojvodina Hungarians, led by András Ágoston
András Ágoston
András Ágoston is an ethnic Hungarian politician in Serbia and leader of Democratic Party of Vojvodina Hungarians. He was one of the leaders of the coalition "Hungarian Union" on Serbian parliamentary election, 2007 together with Sándor Páll that won no seats...
Civic Alliance of Hungarians, led by László Rác Szabó
László Rác Szabó
László Rác Szabó is an ethnic Hungarian politician in Serbia. He is the leader of Hungarian Civic Alliance.-References:...
Movement of Hungarian Hope, led by Bálint László

These parties are advocating the establishment of the territorial autonomy for Hungarians in the northern part of Vojvodina, which would include the municipalities with Hungarian majority (See Hungarian Regional Autonomy

Hungarian Regional Autonomy

The Hungarian Regional Autonomy is the name of a proposed new administrative unit in the northern part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia...

for details).

Middle Ages

World War I

Aftermath

Near realization

Modern era

Slovakia

Romania

Vojvodina, Serbia

Further reading