Treaty of Trianon

Signed in the aftermath of World War I (1914–1918), the Treaty of Trianon established peace terms between the victorious Allies and the nation of Hungary, which had been part of the defeated Central Powers alliance. Modeled on a similar agreement brokered between the Allies and Germany, the Treaty of Trianon introduced punitive measures that dramatically reshaped Hungary. Its effects are still felt in the twenty-first century, and the treaty continues to be a controversial and charged topic among Hungarians.

The Treaty of Trianon caused Hungary to lose a significant amount of territory to neighboring countries, and it introduced harsh economic penalties that had profound effects on Hungary's fortunes over the course of the twentieth century. The treaty severely weakened Hungary, and it was unable to defend itself against the expansionist policies of the Soviet Union. As a result, Hungary became a Soviet-backed socialist republic from 1949 until 1989.

Background

The Treaty of Trianon was modeled on the Treaty of Versailles, which the Allies and Germany signed on June 28, 1919. The Treaty of Versailles was the first of five treaties brokered between the Allies and the individual members of the vanquished Central Powers, and its provisions covered peace terms across three main categories. First, it introduced disarmament requirements and put strict limits on Germany's military capacity. Second, it required Germany to pay reparations in the form of financial compensation, which was intended to cover the damages caused by its military campaign. Third, it stripped Germany of some of its territory, which was then reassigned to neighboring nations.

These measures were designed to weaken Germany and its allies so they would not be able to rearm themselves and resume hostilities. As the leading nations of the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary faced particularly harsh and one-sided terms.

During the World War I era, the unified nation of Austria-Hungary was the governing power of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a vast domain that extended across Central and Eastern Europe from its twin capital cities, Vienna (Austria) and Budapest (Hungary). Covering a landmass of 261,242 square miles (676,614 square kilometers) and encompassing a population of about fifty million people, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was one of the most powerful states in Europe. The leader of the empire's autocratic government when World War I began was Emperor Franz Joseph I. Known for conservatism and aggressive tendencies, the empire's royal leadership was supplemented by a hierarchical class of aristocrats and military figures.

Austria-Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were dissolved as a direct result of the Central Powers' unsuccessful military campaign against the Allies in World War I. Austria and Hungary, recognized as separate but united nations within the framework of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were dealt with in separate peace treaties. Austria was bound to the Treaty of Saint-Germain, which was signed on September 10, 1919. The Treaty of Trianon was the third of the five peace treaties brokered by the Allies and their Central Powers foes.

Overview

Both Germany and Austria were debilitated by their respective peace treaties with the Allies, but some have argued that the Treaty of Trianon was the most punitive of any agreement the Allies brokered with the defeated Central Powers. It had devastating cultural and economic impacts on Hungary's subsequent history, and it continues to have profound effects on Hungarians in the twenty-first century.

The Treaty of Trianon was signed in the Grand Trianon Palace in Versailles, France, on June 4, 1920. It marked the disintegration of the historic form of the Hungarian state, which was founded in 896 CE and existed with practically unchanged territorial limits for more than a thousand years. Under the terms of the treaty, Hungary lost about two-thirds of its territory, including many natural resources and vital economic infrastructure and approximately one-third of its native Hungarian population. These resource-rich lost territories were reassigned to nations including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania. Hungary was stripped of its seaports, losing its entryways to the Mediterranean Sea and becoming landlocked. Yugoslavia and Romania were the primary beneficiaries of these changes, as Romania gained large amounts of formerly Hungarian land and natural resources, and Yugoslavia received Hungary's former seaports.

In signing the treaty, Hungary agreed to maintain a military of no more than thirty-five thousand members and a maximum of three patrol boats. It was required to pay a sum of two hundred million gold crowns in reparations. The gold crown, so named because its value was backed by a gold standard, was the unit of currency used in Austria-Hungary during the World War I era. However, hyperinflation disrupted the Hungarian economy following the Treaty of Trianon, and Hungary was unable to pay these reparations. Payments were subsequently suspended, and Hungary's reparation obligations were never met.

One of the most contentious aspects of the Treaty of Trianon affected millions of ethnic Hungarians. These people suddenly found themselves living in other countries as a result of redrawn borders, which contributed to the later rise of ethnic tensions in affected regions. The Treaty of Trianon was controversial even when it was first enacted. US president Woodrow Wilson failed to ratify it, and British prime minister Winston Churchill retrospectively noted the profound suffering it imposed on Hungarian civilians. Some politicians and analysts at the time warned that the treaty's punitive terms would leave Hungary vulnerable to Soviet expansionism, a theory that later proved correct. Hungary became one of many Central and Eastern European countries to adopt Soviet-backed socialist governments during the twentieth century, which hindered the country's modern economic development.

The Treaty of Trianon continues to affect Hungary and Hungarians. Hungarian populations displaced by the terms of the agreement still struggle with discrimination and issues of national identity in the countries where they now reside. In the early twenty-first century, ethnic Hungarians allegedly have been the victims of violence, gerrymandering, discriminatory language policies, and other forms of political oppression in countries such as Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. In 2010, Hungary amended its nationality and citizenship laws to allow ethnic Hungarians living in other countries to apply for Hungarian citizenship as long as they can speak the Hungarian language and are direct descendants of people who held Hungarian citizenship prior to 1920. That same year, the conservative Fidesz political party came to power in Hungary and instituted an observance known as National Unity Day to commemorate Hungary's historical nationhood and contemplate the Treaty of Trianon's ongoing consequences.

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