One thought on “178: 1919 – Austria-Hungary III”

1. Hello! I enjoy your podcast very much.
   The topic of Hungary is a difficult one. I have spent decades trying to better understand its history because my Dad was a refugee from Hungary and it is my heritage. There is very little written in English about Hungary due to the language and due to the fact that there was suppression of Hungarian history within Hungary during the communist years. As a consequence, much that has been written has been written by the victors as is usually the case in history. While I found your podcast factually correct, I thought that the nuances within the podcast could have been more positive towards interwar Hungary.

   For example you earlier mentioned that the allies were eager to make Czechoslovakia economically viable. That is true, but on the flip side, they did it at the expense of Hungary. Towns which were overwhelmingly Hungarian were put into Czechoslovakia to enable Czechoslovakia to have access to the rail road. This deprived Hungary of its people and of the railroad. France was eager to punish Hungary and Hungary was truly treated badly. I think this was in part due to the slogans in the war that referred to the Allies’ enemy as the “Hun”. After WW1 Hungary was in true crisis. The entire population was angry at The Treaty of Trianon; not just Horthy and his government who became obsessed with it. Even today, much of the extreme politics in Hungary evolves out of this still hated treaty. I have heard about the Treaty of Trianon in everyday conversation in Hungary for decades. It is still topical. When you said that Horthy was obsessed, I feel that you leave the impression that the leadership at the time was leading this sentiment. It has a negative tone as if he were wrong. I think the opposite is true. No government at the time would have held onto power that was not angry at the Treaty of Trianon. The treaty led to a human problems, everyday people with families being impacted. It was not just a vague theoretical event. It is worth noting that Poland opposed the treaty and I believe that Woodrow Wilson was opposed to it. Even Great Britian had second thoughts after signing it. And when you went on to say that Horthy made connections with other dictators in Europe, you leave a negative impression that is also misleading.

   The West rejected Hungary to such a degree that there was little choice. There is a terrible story about Hungarian boy scouts going to a jamboree in the 1920s in Sweden to be rejected. Even at the level of children, the Western democracies rejected Hungary. When you have few friends and many grievances, then you end up with those who will accept you. Further to that, by the time of the second world war, it would have been suicide for Hungary to oppose Hitler and it would have suffered the same fate as Poland. No western ally was going to help Hungary, that is for sure. Instead, Horthy for all of his faults played a dangerous game that kept the Nazis out of Hungary until 1944. Yes, Horthy has a mixed evaluation when it comes to the crimes against Jews, but he resisted Hitler’s pressure to send them to extermination camps to the degree he could. We can judge that he might have done better, but it would have been difficult. And it is true that he was an anti-Semitic. However, it was only when the Germans disposed of Horthy and the round up the Jews happened. There was indeed many Hungarians who shamefully participated. But the same is true of France, Holland, Poland etc. yet they are not painted so negatively as Hungary. The history of Hungary is complex and shrouded by language and the propaganda of the countries that neighbor it who have their own narratives.

   You have taken a bold step to try to explain some the history with what I know to be a lack of resources available in English. I wish you best in being able to access insightful writing about Hungary. It is so lacking. I look forward to hearing your other 1919 stories.

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