Treaty of Trianon

As part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Hungary had been involved in World War I since August 1914. After its allies signed armistices with the Entente, the political elite in Budapest also opted to end the war. On 31 October 1918, the Budapest government declared independence of Hungary from Austria and began peace talks with the Allies which led to an armistice on 13 November 1918. Hungary demobilised its army and granted the Allies the right to occupy the country's south and east until a peace treaty was signed. In December 1918, Budapest allowed Czechoslovak troops to occupy the country's north. In exchange, Budapest hoped to reopen trade and a supply of coal. Despite the end of hostilities, Hungary's neighbours Czechoslovakia, Romania, and The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes blockaded the country, preventing it from importing food, fuel, and other important goods. Successive Hungarian governments pleaded with the Entente to lift the blockade. In April 1919, Romania and Czechoslovakia moved their armies further into Hungary, provoking a renewal of hostilities. In June, the Entente ordered them to cease fighting and accept new demarcation lines that would be guaranteed as the future borders of Hungary. Romania ignored the order, however the Entente orchestrated the formation of a new government which was invited to attend the Paris Peace Conference. The treaty, received in January 1920, legalized the existing demarcation lines as the new borders, guaranteed the end of the blockade and restoration of trade between the former Habsburg lands, as well as importing of coal into Hungary.

The treaty was dictated by the Allies rather than negotiated, and Hungary faced a decision to accept or reject it in full. The Hungarian delegation signed the treaty under protest; agitation for its revision began immediately. While the government in Budapest welcomed the restoration of peace and trade, it continued to protest the cession of its former territories without plebiscites. The treaty was signed on 4 June 1920, ratified by Hungary on 16 November 1920 and came into force on 26 July 1921. The boundaries of Hungary have remained mostly the same since then, with minor modifications in 1921–24 and 1947, excepting the short-lived aggrandizement that Hungary undertook in 1938–1941. One of the treaty's elements was the "self-determination of peoples" doctrine, an attempt to give non-Hungarians of the former empire their own states. However, the Allies refused to organise plebiscites as the basis for drawing new borders which they explained in the Millerand letter accompanying the treaty. The letter explained that the lack of plebiscites was due to the belief that "a popular consultation ... would not produce significantly different results". The letter suggested that the Council of the League of Nations might offer its mediation to rectify the new borders amicably if suggested by the delimitation commission. Hungarian diplomats pointed to the letter as a Great Powers promise of territorial revisions in favour of Hungary. In 1921, one plebiscite was permitted settling a small territorial dispute between the First Austrian Republic and Kingdom of Hungary.

The post-1920 Hungary became a landlocked state of 93,073 square kilometres (35,936 sq mi) and 7.6 million people, 28% of the land and 36% of the population in the pre-war Kingdom of Hungary. The areas allocated to neighbouring countries had 3.3 million Hungarians which became minorities in the new jurisdictions. The treaty limited Hungary's army to 35,000 men, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy ceased to exist. It required Hungary to pay war reparations to its neighbours. These decisions and their consequences have caused resentment in Hungary ever since. Hungary's neighbours were the treaty's primary beneficiaries. The treaty led to international recognition of Hungary, and its sovereignty while granting Hungarian citizens abroad right of protection of their property from nationalization.

Background

First World War and Austro-Hungarian Armistice

On 28 June 1914, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. This caused a rapidly escalating July Crisis resulting in Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, followed quickly by the entry of most European powers into the First World War. Two alliances faced off, the Central Powers (led by Germany) and the Triple Entente (led by Britain, France and Russia). In 1918 Germany tried to overwhelm the Allies on the Western Front but failed. Instead the Allies began a successful counteroffensive and forced the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that resembled a surrender by the Central Powers.

On 6 April 1917, the United States entered the war against Germany and in December 1917 against Austria-Hungary. The American war aim was to end aggressive militarism as shown by Berlin and Vienna; the United States never formally joined the Allies. President Woodrow Wilson acted as an independent force, and his Fourteen Points were accepted by Germany as a basis for the armistice of November 1918. It outlined a policy of free trade, open agreements, and democracy. While the term was not used, self-determination was assumed. It called for a negotiated end to the war, international disarmament, the withdrawal of the Central Powers from occupied territories, the creation of a Polish state, the redrawing of Europe's borders along ethnic lines, and the formation of a League of Nations to guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity of all states. It called for a just and democratic peace uncompromised by territorial annexation. Point ten announced Wilson's "wish" that the peoples of Austria-Hungary be given autonomy—a point that Vienna rejected.

The Hungarian Parliament, led by Prime Minister Sándor Wekerle, agreed to the proposal to discuss peace on the basis of Wilson's Fourteen Points. At the same time, it declared that the problem of non-Hungarian nations in Hungary was an internal matter for the state. Wekerle refused to publicly admit that the war was lost. Responding to that, Count Mihály Károlyi said that "We have lost the war. Now the main thing is not to lose the peace" and called for a democratic Hungary to conclude the most advantageous peace with the Entente. Count István Tisza responded that although Károlyi was right that the war was lost, Hungary did not need further democratisation during wartime. The only important task was to preserve the territorial integrity of Hungary, which Tisza claimed did not go against Wilson's points. (Tisza was bitterly unpopular among ethnic Hungarian voters and therefore his party National Party of Work drew most of his votes from ethnic minorities during the parliamentary elections.) The non-Hungarian ethnic groups of Hungary would receive only small concession. The sole Slovak member of the parliament, Ferdinand Juriga, opened his speech by denying the right of the Hungarian parliament to speak or act in the name of the Slovaks, declared that only the Slovak National Council had the right to represent Slovaks at the peace conference and demanded the right to self-determination for all nations of Hungary. The Hungarian parliament erupted in anger, shouting, "Where is this council!? Where is the Slovak nation!? What county does it live in!? Who is this really!? Stop him speaking!!"

On 18 October Woodrow Wilson responded to the peace offer of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, burying the hope that federalization would preserve its territorial integrity. Wilson emphasized that since his Fourteen Points on 8 January the situation has changed, that the USA has recognized the Czechoslovak National Council in Paris as a de facto government, and that the "oppressed nations of Austria-Hungary will themselves assess what will satisfy their aspirations and their rights". In his last political speech to the Hungarian parliament, Tisza bitterly complained about how the Entente powers "negotiated with the internal enemies of the state" which meant that now he was forced to enter talks with "the phantasmagoria of a Czechoslovak state". Wekerle responded that they will negotiate with them "only if they first give up on the idea of turning Hungary into Eastern Switzerland". Wekerle promised the parliament that they will tell Wilson that "we know of no Czechoslovak union, only of a Czech union". The Hungarian government agreed to begin negotiations with the nationalities, promise them some minor concessions and if these were not accepted, they would hold a plebiscite and make sure its resolution was favorable to Hungarians and the integrity of Hungary. They would inform President Wilson of the results and the conditions for peace would be fulfilled. Only a minority of Hungarian politicians, led by Mihály Károlyi, sought preservation in the democratisation of the semi-feudal kingdom, which still lacked universal suffrage. (Similar to Hungary, the most Western European countries did not have universal suffrage before the end of WW1. The UK introduced universal suffrage after WWI with the Representation of the People Act 1918). All feudal privileges of the Hungarian nobility was erased by the April Laws of 1848.

Germany, the major ally of Austria-Hungary in World War I, suffered numerous losses during the Hundred Days Offensive between August and November 1918 and was in negotiation of armistice with Allied Powers from the beginning of October 1918. Between 15 and 29 September 1918, Franchet d'Espèrey, in command of a relative small army of Greeks (9 divisions), French (6 divisions), Serbs (6 divisions), British (4 divisions) and Italians (1 division), staged a successful Vardar offensive in Vardar Macedonia that ended by taking Bulgaria out of the war. That collapse of the Southern (Italian) Front was one of several developments that effectively triggered the November 1918 armistice. By the end of October 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Army was so fatigued that its commanders were forced to seek a ceasefire. Czechoslovakia and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs were proclaimed, and troops started deserting, disobeying orders and retreating. Many Czechoslovak troops, in fact, started working for the Allied cause, and in September 1918, five Czechoslovak Regiments were formed in the Italian Army. The launch of an offensive by 51 Entente divisions along the whole Italian front on 24 October 1918 lead to the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian army. The troops of Austria-Hungary started a chaotic withdrawal during the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, and Austria-Hungary began to negotiate a truce on 28 October, which they signed at Padua on 3 November 1918.

The Hungarian Parliament dissolved on 23 October after learning of a revolution in Rijeka, Croatia, where the 79th Infantry regiment rebelled and occupied the town. Fearing the spread of revolution from Croatia to Hungary, Prime Minister Wekerle resigned under pressure.

Aster Revolution and the First Hungarian Republic

During the war, Count Mihály Károlyi led a small but very active pacifist anti-war maverick faction in the Hungarian parliament. He even organized covert contacts with British and French diplomats in Switzerland. On 25 October 1918 Károlyi had formed the Hungarian National Council. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy politically collapsed and disintegrated as a result of a defeat in the Italian front. On 31 October 1918, in the midst of armistice negotiations, the Aster Revolution erupted and Charles IV King of Hungary appointed the liberal Károlyi as prime minister. The revolution in Budapest occurred in parallel to the disintegration of the Austria-Hungary trade network. The heaviest blow to the government was caused by the stop of coal imports from Silesia, which assured the functioning of most of transport, industry and heating in cities. By 5 November, Károlyi learnt that the national coal stocks would be empty in 2 days. The energy crisis in Hungary, caused by a shortage of coal, weakened the Budapest government to such an extent that it felt compelled to seek a compromise with Czechoslovakia, which was blocking the coal road to Silesia.

The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian army on the Italian front also affected the rear units in Hungary. By the beginning of November 1918, the collapsing statehood was experiencing "disturbances" or "looting". On the 1st of November, the pacifist and pro-Entente Károlyi's new Hungarian government decided to recall all of the troops, who were conscripted from the territory of Kingdom of Hungary, which was a major blow for the Habsburg's armies. Károlyi's new government insisted on preserving the historic borders of Hungary, but it was in no position to comply with the urgent demands for forcible intervention, demanded by military commanders. Károlyi intended to conclude an armistice independently in the name of Hungary, without regard for its German and Austrian allies. By this, alongside his pacifist views, he sought to distance Hungary from those mainly responsible for the war, and convince the victorious Entente that his government already represented a democratic country, and so should not be punished for the warlike actions of preceding governments, as Slovak historian Marián Hronský considered.

Unilaterial self-disarmament of the Hungarian army

Károlyi yielded to President Wilson's demand for pacifism by ordering the unilateral self-disarmament of the Hungarian army. The Hungarian Royal Honvéd army still had more than 1,400,000 soldiers, when Károlyi was announced as prime minister. This happened under the direction of Minister of War Béla Linder on 2 November 1918. On the request of the Austro-Hungarian government, an armistice was granted to Austria-Hungary on 3 November 1918 by the Allies. Disarmament of its army meant that Hungary was to remain without a national defence at a time of particular vulnerability. The unilateral self-disarmament made the occupation of Hungary directly possible for the relatively small armies of Romania, the Franco-Serbian army, and the armed forces of the newly established Czechoslovakia. Nevertheless, small Hungarian troops were still able to resist the advancement of the Czech army in the North. Only in early December the Budapest government ordered their withdrawal following a political arrangement with Prague which established the first demarcation line between Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

International reactions to the Hungarian disarmament

Military and political events changed rapidly and drastically after the Hungarian unilateral disarmament:

• On 5 November 1918, the Serbian army, with the help of the French army, crossed the southern borders.
• On 7 November, Hungarian Prime Minister Mihály Károlyi meets General Louis Franchet d'Espèrey in Belgrade. d'Espèrey bluntly informed Károlyi that the Hungarian government "only represents the Magyar people, and not the other nations of Hungary". When the Hungarian side declared the acceptance of an "Independent Czech and Yugoslav states", the French general responded, "Let us say Czechoslovak".
• On 8 November, the Czechoslovak army crossed the northern borders.
• On 10 November d'Espérey's army crossed the Danube River and was poised to enter the Hungarian heartland.
• On 11 November Germany signed an armistice with Allies, under which they had to immediately withdraw all German troops in Romania and in the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire back to German territory and Allies to have access to these countries.
• On 13 November, the Romanian army crossed the eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Károlyi appointed the liberal progressive and pacifist Oszkár Jászi to become Minister without portfolio for nationality questions. Jászi wanted to indicate that the old Hungarian policy towards non-Hungarian nations and nationalities was over and a new democratic course was to begin. According to Jászi, the main aim of his nationality policy was "to defend the plebiscite principle, and so where possible make conditions more favorable for Hungary." The ultimate goal was the creation of a confederative state system, called Danube Confederation, that would preserve the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Hungary. Jászi immediately offered democratic referendums about the disputed borders for minorities; however, the political leaders of those minorities refused the very idea of democratic referendums regarding disputed territories at the Paris peace conference. In spite of this, Hungarian government still possessed forces strong enough to resist the encroaching Entente troops, and on 13 November declared the mobilization of the five youngest year groups (1896–1900). This was presaged by Károlyi's proclamation, in which he declared the entrance of Czechoslovak troops a "Czech invasion and occupation".

The Armistice of 3 November was completed as regards Hungary on 13 November, when Károlyi signed the Armistice of Belgrade with the Allied nations, in order that a Treaty of Peace might be concluded. The terms of the armistice were harsh and without compromise. The Hungarian government had to withdraw its troops behind a line deep into Hungary. The army had to disarm, except for its six infantry and two cavalry divisions. Demarcation lines defining the territory to remain under Hungarian control were made. The lines would apply until definitive borders could be established. The Entente was allowed to occupy strategically important places and its forces were allowed free movement inside Hungary. Under the terms of the armistice, Serbian and French troops advanced from the south, taking control of the Banat and Croatia. Romanian forces were permitted to advance to the River Mureș (Maros). However, on 14 November, Serbia occupied Pécs. General Franchet d'Espèrey followed up the victory by overrunning much of the Balkans, and by the war's end his troops had penetrated well into Hungary. In mid-November 1918, the Czechoslovak troops advanced into the northern parts of the collapsing kingdom (i.e. future Slovakia), but on 14 November Károlyi ordered the Hungarian forces to repulse the "Czech invasion" back. After King Charles IV's withdrawal from government on 16 November 1918, Károlyi proclaimed the First Hungarian Republic, with himself as provisional president of the republic. On the same day the Slovak National Council dispatched Pavel Fábry to Budapest on an official mission to discuss public security and police order in their respective areas. Fábry reported back that the Károlyi government considered the fight against Yugoslavs and Romanians to be lost, and instead aimed to send all of their military forces to the northern front, in order to at least retain "Upper Hungary". Fábry entered talks with Károlyi and Jászi, agreeing to nothing while stalling for time, until the Entente could act. On 6 December, following a note from 3 December sent to Budapest by French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the Hungarian government agreed to retreat behind temporary boundaries drawn by Milan Hodža, who led a delegation of the Slovak National Council in Budapest. Hodža stipulated that the line he drew "would be valid only until new instructions concerning the demarcation line come from Paris." On 24 December 1918, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephen Pichon informed Budapest of a new demarcation line, and the Hungarian government agreed to extend the Czechoslovak zone of occupation to Pozsony (Bratislava), Komárom (Komárno), Kassa (Košice) and Ungvár (Užhorod). By late January 1919, the Czechoslovak troops advanced into these areas. The Budapest approval for the Czechoslovak advancement was largely explained by the Hungarian desire to reopen trade with Czech lands and to obtain crucially needed coal amidst an energy crisis. As a result, by 4 February 1919, the Czechoslovak Ministry moved its headquarters from Zsolna (Žilina) to newly renamed Bratislava (formerly Pozsony). During the rule of Károlyi's pacifist cabinet, Hungary rapidly lost control over approximately 75% of its former pre-WWI territories (325,411 km² (125,642 sq mi)) without a fight and was subject to foreign occupation.

Fall of the liberal First Hungarian Republic and communist coup d'état

The Károlyi government failed to manage both domestic and military issues and lost popular support. On 20 March 1919, Béla Kun, who had been imprisoned in the Markó Street prison, was released. On 21 March, he led a successful communist coup d'état; Károlyi was deposed and arrested. Kun formed a social democratic, communist coalition government and proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Days later the communists purged the social democrats from the government. The Hungarian Soviet Republic was a small communist rump state. When the Republic of Councils in Hungary was established, it controlled only approximately 23% of Hungary's historic territory. After the Communist takeover, the Allies sent a new diplomatic mission to Budapest, led by General Jan Smuts. During these talks with Smuts, Kun insisted that his government would abide by the Belgrade ceasefire and recognise the right to self-determination of the various ethnic groups living in Hungary. In return, Kun urged an end to the Allied trade blockade, particularly by the Czechs, and to allow fuel and food to be imported into Hungary.

The communists remained bitterly unpopular in the Hungarian countryside, where the authority of that government was often nonexistent. Rather than divide the big estates among the peasants – which might have gained their support for the government, but would have created a class of small-holding farmers the communist government proclaimed the nationalization of the estates. But having no skilled people to manage the estates, the communists had no choice but to leave the existing estate managers in place. These, while formally accepting their new government bosses, in practice retained their loyalty to the deposed aristocratic owners. The peasants felt that the revolution had no real effect on their lives and thus had no reason to support it. The communist party and communist policies only had real popular support among the proletarian masses of large industrial centers—especially in Budapest—where the working class represented a high proportion of the inhabitants. The communist government followed the Soviet model: the party established its terror groups (like the infamous Lenin Boys) to "overcome the obstacles" in the Hungarian countryside. This was later known as the Red Terror in Hungary.

In late May, after the Entente military representative demanded more territorial concessions from Hungary, Kun attempted to "fulfill" his promise to adhere to Hungary's historical borders. The men of the Hungarian Red Army were recruited mainly from the volunteers of the Budapest proletariat. On 20 May 1919, a force under Colonel Aurél Stromfeld attacked and routed Czechoslovak troops from Miskolc. The Romanian Army attacked the Hungarian flank with troops from the 16th Infantry Division and the Second Vânători Division, aiming to maintain contact with the Czechoslovak Army. Hungarian troops prevailed, and the Romanian Army retreated to its bridgehead at Tokaj. There, between 25 and 30 May, Romanian forces were required to defend their position against Hungarian attacks. On 3 June, Romania was forced into further retreat but extended its line of defence along the Tisza River and reinforced its position with the 8th Division, which had been moving forward from Bukovina since 22 May. Hungary then controlled the territory almost to its old borders; regained control of industrial areas around Miskolc, Salgótarján, Selmecbánya (Banská Štiavnica), Kassa (Košice).

In June, the Hungarian Red Army invaded the eastern part of the so-called Upper Hungary, now claimed by the newly forming Czechoslovak state. The Hungarian Red Army achieved some military success early on: under the leadership of Colonel Aurél Stromfeld, it ousted Czechoslovak troops from the north and planned to march against the Romanian Army in the east. Kun ordered the preparation of an offensive against Czechoslovakia, which would increase his domestic support by making good on his promise to restore Hungary's borders. The Hungarian Red Army recruited men between 19 and 25 years of age. Industrial workers from Budapest volunteered. Many former Austro-Hungarian officers re-enlisted for patriotic reasons. The Hungarian Red Army moved its 1st and 5th artillery divisions—40 battalions—to Upper Hungary.

Despite promises for the restoration of the former borders of Hungary, the communists declared the establishment of the Slovak Soviet Republic in Prešov (Eperjes) on 16 June 1919. After the proclamation of the Slovak Soviet Republic, the Hungarian nationalists and patriots soon realized that the new communist government had no intentions to recapture the lost territories, only to spread communist ideology and establish other communist states in Europe, thus sacrificing Hungarian national interests. The Hungarian patriots and professional military officers in the Red Army saw the establishment of the Slovak Soviet Republic as a betrayal, and their support for the government began to erode. Despite a series of military victories against the Czechoslovak army, the Hungarian Red Army started to disintegrate due to tension between nationalists and communists during the establishment of the Slovak Soviet Republic. The concession eroded support of the communist government among professional military officers and nationalists in the Hungarian Red Army; even the chief of the general staff Aurél Stromfeld, resigned his post in protest.

When the French promised the Hungarian government that Romanian forces would withdraw from the Tiszántúl, Kun withdrew from Czechoslovakia his remaining military units who had remained loyal after the political fiasco with the Slovak Soviet Republic. Kun then unsuccessfully tried to turn the remaining units of the demoralized Hungarian Red Army on the Romanians.

Treaty preparation and Conference at Trianon in Paris

After the fall of the communist regime of Béla Kun, the instability of the Hungarian state delayed the sending of a Hungarian delegation to the Peace conference in Paris. On 16 November 1919, Admiral Miklós Horthy entered Budapest, taking over the running of the country for a long time and thus bringing to an end the period of unstable Hungarian governments. By December 1919, text of the proposed Peace Treaty with Hungary was fully prepared in Paris. Thereafter, the Károly Huszár government, which received the international recognition of the Entente, was invited to participate in the Paris Peace Conference on 2 December. The notable pre-WW1 politician and diplomat Count Albert Apponyi was appointed to lead the Hungarian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference to represent the Hungarian interests. Simultaneously, Horthy entrusted Count Pál Teleki with collecting and preparing all the material necessary for the peace conference. Nevertheless it was Apponyi who took over the conceptual leadership of all the works connected with the peace talk. The Czechoslovak President Tomáš Masaryk, knowing that the Hungarian delegation to Paris would be eventually headed by Apponyi, proposed to compile statistics on Hungarian education, where it would be emphasized that it was precisely Apponyi, who in his role as Minister for Education, suppressed the education of minorities in their native languages. The Czechoslovak delegation would be headed by the Slovak ambassador Štefan Osuský, who was given the task to monitor and study Hungarian counter-proposals.

The result of the common work of Apponyi and Teleki was the so-called Memoirs: a huge amount of written material containing 346 memoirs supplemented with 4000 pages of large office format with 100 maps and many other statistical and graphical supplements. Copies of the basic set of Memoirs were sent to Paris in January 1920, and further supplements, protest notes and demands were added in the following months. The Memoir intended to present a harmonious life of the nations and nationalities inside the Kingdom of Hungary while denying their oppression, marginalization and systematic assimilation. But its massive size also turned to be its greatest weakness, as it made it easy for the Paris peace commission to point out any contradiction. Apponyi's claims on the question of education were likewise pointed out to be contradictory to what he claimed and what he passed while in office as Minister of Education (1906–1910), which the Czechoslovak side exploited with great effect. The lack of unity and contradictions of the Hungarian Memoirs was because they failed to consistently pursue a single fact. Instead, they argued in favor of four different positions:

• The complete integrity and indivisibility of the historic Kingdom of Hungary, without a plebiscite
• A plebiscite on the territories separated from Hungary
• Adjustments of the borders in favor of Hungary without a plebiscite
• Cultural, economical, transportation and ecclesiastical concessions in the separated territories

The Hungarian representatives placed the blame for the Great War on the former Austrian government. The war was directed centrally from Vienna and Hungarians took no responsibility for its origin or continuation. Hungarians committed no sin other than fighting bravely in the war that was forced on them. Hungarian representatives also claimed credit for ending the war, when they laid down arms after Wilson promulgated his Fourteen Points, only to be rewarded with occupation and robbery of its territory by the Entente. The Bolshevik revolution in Hungary was also blamed on the Entente. The French representatives countered that the Hungarian parliament was in a political alliance with the Prussians since 1867 and continuously supported German imperialism. Apponyi was reminded of how he himself notoriously welcomed the proclamation of the war against Serbia by shouting "Hát végre!" ("At last!") at the Hungarian Parliament in 1914, and how he proceeded to make territorial demands against Serbia. The Hungarian delegation claimed that a diminished Hungary would not be capable of independent economic life and would only be a burden to the Entente. What's worse, all the lost natural wealth and energy would be in the hands of "less cultured nations", unable to use it. The alleged cultural inferiority of Romanians, Slovaks and Yugoslavs would not only lead to economic decline, but would also have a destructive effect on spiritual and moral life, on science, arts, literature, religion (especially European Catholicism), social development and political organization. This is why these nations did not deserve self-realization and should remain under the leadership of Hungarians "who represented a highly developed and state-forming element in the Carpathian basin". This racially colored mentality of a "ruling nation" was used thorough the Memoirs submitted by the Hungarian representatives, and was also used to justify Magyarization. All the non-Hungarian nations and nationalities (with the exception of the Germans and Saxons) had "a much less developed civilization than the Hungarians", which the Hungarian state blamed on their inferior languages. The Slovaks, Romanians and Jews "willingly" magyarized themselves, because they realized that "the Magyar race was the bearer of a thousand years of civilization".

Before World War I, only three European countries declared ethnic minority rights, and enacted minority-protecting laws: the first was Hungary (1849 and 1868), the second was Austria (1867), and the third was Belgium (1898). In contrast, the legal systems of other pre-WW1 era European countries did not allow the use of European minority languages in primary schools, in cultural institutions, in offices of public administration and at the legal courts.

The arguments used by Hungary concentrated on proving the historical, geographical, economic and spiritual unity of the old Kingdom of Hungary. Yet, the Memoirs mixed them all in a confusing way. Hungary also demanded plebiscites as a means to restore the former multi-national Kingdom of Hungary, and not to create a majority Hungarian nation state. The Supreme Council of the Peace Conference, when drawing the Czechoslovak–Hungarian border, applied the principle of mutual balance of minorities in the two states, since, as they claimed, creating a clean and precise ethnic border was impossible. The Supreme Council rejected the maximum demands of the Czechoslovak side, nor did it apply a purely geographical or ethnic principle, but combined them with economical, historical, transportation, military strategical, and other geopolitical factors. The Supreme Council accepted Czechoslovak arguments that showed that post-war Hungary was self-sufficient in coal, crude oil, grain, cattle and other areas of agriculture, railways and transport.

The Hungarian delegation, led by Count Apponyi, arrived in Paris on 7 January 1920 and was informed that the peace conditions would be submitted to him on 15 January. On 14 January, Apponyi publicly protested in the press against the conditions for peace, despite still not knowing their official text. His demand to talk directly with the leading representatives of the Entente before officially receiving the text further irritated the Supreme Council and was declined. It would have meant preferential treatment for the Hungarians, as no other delegation from a defeated state had been given the same advantage. On 15 January, Apponyi received the text of the proposed Peace Treaty in the "Red Hall", and the next day Apponyi made his prepared speech to the Supreme Council. He called for the right of self-determination of Hungarians, denied that other nations were oppressed in the old Kingdom of Hungary, claimed that Hungary had a historic mission, emphasized the geographical and economic unity of the country, condemned that many Hungarians were now living under the "hegemony of races with lower cultures" and declared that the torso of the historic Hungarian kingdom could not live without the lost regions, without its mineral wealth, water energy and labor force. Hungary would never accept these borders and would follow a policy aimed at its revision. The lengthy negotiation process was recorded on a daily basis by János Wettstein, deputy first secretary of the Hungarian delegation. According to Hronský, it turned out to be a mistake on Hungary's part when it appointed Apponyi to lead the Hungarian delegation. Count Apponyi, though popular in Hungary, had a negative reputation in the neighboring countries. His education acts (1907), his pro-German policy during the war and negative relations with the non-Hungarian nationalities of Hungary made him an easy target for the international press. Štefan Osuský, the Czechoslovak ambassador in Paris, did not bother to hide his glee at Hungary choosing Apponyi of all people. "The choice of Apponyi was very welcome to me", wrote Osuský back to Prague, "In the former Kingdom of Hungary, he embodied the spirit of disregard and oppression of the Slovaks, and as such I would grant to him that he should be the one to sign the sentence of condemnation not only of his life". The Czechoslovak, Romanian and Yugoslavian delegation decided on a joint approach when replying to the Hungarian memorandums. On 26 February, the Hungarian newspaper Pesti Hírlap ridiculed this cooperation as some kind of "Little Entente".

The treaty of peace in its final form was submitted to the Hungarians on 6 May and signed by them in Grand Trianon on 4 June 1920, entering into force on 26 July 1921. An extensive accompanying letter, written by the Chairman of the Peace Conference Alexandre Millerand, was sent along with the Peace Treaty to Hungary. The letter emphasized that the Great Powers studied the notes provided by the Hungarian delegation, but "could not ignore the partial responsibility which falls on Hungary for the outbreak of the World War and in general for the imperialist policy pursued by the Dual Monarchy." It also mentioned that the "territorial clauses in the peace conditions would not be changed at all, because any change of the frontiers which the Hungarian delegation demanded would have very unfortunate results." Examination of Hungarian counter-proposals only confirmed to them that the borders should remain as they were drafted in 1919, because "the nationality situation in Central Europe is such that it is not possible to ensure that political borders fully agree with ethnic borders," and thus the Great Powers were forced to leave some populations under the sovereignty of other states. In spite of this, the Great Powers rejected the Hungarian claim "that it would be better to not change the historic borders: The continuation of a situation, even if it is a thousand years old, is not justified if it is against justice." The belated Hungarian offers for Slovak autonomy within Hungary were dismissed as a diplomatic trick, since "the basic historic fact was that for many years all the efforts of the Hungarian political elite were directed towards silencing the voices of the national minorities." At the end, Millerand's letter categorically emphasized, that "The conditions for peace, which were presented to you today, are, however, definitive."

The United States did not ratify the Treaty of Trianon. Instead it negotiated a separate peace treaty that did not contradict the terms of the Trianon treaty.

Coal shortage in Hungary and the peace-making

The Treaty of Trianon not only redrew Hungary's borders but also laid down rules for the restoration of economic relations between Hungary and foreign countries, including its neighbors – the Entente allies: Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia. The peace treaty de facto ended the Allied blockade of Hungary and de jure ordered the resumption of regional trade and the supply of coal to Hungary from Czechoslovakia and Poland. Together with other international agreements signed at the Paris Peace Conference, such as the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty of 1919 and the Teschen Settlement of July 1920, it provided the legal framework for overcoming the economic chaos in Central Europe caused by the First World War and exacerbated by the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian common market in late 1918.

The critical element of the economic paralysis in Hungary and other Danubian countries was the shortage of coal, which had been aggravating since 1914, but became critical in 1918–1920. While coal production in the Habsburg Monarchy had been declining after 1914, the disappearance of imperial unity at the end of 1918 halted the distribution of coal from the Silesian mines to various consuming regions, including Hungary. Coal production in Hungary fell from 10 million tonnes in 1913 to 3 million tonnes in 1919, but the most drastic blow came from the cessation of imports of 5 million tonnes of rich Silesian bituminous coal. The stoppage of coal imports was mainly due to the blockade imposed by the Czechoslovak government over Hungary at the end of 1918. In fact, Czechs gained control over a significant part of the Silesian mines, such as in Teschen, and over the transit railways from Silesia to Vienna and Budapest. From November–December 1918, Prague made the resumption of coal supplies to Vienna and Budapest conditional on the acceptance of its territorial claims to former Austrian and Hungarian territories.

As the Hungarian revolutionary leader Vilmos Böhm recalled about the Hungarian-Czech coal talks, "every wagon of coal should be paid for with territorial concessions". Despite the withdrawal of Hungarian troops from the Upper Hungarian territories claimed by Prague (Slovakia in December 1918 – January 1919 and Subcarpathian Ruthenia in April–July 1919), Czechoslovakia maintained a blockade on coal exports to Hungary until the signing of the Trianon Peace Treaty in June 1920.

The acute coal shortage had a profound effect on Hungary's economy and infrastructure. Industrial production and transport were severely hampered. The shortage led to desperate diplomatic efforts by the government in Budapest to secure coal supplies and stabilise the economy. In November 1918, the Hungarian government began negotiations with Czechoslovakia and the Entente powers to alleviate the coal crisis. Hungary's desperate need for coal influenced its diplomatic strategy and led it to make concessions. Hungary also sought help from the Entente, recognising that cooperation with its neighbours and the victorious powers was essential for economic recovery.

Czechoslovakia and the Entente powers strategically used coal supplies as leverage to force Hungary to make territorial and political concessions. The negotiated peace treaty project included passages, which stipulated the obligation of Czechoslovakia and Poland to provide coal to Hungary in necessary quantities, but also assured that the two important coal-mining centers of Hungary – surrounding towns of Pécs and of Salgótarján – would be freed from the occupying Czech and Serbian troops and remain inside Hungary. The great powers understood that Hungary's desperate need for coal and trade with neighbouring countries, particularly Czechoslovakia, would force Budapest to accept the heavy territorial losses in favour of Prague. After the ratification of the Trianon Treaty by the Hungarian Parliament in November 1920, Hungary started receiving increasing quantities of coal via Czechoslovakia. During the 1920s, Czechoslovakia became the most important trading partner of Hungary.