The fate of Western Hungary, 1918-1921

József Botlik (1949-) PhD, researcher of minorities, historian, lecturer of the School of Philosophy of the Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem [Peter Pazmany Catholic University]. He had been studying, for the past four decades, the turbulent history of the 3.5 million ethnic Magyars torn from Hungary by the June 4, 1920 Peace Treaty of Trianon. He has written 15 books and 200 papers on the subject, as well as 80 radio and television programs. His major research region has been Sub-Carpathia [Ruthenia] but his works also cover the changing situation of Hungarians in the former Hungarian territories of Northern Hungary, Transylvania and Vovodina. His current book takes the reader to western Hungary, which burst into flames in the aftermath of the unjust Trianon decision. Here, the territorial robbers of Hungary cast their eyes on an area, populated not only by Hungarians but also Germans, Croats and Vends (Slovenes), who never wanted to be separated from the country. Making use of all the printed and archival material, the well-written monograph clearly presents the plans and claims of not only the Entente Great Powers but also those of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Serbia. He outlines national political struggles of the country recovering from the shock of the two traitorous 'revolutions' of 1918-1919. He discusses in detail the glorious revolution of August-September 1921 in western Hungary, in legitimate response to the perfidious actions of its former ally, Austria. In contradiction to the earlier Marxist-Communist historiographic practice, this work does justice to the brave effort made by the state of Lajtabánság [Lajta-Banat-ed] (October 4 - November 4, 1921), created after the Austrians were ejected from western Hungary. Finally, it confirms the role of this brave national resistance in forcing the December 14-16, 1921 plebiscite in Sopron, as a result of which the town of Sopron and surrounding villages were returned to Hungary, and salvaging a small measure of national honor. -- Book cover