The Treznea massacre occurred in the village of

Treznea Treznea ( hu, Ördögkút, lit. "The Devil's Fountain"; german: Teufelsbrunnen) is a commune in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Bozna (''Szentpéterfalva'') and Treznea. These were part of Agrij Commune until 19 ...

, Sălaj in north-western

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

on 9 September 1940, in the immediate aftermath of the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all o ...

, when

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

ceded

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. The massacre was perpretated by Hungarian Army troops with aid from some locals; 93 ethnic Romanians and Jews were killed.

The events

On that day, instigated by the former landlord Francisc (or Ferenc) Bay, the 22nd Hungarian Border Guards Battalion "

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...

", led by Lieutenant-Colonel Ákosy, made a detour from the

Zalău Zalău (, unofficial and former official name: ro, Zălau (; german: Zillenmarkt or , hu, Zilah, tr, Zile) is the seat of Sălaj County, Romania. In 2011, its estimated population was 56,202. History Ancient times Zalău is situated in the ...

– Ciumărna– Hida route to the "Măgura" area of the commune, which formerly belonged to Francisc Bay. The Hungarian troops entered the village at noon, under unclear circumstances fired at the locals, killing many of them and partially destroying the Orthodox church. The sources recorded that 87 Romanians and 6 Jews were killed, including the local Orthodox priest, Traian Costea, who was burned in his church, and the Romanian local teacher with his wife, Lazăr and Aurelia Cosma (the parents of the Romanian musicologist ). Some Hungarian historians claim that the killings came in retaliation after the Hungarian troops were fired upon by inhabitants, allegedly incited by the local Romanian Orthodox priest. These claims are both supported (for instance: colonel Károly Ákosi and the on-site committee of inquiry)Kádár, Gyula: A Ludovikától Sopronkőhidáig, Tények és tanúk sorozat, Magvető Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 1978. ( 13. chapter, page 354–355. and not supported by the accounts of several witnesses. The motivation of the 4 km detour of the Hungarian troops from the rest of the Hungarian Army is still a point of contention, as it could not have been as a routine occupation maneuver. Most evidence points towards the local noble Ferenc Bay who lost a large part of his estates to peasants in the 1920s, as most of the violence was directed towards the peasants living on his former estate. By the accounts of some witnesses, not all soldiers were wearing full uniform and some of them were drunk. Also, some villagers claim to have recognised some of the young men as locals from

. This might suggest that not everyone in these Hungarian troops were operating under the jurisdiction of the Hungarian Army. According to some historians, several Hungarian inhabitants of the village tried to stop the

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

, but they were themselves chased and beaten. Other source (Doctor Ioan Pușcaș) recalled that his knowledge of Hungarian and two Hungarian women from the village saved him from certain death.

Aftermath

After the war, the

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , ...

People's Tribunal People’s Tribunal refers to nongovernmental tribunals founded by citizens. It may refer to: * 2017 People's Tribunal on Myanmar; see Shadi Sadr * China Tribunal, founded in 2019, to examine claims of organ harvesting by the Chinese government fr ...

sentenced in this case and other war crimes 481 people, out of which 100 (e.g., Ferenc Bay) to death and 163 to life imprisonment. However, most of them were tried ''in absentia'' and never served their sentences.

Notes

References

* * * * *{{Cite book, last=Țurlea, first= Petre, title=Ip și Trăznea: atrocități maghiare și acțiune diplomaticǎ românească: studiu și documente, year=1996, publisher=Editura Enciclopedică, isbn=973-45-0181-X, location=București, oclc=37854210, language=ro Massacres in 1940 World War II massacres 20th century in Transylvania World War II crimes in Romania Massacres in Romania Massacres in Hungary 1940 in Romania September 1940 events 1940 murders in Hungary Hungary–Romania relations September 1940 events in Romania Massacres of Romanians

The events

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References