Hungary–Yugoslavia relations (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Odnosi Mađarske i Jugoslavije, Односи Мађарске и Југославије; ; ) were historical foreign relations between neighboring

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(historically

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

1920-1946 and the

Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...

1949–1989) and now

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

(

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

1918-1941 and

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

1945–1992).

History

Interwar period

At the time of

creation of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia was a State (polity), state concept among the South Slavs, South Slavic intelligentsia and later popular masses from the 19th to early 20th centuries that culminated in its realization after the 1918 collapse of Austria-Hungary at th ...

during the

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

following the conclusion of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the

Entente Powers The Allies or the Entente (, ) was an international military coalition of countries led by the French Republic, the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, the United States, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire of Japan against the Central Powers ...

signed the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

with Hungary after the breakup of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. Among other things, the treaty defined the border between Hungary and the newly created

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929). Sizable numbers of

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and

Volksdeutsch In Nazi German terminology, () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship." The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with denoting a singular female, and , a singular male ...

e remained in the areas incorporated into the kingdom. The newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a

status quo state Status quo state is a term from power transition theory within the wider field of international relations. It is used to describe states, that unlike revisionist states, see the international system of states, international law and often even free ...

which sought to consolidate success of the South Slavic unification movement while Hungary was

revisionist state Revisionist state is a term from power transition theory within the wider field of international relations. It describes states whose objective is to change or put an end to the current system. The term assumes a direct correlation between a state ...

whose leaders believed that their country had a right to some parts of Yugoslavia.

World War II

Yugoslav Hungary Eternal Friendship 1941

On 14 March 1941 in Budapest Foreign Ministers

Aleksandar Cincar-Marković Aleksandar Cincar-Marković ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Цинцар-Марковић; 20 June 1889 – 1947) was a Serbian politician who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He is noteworthy for his role in the ...

and László Bárdossy signed the ''Treaty of Eternal Friendship between Yugoslavia and Hungary''. Following the short-lasting

Yugoslav accession to the Tripartite Pact On 25 March 1941, Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact with the Axis powers. The agreement was reached after months of negotiations between Germany and Yugoslavia and was signed at the Belvedere in Vienna by Joachim von Ribbentrop, German fore ...

on 25 March 1941 the

Yugoslav coup d'état The Yugoslav coup d'état took place on 27 March 1941 in Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, when the regency led by Prince Paul of Yugoslavia was overthrown and King Peter II fully assumed monarchical powers. The coup was planned and conducte ...

took place on 27 March 1941 when the regency led by Prince Paul of Yugoslavia was overthrown and King Peter II fully assumed power. The coup led directly to the German-led Axis

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

in which

Pál Teleki Count Pál János Ede Teleki de Szék (1 November 1879 – 3 April 1941) was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1920 to 1921 and from 1939 to 1941. He was also an expert in geography, a uni ...

government of Hungary was pressured to join the attack. When Teleki received a call that is thought to have informed him that the German army had just started its march into Hungary. Teleki committed suicide with a pistol during the night of 3 April 1941 and was found the next morning. His suicide note said in part:

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

later wrote, "His suicide was a sacrifice to absolve himself and his people from guilt in the German attack on Yugoslavia." On 6 April 1941, Germany launched Operation Punishment (''Unternehmen Strafgericht''), the bombing of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. Some historians consider Teleki's suicide an act of patriotism. Britain shortly afterward broke diplomatic relations with Hungary but did not declare war until December. During the

World War II in Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was Invasion of Yugoslavia, invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis powers, Axis forces and partitioned among Nazi Germany, Germany, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), It ...

Hungarian occupation of Yugoslav territories During World War II, the Kingdom of Hungary engaged in the military occupation, then annexation, of the Bačka, Baranja, Međimurje and Prekmurje regions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. These territories had all been under Hungarian rule prior ...

included military occupation, then annexation, of the

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

, Baranja, Međimurje and

Prekmurje Prekmurje (; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; ) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally, and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarians in Slovenia, Hungarian minority, lying betwee ...

regions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Some Hungarians were imprisoned in a subcamp of the

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 f ...

at the Ljubelj Pass in German-occupied Yugoslavia.

Cold War

After the end of the World War II relations between the two states rapidly improved but this development was abruptly interrupted by the escalation of the Soviet–Yugoslav conflict following the 1948 Tito-Stalin split. Tensions eased in 1953 after

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's death.

Hungarian Revolution of 1956

During 1956, Tito and Khrushchev met four times. While Yugoslav media and authorities verbally supported the

Imre Nagy Imre Nagy ( ; ; 7 June 1896 – 16 June 1958) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People's Republic, Chairman of the Council of Ministers (''de facto'' Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minis ...

, Yugoslav authorities were nevertheless highly worried about

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

rhetoric spillover into multiethnic Yugoslavia. Between 31 October and 1 November, just three days before Soviet intervention, leading Yugoslav newspaper Borba stopped supporting Nagy government due to its "right-wing elements". Yugoslav approach towards changes in Hungary was faced fear of Moscow’s wish to bring Yugoslavia back into its camp (which motivated Yugoslav support to Hungary) and fear of how rebellions could sweep away communist regimes (which motivated support to Soviet Union).

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

was therefore surprised with increasing Yugoslav willingness to agree with Soviet intervention as the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

progressed. The Soviet Union launched a massive military invasion of Hungary on 4 November, forcibly deposing Nagy, who fled to the Embassy of Yugoslavia in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

where he was granted

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

. Nagy was lured out of the Embassy (after the building itself was targeted by Soviet tanks in which cultural

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

Milenko Milovanov was killed) under false promises on 22 November, but was arrested and deported to

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Hungarian community in Yugoslavia (particularly

Hungarians in Vojvodina Hungarians in Serbia (; ) are a recognized national minority in Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the population of ethnic Hungarians in Serbia is 184,442, constituting 2.8% of the total population, which makes them the second-largest eth ...

) played important role in preservation of Hungarian cultural pluralism in the years following the Soviet intervention.

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

based journal ''Új Symposion'', newspaper

Magyar Szó ''Magyar Szó'' (, lit. ''Hungarian Word'') is a Hungarian-language daily newspaper in Vojvodina, Serbia. History It was founded in 1944, with the purpose of serving as the information source for the Hungarian minority of Vojvodina. It is pub ...

and other media and institutions provided platform for authors to express diverse ideas and opinions. “Quadrangolare”, the regional cooperation of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Yugoslavia and Hungary was launched in 1988 as an effort to overcome the constraints presented by Cold War blocs.

Breakup of Yugoslavia

Hungarian authorities sympathized with decentralization initiatives in Yugoslavia but were concerned over the prospect for

Hungarians in Serbia Hungarians in Serbia (; ) are a recognized national minority in Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the population of ethnic Hungarians in Serbia is 184,442, constituting 2.8% of the total population, which makes them the second-largest et ...

in an independent

Socialist Republic of Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

under communist-nationalist leadership.

History

Interwar period

World War II

Cold War

Hungarian Revolution of 1956

Breakup of Yugoslavia

See also

References

Further reading