How a diplomatic stalemate turned into a territorial amputation
In short: In 1938, Hungary attempted to reclaim lost lands through peaceful diplomacy, but its military weakness left it vulnerable. When bilateral talks with Czechoslovakia collapsed over disputed census data, the nation turned to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to arbitrate the borders, leading to a swift and devastating territorial amputation.
The First Vienna Award was the direct result of the 1938 Munich Agreement, which had already partitioned Czechoslovakia. Hungary, seeking to reverse the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, aimed to reunite ethnic Hungarians living across its borders. However, Hungary was economically and militarily weaker than its neighbors, leading it to coordinate closely with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to achieve its revisionist goals.
Negotiations between Hungary and Czechoslovakia began in October 1938 in Komárno. The Hungarian delegation, led by Kálmán Kánya and Pál Teleki, demanded territories where at least 50% of the population were Hungarian based on the 1910 census. Czechoslovakia countered with the 1930 census, arguing the earlier figures represented a peak of 'Magyarization.' The talks reached a deadlock when Hungary rejected Czechoslovak proposals for autonomous zones or 'balanced minorities,' dismissing them as 'humorous' or 'bad jokes.'
Because direct negotiations collapsed, Joachim von Ribbentrop of Germany and Galeazzo Ciano of Italy, the Munich Agreement's 'adjudicators', took over the issue. The First Vienna Award received signatures on 2 November 1938. It granted Hungary one-quarter of Slovak and Ruthenian territories—approximately 14,106 km2—containing 1,346,000 citizens. This 'amputation' left Czechoslovakia defenseless, losing about one-third of its population in the process.
The award marked a significant shift in Hungarian foreign policy toward the Axis powers. While Hungary initially tried to maintain relations with France and Britain to avoid being seen as a German puppet, the failure of Western support forced a deeper alignment with Hitler. This trend continued in 1940 with the Second Vienna Award, which transferred northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: First Vienna Award
- Also: Vienna Award | Europe [1938] | Britannica
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