1920-1940






Transylvania, 1940-1944



On August 20th 1940 - Romania's protector, France, had just surrendered to the German forces - Romania found herself compelled to cede northern and eastern Transylvania to Hungary. Hungary formally annexed the area on October 4th.
Romania's politicians, and most notably the Iron Guard adamantly maintained Romanian claims to all of Transylvania, accused Hungary's officials of atrocities against ethnic Romanians, and felt confirmed in their stand by Hungary's expulsion of Romanian nationals from the recently annexed parts of Transylvania. In December 1940, a clash between Hungarian and Romanian forces over Transylvania seemed imminent, further complicated by a conflict between the Romanian government and the Iron Guard. Domestic peace in Romania was reported restored Jan. 27th 1941; the Romanian-Hungarian dispute over Transylvania continued to be a high priority issue for both countries throughout the war. On June 22nd 1941, Romanian and Hungarian forces joined in the German invasion of the USSR; Hungary and Romania both were German Allies. In October 1941 German diplomacy attempted to settle the issue by putting pressure on Romania, in February 1942 by granting territory in Ukraine to Romania; both initiatives failed to alter Romania's attitude toward Transylvania. Hungarian-Romanian relations were tense, border violations reported in May 1942.
On February 2nd 1943, the German forces at Stalingrad surrendered, and the Soviet Red Army began to retake territory, pushing closer and closer to the Balkans. An attempt by the Hungarian government to sign an armistice was foiled by the Germans in March 1944, with the Germans taking control of their former ally. The Red Army offered Transylvania to Romania if the latter would sign an armistice; Romanian PM Antonescu raised the Transylvania issue in talks with Hitler (June 1944). By August 1944, the Red Army had invaded Romanian territory; Romania applied for armistice Aug. 24th. The Antonescu administration was ousted in a coup; Romania entered into war with Hungary. The Allies granted armistice to Romania Sept.13th. The text of the armistice stipulated northern and eastern Transylvania to be returned to Romania, subject to confirmation in the peace settlement. The Red Army had entered Transylvanian territory August 10th, occupied most of it by the end of September.


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EXTERNAL
LINKS 		Article Transylvania, from Wikipedia
DOCUMENTS New York Times, Archive 1851-1980 : Transylvania 1940-1944
REFERENCE Peter F. Sugar (ed.), A History of Hungary, Indiana Univ. Press 1990, 432 pp.
Isrvan Lazar, Transylvania - a Short History, Safety Harbor : Ingram 1997, 274 pp.
Milton G. Lehrer, Transylvania. History and Reality, Bartleby Press 1986 [G]
Sandor Biro, The Nationalities Problem in Transylvania, 1867-1940, (1992) posted by Hungarian History, online book
Elemer Illyes, National Minorities in Romania. Change in Transylvania (1982), posted by Hungarian History, online book


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on Aprim 1st 2007

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