Attempts to Heal the Wound of 1920
by: Géza Jeszenszky
Helena History Press
Hungary and Its Neighbors, 1988-1994
Attempts to Heal the Wound of 1920
The Peace Treaty signed with Hungary in 1920 proved to be the Apple of Eris for Central Europe: the root of animosities between the Hungarians and their neighbors. The loss of purely or predominantly Hungarian populated areas, and the ill-treatment of the Hungarian national minorities, both before and after the Second World War, is still a painful wound for the Hungarians. With the collapse of the communist system, both Hungary and its neighbors turned into liberal democracies, and it was hoped that genuine reconciliation would be possible between the peoples of Central Europe.
The primary goal of Prime Minister József Antall’s government was integration with the democratic world and the achievement of a dual objective: good, preferably friendly relations with all neighboring countries, while supporting and promoting the struggle of the Hungarian minorities in the Carpathian Basin for equal rights and the safe future of their communities. Géza Jeszenszky, foreign minister in the Antall and then Boross governments, presents the history of Hungary’s neighborhood policy between 1990 and 1994, drawing on documents in his possession and his own speeches, writings, notes, and memories. His book is both a memoir and a historical analysis. It discusses successes such as the Visegrád Cooperation initiative and the restoration of historical friendship with Croatia. It answers the question of whether, amid the breakup of three neighboring federations, a change in Central European borders was conceivable. In light of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, Hungary’s “Eastern policy” at the time, its relationship with Russia and Ukraine, deserves special attention. The last chapter, an epilogue, summarizes the author’s activities after 1994 to heal the trauma of Trianon.
The English version of the Hungarian edition, with non-Hungarian readers in mind, is shorter in places and more detailed in others than the original. Maps and visual documentation of the author’s activities aid in understanding the story.
Géza Jeszenszky (b. 1941) is one of the key witnesses to the regime change in Hungary. He is a retired professor of history at Corvinus University of Budapest, also a politician and diplomat. He served as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the first freely elected government after the fall of communism (1990–94). From 1998 to 2002, he was Hungary’s ambassador to the United States, and to Norway and Iceland from 2011 to 2014.
He was visiting professor at several American and European universities. He is the author of a large number of scholarly publications, including Post- Communist Europe and Its National/ Ethnic Problems (Budapest, 2009); July 1944: Deportation of the Jews of Budapest Foiled (Reno, NV, 2018); and Lost Prestige: The Changing Image of Hungary in Britain, 1894–1918. (Reno, NV, 2020).
Photo at the US White House with President Bush and Central European Foreign Ministers (1992)
In our times law protects rare plants and endangered animal species; how much more should law, especially international law, protect human communities that are in a disadvantageous position, or are even endangered, which can lead to their total elimination.
Géza Herczegh, former member of Hungary’s Constitutional Court, former judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague
Distinguished statesman, diplomat and historian Géza Jeszenszky brings us a dramatic account of how his efforts, together with those of a handful of other patriots, successfully brought Hungary back into the European world after the collapse of Communism. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the period.
John W. Shirley, American Ambassador (ret.), Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
Wherever and in whatever capacity Jeszenszky was involved in politics, the situation of Hungarian minorities was always at the center of his attention. He was convinced that European integration was the only way to secure the rights and future of Hungarian minorities.
Ignác Romsics, Professor of Modern Hungarian History, Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences