Hungarian People's Republic Magyar Népköztársaság (Hungarian) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918–1919 | |||||||||||||
| Anthem: Himnusz (English:"Hymn") | |||||||||||||
.png) Hungarian territory in November 1918 | |||||||||||||
| Status | Unrecognizedrump state | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Budapest 47°29′N19°02′E / 47.483°N 19.033°E /47.483; 19.033 | ||||||||||||
| Official language | Hungarian | ||||||||||||
Common languages | |||||||||||||
| Demonym | Hungarian | ||||||||||||
| Government | People's republic | ||||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||||
• Nov. 1918 - Mar. 1919 | Mihály Károlyi | ||||||||||||
• Mar. 1919 - Aug. 1919 | interregnum | ||||||||||||
• Aug. 1919 | Gyula Peidl (acting) | ||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||||
• Oct. 1918 - Jan. 1919 | Mihály Károlyi | ||||||||||||
• Jan. 1919 - Mar. 1919 | Dénes Berinkey | ||||||||||||
• Mar. 1919 - Aug. 1919 | interregnum | ||||||||||||
• Aug. 1919 | Gyula Peidl | ||||||||||||
• Aug. 1919 | István Friedrich | ||||||||||||
| Legislature | National Council | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | ||||||||||||
| 31 October 1918 | |||||||||||||
• Establishment | 16 November 1918 | ||||||||||||
• Beginning of theHungarian–Romanian War | 13 November 1918 | ||||||||||||
• Beginning of theHungarian–Czechoslovak War | November 1918 | ||||||||||||
• Vix Note | 26 February 1919 | ||||||||||||
| 21 March 1919 | |||||||||||||
• Re-establishment | 1 August 1919 | ||||||||||||
| 8 August 1919 | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 282,870 km2 (109,220 sq mi)[a] | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
• 1920 | 7,980,143 | ||||||||||||
| Currency |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Today part of | Hungary | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheFirst Hungarian Republic (Hungarian:Első Magyar Köztársaság),[1] until 21 March 1919 theHungarian People's Republic (Magyar Népköztársaság), was a short-lived unrecognized country, which quickly transformed into a smallrump state due to the foreign and military policy of the doctrinairepacifistKárolyi government. It existed from 16 November 1918 until 8 August 1919, apart from a 133-day interruption in the form of theHungarian Soviet Republic. The republic was established in the wake of thedissolution of Austria-Hungary followingWorld War I as a replacement for theKingdom of Hungary. During the rule of CountMihály Károlyi's pacifist cabinet, Hungary lost control over approximately 75% of its former pre-World War I territories, which was about 325,411 km2 (125,642 sq mi), without armed resistance and was subjected to unhindered foreign occupation. It was in turn succeeded by theHungarian Soviet Republic but re-established following its demise, and ultimately replaced by theHungarian Republic.
"Hungarian People's Republic" was adopted as the official name of the country on 16 November 1918,[2][3][4] and remained in use until the overthrow of theDénes Berinkey government on 21 March 1919. Following the collapse of theHungarian Soviet Republic, theGyula Peidl government restored the pre-communist name of the state on 2 August 1919.[5][6]
The government ofIstván Friedrich changed the name to "Hungarian Republic" on 8 August;[7][8][9] however, the denomination "Hungarian People's Republic" appeared on some government-issued decrees during this period.[10][11]
The Hungarian People's Republic was created by theAster Revolution, which started inBudapest on 31 October 1918. That day, KingCharles IV appointed the revolt's leader,Mihály Károlyi, as Hungarian prime minister. Almost his first act was to formally terminate thepersonal union between Austria and Hungary. On 13 November, Charlesissued a proclamation withdrawing from Hungarian politics. A few days later the provisional government proclaimed Hungary a people's republic,[2] with Károlyi as both prime minister and interim president. This event ended 400 years of rule by theHouse of Habsburg.
TheHungarian Royal Honvéd army still had more than 1,400,000 soldiers[12][13] when Mihály Károlyi was announced as prime minister of Hungary. Károlyi yielded to U.S. PresidentWoodrow Wilson's demand forpacifism by ordering the unilateral self- disarmament of the Hungarian army. This happened under the direction ofBéla Linder, (minister of war) on 2 November 1918.[14][15] Due to the full disarmament of its army, Hungary was to remain without a national defence at a time of particular vulnerability. The Hungarian self-disarmament made the occupation of Hungary directly possible for the relatively small armies of Romania, the Franco-Serbian army and the armed forces of the newly established Czechoslovakia.
The Károlyi government's measures failed to stem popular discontent, especially when theEntente powers began distributing slices of what many consideredHungary's traditional territory to the majority ethnic groups inKingdom of Romania, theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and theFirst Czechoslovak Republic. The new government and its supporters had pinned their hopes for maintaining Hungary's territorial integrity on the abandonment ofCisleithania and Germany, the securing of a separate peace, and exploiting Károlyi's close connections in theFrench Third Republic. When Károlyi appointedOszkár Jászi as the new Minister for National Minorities of Hungary, Jászi immediately offered democratic referendums about the disputed borders for minorities, however, the political leaders of those minorities refused the very idea of democratic referendums regarding disputed territories at the Paris peace conference.[16] After the Hungarian self-disarmament, Czech, Serbian, and Romanian political leaders chose to attack Hungary instead of holding democratic plebiscites concerning the disputed areas.[17]
Military and political events changed rapidly and drastically after Hungarian disarmament:
The Entente considered Hungary a partner in the defeatedDual Monarchy, and dashed the Hungarians' hopes with the delivery of successive diplomatic notes. Each demanded the surrender of more land to other ethnic groups. On 20 March 1919, the French head of the Entente mission in Budapest gave Károlyi a note delineating the final postwar boundaries, which the Hungarians found unacceptable.[18] Károlyi and Prime MinisterDénes Berinkey were now in an impossible position. They knew accepting the French note would endanger the country's territorial integrity, but were in no position to reject it. In protest, Berinkey resigned.
Károlyi informed the cabinet that only theHungarian Social Democratic Party could possibly form a new government. Unknown to Károlyi, however, the Social Democrats had merged with theHungarian Communist Party; the latter promised that theRussian SFSR would help Hungary to restore itsoriginal borders. Although the Social Democrats held a majority in the newly merged Hungarian Socialist Party, the communists led byBéla Kun immediately seized control and announced the establishment of theHungarian Soviet Republic on 21 March 1919.
After the fall of the Soviet Republic on 1 August 1919, a social democratic government—the so-called "trade union government"—came to power under the leadership ofGyula Peidl.[19] A decree was issued on 2 August restoring the form of government and the official state name back to "People's Republic".[5] During its brief existence, the Peidl government began to abrogate the edicts passed by the Communist regime.[20]
On 6 August,István Friedrich, leader of the White House Comrades Association—a right-wing,counter-revolutionary group—seized power in a bloodless coup with the backing of theRoyal Romanian Army.[6] The next day,Joseph August declared himselfregent of Hungary—he held the position until 23 August, when he was forced to resign[21]—and appointed Friedrich as Prime Minister. The state was formally dissolved by the new government on 8 August 1919.
Media related toHistory of Hungary between the World Wars at Wikimedia Commons.svg)
.svg)
