Transylvania - The Roots of Ethnic Conflict

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1916	On March 17, the Secret Agreement of Bucharest is signed by Rumania and representatives of the Entente powers regarding Rumania's involvement in hostilities against the Central Powers. This is followed on August 17 by a Treaty of Alliance signed by Rumania and the Entente representatives of Great Britain, France, Russia, and Italy. For entering the war on the side of the Entente, Rumania is promised the Rumanian-inhabited parts of Austria-Hungary. In line with this agreement, Rumania declares war on Austria-Hungary on August 25 and Rumanian troops attack Transylvania. At first the Central powers retreat, but a concerted counter-attack leads to the defeat of the Rumanians and the capture of Bucharest on December 6, 1916.
1918	On January 8, President Woodrow Wilson enunciates his Fourteen Points. The stipulation under point 10, for the "self-determination of peoples" has a particularly electrifying effect on all the nationalities living in Transylvania.
1918	On April 8, the leaders of the national minorities of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy hold a joint conference in Rome where they declare their desire to separate themselves from the monarchy.
1918	On May 8, at Bucharest, Rumania and the Central Powers sign a peace treaty terminating hostilities.
1918	On June 3, the Entente powers officially recognize the demands of the nationalities conference held in Rome in April.
1918	On October 12, at its meeting at Nagyvárad (Oradea, Grosswardein), the Transylvanian Rumanian National party declares that the Transylvanian Rumanians also want to exercise their right to self-determination.
1918	On October 18, Woodrow Wilson declares to the Monarchy that the Fourteen Points have been made moot by events. On the same day, Vajda Vojvoda declares in the Budapest Parliament that the Rumanians of Transylvania have committed themselves to self-determination and unification as a separate nation.
1918	During October 30--31, the Hungarian National Council under Mihály Károlyi comes to power. It declares Hungary to be a republic on November 16.
1918	On November 1, the representatives of Austria-Hungary sign an armistice with the Entente at Padua.
1918	On November 13, Oszkár Jászi negotiates unsuccessfully with Rumanian leaders at Arad. On this same day, the Hungarian government signs the military convention with the Entente at Belgrade, which defines the lines of military demarcation to the south and southeast.
1918	On December 1, the Rumanian mass meeting at Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia) declares that the Transylvanian Rumanians want to be united with the Rumanian state south and east of the Carpathians. Although this is a unilateral declaration of the Rumanians, Entente support makes it prevail over the wishes of Hungarians, Székelys, Saxons, and Swabians.
1918	During December 2-3, the Entente permits Rumanian troops to cross the Mures, (Maros, Mieresch) River, beyond the first lines of demarcation established by the Belgrade military convention.
1918	On December 25, the Hungarian government establishes an autonomous region for the Ruthenians in eastern Hungary, named Ruszka-Krajna.
1919	On January 19, the mass meeting of the Hungarians at Cluj (Kolozsvár, Klausenburg) is dispersed by Rumanian troops; more than 100 Hungarians are killed. This meeting was not allowed to declare its "self-determination," unlike the one at Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár, Karlsburg) on December 1, 1918.
1919	On March 20th, Colonel Vyx presents Mihály Károlyi with the new Entente lines of military demarcation. This establishes a neutral zone that requires even further territorial losses for Hungary. The Hungarian government resigns in protest.
1919	On March 21, the power vacuum is filled by Béla Kun and his Communist supporters, who declare Hungary to be a Council (i.e., Soviet) Republic.
1919	On April 16, the Entente encourages Rumania to undertake whatever military action necessary to overthrow the Béla Kun regime. With French military advisers Rumanian troops cross the latest lines of military demarcation. On April 23, Rumanian troops capture Debrecen.
1919	On August 1, the Council Republic collapses and Rumanian troops occupy Budapest until November 14.
1919	On November 16, Nicholas Horthy enters Budapest. He becomes regent of Hungary on March 1, 1920.
1920	In March, all Hungarian street signs are replaced by Rumanian signs and markers throughout Transylvania.
1920	On June 4, at Versailles, Hungary is compelled to sign the Treaty of Trianon ceding Transylvania, part of the Banat (Bánság), part of the Tisza plains, and part of Maramures (Máramaros) to Rumania. This means that Hungary loses more territory (102,787 square kilometers) to Rumania than it has left for itself (91,114 square kilometers). At the same time 1.7 million Hungarians are placed under Rumanian jurisdiction.
1921	The Magyar Szövetség (Hungarian Federation) is formed to provide the Hungarians of Transylvania with a representative political organization.
1921--22	Construction of the Rumanian Orthodox Cathedral in Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár, Karlsburg). It is an example of the neo-Byzantine style based on the church built much earlier at Tîrgoviste in the Regat.
1922	The Országos Magyar Párt (National Hungarian party) is formed to provide the Hungarian minority with an electioneering organization.
1923	The Rumanian government carries out a "land reform" that takes land mainly from Hungarian and non-Rumanian landowners and redistributes it mainly among Rumanian peasants. A total of 2,218,146 acres are distributed in this discriminatory fashion.
1924	The Erdélyi Szépmíves Céh (Transylvanian Artist Guild) is organized and becomes the major cultural agency of the Hungarians.
1924	The Rumanian government requires Hungarian shopkeepers to pay extra taxes if they continue to advertise in Hungarian as well as in Rumanian.
1925	A new wave of Rumanianization closes many Protestant and Catholic parochial schools.
1926	The Peasant party unites with the Transylvanian "Rumanian National Party" to form the National Peasant Party (Partidul National taranesc), providing the Transylvanian Rumanians with their main vehicle of influence in national politics.
1926	The publication Korunk (Our Age) appears at Cluj (Kolozsvár, Klausenburg). It becomes the major journal of the populist and left-oriented elements of the Transylvanian Hungarians. In 1929, Gábor Gaál becomes its editor.
1928	The Erdélyi Helikon (Transylvanian Helicon) begins its cultural mission for Hungarian linguistic survival against the growing excesses of Rumanianization.
1928	The League of Nations is presented with a long list of minority grievances concerning Rumanian policies in Transylvania. Nothing is done to ameliorate minority conditions.
1930	The Little Entente (Rumania, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia) holds meetings to establish a united stand in support of the territorial status quo.
1930	Erdélyi Fiatalok (Transylvanian Youth) begins publication and Erdélyi Múzeum (Transylvanian Museum) reappears to serve the cultural and literary needs of the Hungarians.
1933	Under Petru Groza's leadership, the Ploughman's Front is organized at Deva (Déva).
1933	On February 16, the Little Entente meets in Geneva to formalize its alliance against territorial revision.
1933	Construction of the Rumanian Orthodox Cathedral in Cluj (Kolozsvár, Klausenburg). It is a representative neo-Byzantine structure.
1934	In January, the main issue of the electoral campaign in Hungary is revisionism. Both Gyula Gömbös and István Bethlen take a stand for the unconditional return of Hungarian-inhabited territories and for the establishment of an independent Transylvania.
1934	On February 9, the Balkan Pact is signed. It reinforces the objectives of the Little Entente against Hungary as well as Bulgaria.
1934	The MADOSZ (Hungarian Workers' Federation) organizes as the political agency of the Hungarian left in Transylvania.
1934	On October 15, the Csángó Hungarians in the Ghimes (Gyimes) Valley revolt. Retribution is swift and brutal.
1935	On December 6, the MADOSZ, the Ploughman's Front, the Independent Socialist party, and the Democratic Bloc agree to present a united front against the threat of fascism.
1936	Iron Guard anti-Semitic and anti-Hungarian excesses take place in Brasov (Brassó, Kronstadt), Aiud (Nagyenyed, Gross-Enyed), and Cluj (Kolozsvár, Klausenburg).
1936--46	Construction of the Rumanian Orthodox Cathedral in Timisoara (Temesvár, Temeschwar).
1937	On October 2, the Conclave of Vásárhely (i.e., [Marosvásárhely] Tirgu Mures) brings together most of the Hungarian intellectuals of the left to map their strategy vis-a-vis the growing pressure from the right. They agree on joining forces with democratic Rumanian elements. The conclave is followed on November 14 by an important MADOSZ congress at Brasov (Brassó, Kronstadt).
1938	On February 10, King Carol II ends parliamentary politics and introduces his royal dictatorship over Rumania. On March 31, he has all political parties disbanded, including the organizations of the national minorities.
1939	On March 23, the German-Rumanian Commercial Treaty transforms Rumania into an economic dependency of the Third Reich.
1939	During September 1--4, Woermann and Ribbentrop exert pressure on the Hungarian government to desist from further anti Rumanian and revisionist policies.
1940	On May 27, the German-Rumanian Petroleum Pact is signed.
1940	On June 26, the Soviet Union delivers an ultimatum to Rumania to evacuate Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina. Soviet troops move into these areas on June 28.
1940	During August 16--24, Rumanian-Hungarian negotiations are held at Turnu-Severin concerning the fate of Transylvania.
1940	On August 30, the German-Italian arbitral award divides Transylvania into two parts, returning Northern Transylvania to Hungary while leaving Southern Transylvania under Rumanian jurisdiction. This Second Vienna Award continues the polarization of Rumania and Hungary. Hungarian troops move into Northern Transylvania between September 5 and 13.
1941	During June 11--12, the German-Rumanian agreement is negotiated to go to war with the Soviet Union. The attack begins on June 22.
1941	On June 26, the Kassa (Kosice, Kaschau) bombing incident is followed by Hungary's declaration of war on the Soviet Union.
1941--44	Animosities continue over Transylvania. The German-Italian Commission supervising the implementation of the Vienna Award documents numerous violations of minority rights.
1944	On March 19, German forces occupy Hungary.
1944	On August 21, Soviet troops reach Iasi in Moldavia.
1944	On August 23, Ion Antonescu is overthrown; Rumania switches sides and attacks German forces on Rumanian territory. Soviet troops reach Bucharest on August 30--31.
1944	During September 5--8, the German-Hungarian counterattack into Southern Transylvania is repulsed and a Soviet-Rumanian offensive reaches Makó on September 24. Between October 4 and 25, most of Transylvania falls under Soviet control. However, Rumanian atrocities in Northern Transylvania convince the Soviet Union not to return the area to Rumanian administration right away.
1944	On September 12, Rumania signs the armistice agreement with the Soviet Union. The agreement includes a reference to the cession of Northern Transylvania to Rumania.
1945	In January, the Hungarian-language Bolyai University is established at Cluj (Kolozsvár, Klausenburg).
1945	On February 6, the "Nationality Statute" is made public that guarantees all individuals equal rights without regard to race, nationality, language, or religion.
1945	On March 6, Petru Groza comes to power and establishes a People's Democracy with the Communists obtaining key political positions. The Soviet Union rewards the Rumanian shift leftward by turning Northern Transylvania over to the new Rumanian administration.
1945	On March 22, the "land reform" is implemented that has particularly devastating consequences for the Saxon and Swabian areas of Transylvania. Again, minority nationalities lose land to the majority nationality.
1945	On November 8, the Medical and Pharmaceutical Institute is established at Tirgu Mures (Marosvásárhely, Neumarkt).
1946	On December 20, the Hungarian journal Utunk (Our Way) begins publication under the editorship of Gábor Gaál.
1947	On February 10, Rumania and the Allied Powers sign a peace treaty at Paris. Rumania retains its state frontiers of January 1, 1941, with the exception of the Rumanian-Hungarian frontier, in which the Vienna Award of August 30, 1940 --- which divided Transylvania (between Hungary and Rumania) --- is annulled.
1947	On December 30, King Michael abdicates and Rumania is declared a "Republic."
1947	At Bucharest the Romániai Magyar Szó (Rumanian Hungarian Word) begins publication; after 1953, it becomes the daily Elõre (Forward).
1948	On January 24, Rumania and Hungary sign a Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance.
1948	The Hungarian Opera again begins to function at Cluj.
1949	Religious persecution begins in earnest and the minority denominations again bear the brunt of the repressive measures. Lay leaders, ministers, and priests of the Roman Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Unitarian churches are imprisoned or sent to forced labor camps in large numbers. At the same time the Uniate Catholic church is completely liquidated by "reintegrating" it into the Rumanian Orthodox church.
1952	An "Autonomous Hungarian Region" is established --- under Soviet pressure --- in the Székely area of Transylvania with Tirgu Mures (Marosvásárhely, Neumarkt) for its capital. While its "autonomy" exists mainly on paper, it does provide some benefits, such as bilingual street signs and inscriptions.
1952	László Luka, Anna Pauker, and other minority cadres are purged from the Rumanian Workers' party.
1953	The literary periodical Igaz Szó (True Word) begins publication at Tirgu Mures.
1956	On October 23, the Hungarian uprising in Budapest leads to extensive unrest in Transylvania with demonstrations in most of the large Hungarian-inhabited cities. Mass arrests, imprisonments, deportations, and many executions follow. The events of 1956 are later used to justify anti-Hungarian measures throughout Transylvania.
1957	On April 15, a Soviet-Rumanian pact is signed defining the status of the Soviet troops stationed in Rumania.
1958	Petru Groza dies on January 7. He was the Rumanian leader who attempted to overcome nationalistic policies and to normalize Rumanian-Hungarian relations.
1958	In June, Soviet occupation troops are withdrawn from Rumania.
1959	On March 5, the Hungarian-language Bolyai University is compelled to merge with the Rumanian Babes University at Cluj, (Kolozsvár, Klausenburg), becoming the Babes-Bolyai University. The merger becomes the first step in the Rumanianization of Hungarian higher education in Transylvania. Three Hungarian professors commit suicide to protest the merger, including the writer László Szabédi.
1960	The overall administrative reorganization of Rumania provides the opportunity for gerrymandering the Hungarian Autonomous Region out of existence. Purely Hungarian areas are detached from it while Rumanian-inhabited areas are attached to it to dilute its compact Hungarian character. The name of the region is also changed to reflect this erosion. It is henceforth called Mures-Maghiar Autonomous Region.
1962	The University of Timisoara (Temesvár) is established without a Hungarian or German section, even though Timisoara has many Hungarian and German inhabitants.
1964	During April 15--22, the Rumanian Workers' party issues its famous "April pronouncement" on the relations of Communist parties and states. The document is a clear statement of revived Rumanian nationalism, primarily rejecting the integrationist efforts of COMECON economic plans.
1965	Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej dies on March 19. He is succeeded as first party secretary by Nicolae Ceausescu on March 22. Both leaders committed Rumania to a nationalistic orientation.
1965	At the IXth Party Congress (July 19--24) the Rumanian Workers' party changes its name to Rumanian Communist party. This is followed on August 21 by the declaration that Rumania is no longer a peoples' republic, but has now become the Rumanian Socialist Republic.
1967	On February 28 is the premier of the film "Dacii." This begins the extensive popularization of the interwar commitment to a nationalistic self-definition via the "Daco-Roman" assumption of national origins.
1968	On February 14, the administrative reorganization of Rumania eliminates the Mures-Magyar Autonomous Region and replaces it with the counties of Mures, Harghita, and Covasna.
1968	During August 15--17, Nicolae Ceausescu visits Czechoslovakia. The visit is followed shortly by the Soviet and Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Rumania does not participate in the invasion and issues a strongly worded declaration on national sovereignty, independence, and the principle of noninterference in domestic affairs (August 21--22). These events set the stage for a brief (1968--73) thaw in majority-minority relations in Transylvania.
1968	The Hungarian Nationality Workers' Council and the German Nationality Workers' Council are established to serve as agencies for the articulation of minority needs and interests. However, their roles remain symbolic.
1970	On July 7, the Soviet-Rumanian Friendship and Mutual Support Treaty is renewed and signed at Bucharest.
1971	On October 12, a University is established at Brasov (Brasso, Kronstadt) without a Hungarian or German section, even though Brasov has many German and Hungarian inhabitants.
1972	On February 24, the Rumanian-Hungarian Friendship and Mutual Support Treaty is renewed and signed at Bucharest.
1972	On May 16, the Iron Gates Power and Shipping System is officially opened by Tito and Ceausescu.
1973	On May 11, Decree Law 278 requires the presence of a minimum of twenty-five students at the grade school level and thirty six students at the high school level to maintain instruction in a minority language. In small towns, this makes it very difficult or even impossible to maintain instruction in the minority nationality languages.
1974	On September 20, the Trans-Fagaras (Fogaras) highway is opened linking Transylvania with Muntenia/Oltenia (Wallachia) and Bucharest.
1974	On October 6, joint Rumanian-Hungarian commemorations are held for the 125th anniversary of the execution of the thirteen generals at Arad. They had been executed for their role in the 1848--49 revolution.
1974	During October 15--November 2, Act No. 63 on the protection of the national cultural treasures and Decree Law 207 (1974), amending Decree Law 472 (1971) on the National Archives, opens the door to the legal confiscation of all "documents, recordings, official and private correspondence, diaries, manifestos, posters, sketches, drawings, engravings, imprints, seals, and like material" over thirty years old from the possession of religious and cultural institutions or private citizens. This tool for legally confiscating historically significant items makes it possible for the nationalistic Rumanian regime to eradicate or at least erase and/or censor the history of the Germans, Hungarians, and other nationalities in Transylvania.
1975	In Helsinki, Finland, in August, the Final Act of the "Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe" is signed by thirty five states. Rumania enthusiastically endorses the Final Act for its commitment to the territorial status quo, while Hungary supports it for the protections it may provide to its minorities in Transylvania and elsewhere.
1976	On November 8, Decree Law 372 is issued amending Decree Law 225 (1974), which had prohibited the accommodation of non-Rumanian citizens in private homes with the exception of immediate family members. The law of 1976 continues the objective of the earlier legal restriction by discouraging Hungarian tourism and contact between the Hungarians of Transylvania and their conationals in other parts of the world.
1977	The census of February shows that, out of Rumania's total population of 21.5 million, c. 1.7 million are Hungarians. These figures, as do those of 1966 and 1956 (as well as earlier censuses), underrepresent the actual Hungarian population of Rumania. According to objective outside analysts, the Hungarian population is probably closer to 2.4 million in Rumania in 1977.
1977	On June 2, Károly Király, former first party secretary of Covasna County, member of the Party Central Committee, alternate member of the Politburo, member of the Grand National Assembly, and member of the Council of State writes his first letter to Ilie Verdet (Politburo member responsible for ideological matters and nationality policies), raising the shortcomings of Rumanian nationality policies. After he fails to receive any response he writes János Fazekas in August and János Vincze in September about this same problem. Instead of receiving a hearing, he is called to Bucharest in October and is accused of having no faith in the Party leadership.
1978	In January, the Károly Király letters are published in major newspapers throughout the West. He is harassed and forced to leave his home town of Tirgu Mures, (Marosvásárhely, Neumarkt) and to go into "internal exile" to the small town of Caransebes, (Karánsebes). Soon after he speaks to three Western correspondents about minority conditions in Rumania he is also deprived of his post as vice president of the Hungarian Nationality Workers' Council.
1978	On December 21, a new law on Education and Instruction is enacted. Although it is supposed to supersede Decree Law 278, the new law does not rectify the discriminatory practices of the 1973 law. In effect it perpetuates the discriminatory policies by remaining silent about the real needs of minority instruction.
1980	During August 10--17, the International Conference of Historians is held in Bucharest. The timing of the conference and the Rumanian celebrations of Burebista's founding of the Dacian state is utilized as the occasion to propagate the Daco-Roman theory on an international forum.

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Transylvania - The Roots of Ethnic Conflict