the romanian occupation of hungary
(1919–1920)
Gergely Bödők Olivér Perczel
In the wake of the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the Kingdom of Romania occupied a considerable part of Hungary. By August 1919 the Romanian army marched into Budapest and established direct military rule in the entire country (with the exception of the Southern part of Transdanubia).
In the areas under military administration, the Romanian military authorities regulated civilian life and - citing military necessity - began to systematically confiscate goods, grain crops, livestock, transport and rail vehicles, as well as complete factory lines and shipped them to Romania.
The introduction of direct military rule, including heavy censorship and the excesses committed by the Romanian occupying forces, resulted in armed confrontations often accompanied by harsh prison sentences and murders. Abiding by the terms set by the Entente, the Romanian army left the capital on 14 November 1919, while the Trans-Tisza region remained under occupation until April 1920.
Hungarian historiography has devoted little attention to these atrocities, deportations and murders, and no major study has investigated the structure and dynamics of the Romanian occupation.
The aim of our research is to clarify the number of victims and the circumstances of their death and to provide regional studies on the daily life of the occupation.