Territorial Recovery of Hungary through the 2nd Vienna Award: 1940. 8. 30.

Abstract

In the Second World War, Hungary was an ally of Germany, joining the Axis powers in August 1940 under the Second Vienna Award. Joachim von Ribbentrop, Germany’s Foreign Minister, and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano met with Hungarian and Romanian representatives in the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. There they began negotiations on Hungary recovering the territory of Transylvania that it had ceded to Romania as a consequence of World War One. The confrontation between Hungary and Romania meant that Hungary’s demands were not accepted. As a result of Ribbentrop and Ciano’s mediation, the two sides agreed to redraw the boundaries of the territory to account for population composition and historical claims to sovereignty. Hungary failed to realize their ambitious dream of recovering the entire territory of Transylvania, and they had to be content with taking back the region of Székelys, where Hungarians were in the majority. Romania’s sovereignty over the rest of Transylvania, which Romania had taken control over post-World War One, was recognized. However, this deal would ultimately hurt Hungary. Because it was brokered by Germany and Italy, Hungary was treated as a defeated state in the post-World War Two peace negotiations.