Joseph de Fontenay, Vilmos de Huszár, the Revue de Hongrie, and Trianon

Abstract

This article addresses the still-perplexing question, as put by historian Andrew Ludányi: “Why were [Hungarians] punished the most severely by the Entente?” It does so by contextualizing Viscount Joseph de Fontenay’s influence on Hungary’s fate before, during, and after World War I. Events while Fontenay was French consul to Hungary (1906–1912) embittered him against his former Hungarian friends. He expressed his rancor in a 1920 letter to the French leader who implemented the Treaty of Versailles after Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau resigned. While in Budapest, Fontenay had founded the successful Hungarian cultural journal, Revue de Hongrie, in French, to form “a durable bond” between the two countries. Vilmos Huszár, editor-in-chief and later owner of the Revue, worked closely with Fontenay. However, historical events drove the journal’s focus toward political issues and support for Austria-Hungary, France’s enemy. Fontenay’s involvement in shaping postwar alliances and sentiment had a negative effect on Hungary’s fate. Huszár’s diplomatic appointment in 1916 to counter Entente propaganda from Switzerland broadened his outlook on events, offering him unique insights that allowed him to bear witness to the devastating effects of false and misleading Entente propaganda and practices in a book of polemical essays. m.dehuszar@gmail.com