Hungarian Immigrants Living in Romania

Hungarian Immigrants Living in Romania

A History of Animosity Between People

Introduction

"Romanian-Hungarian diplomatic relations have been one of the most troubled in East-Central Europe in the twentieth century" (Iordachi). The relationship between the nations of Hungary and Romania has been consumed with disagreement and hostility since the middle Ages. Much of the hostility is rooted in the rise and fall of different nations and empires throughout time. In the past Hungary and Romania have been in conflict due to the instability of Eastern and Central Europe. Post 18th century has left these two European nations grappling with problems, including immigration. This paper sets out to determine the underlying factors which have led to large pockets of Hungarian immigrants in Romania and will also seek to define some of the struggles which Hungarians living in Romania have faced in the 19th century. Afterwards we will look to present events which are occurring to create a prosperous future. The focus of this paper will be in the region of Transylvania, where there is a large presence of Hungarians.

A Brief History of Transylvania

Hungarians first occupied Transylvania during the 9th century under the rule of Istvan, which can be translated to the present day Saint Steven, the first Christian King of Hungary (Kazar). Romanian settlers first appeared in Transylvania towards the end of the 11th century and by the end of the 15th century, the population of the Transylvanian region was approximately 65% Hungarian (Kazar). Hungary became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and maintained control over Transylvania from Vienna, which is the capital of present day Austria (Kazar). As far as present day Romania is concerned, major land disputes arose between Hungary and Romania during and after the First World War. Romanian troops occupied Hungarian territories including the region of Transylvania (Joo 23). During the Second World War Romania and Hungary were allies but the tension was still high (Iordachi).

(CIA).

-Transylvania is a region of present day Romania which extends inward from the Hungarian border towards central Romania.

-Present day borders of Hungary and Romania leave the two neighboring countries in Eastern Europe.

Present Day Transylvania and it's Population

Hungarians ruled the land of Transylvania for approximately 1000 years and since the end of there rule they have maintained a high population in the region. Historically, Transylvania has been a homeland to many people Ð'- Hungarians, Romanians, Saxon-Germans, and other nationalities (Joo 23). In a way Transylvania has served as a "melting pot" for many nationalities. Transylvania is broken up into these 16 counties; Alba, Arad, Bihor, Bistrita-NÐ"ЈsÐ"Јud, Brasov, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Covasna, Hunedoara, Harghita, Maramures, Mures, SÐ"Јlaj, Satu-Mare, Sibiu, and Timis (Rautiu). These statistics will help shed some light on the amount of Hungarians living in Romania.

According to a 2002 census 6.6% of the Romanian population is Hungarian (CIA Fact book). Hungarians comprise 20% of the population in Transylvania and in the counties of Hargita and KovÐ"ÐŽszna Hungarians comprise the majority population (UNPO).

Population dispersement in Transylvania

(http://www.rmdsz.ro/script/mainframe.php?lang=eng)

-This chart gives detailed information on the minority populations in Transylvanian counties.

-As seen in the chartÐ'--there are still few major counties where the Hungarian population is larger than the Romanian.

The population statistics for Romania can be very misleading. Between 1956 and 1977 a statistical loss of approximately 500,000 Hungarians occurred in the census (Illyes 49). It is odd to think that the population could decrease so much. Perhaps the government misled the people with there statistics or something happened to the people who were not accounted for. One contributing factor to the population change could lie in the education system. Often times Hungarians with Romanian sounding names were counted in the census as Romanians (Illyes).

Map of Romania:

(http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/romania/ro02_03b.pdf)

-This map also shows a population break down of the Transylvania region.

-Some of the counties show rates of high total Hungarian population.

It is evident that there are large pockets of Hungarian minorities in Transylvania, but now we will look at some of the hardships which the Hungarians face.

Problems for Hungarians in Romania-Post World War I

This section of the paper will focuses on the different struggles Hungarians faced following the loss of Transylvania after WWI. The hardships will be focused around actions of the government in the areas of law, media, and education. It is also important to take notice of the cultural implications of government action. Many of these problems may be attributed to the Communist regime in Romania.

Government Action

There are many examples of the unfair treatment of the Hungarians in Romania. At one point the Hungarian language was prohibited in public places. The government destroyed Hungarian villages and left the people to scatter (Kazar). The hardships they faced on a regular basis were terrible. Throughout the 19th century, the Romanian government forced regulations and sanctions on the Hungarians. In 1976 the Romanian government launched a campaign which would aim to glorify Romania. They began to remove Hungarian artifacts, inscriptions, and monuments from the Transylvanian cities. Ethnically Hungarian cities were renamed in an attempt to emphasize the importance of Romanian history (Coutsoukis).

Genocide

First, we ought to look at the actions of the Romanian government during WWII. It is not often talked about in history but the Romanians played a major part in the slaughtering of the Jewish population in WWII. Close to 400,000 Jews were slaughtered in Romania including the burning alive of 20,000 (Simon 1-2). Many people are oblivious to this because our coverage of the Holocaust is focused around Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany. The slaughtering of people groups