Deportations from Czechoslovakia, 1947
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly adopted a resolution on the application of the collective guilt principle in Slovakia, in which they called it unacceptable, the committee chairman told MTI on Monday.
Zsolt Németh emphasized that the principle of collective guilt is considered “unacceptable,” especially since the legal consequences that remain in force to this day lead to changes in ownership and land expropriation on ethnic grounds without adequate compensation. He added that it had been made clear that Hungarians abroad – including those in southern Slovakia – could count on the support of their mother country.
As he said, the resolution also notes that
the Hungarian side is open to finding an appropriate solution to the problem, as serious constructive cooperation has developed between the two countries in recent years,
which provides “a good basis for finding an appropriate solution even for such difficult issues.”
The committee chairman announced that he would also forward the statement to the Slovak Foreign Affairs Committee.
He said that the government was represented at Monday’s committee meeting by Lőrinc Nacsa, State Secretary for National Policy, and that two experts – János Fiala-Butora, an international law expert, and Balázs Tárnok, a Hungarian politician, both from Slovakia – shared their thoughts.
The resolution published on the parliament’s website covers five points. Firstly, the committee advocates for Hungarians living abroad, including those in southern Slovakia, and assures them of its support.
It also states that
any legislation that reflects the principle of collective guilt is unacceptable: it contradicts human and minority rights and the norms of the rule of law.
Therefore, the continued application of the legal consequences of such legislation is also unacceptable, especially with regard to private property, it says.
It is also pointed out that the Foreign Affairs Committee is committed to finding a satisfactory solution to the problems caused by the application of such legislation over several government terms, in accordance with international legal norms and obligations.
It is noted that the committee is committed to constructive cooperation between Hungary and its neighbors that takes into account the interests of Hungarian communities living outside the country’s borders, is based on mutual respect and good relations, preserves the results achieved so far, and strengthens mutual dialogue. It is added in the document that all irresponsible efforts that jeopardize good neighborly relations and the affairs of Hungarians living abroad for the sake of political gain are condemned.
Fact
As reported by Hungary Today, the issue of the Beneš Decrees, which legalized the expropriation and disenfranchisement of the Hungarian and German populations in Czechoslovakia after World War II, has recently become a focus point of political debate in Slovakia. The issue was triggered by the Slovak government’s adoption of a resolution reaffirming the inviolability of the decrees at the end of 2025.
After the Second World War, Czechoslovakia applied the principle of collective guilt to the Hungarian and German inhabitants living in its territory. Between April and October 1945, Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš issued a total of 98 decrees, 13 of which concerned the German and Hungarian minorities.
The Decrees laid down the collective guilt of minorities. Beneš’ Presidential decree No. 33 probably had the most serious consequences for the Hungarian community in Slovakia, as it automatically deprived them of their citizenship, which also entailed the withdrawal of pensions and other state benefits and dismissal from state employment. The use of the Hungarian language in public life was banned, Hungarian students were excluded from universities, Hungarian cultural associations were dissolved, and bank deposits of Hungarians were frozen. They allowed and regulated the confiscation of the lands of Germans and Hungarians, on which Czechs and Slovaks were settled. Some of the decrees were later repealed, but others remained in force. No compensation has been paid to those deprived of their property.
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Via MTI, Featured image: Fortepan / Rózsa László
The post Slovakia’s Application of the Collective Guilt Principle Is “Unacceptable” appeared first on Hungary Today.
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