The Szekler Division is a symbol of courage, steadfastness, and unity, emphasized Gabriella M. Lezsák, director general of the Institute of Hungarian Research, during Monday’s panel discussion on the role of Szekler soldiers in 1918-1919.
Gabriella M. Lezsák said that it is very important for the Hungarian Research Institute to be able to translate the trauma of Trianon for young people and people today in such a way that it becomes identity-strengthening, and to this end, they are conducting research to try to uncover the factors that led to the loss of Trianon.
She recalled that December 1st is a day of mourning in Hungarian history, as it was on this day that Transylvania was detached from Hungary.
What is fulfillment and joy on one side is loss, mourning, and disintegration on the other, the Hungarian side,”
she said.
She emphasized that, thanks to the Szekler Division, Transylvania did not fall into Romanian hands without resistance: when the fronts collapsed, there was no central, strong state power, but the Szekler people were still able to organize themselves and delay the Romanian advance.
Military historian Zoltán Babucs, a researcher at the Historical Research Center of the Hungarian Research Institute, said that the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy did not collapse from within, but thanks to the disruptive policies and activities of the Entente. The Károlyi government committed a historical crime, and it is unforgivable that in November 1918, they wrested weapons from the hands of returning soldiers, he said.
He said that even a fraction of the 1.2 million Hungarian soldiers could have defeated the occupying forces, whom Mihály Károlyi allowed into the country without firing a shot.
Regarding the Szekler Division, he also pointed out that the Szekler people were not infected by revolutionary and Bolshevik ideas: “There were no metropolises in Szekler Land like Budapest in 1918, so the Bolshevik missionaries did not stand much of a chance.”
Gottfried Barna, a specialist at the HM Military History Institute and Museum, called Mihály Károlyi a “talentless, incompetent” politician, and cited the sabotage of the Szekler Division as an example, noting that the sights had been removed from the artillery guns they had requested, and that the Szekler people had bought grenades and artillery shells in Budapest for three thousand cigarettes.
The Romanians were prepared to take Transylvania, but the Hungarians were not prepared to defend it, noted Gottfried Barna.
At the podium discussion on the Szekler Division organized by the Institute of Hungarian Research, Tamás Toót-Holló, the moderator of the event, emphasized the outstanding role of the division commander, Colonel Károly Kratochvil, but added that he was surrounded by a wonderful team. As he explained, the Szekler Division was caught between two millstones: on the one hand, they were under pressure from the Romanians, and on the other, the communists viewed them as internal enemies and took action against them, sabotaging their efforts to obtain adequate military equipment.
Related article
Hungarian Minority Party Condemns Slovakia’s “Shameful” Reaffirmation of Post-War Decrees
The President of the Hungarian Alliance denounced Slovakia’s reaffirmation of the discriminatory Beneš Decrees, arguing that state agencies still rely on the decrees for expropriations and calling for urgent legal clarification.Continue reading
Via MTI; Featured photo: Facebook/Magyarságkutató Intézet
The post Szekler Division: Heroes of the Transylvanian Resistance appeared first on Hungary Today.
Source link
