History of Carpathian Ukraine
The article deals with the history of Carpathian Ukraine , which is now part of Ukraine as Zakarpattia Oblast .
First Slavic settlement
After the area of Carpathian Ukraine was inhabited by different peoples during the Migration Period , Slavs coming from the north settled the central part in the 6th century . In the 7th century, the sparsely populated area bordered to the south by the kingdom of the Avars . In the 8th century, the Carpathian Ukraine became more densely populated. In the 9th century the western part was probably part of the Neutra principality in today's Slovakia and in the same century it was certainly part of Greater Moravia with an important fort in Uzhhorod . The southwestern part of the area was probably the first target of the successful attack by the nomadic Magyar tribes from Asia against Great Moravia in 896 . According to Hungarian legends , the Hungarians entered the Carpathian Basin over the Verecke Pass.
Part of Hungary and Transylvania
After the Magyar conquest in the 10th century, the area was gradually annexed to Hungary . The residents of that time are usually referred to in the sources as Rutheni Regiae Majestatis , that is, Ruthenian military colonies in royal service. Russian farmers are not mentioned until the 13th century. Until 1918 the area within Hungary included the counties Ung (see also Usch ), Bereg , Ugocsa and the northern, larger part of Máramaros .
After the Mongol invasion of 1242 , the almost depopulated area was again colonized by Russians . From the 13th to the 15th centuries, parts of Carpathian Ukraine came as gifts to princes from the area behind the Carpathians . In the second half of the 13th century, Füzér Castle (now in Hungary) with two villages (Possessiones Rutheni coles) was given to Prince Rostislav Michajlovič , while Mukachevo fell to Prince Fedir Korjatovič in 1396 . He later built the Orthodox monastery of St. Nicholas on the monk's hill.
Colonization by Wallachians began around the 13th century, that is, communities (Krajna) were founded under Wallachian law . Around 1440 the first Orthodox bishops began to work for the Russians in the Carpathians from Mukachevo . Since then, the population has been mainly concerned with raising and trading animals.
Most of the ethnic Magyars did not immigrate to the southwestern part of Carpathian Ukraine until the mid-16th century, after most of what is now Hungary became part of the Ottoman Empire .
From the 16th to the 18th century, the eastern two-thirds of the area, and at times the entire area, were part of the Principality of Transylvania , which was an independent Ottoman vassal state. In 1646 the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in Hungary ( Eastern Slovakia , Carpathian Ukraine, northeastern present-day Hungary) was subordinated to Rome by the Union of Uzhhorod . This gave rise to today's Greek Catholic Church . Between 1698 and 1699 the first books intended for the Russians appeared: the primer and the catechism . The first Russian newspaper came out in 1867. Since 1687, after the Ottomans were driven out, Carpathian Ukraine was again part of the Kingdom of Hungary under Habsburg rule. Around 1700 the western Carpathian Ukraine formed the starting point for the anti-Habsburg uprisings of Emmerich Thököly and, above all, of Franz II Rákóczi . These were made from an area that was then part of royal Hungary and is now part of Slovakia.
The national rebirth of the Czechs and Slovaks, which took place in the first half of the 19th century, did not take place among the Russians until 1849–1867, albeit without any noteworthy consequences. After the Hungarian Revolution had been suppressed by Russian troops in 1849 , the Russians, under the leadership of the politician Adolf Ivan Dobrjanský , submitted their demands to the government for recognition of their nation , language and an appropriate administrative structure. After the equalization of 1867, the Russians, like all other nationalities in Hungary, were exposed to strong Magyarization pressure. (Until 1872, the first railway lines were Budapest - Uzhhorod (Ungvár) and Lviv -Budapest) opened. Since 1880 there has been massive emigration to the USA . At the end of the 19th century, the first uprising against Hungary broke out. This had the connection to the Ukrainian area, which then belonged to the Russian Empire , the goal.
The territory was annexed to Czechoslovakia in 1919 and was one of the most economically backward areas in Europe. There was hardly any industry and the land belonged to large Hungarian landowners ( magnates ) who mostly only went to the Carpathian Mountains to hunt . Most of the Russian and Ukrainian residents were still illiterate . Emigration to the USA continued.
Part of Czechoslovakia
In the course of the collapse of Austria-Hungary in November 1918, some Russians and Ukrainians were in favor of annexation to the Ukraine , others wanted to join Russia, others in turn wanted autonomy within Hungary, and the American National Council of Russians agreed with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk to join the newly formed Czechoslovakia . On December 26, Budapest granted the area an autonomy (under the name Ruska Krajina ), which was expanded in March 1919 within the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic .
However, the Allies decided to join the territory of Czechoslovakia, as this proved to be the most stable and economically strongest country in Central Europe, which was important for the multi-ethnic and backward Carpathian Ukraine at the time. For Czechoslovakia, the area was of great strategic importance because it represented the only direct connection to its ally Romania. After Czechoslovak troops occupied the area in 1919, the Central National Council of Russians in Uzhhorod voted on May 8, 1919 for annexation to Czechoslovakia. With the Treaty of Saint-Germain of September 10, 1919, Czechoslovakia received Carpathian Ukraine, with the condition set at the Paris Peace Conference to grant it extensive autonomy. In practice, however, this autonomy was not granted to the area until 1938 (the parliament for the area was never convened, the governor was appointed by the President of Czechoslovakia) and the area was in fact just one province called “Carpathian Russia ” ( Podkarpatská Rus , literally "Subcarpathian Russia"). The capital, like today, was Uzhhorod.
The border with Romania was changed again by a small area swap in 1921, with the area around the villages of Veľká Palad , Fertešalmáš and Aklín being replaced by an area further east around the villages of Bočkov (Romanian Bocicău ), Komlóš (Romanian Comlăuşa ), Veľká Ternavka ( Romanian Tarna Mare ), Suchý potok (Romanian Valea Seacă ) and further to the east south of the Tisza near Tjatschiw the place Valea Francisc / Franzensthal (now Romanian Piatra ) swapped.
In addition to the lack of autonomy, the population was also dissatisfied with the course of the border with Slovakia, since 150,000 Russians (until today) remained in the territory of northeastern Slovakia when the border was drawn in 1919.
The Allies determined the course of the border through the course of the river Uh (today Ukrainian Ush ), around the designated capital Užhorod , however, the administrative border was led around (south of Onokovce (today Onokiwzi ) it went from the river course of the Uh to the west and around the Around town) to then follow the railway line south of the town near Minaj (today Mynaj ) and to the east of Čop to the border with Hungary. It was not until 1928/1930 that the borders were redefined and the following places came to Carpathian Ukraine:
- Stará Stužica + Nová Stužica (now Stuschyzja / Стужиця)
- Záhorb (today Sahorb / Загорб)
- Lubňa (today Lubnja / Лубня)
- Bystrý (today Verkhovyna-Bystra / Верховина-Бистра)
- Užok (today Uschok / Ужок)
- Kostrina (today Kostryna / Кострина)
- Domašín (today Domaschyn / Домашин)
- Soľ (today Sil / Сіль)
- Kňahynín (today Knjahynja / Княгиня)
- Stričava (today Strychava / Стричава)
- Veľký Berezný (today Welykyj Beresnyj / Великий Березний)
- Malý Berezný (today Malyj Beresnyj / Малий Березний)
- Zabosina (today Sawosyna / Завосина)
- Mirča (today Myrtscha / Мирча)
- Dubriniče (today Dubrynytschi / Дубриничі)
- Novoselica (today Novoselyzja / Новоселиця)
- Perečín (today Peretschyn / Перечин)
- Kamenica nad Uhom (today Kamjanyzja / Кам'яниця)
- Huta (today Huta / Гута)
- Nevické (today Newyzke / Невицьке)
- Onokovce (today Onokiwzi / Оноківці)
- Jovra (today Storoschnyzja / Сторожниця)
- Minaj (today Mynaj / Минай)
- Lekart / Lekárovce
- Botfalva (today Botfalwa / Ботфалва)
- Šišlovce (today Schyslivtsi / Шишлівці)
- Tarnovce (today Tarniwzi / Тарнівці)
- Koncovo (today Konzowo / Концово)
- Ketergeň (today Rosiwka / Розівка)
- Homok (today Cholmok / Холмок)
The area experienced a significant economic boom during the times of Czechoslovakia, but it remained by far the poorest region in the country.
Due to the strong cultural and linguistic affinity of the population of the area with the Ukrainians , Lemks and Bojken in the Soviet Union and Poland in the interwar period, secessionist tendencies existed in Carpathian Ukraine throughout the interwar period .
Politically, the area was characterized by numerous parties, of which the political groups of Ukrainophiles, Russophiles, Communists and Hungarians were the most important. The Ukrainophiles, who were represented by the National Christian Party of Avgustyn Voloshyn , were usually Greek-Catholic and mostly in favor of autonomy within Czechoslovakia, but partly in favor of annexation to Ukraine. The Russophiles, who were represented by the Agricultural Federation of Andrij Brodij and the fascist party of Fencik , were mostly Greek Orthodox and also wanted autonomy. The Hungarians were represented by the United Hungarian Party , which consistently won 10% of the votes in the Carpathian Ukraine and was in permanent opposition to Prague . The Communists, strong due to the backwardness of the area, were in favor of annexation to the Soviet Union (Ukraine). In the elections of 1935, the parties that supported the government in Prague won only 25% of the vote, while opponents of Prague politics such as the Communists (25% of the vote), the Hungarian Party and the autonomist groups received 63%.
After Slovakia had also proclaimed its autonomy within Czecho- Slovakia at the beginning of October 1938 , the first autonomous government under Andrij Brodij was formed in Carpathian Ukraine on October 11, and the second under Avgustyn Voloschyn on October 26, 1938 . The area was then officially renamed Carpathian Ukraine / Karpato-Ukraine (Czech Karpatská Ukrajina ) on November 17, 1938 .
November 1938-1945
On November 2, 1938, the southwestern, predominantly Hungarian-inhabited part of the area with Mukatschewo (Hungarian Munkács ) and Uschhorod (Hungarian Ungvár ) was again awarded to Hungary due to the First Vienna Arbitration . Chust was then chosen as the new seat of government in Carpathian Ukraine .
However, Hungary did not want to be satisfied with the ethnic boundaries drawn in the Vienna arbitration. The goal of Hungarian politics continued to be the complete revision of the Trianon Treaty . In view of the limited Hungarian resources, the complete annexation of the small Carpathian Ukraine seemed realistic as a first step. Above all, this would have brought Hungary a common border with friendly Poland and the possession of the Tisza springs . Therefore, soon after the arbitration, the Hungarian press controlled by Miklós Kozma sparked a campaign against the alleged "Macedonian conditions" in Carpathian Ukraine. At the same time, Kozma organized the infiltration of Carpathian Ukraine by members of the paramilitary Rongyos Gárda ("Lumpengarde") acting as agents provocateurs , an action that turned out to be disastrous. Despite urgent warnings from Germany and Italy of a military fiasco, the government under Béla Imrédy hoped that the two powers would accept a surprise coup against the Carpathian Ukraine. Shortly before the start of the Hungarian attack, the Axis powers , who did not want to be discredited by the Hungarians shortly after the arbitration, vetoed on November 20, 1938, whereupon Miklós Horthy's attack order had to be revoked.
After Czechoslovakia was broken up by Nazi Germany in March 1939, neighboring Slovakia declared its independence (see: Slovak State ). The Soim , the parliament of the rest of Carpathian Ukraine, also proclaimed the country's independence on March 15, 1939. The Carpathian Ukraine was occupied and annexed by Hungary on the same day, contrary to the provisions of the Vienna arbitration. Hungarian troops encountered armed resistance from the local population. The attempted conquest of Slovakia by Hungary from Carpathian Ukraine a week later failed after a few skirmishes .
The area newly annexed to Hungary in 1939 had 12,000 km² with 622,000 inhabitants, of which only 6% were Hungarian as their mother tongue.
In July 1941, after the attack on the Soviet Union , in which Hungary was also involved, around 15,000 Jewish refugees from Carpathian Ukraine were deported to western Ukraine. Most of them were murdered by German police and SS troops in the Kamenets-Podolsk massacre . After the German occupation of Hungary on March 19, 1944, over 100,000 Jews from Carpathian Ukraine were deported to Auschwitz in April and May , where 90% of them were killed. In autumn 1944 many Germans and Hungarians fled or were expelled from the Carpathian Ukraine before the Red Army advancing from the east .
The area was temporarily part of Czechoslovakia again and a Czechoslovak delegation was sent to the area. Real power, however, lay in the hands of the local national committees formed everywhere, whose contact with the Czechoslovak authorities was systematically prevented by the Soviet occupying power. Edvard Beneš banned the activities of the Hungarian, German and Russophile parties as well as the fascist Fencik party. Practically only the Communists and the Prague supporters were left. On November 26, 1944, a meeting of the national committees in Mukachevo, on the initiative of the communists of Mukachevo, finally voted for affiliation with the Soviet Union as “Transcarpathian Ukraine”. This was a decision by Josef Stalin himself. After subsequent negotiations between the Czechoslovak government-in-exile and the Soviet Union, the Czechoslovak communists (who had been partially controlled from Moscow since the Second World War ) persuaded Beneš to cede the area to the Soviet Union. It was agreed to hand over the area to the Soviet Union after the end of the war.
On June 29, 1945, a treaty was signed between the foreign ministers of the two states in Moscow, which sealed the surrender of Carpathian Ukraine to the Soviet Union. In addition, there was a small border correction in which a town and some communities in the area south of Uzhhorod as far as Chop came to the Soviet state:
| Slovak | Ukrainian | transcription | Hungarian 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galoč | Галоч | Halotsch | Gálocs |
| Palov | Палло | Pallo | Palló |
| Batva | Батфа | Batfa | Bátfa |
| Palaď + Komarovce | Паладь-Комарівці | Palad Komariwzi | Palágykomoróc |
| Surty | Сюрте | Sjurte | Anger |
| Malé Rátovce | Малі Ратівці 1 | Mali Rativtsi | Kisrát |
| Veľké Rátovce | Великі Ратівці 1 | Velyki Rativtsi | Nagyrát |
| Male Slemence | Малі Селменці | Mali Selmenzi | Kisszelmenc |
| Salamúnová | Соломоново | Solomonovo | Tiszasalamon |
| Téglás | Тийглаш | Tyjhlash | Kistéglás |
| Čop | Чоп | Chop | Csap |
In return, Lekárovce became part of Czechoslovakia in 1946 .
The numerous Czechs and Slovaks who lived in Carpathian Ukraine had been given the opportunity to become Czechoslovak citizens . The Soviet Union annexed the territory of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic . The area has shared the history of Ukraine ever since .
literature
- Britta Böhme: Borderland between myth and reality. Real and intellectual history of the Ukrainian territory. Berliner Debatte Wissenschafts-Verlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-931703-33-9 .
- Christian Ganzer: The Carpathian Ukraine 1938/39. Match ball in an international conflict of interest on the eve of the Second World War (= Die Ostreihe. NF Heft 12, ZDB -ID 409967-9 ). German Society for East European Studies, Hamburg 2001.
- Christian Ganzer: “Ukrainian Piedmont” or Merely a “Republic for a Day”? Carpatho-Ukraine 1938/39. In: Paul Best, Jarosław Stępień (Ed.): Does a Fourth Rus' Exist? Concerning cultural identity in the Carpathian Region. = Czy istnieje czwarta Ruś? Wokół tożsamości kulturowej w regionie karpackim. South-Eastern Research Institute et al., Przemyśl et al. 2009, ISBN 978-83-60374-09-2 , pp. 167-178.
- Andreas Kappeler : Brief history of the Ukraine (= Beck'sche series. Vol. 1059). Beck, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-4063-7449-2 .
- Albert S. Kotowski: “Ukrainian Piedmont”? Carpathian Ukraine on the eve of World War II. In: Yearbooks for the History of Eastern Europe. NF Vol. 49, 2001, ISSN 0021-4019 , pp. 67-95, digitized .
- Nikolaus G. Kozauer: The Carpathian-Ukraine between the two world wars. With special consideration of the German population. Langer, Esslingen am Neckar 1979.
- Paul Robert Magocsi, Ivan Pop (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture. Revised and expanded edition. University of Toronto Press, Toronto et al. 2005, ISBN 0-8020-3566-3 .
Web links
- Border shifts in Carpathian Ukraine from 1938 to 1945
- Paul R. Magocsi, Carpatho-Rusyns, brochure published by The Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center, 1995 ( December 9, 2012 memento in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manfred Alexander , Frank fighters , Andreas Kappeler (ed.): Small peoples in the history of Eastern Europe. Festschrift for Günther Stökl on his 75th birthday (= Yearbooks for the History of Eastern Europe. Supplements. NF Vol. 5). Steiner, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-515-05473-1 , p. 132.
- ↑ Josef Kalvoda, David Crowe: National Minorities in Czechoslovakia, 1919–1980. In: Eastern European national minorities, 1919–1980. A handbook. Libraries Unlimited, Littleton CO 1985, ISBN 0-87287-416-8 , pp. 108-159, here p. 114.
- ↑ Medzinárodné zmluvy upravujúce hranice ČSR (1918–1938). ( Memento of the original from December 5, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Peter G. Stercho: Diplomacy of Double Morality. Europe's Crossroads in Carpatho-Ukraine, 1919–1939. Carpathian Research Center, New York NY 1971, p. 288.
- ^ Katrin Boeckh: Stalinism in the Ukraine. The reconstruction of the Soviet system after the Second World War (= publications by the Eastern European Institute in Munich. Series: History. Vol. 71). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-447-05538-3 , p. 126 (also: Munich, University, habilitation paper, 2004).
