C.F.M. Files: Lot M–88: Box 20: CFM Documents
The Hungarian Minister ( Szegedy-Maszak ) to the Council of Foreign Ministers 13
Excellencies: Upon instructions of the Government of the Hungarian Republic, I have the honor to bring the following to the attention of the Council of Foreign Ministers:
The efforts made by the Provisional Government, and later by the duly elected Hungarian Government, toward establishing democracy in Hungary and toward the economic rehabilitation of the country are well known. For its part, Hungary has done everything possible in order to solve the very serious political and economic problems by democratic means, according to Section V of the Crimea Declaration of February 11, 1945.14 By these efforts Hungary proved the sincerity of its desire to be an integral part of the new international order, based on the Charter of the United Nations.
Hungary has definitely abandoned the domestic and foreign policies of the past. The republican form of government, as well as the composition [Page 1074] of this government were arrived at through free and democratic elections; the large feudal estates were liquidated by a radical land reform; Hungary accorded exemplary punishment to its war criminals; the remnants of fascism were eliminated from the state administration and the public life of the country; and, finally, Hungary endeavored to assure to every citizen the fundamental freedoms.
The endeavors of the Hungarian Government were observed and approved by the Great Powers. Thus Hungary became the first nation among the satellite states whose government was recognized by the Great Powers, and diplomatic relations were first resumed with Hungary.
When the peace treaties were to be drawn up, however, and the terms to be offered Hungary were discussed at the Peace Conference in Paris, the Hungarian Government was grieved to learn that, in spite of the assurances given in Section V of the Crimea Declaration, all of Hungary’s democratic accomplishments as well as the well-known grave economic situation of the country were not properly evaluated. The recommendations of the Peace Conference in Paris actually increased the severity of the draft treaty drawn up by the Council of Foreign Ministers.
Now, therefore, when the Council of Foreign Ministers is preparing the final draft of the Hungarian peace treaty, the Hungarian Government—mindful of its responsibility toward the Hungarian people which has undergone such severe trials and motivated by an earnest desire for a lasting and just peace—places full confidence in the spirit of justice of the Great Powers and in their solemn declarations, and submits the following requests to the Council of Foreign Ministers:
1. The Hungarian-Czechoslovak border should be reestablished in its entirety according to the situation which prevailed on December 1, 1937, and the modification offered by the Paris Peace Conference to the first section of the Hungarian peace treaty should be rejected inasmuch as this modification is not justified either from a practical point of view or as a matter of principle.
2. As long as the problem of the inhabitants of Magyar ethnic origin residing in Czechoslovakia has not been settled either by an exchange of territory or in some other manner, according to Article 4 bis. of the draft peace treaty, the basic human rights promulgated in the Charter of the United Nations should be accorded to these inhabitants of Magyar ethnic origin in Czechoslovakia.15
3. The third article of the Roumanian draft peace treaty should be supplemented by a clause, according to which the rights of the Hungarian minority in Roumania should be defined within a given period of time through direct negotiations between Hungary and Roumania. Should these direct negotiations between Hungary and [Page 1075] Roumania result in failure the Hungarian Government should be given an opportunity to apply to the Council of Foreign Ministers for a final adjustment of this problem.
On this occasion the Hungarian Government wishes to point out that the economic situation of these Roumanian citizens of Magyar ethnic origin has unfortunately further deteriorated in the recent past.
4. With reference to the communication of the Hungarian Peace Delegation, addressed to the Peace Conference in Paris (CP. Gen. Doc. C. 5.16) in the matter of the economic situation of Hungary, as well as with reference to the letter of the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, dated October 8, 1946,17 and addressed to the Chairman of the Peace Conference, the Hungarian Government on the basis of pertinent evidence is obliged to reaffirm that the economic burdens established in the draft peace treaty far exceed Hungary’s economic capacity and can only result in the collapse of the Hungarian economy, with all that this would entail. Hungary’s economy is utterly unable to bear burdens over and above the sums already allotted in the stabilization program for meeting the country’s obligations under the armistice terms and the terms anticipated in the treaty of peace.18
The Hungarian Government therefore emphatically requests that, with due consideration of the country’s resources, the economic obligations under the Hungarian peace treaty be brought into harmony with its capacity to pay, and that these obligations be reduced accordingly.
In addition to calling attention to its democratic accomplishments in accord with the Crimea Declaration, the Hungarian Government also desires to refer to its extraordinary efforts to combat the unprecedented inflation which raged in Hungary until last August and to its efforts to stabilize the Hungarian currency. The beginning of a slow recovery movement and the results achieved during the first few months of the stabilization were made possible only by a drastic reduction of living standards in Hungary and by mobilizing all the financial resources of the country. Such economic recovery is the prerequisite of stable and lasting political order, and this is being jeopardized by the economic clauses of the draft peace treaty.
Fully aware of the assistance already granted to Hungary by the victorious Great Powers, my Government earnestly hopes that the Council of Foreign Ministers will take the above into consideration and that the final economic clauses of the Hungarian peace treaty will not become the starting point for the economic collapse of the country but rather will contribute to the lasting reconstruction of the Hungarian economy.
Accept [etc.]
- This communication was circulated to the Council of Foreign Ministers by the Secretary General of the Council as document CFM (46) (NY) 9, November 11, 1946. Secretary Byrnes discussed this communication at the Council’s 6th Meeting, November 11, 4:30 p.m.; see the United States Delegation Minutes of that meeting, p. 1095.↩
- Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Malta and Yalta, 1945, p. 971.↩
- For documentation regarding U.S. concern over the dispute between Hungary and Czechoslovakia regarding the exchange of populations, see vol. vi, pp. 361 ff.↩
- C.P.(GEN) Doc. 5, August 26, 1946, Observations on the Draft Peace Treaty with Hungary by the Hungarian Government, vol. iv, p. 249.↩
- Not printed.↩
- For documentation regarding U.S. efforts to assist in the economic rehabilitation of Hungary, see vol. vi, pp. 250 ff.↩