840.4016/2–1546: Telegram
The Ambassador in Czechoslovakia ( Steinhardt ) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 17—12:05 p.m.]
242. I have had a talk with Clementis32 who informed me that the Czecho-Hungarian agreement is to be signed in Budapest in the near future.33 He said the agreement will be limited to providing for an exchange of Slovaks who wish to return from Hungary for Hungarians to be expelled from Slovakia on a per capita basis. He said his Government had promised the selection of Hungarians to be exchanged would be a representative cross section of the Hungarian minority and that extensive concessions had been made by the Czechoslovak Government in granting to the Hungarians who are to leave Slovakia the right to take their property with them. If I understood him correctly the Hungarians who have already been expelled also will be entitled to their property or its equivalent.
Clementis said Gyöngyösi34 was positive that not more than 40,000 Slovaks would elect to return to Slovakia, whereas in Clementis’ opinion the number would exceed 100,000. The exchange will be supervised by a joint commission. Clementis then remarked that if 100.000 Hungarians were exchanged it was his opinion that 200,000 could be permanently absorbed in Czechoslovakia and that thus only an additional [three?] hundred thousand would remain as the subject of further discussion.
He said the negotiations had been carried on in a friendly atmosphere and gave no indication of being dissatisfied with the limited extent of the agreement arrived at.
Sent Department as 242; repeated Budapest as 16.