The Fate of Western Hungary 1918-1921 - Corvinus Library ...

in ink.) Our goal was to organize civic guards in certain villages and thus
ensure complete order and public safety. And for us to check that by simple
patrols. We thus achieved that a substantial portion of the population took our
side with confidence.” 390 The Officer Company visited the local civic guards a
few days later and noted that they were working well, to the satisfaction of the
population. The armed force of the students took over direction of public
administration within their defined operational perimeter in Sopron County,
after the withdrawal of the Austrians. Within their operating zone, they set up
their command post in Nagymarton, in the Posta Hotel. The head of the newly
instituted visa department was overseen by 1 st Lt. Károly Obendorf, mining
student; the censorship and postal affairs was handled by Lajos Krug, forestry
student; and dr. Károly Dobrovits became head of the customs department. The
staff platoon of the students was located in Kismarton. By the end of
September, they kept under control to two of the important stations along the
historic Hungarian-Austrian border, Savanyúkút and Lajtaújfalu, and in a
matter of days stopped the smuggling of goods.
In the meantime, Count Sigray notified the prime minister on September 13
that the Entente generals in Sopron read to him the notice of the Council of
Ambassadors. The gist of it was that the Austrian and Hungarian government
come to an agreement with regard to the Western Hungary question before
September 27. According to the Commissioner, “it is likely that the Austrians
will make use of the shortage of time and will keep the entire territory.”
Bethlen’s response: then we will state that “under the Trianon treaty terms that
are most favorable to us, we will ask not only for the handing over of Baranya
County but also that Austria pay us, in cash or give us guarantees we can
accept, their debts of the mutual assets. Perhaps we can also raise the countervalue
of government assets on the territories to be handed over. All in all, we
can raise a lot [of issues] with which we can drag out the negotiations.”
In the Commissioners next report, still in the morning of September 13, the
Hungarian public administration is working undisturbed in the zone ‘A’
emptied by the Austrians but that trains are only running to the Austrian border.
What is more, the Entente generals are of the opinion that “the armed rebels, as
civic guards and patrols, are maintaining flawless order.” 391
During these days, in mid-September, politicians once again raised the
possibility that, to prevent the annexation of Western Hungary to Austria, an
‘autonomous Burgenland’ be proclaimed. In his September 13 morning report,
Sigray also informed the PM that the question “from certain quarters, has been
raised seriously before me. The plan would be that, in a few days in Sopron, the
representatives of the villages, etc. would proclaim an independent Burgenland.
They would petition to be a protectorate of Hungary and to keep the gendarmes
and authorities until the natives [i.e.- the people now living in the Borderland
about to be annexed-J.B.] could replace them. At the same time, they would ask
390 Krug, 1930, op. cit., pp. 93-94.
391 MOL. K 26. 1388. csomó. 1922–„H” tétel, pp. 481–482, 484.
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