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

with its seat in Sopron. It brought forth much friction and sharp objections. The
German region was to have consisted of the mainly German – but sometimes
mixed – populated areas of Pozsony, Moson, Sopron and Vas counties (about
5,000 km 2 ) but Pozsony County, North of the Danube, was already under
Czech-Slovak military occupation since the beginning of January 1919. The
proposed plan for the German autonomous area was discussed at the June 11-14
meeting of the German Regional Council (Deutscher Landesrat) – introduced
by Henrik Kalmár – and was forwarded to the constitutional committee with
clarification of certain points. The Landesrat again discussed the proposal at its
second meeting (July 28-29) but arrived at no decision. 79 The administration of
the Gau that was organized in the territory – which was deemed to be an
autonomous region of the Republic – was administer by the German Regional
Council in Sopron and ‘German-Western Hungarian Regional People’s Office.’
In parts of Western Hungary, especially around Felsőőr and Kőszeg but also in
Moson and the western rim of Trans-Danubia, regions of Hungarian-majority
settlements or islands projected into the German autonomous area. What it
mean that, of the 10 districts of Vas County, four came under dual
administration. The same affected 60 settlements of the Felsőőr district, 36 in
Kőszeg, 51 in Szombathely, 5 in Körmend and 4 in the Muraszombat districts. 80
In the final weeks of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, a peculiar dual public
administration functioned in the German autonomous region. The decrees of
both the German Regional Council and the County Directorate were sent to
every settlement. Unfortunately, disagreements between the two authorities
were not able to be settled.
The creation of the Western-Hungarian German autonomous region came to
an abrupt halt on August 1, 1919 because the Revolutionary Governing Council
resigned [the communist Hungarian Soviet Republic experiment came to an
end-ed.] and Gyula Peidl (1873-1943) formed a Unionist-Social Democrat
government. Simultaneously, the leading Communist leaders and commissars,
led by Béla Kun who took with him all the money in the government coffers,
and their families fled by special train to Vienna. The Austrian government,
with the knowledge of the Entente Powers, extended them refugee status. The
Hungarian government requested their extradition already on September 5,
which Austria denied. On appeal, it was also rejected in 1920 by a ruling of the
Austrian Supreme Court. 81
The president of the so-called ‘behind the front committees’ – in reality
summary tribunals – Commissar Tibor Szamuely (1890-1919) fled separately
by car. Near the border, in the village of Savanyúkút, he was recognized and the
Austrian authorities did not permit him to enter Austria. They knew well his
role in the most horrific series of commune massacres. He, his brother and their
79
Kővágó, op. cit., pp. 62, 63-64, 77-82.
80
Tanácsköztársaság (Hivatalos lap), 1919, July 17 (issue 94).
81
G. Soós, Katalin: Menedékjog vagy kiszolgáltatás [Refugee status or extradition]? In:
Századok, 1963, issue 2, pp. 369–381.
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