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

stronger stance with regard to Western Hungary. This was indicated by the first
paragraph of the constitution, newly accepted by the National Assembly on
October 1, 1920, which stated that the country is a democratic republic with
nine provinces – among them Burgenland, allowed to send three representatives
– in a federative union.
A unique manifestation of the territorial claim was the emergency currency
printed in October of 1920, which was used for propaganda purposes. 226 Copies
of the paper currency found in 1981 in the Ferenc Móra Museum of Szeged
shows: 93x66 mm. vertical rectangle, whitish-yellow, without watermark, on
the top of the front is written: Ödenburg, that is to say Sopron. Below it, in the
upper half, in the middle of an oak leaf border, is a picture of its well-known
main square, in the center of which is shown the equally well-known Fire
Tower, flying the German flag (not Austrian!!). The denomination is shown in
the lower corners by 2K (2 Crown or Kroner).
The bottom half of the rectangle shows a poem:
„Südmarkspende.
Über Ödenburg die deutschen Farben.
Deutscher Herzen Trost in trüber Nacht!
Reife Zukunft, in der Zeiten Schacht!
Bald stehst prangend du in vollen Sorben.
Dr. A. Walheim”. 227
The rough translation of the poem is: Southern border voucher. German
colors above Sopron. / Solace of German heart in a blustery night! / Ripe future
in the depth of time! / Soon to stand proud over all the Sorbs. 228 The poem’s
title alluded to the western Hungarian strip granted to Austria (in Pan-German
usage called the Southern Borderland) by the Treaty of Saint-Germain,
including Sopron, over which the German flag (again, not Austrian–J.B.) was
flying. The poet Walheim, one of the later provincial governors of Burgenland,
suggests that the so-far unmerged Slavic group, the Sorbs, will become
German, too.
On the obverse of the bill – and this was the propaganda use – two lines
were printed on the upper half thusly:
Südmark.
Bund der Deutschen zur Erhaltung ihres Volkstums im In- und Ausslande.
226 After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarch, the successor states
(Czechoslovakia, Romania, Kingdom of Serbs-Croats-Slovenes) issued some
emergency currency to address shortage of small denominations.
227 Barbalics, Imre János: Sopron egy 1920. évi osztrák szükségpénzen [Sopron on a
1920 Austrian interim currency]. In: Soproni Szemle, 1983, issue 1, p. 54.
228 The poet, dr. Alfred Walheim, refers to the Sorbs, a western Slav tribe along the
upper flow of the Spree River. The Sorbs, living is southeastern Germany around the
towns of Cottbus and Bautzen NE of Dresden (calling themselves Sorbski, Ger.:
Sorbe), founded their umbrella organization, Domovina, in 1912. After WWI, the Sorbs
enjoyed relative freedom; from 1933, their national organizations and intellectuals were
persecuted by the authorities; from 1937, the use of the Sorb language was banned.
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