Might makes right in totalitarian societies. Any citizen of one who values their life is unlikely to question such a doctrine because the consequences are likely to be dreadful in the extreme. The same goes for nations forced to negotiate with more powerful totalitarian governments making territorial demands. Might makes right sums up the position of Stalin’s Soviet Union when negotiating with the nations of Eastern Europe in the immediate aftermath of World War II. The Soviet Union could expand its borders at the expense of neighboring states. Hungary was in no position to complain. The country was forced back to the borders originally set for it by the Treaty of Trianon. This meant giving up southern Slovakia, northern Transylvania, and Vojvodina.
Each of those acquisitions had occurred due to Hungary’s alliance with Nazi Germany. The latter no longer existed, nor did the hard right wartime Hungarian government. The lost lands of Historic Hungary were gone forever. This left the lives of countless ethnic Hungarians in the merciless hands of the Soviets. Millions of people across Eastern Europe found themselves in a similar situation. In cities, towns, and villages, they waited to learn their fate. Borders were being redrawn with little regard for the inhabitants. One of the places where this occurred was at Veľké Slemence. Life there has never been the same.
Standing guard – Pedestrian crossing at Veľké Slemence/Mali Selmentsi on the Ukraine-Slovakia border (Credit: Spacekid)
Shifting Borders – New Lines In The Sand
The Stalinist Soviet Union was never known for its magnanimity. No one will ever mistake the Kremlin under Stalin’s rule as charitable. Generosity was in short supply, unlike cynicism. The Soviet Union was just as likely to give their fellow communist nations grief, as they were their enemies. Any country that disagreed with Soviet plans would be brought to heel at the point of a gun barrel. Following World War II, the Soviet Union was in a supremely powerful position throughout Eastern Europe. The Red Army and NKVD (precursor to the KGB) acted as a strong-arm occupation force. The Kremlin swallowed up sections of Eastern Europe to create a buffer zone. This was done to ensure that the Soviet Union would not suffer another invasion from the west.
Soviet insecurities had their roots in recent history. In both World Wars, the German Army had surged deep into Russian/Soviet territory. Stalin was taking no chances in 1945. The Red Army was the might that would ensure Soviet demands were met. Those in the way were sure to find themselves in an untenable situation. This included the majority ethnic Romanian population in Bessarabia (present-day Moldova). The Soviet Union took the region back from Romania which had held it during the interwar period. Germans were pushed west of the Oder River. Poles were shifted westward to occupy what had been eastern Germany prior to the war. This population transfer made way for the enlargement of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The area is now western Ukraine.
Smaller countries like Czechoslovakia barely stood a chance when faced with Soviet territorial adjustments. They could either bend to the Kremlin’s will or be broken. In Transcarpathia, Czechoslovakia’s borders shifted westward as the region also became part of Ukraine. These new lines on the map could seem arbitrary when they did not align with facts on the ground. That was the case with Veľké Slemence. The village suddenly found itself bisected by the new border drawn to meet Soviet demands. This resulted in a divisive and nonsensical situation.
The other side – Bus stop in Mali Selminstsi on the Ukraine-Slovakia border
(Credit: Kamil Czainski)
Getting Territorial – Buffer Zones
There are many aspects of Eastern European history I find difficult to grasp. Changing borders during the 20th century is one of them. In particular, the redrawn post-World War II borders. On a macro level, I understand that Soviet expansion westward was done for security purposes. On a micro-level, redrawn borders such as the one set between the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia that bisected Veľké Slemence do not make much sense. It is a minor footnote in the grand scheme of Soviet inspired territorial adjustments in Eastern Europe, but I find it a source of fascination. Two-thirds of the village stayed in Czechoslovakia, while the other third ended up in the Soviet Union and became the village of Mali Selmentsi.
Why separate the village from itself? Was this a case of divide and conquer? The village was so small that it begs the question of why bother. There was certainly suspicion of the ethnic Hungarian population which made up an overwhelming majority in the village. The paranoia of Stalin’s Soviet Union could be absurd. I seriously doubt that five hundred Hungarians are going to start a revolt. It seems more plausible that they would be upset over the division. This created a needless headache for all involved. That did not seem to matter. The Soviets imposed their vision on Veľké Slemence and the Czechoslovak government was left to deal with most of the fallout.
A couple of years after the border adjustment went into effect, Czechoslovakia became a communist state as Soviet backed Stalinists took control of the government. With like-minded governments running both Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, border control should have been harmonized. This would have made it easier for those who lived in Veľké Slemence or Mali Selmentsi to travel back and forth across the border. That would not be the case until the 21st century. In the meantime, the border was sealed.
Road weary – Main Street in the village of Veľké Slemence (Credit: Kamil Czainski)
Switching Sides – Keeping An Eye On The Situation
Watchtowers, barbed wire, and trigger-happy border guards defined the Iron Curtain that divided Veľké Slemence. Meanwhile, the villagers got a sense of déjà vu on the Czechoslovak side of the border. They had been citizens of Czechoslovakia up until 1938. After an eight-year interlude, they were back there. Democratic Czechoslovakia no longer existed; it was as dead as Horthy-era Hungary. Hard line communism was the latest ideology. These changes must have perplexed the local population. They were living in the same country as earlier, but in name only. The same could not be said for their fellow villagers who were unlucky enough to find themselves east of the border in Mali Slemnetsi. They were citizens of Stalin’s Soviet Union, a prototypical totalitarian state. Everyone was under suspicion, especially ethnic minorities. Local border officials were tasked with keeping a close eye on the situation. It would be that way for decades to come.
Click here for: Long-Distance Relationship – A Marriage of Inconvenience at Veľké Slemence (The Lost Lands #21)
Europe Between East And West 