I was never very good at math. I struggled with geometry, never made it past Algebra II, and recoiled at the thought of trigonometry. That is why I made sure my studies at university avoided any higher-level mathematics courses. Where I did excel was with statistics, but not the kind taught in school. I learned to love them at a very young age. One of my first memories as a child is learning to read by studying box scores in the sports section of newspapers. This engendered a lifelong love of statistics. I find them very useful for making historical comparisons between peoples and countries, especially in Eastern Europe. Demographic statistics are a source of infinite fascination. One of the first things I did after beginning to travel in Eastern Europe was to study the demographics. Population numbers and the proportion of different ethnic groups can be extremely revealing. These numbers were one of the ways I first came to understand the Treaty of Trianon and its enduring legacy.
Having it both ways – A sign at Satu Mare Railway Station (Credit: Waelsch)
Simple Minds – Following Along
I can think of very few things more exciting than trying to decide where to go next on a journey. Anticipation builds as I search for my next port of call. This act of travel can be summed up by that Dickensian title, “Great Expectations.” Answering the question, “Where to go next?” sends my imagination into overdrive. In such moments, anywhere seems possible. Nonetheless, choosing a place to go can be a daunting task. That is the case when it comes to visiting the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders. The size of the area lost by Hungary due to Trianon was considerable. It feels like traveling in another country. In this case, six countries (Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine). Many of these countries are not contiguous, making the logistics of travel more difficult. This is why I am planning an itinerary with maximum flexibility built into it.
Itineraries tend to take the adventure out of travel. The standard ones list the places, dates, and times for visits. In essence, they are a stop-by-stop guide providing up to the hour information about where and when a visit will occur. I have always found these types of itineraries to be restrictive. They confine the traveler to a specific time and place. On the first day, I will be here. On the next day, I will be there. Itineraries are a simplistic, yet helpful way of organizing a trip. They are a case where the destination matters more than the journey. When the traveler is constrained by time an itinerary is the best practice. When the traveler has more time than plans, an itinerary can prove detrimental to serendipity and spontaneity. The two things that adventurous travelers crave.
When I travel in Eastern Europe, I only have a rough idea of where and when I want to visit a particular place. I will book accommodation at my first and second destinations. After that, the journey takes on a life of its own. My itinerary for the lost lands has also begun to take on a life of its own. My destination after the Letavertes-Sacueni border crossing is unique because it can be reached from the comfort of an armchair. This allows me to examine one of the Treaty of Trianon’s most important legacies with a few keystrokes.
Language lessons – Trilingual sign on the Directorate for Agriculture and Food Industry in Satu Mare (Credit: Waelsch)
Numbers Game – Demography Is Destiny
Locating where I am going to on a map is only the starting point. A signpost that then points me to my ultimate destination, cyberspace. The digital rather than physical world is my next port of call. I am adding a stop to my itinerary for data analysis. This will help me grasp the effects of Trianon on ethnic groups in the lost lands. The cumulative weight of history can be measured by the demographic changes that occurred after Trianon. These changes are usually expressed in a macro format. For instance, by looking at the proportion of ethnic Hungarians in Romania prior to Trianon and then in the decades after it took effect leading right up to the present. Raw numbers can be revealing. Demographic data is fundamentally different from the usual measuring sticks for Trianon. Those mostly focus on high level political maneuvering and lead to questions like, “Did the treaty inadvertently lead to World War II? The answers are difficult to enumerate. Voting patterns can help provide some answers, but political history habitually focuses on leaders rather than the masses who felt Trianon’s upheaval most acutely.
There are other ways to measure Trianon’s legacy using hard data. Some statistics are more revealing than others. One of the most cited statistics is the amount of territory lost/gained by Hungary and nations such as Romania. This is an important figure, but it does not tell us much about the millions of people affected by Trianon. A better system of measurement involves demographics. The question that comes to mind is how many Hungarians were left in Transylvania, southern Slovakia, Vojvodina, or the Burgenland post-Trianon. Decade by decade the numbers show a progression that speaks volumes. Demography is said to be destiny. There is no better example than the lost lands post-Trianon.
Descending order – Population of Satu Mare by ethnic composition
Descending Order – The Trianon Effect
Satu Mare is one of the larger cities in the Crisana region. Located a short distance from the Hungarian border in northwestern Romania, it is a city I have yet to visit. I am adding it to my itinerary both digitally and physically. The digital component consists of demographic data that provides a snapshot of the population’s ethnic composition from 1880 to the present. Starting in 1910, a decade before Trianon. Hungarians dominated the city. Satu Mare was 91% Hungarian and 6% Romanian. The aftermath of World War I when the Romanian Army occupies Satu Mare prior to Trianon results in an uptick of the Romanian share of the population to 15% in 1920. That increases to 28% by 1930, while the Hungarian percentage drops to 57%. Then comes the onset of World War II as Hungary regains control of northern Transylvania and parts of Crisana. The city’s ethnic composition reverts to where it was in 1910. This is the high tide of ethnic Hungarians in Satu Mare.
Then comes the cataclysm of the lost war and communism. By 1970, Hungarians have become a minority for the first time. This coincides with the rule of Nicolae Ceausescu, and his regime’s policies that relocate Romanians to urban areas. By the end of Ceausescu’s reign Romanians are still in the majority. Even in the relatively prosperous period since then, the percentage of Hungarians has slowly decreased. They either left for Hungary after the border reopened or for better economic opportunities in other parts of Europe. The numbers do not lie. Trianon’s effect on ethnic Hungarians in Satu Mare has been substantial. The history of Hungarian and Romanians in the city can be followed from a single chart. Analyzing these numbers is more than an exercise in demography, it is a lesson in history.
Click here for: Breaking The Habit – A Satu Mare Story (The Lost Lands #8)