The reality of the Benes-decreets

Expelled Hungarians

A new photographic exhibition documents the 1947 deportation of ethnic Hungarians from Czechoslovakia. The weeklong exhibition of photos from the MTI Hungarian News Agency’s archives marking the transfer of three Hungarian villages to Czechoslovakia 61 years ago, opened in the city of Gyor, NW Hungary, on Monday.

Under the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, the Hungarian villages of Oroszvar, Dunacsuny and Horvatjarfalu (now Rusovce, Cunovo and Jarovce in SW Slovakia) had to be ceded to what was then Czechoslovakia.

Residents of these villages and many others were expelled from Czechoslovakia to Hungary in keeping with the Benes decrees issued by the Czechoslovak government declaring collective guilt for atrocities committed by Germany and Hungary against Czechoslovakia during World War II.

In all, about 80,000 ethnic Hungarians were forced to leave their homes at this time, and the photos document the passions and despair of these evictions.

The exhibition includes a series of dramatic images of the deportees, including photos of women and children from southern Slovakia who crossed the border to escape the deportation of ethnic Hungarians to forced labour camps in Bohemia and Moravia.

The Benes-decrees are still valid and in force in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The Austrian, German and Hungarian government have all recently criticised the decrees as they are in flagrant opposition of European laws and values.

A recent meeting between Jobbik, The Movement For A Better Hungary and the Czech National Party ended with no possibility of further discussions due to differences over the Benes-decrees.