Papers and Documents relating to the Foreign Relations of Hungary, Volume 1, 1919–1920 (Budapest, 1939)

Appendix III. Parliamentary debates

947 This issue has already been raised by the Hungarian Peace Delegation and, as a peace delegate, I have endeavoured to stress this point. Unfortunately it has been my experience that the peaceful understanding, so widely desired by us and part and parcel of our progress toward consolidation, does not meet with sufficient appreciation abroad. I constantly note unnecessary signs of nervousness which are not warranted by our conduct and which take an unreasonable hostility toward our increasing consolidation. A completely bankrupt Hungary cannot be desirable even to the neighbouring states, provided they ever wish to live in peaceful understanding with us. For them also a consolidated, strong and inwardly balanced Hungary must be the only desire. (Approval.) Only with such a Hungary can they lead a life which could bring understanding for both parties concerned. I have already referred to the work of the Peace Delegation, but I must mention several things here, some of which you may already know. I believe I ought to pay tribute from this place to the work which was accomplished there from the point of view of the hopes which I attach to that activity. (Hear ! Hear !) Wken we went to Paris, we took with us a whole series of memoranda that served the purpose of throwing light on the economic and nationality problems of Hungary. With these preliminary notes — as we called them — we did not expect to accomplish much. As much as we may have wished to, we could not hope to achieve fundamental and radical changes in the peace conditions. We knew that these conditions were determined by circumstances which would make any change in details difficult for us. We attacked the Peace Treaty not only in its details but also in its bases as one which is impossible to fulfill and execute. All our arguments, however, and we knew this as well at the time as know it now, served not so much for the present as for the future ; they were designed to make up for the omissions of the past and to make our situation known. How great these omissions have been is indicated by the fact that already, although these memoranda are known in their fullest extent to very few and in only meagre excerpts to the general public, I see that, on the basis of this knowledge, the general attitude toward us has changed and that certain of our problems are viewed with surprise. People discover with astonishment that our situation is entirely different from what they have imagined, heard or been told heretofore. The work of the Peace Delegation consisted further in answering the peace conditions. Its reply began with the excellent speech of the President of the Peace Delegation, Count Albert 58*