Folia historica 24

I. Tanulmányok - Pallos Lajos: Területvédő propaganda Magyarországon 1918-1920.

the emotional side. After the announcement at the beginning of 1919, the first artists who contracted for making such graphic works were at home in the art of decorative historical painting or in various branches of applied graphic art. The uninterrupted advancement of Czech, Serbian and Romanian troops, as well as the acute economic and social crisis that came about as a result of the war weakened the government's position. Under such circumstances, the government handed over the power to the socialdemocrats and communists on 21 March 1919. The new power, the Hungarian Soviet Republic voted in favour of the armed resistance, while hoping to be assisted by the Soviets in Russia. Being in unfavourable military situation and not getting any help, the Hungarian Soviet Republic, despite the early victories against the Czechs, suffered a defeat and fell at the end of July 1919. The counter-revolution that came to power in the autumn of 1919 comprised mainly the leading strata of the former society, who not having the necessary military power, continued the propaganda that started during the Károlyi government for protecting the borders of the historic Hungary. They rarely referred to the nationality principle, and if they did so, it was mainly for tactical reasons. The most influential social organisation of the propaganda remained the League of Territorial Defence. The National Propaganda Committee was not set up again, a propaganda ministry was working instead until December 1919. Various obstacles, however, hindered the distribution of propaganda material abroad. Until signing the peace treaty, the victorious nations refused Hungarian propaganda actions. In neutral countries (Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden), on the other hand, which were of less importance from the point of view of the propaganda, the Hungarian domestic political situation - red terror of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in the summer of 1919, and later the white terror of the counter-revolution in the autumn of 1919 - hindered the propagation of the Hungarian position. Since the propaganda actions were not crowned with success, the government in order to normalise the situtation of the country, was compelled to accept a dictated peace in which not only the historic boundaries were lost together with two thirds of the country's territory, but millions of ex-inhabitants who were Hungarian by nation found themselves living in one of the succession states, outside Hungary. Signing the peace treaty brought about rising tensions between the government and the organisations propagating the cause of territorial defence. The government tried to consolidate the situation, whilst the societies could not come to terms with the dictated peace. Having ratified the peace, the government dissolved the organisations that propagated territorial defence. The radical ones were entirely dissolved, whilst the moderate ones were incoiporatcd into a central society which was controlled by the government. The system of arguments on the basis of pamphlets and graphic works will be analysed in the second part of the essay and will be published in the next issue of the yearbook together with the evaluative summary of the propaganda. 95