Slovak-Hungarian relations - lorant

lorant — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:39:16 +01:00

Dear Lubos,

I believe - and I am sure you do too - that as Europeans we are entitled to settle our disputes in a peaceful way. I agree with you on that the bringing up of the Benes-Decrees was not a wise step either from Bratislava or from Budapest. It is far more than clear that this issue was used to build political popularity on it on both sides. Therefore, the best would be, as I think you just suggested, to settle this problem for good and continue living next to each other as good neighbours.

On a more substantive point, however, I am afraid I cannot share your views. Some points of the Benes-Decrees were indeed very harmful for the Slovak-Hungarian and Slovak-German relations. Some points of the Benes-decrees do indeed raise the problem of collective guilt which is indeed unacceptable (at least hopefully) for most of the Europeans in the 21st century. For these reasons I do not think that the Slovak parliament adopted a good solution to find the way out. What they did was to freeze the current status quo in the bilateral relations already charged with some tensions if not degrading them even more. Honestly I do not think that this is a "sane" thing to do.

"Germans and Hungarians were indeed treated as both the originators of the war as well as the members of the nations that lost the war. It would have surely been better if culprits could have been punished individually but their huge number has simply made such a precision solution impossible."

I hope we can agree on the point that WWII was the most terrible chapter in the history of Europe in the 20th century. Whether it is wise to say that Germans (and Hungarians) were treated as originators of the war (do you mean every single German and Hungarian?) and therefore it was okay to confiscate their property is somewhat troubling for me. Would it be the same to say that because the PKK caused many Turks suffer, it is perfectly justified to say that all Kurd property should be confiscated in Turkey? I do not see it like that. It would just drive us back to the good old notions of collective guilt, wouldn't it?

"If there is a consensus that some/all displaced Hungarians or Germans should be compensated, they should be clearly compensated by the Hungarian or German governments. Expecting anything else means to return the bloody past to the present. There are way too many other bad things that Hungarians and Germans did to Slovaks and Czechs."

Compensation is not a viable solution. It would just create even more tensions on both sides. However, I do think that an official apology from Bratislava and Prague would do for most of the victims. To say that what happened in the past was inhuman and that it would never happen again. On the same note I would really expect the Hungarian side to do the same in connection with the Slovaks and Czechs suffered any damage in connection with any Hungarian action during WWII. There are way too many bad things the people in Central Europe did to each other and keep on doing them. Unfortunately this is true for all of the nations, I don't think that there are "good" and "bad" nations, as there are lot of good people in both of our countries and some bad who occasionally dress up as politicians and make us believe that others are worse then us. All in all, we just speak a different language.

I am still convinced that the Benes-Decrees should be talked about and should be withdrawn. Forgetting the bad things is the biggest trap of history in which peoples of this part of the globe just keep on falling. To debate those decrees would be a really good solution not to forget our dark past in order to make our futures brighter.

Best regards,

Lóránt

Slovak-Hungarian relations - Lubos Motl

Lubos Motl — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:42:52 +02:00

Re-opening the Benes decrees is nothing else than a step to destabilize the property rights in Slovakia, Czechia, and maybe Central Europe in general, and a step to return us closer to a revival of the second world war. I am surely no fan of the Slovak National Party but whether they're behind it or not, the resolution is a sane one. After the war, Germans and Hungarians were indeed treated as both the originators of the war as well as the members of the nations that lost the war. It would have surely been better if culprits could have been punished individually but their huge number has simply made such a precision solution impossible. If there is a consensus that some/all displaced Hungarians or Germans should be compensated, they should be clearly compensated by the Hungarian or German governments. Expecting anything else means to return the bloody past to the present. There are way too many other bad things that Hungarians and Germans did to Slovaks and Czechs. I assure you that accepting the current state of affairs including the facts about the history and including the validity of the laws behind the status quote - including the Benes decrees - is the most peaceful approach that Europe can make.

Budapest - Slovak-Hungarian relations - Comments

Slovak-Hungarian relations - lorant

Slovak-Hungarian relations - Lubos Motl