THE HUNGARIANS IN THE EYES OF THE SERBS DURING THE INTERWAR PERIOD
THE HUNGARIANS IN THE EYES OF THE SERBS DURING THE INTERWAR PERIOD

Summary/Abstract: Serbs and Hungarians have been neighboring nations for more than a millennium* . Over the course of last few centuries, historical circumstances have caused a substantial part of the Serbian population to intermix with Hungarians – and have yielded a significant number of historically memorable events. World War I ended with the Serbs as victors and the Hungarians among the defeated. This armed conflict between the two nations left deep consequences on their mutual relationship. The devastation which Hungarians wreaked upon Serbs during the war compounded the moderate distrust that Serbs had felt towards Hungarians during the interwar period. This distrust largely influenced the mutual sentiments of both peoples. Between the two World Wars, Serbs developed certain new views of Hungarians, but even more so strengthened the ones they held previously. Serbs of the time realized that Hungarians retained their national pride even between the two wars, yet that the Hungarian attitude towards Serbs had undergone certain change. The territorial dispute between Hungary as the national state of Hungarians, and Yugoslavia as a country predominantly populated by Serbs, constitued a major source of contention and misunderstanding between the two nations. The attitudes of the wider Serbian population towards Hungarians between the two wars are harder to determine because hardly any research of this period has been undertaken. What is available, however, are various personal i.e. subjective opinions recorded by diverse Serbian intellectuals of the time. The information these authors relied on stemmed from their contact with and studies of both Hungarians who lived in Hungary and the Yugoslav Hungarian minority, which mainly resided in the multinational region of Vojvodina. Between the two World Wars, Serbs held Hungarians in high esteem, considering them serious people who, aside from some warlike and crude traits, possessed good work habits, sensibility and integrity. This is evident in the fact that Serbs of the period created not a single pejorative or insulting song, witticism or aphorism in regards to Hungarians. To enable a better understanding and perhaps even closen ties between the two nations in the future, it would be beneficial to carry out more extensive research into the mutual relationship of Serbs and Hungarians, as well as of their respective cultural accomplishments – not only during the interwar period, but during other periods as well.

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