Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.32728/flux.2020.2.1
Living in the Vicinity of the Yugoslav–Hungarian Border (1945–1960): Breaks and Continuities. A Case Study of Hercegszántó (Santovo)
Péter Vukman
; University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
Abstract
The history of Hungarian–Yugoslav relations was characterized by frequent changes after 1945. The rapid improvement of bilateral relations was abruptly interrupted by the escalation of the Soviet–Yugoslav conflict in 1948–1949. Tensions eased only after 1953 when a slow and time-consuming process of normalization started between the two states. These often-dramatic twists and turns had a profound and often intense impact on the everyday lives of those Hungarians and ethnic South Slavs who lived in the vicinity of the Hungarian–Yugoslav border. Breaks, changes, and continuities can all be observed at the local level. In this article, I will examine these factors in the case of South Slavic minorities living in Hercegszántó (Santovo), a village located in an area known as the Baja triangle. In the first part of the paper, I will provide the reader with some background information on the history of Hungarian–Yugoslav relations, with a particular emphasis on minorities. Then in the second part, I will analyse the ethnic and social composition of the village, its history after World War II, the effects of rapidly deteriorating Hungarian–Yugoslav relations after 1948 and, finally, the hopes and fears of the local Magyars and South Slavs during the period of normalization (1953–1956). My conclusions are based on archival research mostly carried out at several Hungarian archives.
Keywords
Hungarian–Yugoslav relations after 1945; Soviet–Yugoslav conflict; South Slavic minorities in Hungary
Hrčak ID:
248609
URI
Publication date:
23.12.2020.
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