Mateusz Gniazdowski: Polish War Refugees on Slovak Territories Attached to Hungary after the First

Vienna Decision

The Hungárián reception of Polish refugees of the Second World War is one of the nicest and best known evidence of the Polish-Hungarian friendship. The Hungárián government evén one week before the breaking out of the war informed Hitler that from “morál reasons” Hungary could not participate in any military action oriented against Poland. The Hungarians did not evén agree that the Germán troops from Slovakia could cross Hungárián territories against Poland, so they could reach Lemberg more quickly. The Hungárián government was not evén willing to issue the declaration that agreed with the Germán attack against Poland.

After the attack against Poland a large number of Polish soldiers escaped from their country. About 45 thousand Polish soldiers found protection in Hungary, where the number of refugees reached evén 60 thousand. In many cases the Polish refugees found protection on the territories of today Slovakia that were after the first Vienna Decision attached to Hungary. The refugees were placed in Czechoslovak barracks, that lost their function, and in military dis-tricts of bordér- and custom-guards.

The costs relating to accommodation, food, and pocket money of refugees was covered by the Ministry of Defence and the competent military headquar-ters. The relationship between the single camps and military headquarters was kept by Polish officers. The Polish refugees were under the protection of the Polish embassy in Hungary, while the Red Cross and a lot of Hungárián, and/or Polish-Hungarian organisations assisted it.

Except for the military internment camps, camps for civil refugees were alsó set up in Hungary. The refugees were in many cases placed in houses of the local population in given villages. The local population everywhere warmly welcomed the Polish people that helped them to assimilate better. On the ter-ritory of South Slovakia that was attached to Hungary, 14 settlements accept-ed civil refugees within organisational frame: Érsekújvár, Dunamocs, Ebed, Párkány, Helemba, Leled, Garamkövesd, Ipolyság, Csfzfürdő, Rozsnyó, Garany and Csap that was after the war attached to the Soviet Unión.

Among the refugees there were a lot of young people and children. Their first school commenced in October 1939 in the largest refugee camp, in Nagykanizsa.

The Hungárián authorities prevailingly dealt with the Polish refugees espe-cially correctly, many times evén the camp commanders helped to escape Polish soldiers. At the beginning of 1940 daily 100-150 Polish soldiers got intő Francé from Hungary. Their escape was organised by Polish organisations in Hungary, but often alsó the local Hungárián population helped the escape of Polish people. Historians think that during the two years of the centrally organised “discrete evacuation” from Hungary to the West and Middle-East about 22 thousand people were helped to escape. Although the officers escaped mainly to the west, somé of the non-commissioned officers and common soldiers escaped to the direction of Poland through Slovakia.

In the camps, work meant noble activity. Polish people could find work eas-ily in agriculture, industry, but they alsó participated in badly paid public work-s. At the time of the Germán occupation of Hungary, work became especially important for the Polish people, since those soldiers who did not work were carried off to the territory of the Third Empire. Although the Hungárián employ-ers struggled to protect their Polish employees, alsó because of the fact that there was a lack of workers.

During the Second World War for the Polish resistance the Slovak-Hungarian borderland played an extremely important role. The messenger and man-smuggler route between the occupied Poland and Hungary led across the territory of today South Slovakia. This route ensured the relationships between the domestic resistance and emigration.