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125-555: Germans settled in the northern territory of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary (then called Upper Hungary , today mostly Slovakia) from the 12th to the 15th centuries ( see Ostsiedlung ), mostly after the 1241 Mongol invasion of Europe . There had probably already been some isolated settlers in the area of Pressburg (Pozsony, today's Bratislava ). The Germans were usually attracted by kings seeking specialists in various trades, such as craftsmen and miners. They usually settled in older Slavic market and mining settlements. Until approximately

250-479: A Croatian-Hungarian nobleman, Nikola IV Zrinski , Ban of Croatia, accomplished an attack on an Ottoman military camp at Siklós. Suleiman I held off his attack of Eger for the time being, and began to set off towards Nikola IV Zrinski's fortress at Szigetvár . From 2 August to 7 September, the Ottoman forces had laid siege to the fortress with a force, at the least, of 150,000 against Zrinski's 2,300 defenders. While

375-493: A Decree 100 nationalization decision was made by someone other than the minister the nationalization was invalid and subject to legal challenge. While hearing appeals of court decisions dealing with Decree 12 confiscations, the Constitutional Court held that courts must decide whether a confiscation decision was motivated by persecution and a decree used as a pretext. This applied to cases of those who remained in

500-558: A Slovak group declared it to be part of Czechoslovakia two days later. During the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938), Carpathian Germans had a specific political party, the Zipser German Party (1920–1938), led by Andor Nitsch, who was elected from 1925 to 1935 on a common Hungarian-German list for parliamentary elections. In 1929, the more nationalist-oriented Carpathian German Party (KdP)

625-410: A distinctive dialect, Outzäpsersch (German: Altzipserisch, literally "Old Zipserish"). In Dobsina, they spoke what they called Dobschauisch or Topschauisch . In Metzenseifen (Medzev), they spoke Mantak, but only a few dozen people speak it today. The German schools were closed after World War II in all former German-speaking towns, and children were forced to learn Slovak. German was not to be used in

750-598: A first campaign in 1347–1348 and a second in 1350. He eventually signed peace with Joanna in 1352. Louis also waged wars against the Serbian Empire and the Golden Horde , restoring the Hungarian monarchs' authority over territories along the frontiers which had been lost during the previous decades. In 1370 Louis's uncle, Casimir III of Poland , died without male issue. Louis succeeded him, thus establishing

875-600: A lesser extent) Slovakia. However, since the two countries were expected to become members of the European Union the issue was moot. Liechtenstein did not recognize Slovakia until 9 December 2009. Prime Minister Miloš Zeman said that the Czechs would not consider repealing the decrees because of an underlying fear that doing so would open the door to demands for restitution. According to Time , former Czech foreign minister Jan Kavan said: "Why should we single out

1000-511: A powerful Ottoman army. By 1541, the fall of Buda marked a further division of Hungary into three areas. The country remained divided until the end of the 17th century. In 1547, the Truce of Adrianople was signed between Charles V and Suleiman the Magnificent . Through this treaty, Ferdinand I of Austria and Charles V recognized total Ottoman control of Hungary, and agreed to pay to

1125-413: A renowned king who created many improvements in the Hungarian law system and who rebuilt the palaces of Buda and Visegrád. He brought materials from Austria and Bohemia and ordered the creation of the most luxurious building in all of central Europe. In his laws can be seen the traces of the early mercantilism . He worked hard to keep the nobility under his control. A great part of his reign was dedicated to

1250-514: A republic. The kingdom was nominally restored during the " Regency " of 1920–46, ending under the Soviet occupation in 1946. The Kingdom of Hungary was a multiethnic state from its inception until the Treaty of Trianon and it covered what is today Hungary , Slovakia , Transylvania and other parts of Romania , Carpathian Ruthenia (now part of Ukraine ), Vojvodina (now part of Serbia ),

1375-520: A result, almost all ethnic Germans and Hungarians, some of whom had ancestors who had lived in Czechoslovakia for centuries prior to World War II , or those who had settled there during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia lost their Czechoslovakian citizenship and property and were expelled from their homes , among others. Some of them died during the expulsion process which took place during

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1500-468: A review would lack legal purpose and cast doubt on the principle of legal certainty (an essential principle of democracies adhering to the rule of law ). Although under Decrees 12 and 108 confiscations were automatic on the basis of the decrees themselves, Decree 100 (nationalization of large enterprises) required a formal decision by the Minister of Industry. According to the Constitutional Court, if

1625-439: A symbol of bravery, justice and purity. He also venerated his uncle, Saint Louis of Toulouse . On the other hand, he gave importance to the cults of the princesses Saint Elizabeth and Saint Margaret , which added relevance to the lineage inheritance through the feminine branches. Charles restored the royal power which had fallen into feudal lords' hands, and then made the lords swear loyalty to him. For this, he founded in 1326

1750-487: The Battle of Mohács , however in the mid-19th century out of a population of 14 million less than 6 million were Hungarian due to the resettlement policies and continuous immigration from neighboring countries. Major territorial changes made Hungary ethnically homogeneous after World War I . More than nine-tenths of the population of modern Hungary is ethnically Hungarian and speaks Hungarian as their mother tongue. Today,

1875-649: The Czech Republic and Slovakia , and modern Germany . They were never repealed and are still used to confiscate property from Hungarians in Slovakia on the grounds that their ancestors should have lost their property. Beneš, who was elected president of Czechoslovakia in 1935, resigned after the Munich Agreement in 1938. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia Beneš and other Czechoslovak politicians and officials emigrated to France, establishing

2000-699: The Czechoslovak National Committee , in November 1939, to restore Czechoslovakia. The committee's primary task was to establish a Czechoslovak army in France. After the fall of France the committee moved to London , where it became the Interim Czechoslovak Government . The government was recognized as the interim Czechoslovak government by Great Britain on 21 July 1940 and in 1941 it was fully recognized by

2125-1182: The Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (DFDR/FDGR). Carpathian/Zipser Germans are mostly to be found in Maramuresch (across the Rodna Mountains and within Maramureș County more specifically), Bukovina , and elsewhere sparsely throughout Transylvania . In general, in Maramureș, the Zipsers were colonised in mining areas. The same applies for Bukovina, where Zipsers were also miners and lumberjacks. For example, in southern Bukovina (i.e. present-day Suceava County in northeastern Romania), several former Zipser German rural settlements include Iacobeni ( German : Jakobeny ), Cârlibaba ( German : Mariensee/Ludwigsdorf ), and Fundu Moldovei ( German : Louisenthal ). The Carpathian/Zipser Germans' settlements are located towards

2250-566: The German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II . They were issued by President Edvard Beneš from 21 July 1940 to 27 October 1945 and retroactively ratified by the Interim National Assembly of Czechoslovakia on 6 March 1946. The decrees dealt with various aspects of the restoration of Czechoslovakia and its legal system, denazification , and reconstruction of the country. In journalism and political history,

2375-718: The Hungarian Chamber , was directly subordinated to the Court Chamber in Vienna . The Hungarian language reform started under the reign of Joseph II . The reform age of Hungary was started by István Széchenyi a Hungarian noble, who built one of the greatest bridges of Hungary, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge . The official language remained Latin until 1836, when Hungarian was introduced. Between 1844 and 1849, and from 1867 onward, Hungarian became

2500-530: The Order of Saint George , which was the first secular chivalric order in the world, and included the most important noblemen of the Kingdom. Charles married four times. His fourth wife was Elizabeth , the daughter of Władysław I of Poland . When Charles died in 1342, his eldest son by Elizabeth succeeded him as Louis I . In the first years of his reign, Louis was advised closely by his mother, making her one of

2625-749: The Order of the Dragon , which included most of the relevant monarchs and noblemen of that region of Europe at that time. This was just a first step for what was coming. In 1410 he was elected King of the Romans , making him the supreme monarch over the German territories. He had to deal with the Hussite movement, a religious reformist group that was born in Bohemia, and he presided at the Council of Constance , where

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2750-656: The Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent annihilated the Hungarian army. In trying to escape, Louis II drowned in the Csele Creek. The leader of the Hungarian army, Pál Tomori , also died in the battle. Due to a serious defeat by the Ottomans ( Battle of Mohács ) the central authority collapsed. The majority of Hungary's ruling elite elected John Zápolya (10 November 1526). A small minority of aristocrats sided with Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor , who

2875-529: The Potsdam Agreement , and around 20,000 persons were allowed or forced to remain in Slovakia because they were able, on petition, to use the " Slovakisation " process, which meant that they declared themselves as Slovaks and either changed their names to Slovak equivalents or simply Slovakized them, and others were simply forced to remain because their skills were needed. Out of approximately 128,000 Germans in Slovakia in 1938, only some 20,000 (15.6% of

3000-657: The Red Army . The evacuation was mostly the initiative of Adalbert Wanhoff and prepared the diocese of the German Evangelical Church between mid-November 1944 and 21 January 1945. The Germans from Bratislava were evacuated in January and February 1945 after long delays, and those of the Hauerland fled at the end of March 1945. The Red Army reached Bratislava on 4 April 1945. After the war, one third of

3125-590: The Slovak Republic (1939–1945) , led by Tiso. The status of the Slovak Republic as a client state of Nazi Germany during World War II made life difficult for Carpathian Germans after the war. Nearly all remaining Germans had fled or were evacuated by the German authorities before the end of the war. Most Germans from Spiš were evacuated to Germany or the Sudetenland before the arrival of

3250-643: The United Nations Human Rights Committee , under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , reviewed a communication submitted by Josef Bergauer et al. The committee held that the covenant became effective in 1975 and its protocol in 1991. Since the covenant could not be applied retroactively, the committee held that the communication was inadmissible. After

3375-539: The siege turned into a victory for the Ottomans, it came at the cost of: 25,000 Ottoman soldiers and Suleiman I, who before the final battle of Szigetvár, due to natural causes of old age and illness. In the following centuries there were numerous attempts to push back the Ottoman forces, such as the Long War or Thirteen Years' War (29 July 1593 – 1604/11 November 1606) led by a coalition of Christian forces. In 1644

3500-628: The 11th century, the Kingdom of Hungary became a Christian state , and Catholicism in the Hungarian Kingdom was a state religion . After his death, a period of revolts and conflict for supremacy ensued between the royalty and the nobles. In 1051 armies of the Holy Roman Empire tried to conquer Hungary, but they were defeated at Vértes Mountain . The armies of the Holy Roman Empire continued to suffer defeats;

3625-980: The 15th century, the ruling classes of most cities in present-day Slovakia were almost exclusively composed of Germans. The main settlement areas were in the vicinity of Pressburg and some language islands in Szepes County (Hungarian: Szepesség ; German: Zips ; Latin: Scepusium , today Spiš region in Slovakia ) and the Hauerland regions. The settlers in the Szepes County were known as Zipser Sachsen ( Zipser Saxons , Hungarian: cipszerek ). Within Carpathian Ruthenia , they initially settled around Taracköz (German: Theresiental , today Teresva in Ukraine ) and Munkács (German: Munkatsch , today Mukachevo in Ukraine ). The Carpathian Germans, like

3750-526: The 1920 constitution, they were considered necessary by the Czechoslovak wartime and postwar authorities. On ratification by the Interim National Assembly, they became binding laws with retroactive validity and attempted to preserve Czechoslovak legal order during the occupation. Most of the decrees were abolished by later legislation (see the list below) or became obsolete by having served their purpose. Note: This list includes only decrees published in

3875-673: The Beneš Decrees? ... They belong to the past and should stay in the past. Many current members of the E.U. had similar laws." In 2009 eurosceptic Czech president Václav Klaus demanded an opt-out of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union , feeling that the charter would render the Beneš decrees illegal. In 2010, when Masaryk University erected a statue to Edvard Beneš, local journalist Michael Kašparek criticized

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4000-537: The Beneš decrees be repealed as a precondition for both countries' entrance to the European Union. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy eventually decided not to press the issue. In 2003 Liechtenstein , supported by Norway and Iceland , blocked an agreement about extending the European Economic Area because of the Beneš decrees and property disputes with the Czech Republic and (to

4125-650: The Bohemian king Otokar II during the 13th century or the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin at the turn of the ninth and tenth centuries. Loss of Czechoslovak citizenship was addressed in Decree 33 (see description above). Under article three of the decree, those who lost their citizenship could request its restoration within six months of the decree's promulgation and requests would be assessed by

4250-600: The Carpathian Basin in 895 and established the Principality of Hungary (896–1000). The Hungarians led several successful incursions to Western Europe, until they were stopped by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor in Battle of Lechfeld . The principality was succeeded by the Christian Kingdom of Hungary with the coronation of St Stephen I (son of principal Géza. Originally called Vajk until baptized) at Esztergom on Christmas Day 1000. The first kings of

4375-656: The Carpathian Mountains, westward in Bukovina and Suceava County. There were mostly mining communities. Today, sparse German communities still live in Bukovina/Suceava County, both Zipsers and Bukovina Germans , but their numbers are drastically dwindling. In Maramureș, Vișeu de Sus ( German : Oberwischau ) is still home to a small community of Zipser Germans (according to the 2011 Romanian census ) who are also politically represented in

4500-688: The Czech Republic during the postwar era. In Slovakia, some measures incorrectly called "Beneš decrees" were not presidential decrees but ordinances by the Slovak National Council (SNR). The confiscation of the agricultural property of Germans, Hungarians, traitors and enemies of the Slovak nation was not enforced by the Beneš decrees, but by the Ordinance of the SNR 104/1945; punishment of fascist criminals, occupiers, traitors and collaborators

4625-568: The Czech Republic. According to the applicants, "after the Second World War, they were expelled from their homeland in genocidal circumstances", their property was confiscated by Czechoslovak authorities, the Czech Republic failed to suspend the Beneš Decrees and had not compensated them. The court held that the expropriation took place long before the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights with respect to

4750-492: The Czech Republic. Since Article 1 of Protocol 1 does not guarantee the right to acquire property, although the Beneš Decrees remained part of Czech law the applicants had no claim under the convention against the Czech Republic to recover the confiscated property. According to the court, "it should be further noted that the case-law of the Czech courts made the restitution of property available even to persons expropriated contrary to

4875-780: The Czechoslovak Republic, they had not committed an offense against the Czech and Slovak nation, and that they had either actively participated in the liberation of Czechoslovakia or were subjected to Nazi or fascist terror. At the same time, Art 1(3) covered any persons notwithstanding ethnicity, including Czechs and Slovaks. Some 250,000 Germans, some anti-fascists exempted under the Decrees and others considered crucial to industry , remained in Czechoslovakia. Many ethnic German anti-fascists emigrated under an agreement drawn up by Alois Ullmann . Some of those affected held land settled by their ancestors since their invitation by

5000-552: The Fund for National Restoration. The Beneš decrees are associated with the 1945–47 deportation of about 3 million ethnic Germans and Hungarians from Czechoslovakia. The deportation, based on Article 12 of the Potsdam Agreement , was the outcome of negotiations between the Allied Control Council and the Czechoslovak government. The expulsion is considered ethnic cleansing (a term in widespread use since

5125-522: The Habsburg Empire, and its constitution was kept, even though it was only a formality. After the departure of the Ottomans, the Habsburgs dominated the Hungarian Kingdom. The Hungarians' renewed desire for freedom led to Rákóczi's War for Independence. The most important reasons of the war were the new and higher taxes and a renewed Protestant movement. Rákóczi was a Hungarian nobleman, son of

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5250-549: The Hungarian nobility, Sigismund soon became victim of an attempt against his rule, and Ladislaus of Anjou-Durazzo (the son of the murdered King of Naples Charles II of Hungary) was called in and crowned. Since the ceremony was not performed with the Hungarian Holy Crown, and in the city of Székesfehérvár , it was considered illegitimate. Ladislaus stayed only few days in Hungarian territory and soon left it, no longer an inconvenience for Sigismund. In 1408 he founded

5375-536: The Hungarian throne after the Battle of Mohács in 1526 continuously until 1918 and also played a key role in the liberation wars against the Ottoman Empire. From 1867, territories connected to the Hungarian crown were incorporated into Austria-Hungary under the name of Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen . The monarchy ended with the deposition of the last king Charles IV in 1918, after which Hungary became

5500-455: The Hungarians acclaimed him as the "Second Founder of the Homeland", and the Hungarian Kingdom again became a considerable force in Europe. In 1260 Béla IV lost the War of Babenberg Succession, his army was defeated at the Battle of Kressenbrunn by the united Bohemian forces. However, in 1278, Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Austrian troops fully destroyed the Bohemian army at the Battle on the Marchfeld . The Árpád dynasty died out in 1301 with

5625-539: The Interior Ministry. On 13 April 1948 the Czechoslovak government issued Regulation 76/1948 Coll., lengthening the window for requesting reinstatement of Czechoslovak citizenship under Decree 33 to three years. Under this regulation, the Interior Ministry was bound to restore an applicant's citizenship unless it could determine that they had breached the "duties of a Czechoslovak citizen"; the applicant may have been requested also to prove "adequate" knowledge of Czech or Slovak language. On 25 October 1948 Act 245/1948 Coll.

5750-443: The King of Hungary and Archduke of Austria. In 1708, the Habsburgs finally defeated the main Hungarian army at Battle of Trencsén , and this diminished the further effectiveness of the Kuruc army. While the Hungarians were exhausted by the fights, the Austrians defeated the French army in the War of the Spanish Succession . They could send more troops to Hungary against the rebels. Transylvania became part of Hungary again starting at

5875-409: The Kingdom were extensively worked and soon Hungary reached a prominent standing in European gold production. The forint was introduced as a currency, replacing the denars , and soon after Charles's reforms were implemented, the economy of the Kingdom started to prosper again, having fallen into a parlous state following the Mongol invasion. Charles exalted the cult to Saint Ladislaus I, using him as

6000-405: The Nazis through the Sudeten German Party (led by Konrad Henlein ) and the 1938 German annexation of the Sudetenland . Most ethnic Germans of the Sudetenland , many of whom had wished their region to stay as part of Austria in 1919, failed to follow the mobilization order when Czechoslovakia was threatened with war by Hitler in 1938, crippling the army's defensive capabilities . In general,

6125-411: The Ottoman and Wallachian troops at the Battle of Breadfield . The army of Hungary destroyed its enemies almost every time when Matthias was king. Matthias died without legitimate heir, and was thus succeeded by Vladislaus II Jagiellon (1490–1516), the son of Casimir IV of Poland . In turn, Vladislaus was succeeded by his son Louis II (1516–26). In 1526, at the Battle of Mohács , the forces of

6250-405: The Ottomans a yearly tribute of 30,000 gold florins for their Habsburg possessions in northern and western Hungary. On 1 May 1566, Suleiman I led an Ottoman invasion of Habsburg-controlled Hungary, the Ottoman forces of which was one of the most sizable armies he had led in his rule of 46 years. After reaching Belgrade and met with John II Sigismund Zápolya on 27 June, Suleiman I learned that

6375-429: The Presidential Decrees, thus providing for the reparation of acts which contravened the law then in force. The Czech judiciary thus provides protection extending beyond the standards of the Convention." The validity of the Beneš decrees was first reviewed at the plenary session of the Czech Constitutional Court in its decisions of 8 March 1995, published as Decisions No. 5/1995 Coll. and 14/1995 Coll. The court addressed

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6500-480: The SNR. On 4 April 1945 a new government was created in Košice , Slovakia (recently liberated by the Red Army ), consisting of parties united in the National Front and strongly influenced by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia . The president's power to enact decrees (as proposed by the government) remained in force until 27 October 1945, when the Interim National Assembly convened. The decrees may be divided as follows: Although decrees were not covered by

6625-405: The Slovak government: Karpatenblatt (monthly) and IKEJA news (Internet). There is also minority broadcasting in German on the Slovak radio. After the war, their countrymen, now living in Germany and Austria, founded cultural associations as well. There is also a Carpathian German Landsmannschaft of North America . Amongst prominent member ethnic Germans in postwar Slovakia is Rudolf Schuster ,

6750-424: The Slovak parliament Pavol Hrušovský said that Slovakia was ready to apologize for postwar injustices if Hungary would do likewise. Although Hungarian National Assembly Speaker Katalin Szili approved his initiative, further steps were not taken. In 2005 Mikloško apologized for injustices on his own, and similar unofficial apologies were made by representatives of both sides. According to Radio Prague , since

6875-414: The Slovaks, were subjected to policies of Magyarization in the latter half of the 19th and the early the 20th century. Furthermore, many Carpathian Germans voluntarily magyarized their names to climb the social and economic ladder. On 28 October 1918, the National Council of Carpathian Germans in Késmárk (German: Käsmark , today Kežmarok , Slovakia ) declared their loyalty to the Kingdom of Hungary, but

7000-544: The Sudetenland after the Munich Agreement (gaining German citizenship while remaining loyal to Czechoslovakia) and those convicted as traitors whose convictions were later overturned (with their property confiscated in the meantime). Slovakia, as a legal successor of Czechoslovakia, adopted its legal order by Article 152 of the Slovak constitution. This includes the Beneš decrees and Czechoslovak Constitutional Act 23/1991 (the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms). This act made all acts or regulations not compliant with

7125-431: The U.S. and the USSR as the government of the allied state. Since its recognition in 1940, the government issued decrees to rule over Czechoslovak citizens abroad. Beneš and other Czechoslovak politicians blamed the national minorities (Hungarians and Germans) for the collapse of Czechoslovakia, which was why they wanted to create an ethnically homogeneous nation-state. According to the Czechoslovak constitution of 1920,

7250-469: The Velvet Revolution Czechoslovakia also adopted Act 87/1991 Coll., providing restitution or compensation to victims of confiscation for political reasons during the Communist regime (25 February 1948 – 1 January 1990). The law also provided for restitution or compensation to victims of racial persecution during World War II who are entitled by Decree 5/1945. In 2002 the UN Human Rights Committee stated its views in Brokova v. The Czech Republic , in which

7375-410: The Winter Campaign by Miklós Zrínyi burnt the crucial Suleiman Bridge of Osijek in eastern Slavonia , interrupting a Turkish supply line in Hungary. At the Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664) , Austrians and Hungarians defeated the Turkish army. After the Ottoman siege of Vienna failed in 1683, the Habsburgs went on the offensive against the Turks. By the end of the 17th century, they managed to invade

7500-576: The anarchy, then Otto III , who was forced to leave by the Kán family . Charles, remaining as the only candidate, was finally crowned King Charles I in 1310. His famous battle at Rozgony , described as "most cruel battle since the Mongol invasion of Europe " by the Chronicon Pictum , ended his war of reunification . He implemented considerable economic reforms and defeated the remaining nobility who were in opposition to royal rule, led by Máté Csák III . The kingdom of Hungary reached an age of prosperity and stability under Charles I. The gold mines of

7625-420: The applicant was refused restitution of property nationalized under Decree 100 (nationalization of large enterprises). Brokova was excluded from restitution, although the Czech nationalization in 1946–47 could be implemented only because the author's property had been confiscated during the German occupation. In the committee's view, this was discriminatory treatment of the plaintiff compared to those whose property

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7750-412: The campaigns of the Hungarian general, Artúr Görgey , forced the Austrians on the defensive. One of the most famous battles of the revolution, the Battle of Pákozd , was fought on 29 September 1848, when the Hungarian revolutionary army led by Lieutenant-General János Móga defeated the troops of the Croatian Ban Josip Jelačić . Fearing defeat, the Austrians pleaded for Russian help. The combined forces of

7875-404: The charter inoperable. Although the Beneš decrees are a valid historical part of Slovak law, they can no longer create legal relationships and have been ineffective since 31 December 1991. On 20 September 2007, the Slovak parliament adopted a resolution concerning the untouchability of postwar documents relating to conditions in Slovakia after World War II. The resolution was originally proposed by

8000-400: The city of Fiume ), Regno d'Ungheria . In Austria-Hungary (1867–1918), the unofficial name Transleithania was sometimes used to denote the regions of the Kingdom of Hungary. Officially, the term Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen was included for the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary, although this term was also in use prior to that time. The Hungarians, led by Árpád , settled

8125-467: The city to a hill "Švédské šance", where they were forced to dig their own graves and then were shot. The massacre did not become publicly known until the fall of the communist regime in 1989. On 2 August 1945, Carpathian Germans lost the rights of citizenship, by Beneš decree no. 33, and they were interned in camps such as in Bratislava-Petržalka, Nováky , and in Krickerhau Handlová . In 1946 and 1947, about 33,000 people were expelled from Slovakia under

8250-455: The country's second president (1999–2004). Others e.g. The isolation of the German from countries in which German has been standardised ( Germany , Austria , and Switzerland ) has caused many obscure German dialects to continue to exist in Slovakia, but many are in danger of extinction. In the Upper and Lower Zips regions (and later in Romania), the Zipser Germans spoke Zipserisch . A community of speakers remains in Hopgarten and speaks

8375-525: The court decides that the execution shall be carried out publicly. The decree does not concern Germans and Hungarians who This was reviewed by the Ministry of Interior; or in cases of German/Hungarian soldiers serving in the Czechoslovak army abroad, by Ministry of Defense, with presumption of fulfillment of the conditions. Czechs and Slovaks who elected German/Hungarian nationality under duress may request exemption by Ministry of Interior. Married women and children to be assessed individually. Establishment of

8500-434: The day of the act's promulgation automatically regained their citizenship. This also applied to spouses and children living in Czechoslovakia with no other citizenship. For comparison, any person may currently be granted Czech citizenship if they: After the Velvet Revolution Act 243/1992 Coll. was adopted, arranging restitution of real estate taken by the decrees or lost during the occupation. The act applied to: In 2010

8625-422: The death of Andrew III . Subsequently, Hungary was ruled by the Angevins until the end of the 14th century, and then by several non-dynastic rulers – notably Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor and Matthias Corvinus – until the early 16th century. When Andrew III's predecessor, Ladislaus IV , was assassinated in 1290, another nobleman was set up as titular King of Hungary: Charles Martel of Anjou . Charles Martel

8750-612: The decrees dealt with loss of citizenship and confiscation of the property of: The defining character in definition of the entities affected was their hostility to the Czechoslovak Republic and to the Czech and Slovak nations. The hostility presumption was irrebuttable in case of entities in the Art.1(1), while it is rebuttable under Art.1(2) in case of physical persons of German or Hungarian ethnicity, i.e. that they were exempted under Decrees 33 (loss of citizenship), 100 (nationalization of large enterprises without remuneration) and 108 (expropriation) where they proved that they remained loyal to

8875-402: The decrees which dealt with the status and property of Germans, Hungarians and traitors have not been repealed they still affect political relations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Austria, Germany and Hungary. Expellees in the Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft (part of the Federation of Expellees ) and associated political groups call for the abolition of the Beneš decrees based on

9000-720: The early 1990s) by a number of historians and legal scholars. The relevant decrees omit any reference to the deportation. Of the allies , the Soviet Union urged the United Kingdom and the U.S. to agree to the transfer of ethnic Germans and German-speaking Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, Yugoslavs and Romanians into their zones of occupation. France, which was not a party to the Potsdam Agreement, did not accept exiles in its zone of occupation after July 1945. Most ethnic-German Czechoslovak citizens had supported

9125-514: The end of the 17th century, and was led by governors. In 1711, Austrian Emperor Charles VI became the next ruler of Hungary. Throughout the 18th century, the Kingdom of Hungary had its own diet (parliament) and constitution, but the members of the Governor's Council ( Helytartótanács , the office of the palatine ) were appointed by the Habsburg monarch, and the superior economic institution,

9250-514: The evacuated or fugitive Germans returned to Slovakia. However on 18–19 June 1945, in the Přerov incident in Czechoslovakia , 71 men, 120 women and 74 children (265 Germans) who were Carpathian Germans from Dobšiná were murdered while they were passing through Horní Moštěnice , near Přerov railway station. After being taken out of the train by Czechoslovak soldiers, they were marched outside

9375-476: The exclusively used official language. The European revolutions of 1848 swept into Hungary, as well. The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 sought to redress the long suppressed desire for political change, namely independence. The Hungarian National Guard was created by young Hungarian patriots in 1848. In literature, this was best expressed by the greatest poet of the revolution, Sándor Petőfi . As war broke out with Austria, Hungarian military successes, which included

9500-557: The feast day of the first king Stephen I (20 August) is a national holiday in Hungary, commemorating the foundation of the state (Foundation Day). The Latin forms Regnum Hungariae or Ungarie ( Regnum meaning kingdom); Regnum Marianum (Kingdom of Mary ); or simply Hungaria , were the names used in official documents in Latin from the beginning of the kingdom to the 1840s. The German name Königreich Ungarn

9625-491: The fight with the Ottoman Empire, which started to extend its frontiers and influence to Europe. In 1396 was fought the Battle of Nicopolis against the Ottomans, which resulted in a defeat for the Hungarian-French forces led by Sigismund and Philip of Artois, Count of Eu . However, Sigismund continued to successfully contain the Ottoman forces outside of the Kingdom for the rest of his life. Losing popularity among

9750-529: The first union of Hungary and Poland . This lasted until 1382 when Louis himself died without male issue; his two daughters, Mary and Jadwiga , then ascended the thrones of Hungary and Poland respectively. Louis I of Hungary always kept good and close relationships with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg and finally proclaimed Charles's son Sigismund of Luxembourg to succeed him as King of Hungary. Sigismund became

9875-461: The following issues concerning the decrees' validity: The conformity of the decree process with the Czechoslovak law and the 1920 Constitution; Beneš' right to issue the decrees, despite the existence of a formal protectorate government and German occupation decrees appropriate for the time of their issuance, in accordance with international consensus; decrees using the principle of responsibility, rather than guilt; decrees targeting those hostile to

10000-672: The government in exile according to the 1920 Czechoslovak constitution and co-signed by the prime minister or a delegated minister. The decrees' validity was subject to later ratification by the National Assembly. Beginning on September 1, 1944 (after the Slovak National Uprising ) the Slovak National Council (SNR) held legislative and executive power in Slovakia, later differentiating between statewide acts and other regulations; presidential decrees were valid in Slovakia only if they explicitly mentioned agreement by

10125-554: The inequality of power relations, led by Francis II Rákóczi (II. Rákóczi Ferenc in Hungarian). Its main aims were to protect the rights of the different social orders, and to ensure the economic and social development of the country. Due to the adverse balance of forces, the political situation in Europe and internal conflicts the freedom fight was eventually suppressed, but it succeeded in keeping Hungary from becoming an integral part of

10250-643: The influence and meddling of the Holy Roman Empire in Hungary's affairs. At the time of the initial Ottoman encroachment, the Hungarians successfully resisted conquest. John Hunyadi was leader of the Crusade of Varna , in which the Hungarians tried to expel the Turks from the Balkans. Initially, they were successful, but later at the Battle of Varna , the Ottomans won a decisive if Pyrrhic victory . Wladyslaw III

10375-486: The kingdom were from the Árpád dynasty . He fought against Koppány and in 998, with Bavarian help, defeated him near Veszprém . The Catholic Church received powerful support from Stephen I, who with Christian Hungarians and German knights wanted a Christian kingdom established in Central Europe. Stephen I of Hungary was canonized as a Catholic saint in 1083 and an Eastern Orthodox saint in 2000. Around

10500-541: The late 1940s. The Beneš decrees were enforced differently in different parts of the country with some decrees being valid only in Bohemia and Moravia , while the ordinances of SNR were enforced in Slovakia . From April 5, 1945, the state declared that the minorities were to blame for the German occupation. Historically it has led to multiple human rights violations and was followed by hate crimes and internments . Germans and Hungarians who had become homeless due to

10625-531: The laws were then subjected to forced labour. It became possible to expropriate their businesses without compensation, and a new constitutional decree allowed the detention of persons deemed "untrustworthy" by the authorities. The decrees also allowed Hungarian civil servants to be dismissed, health care to be withdrawn, the use of the Hungarian language in public offices and church services to be banned , Hungarian students to be excluded from universities , Hungarian cultural and social associations to be dissolved,

10750-560: The legendary heroine Ilona Zrínyi . He spent a part of his youth in Austrian captivity. The Kurucs were troops of Rákóczi. Initially, the Kuruc army attained several important victories due to their superior light cavalry. Their weapons were mostly pistols, light sabre and fokos . At the Battle of Saint Gotthard (1705) , János Bottyán decisively defeated the Austrian army. The Hungarian colonel Ádám Balogh nearly captured Joseph I ,

10875-480: The most influential personalities in the Kingdom. Charles had arranged the marriage of his second son, Andrew , with his cousin Joanna , the granddaughter of King Robert of Naples , in 1332. Robert died in 1343, bequeathing his kingdom to Joanna but excluding the claim of Andrew. In 1345, a group of noble Neapolitan conspirators murdered Andrew at Aversa . Almost immediately, Louis declared war on Naples , conducting

11000-465: The move because of what he dubbed " Expel Them All, Let God Sort Them Out! " decrees. In January 2013 conservative Czech presidential candidate Karel Schwarzenberg said, "What we committed in 1945 would today be considered a grave violation of human rights , and the Czechoslovak government, along with President Beneš, would have found themselves in The Hague ." His opponent, Miloš Zeman, seized on

11125-535: The official Collection of Laws of Czechoslovakia after the liberation in 1945.Other (not re-published) decrees were ineffective in the liberated Czechoslovakia already in 1945. Yellow color marks constitutional decrees. Red color marks decrees that were later formally abolished. Establishes extraordinary courts, to decide cases in senates consisting of a presiding professional judge and four lay judges . No possibility of appeal. Death sentence to be carried out within 2 hours of sentencing, or within 24 hours if

11250-598: The only body with the power to issue the laws was the National Assembly (parliament) with each law being contrasigned by the president. As there was no way to summon the parliament in exile, the only body with limited legislative power was the office of the president. The legality of the whole government-in-exile was therefore derived from the person of Edvard Beneš who, nevertheless, resigned his office in October 1938. Beneš returned to his post as president on

11375-756: The postwar order, declaring that postwar decisions are not the basis of current discrimination and cannot establish legal relationships. The resolution was adopted by an absolute parliamentary majority and approved by the coalition government and opposition parties, except for the Party of the Hungarian Coalition . It prompted a strong negative reaction in Hungary, and Hungarian President László Sólyom said that it would strain Hungarian-Slovak relations. Politicians and journalists have frequently ignored differences in conditions between Slovakia and

11500-413: The precise terms of this relationship became a matter of dispute in the 19th century, it is believed that Coloman created a kind of personal union between the two kingdoms . The nature of the relationship varied through time, Croatia retained a large degree of internal autonomy overall, while the real power rested in the hands of the local nobility. Modern Croatian and Hungarian historiographies mostly view

11625-490: The premise that his 1938 resignation under duress was invalid. He then appointed members of the government-in-exile and the State Council. Because his presidential term should have ended in 1942, the government adopted a resolution that Beneš would remain president until new elections could be held. Although Beneš alone issued Decree No. 1/1940 (on the establishment of the government), all later decrees were proposed by

11750-560: The prewar total) remained by 1947. The citizenship rules of the Beneš decrees were revoked in 1948 but not the expropriations. According to national censuses, there were 6,108 (0.11%) Germans in Slovakia in 2007, 5,405 in 2001, 5,414 in 1991 and 2,918 in 1980. A Carpathian German Homeland Association has been created to maintain traditions, and since 2005, there is also a museum of culture of Carpathian Germans in Bratislava. There are two German-language media that are assisted financially by

11875-588: The principle of collective guilt . On 28 December 1989 future Czechoslovak president Václav Havel , at that time a candidate, suggested that former inhabitants of the Sudetenland might apply for Czech nationality to reclaim their lost property. The governments of Germany and the Czech Republic signed a declaration of mutual apology for wartime misdeeds in 1997. During the early 2000s, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán , Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber demanded that

12000-583: The principles of law. In 1241, Hungary was invaded by the Mongols and while the first minor battles with Subutai's vanguard probes ended in seeming Hungarian victories, the Mongols finally destroyed the combined Hungarian and Cuman armies at the Battle of Muhi . In 1242, after the end of the Mongol invasion, numerous fortresses to defend against future invasion were erected by Béla IV of Hungary . In gratitude,

12125-545: The publication of books and newspapers in Hungarian to be banned, and ethnic Hungarians were not even to be allowed to start civil procedures . Anyone who had documents proving their Slavic nationality was rewarded with the option to move into the confiscated houses. The state sought to create an ethnically Slavic nation on the territory of present-day Czechia and Slovakia through Slavicisation . The ongoing process of Slovakization has not received international media attention. The decrees remain politically controversial in both

12250-424: The reassessment of their common relationship by a commission of Slovak and Hungarian historians. Although the initiative was hoped to lead to a common memorandum about the limitation of mutual injustices, it did not have the expected result. On February 12, 1991, the Slovak National Council formally apologized for postwar persecution of innocent Germans, rejecting the principle of collective guilt. In 2003, speaker of

12375-412: The relations between Kingdom of Croatia (1102–1526) and Kingdom of Hungary from 1102 as a form of a personal union , i.e. that they were connected by a common king. Also, one of the greatest Hungarian jurists and statesmen of the 16th century, István Werbőczy in his work Tripartitum treats Croatia as a kingdom separate to Hungary. Especially Arabic and Byzantine travelers from this time praised

12500-433: The remainder of the historical Kingdom of Hungary and the principality of Transylvania. For a while in 1686, the capital Buda was again free from the Ottoman Empire, with the aid of other Europeans. Rákóczi's War for Independence (1703–1711) was the first significant freedom fight in Hungary against absolutist Habsburg rule. It was fought by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives who wanted to put an end to

12625-404: The republic, not an ethnic group in general; decrees meeting the proportionality test; In Decision 14/1995 Coll. the court held that the decree at issue was legitimate. It found that since the decree has fulfilled its purpose and has not produced legal effects for more than four decades, it may not be reviewed by the court for its adherence to the 1992 Czech constitution. In the court's view, such

12750-473: The richness country, the dense pastures, the nicely cultivated lands, the plentiful animals in waters and forests. They said that the wheat is cheap, the markets are populous, the cities flourish and the folk are wealthy. Although it is hardly credible that they refer to all layers of society, the documents were inspired by the reality. In 1222 Andrew II of Hungary issued the Golden Bull which laid down

12875-470: The second greatest battle was at the town now called Bratislava , in 1052. Before 1052 Peter Orseolo, a supporter of the Holy Roman Empire , was overthrown by king Samuel Aba of Hungary . This period of revolts ended during the reign of Béla I . Hungarian chroniclers praised Béla I for introducing new currency, such as the silver denarius, and for his benevolence to the former followers of his nephew, Solomon. The second greatest Hungarian king, also from

13000-474: The support of the Ottoman Sultan. A three-sided conflict ensued as Ferdinand moved to assert his rule over as much of the Hungarian kingdom as he could. By 1529 the kingdom had been split into two parts: Habsburg Hungary and the "eastern-Kingdom of Hungary". At this time there were no Ottomans on Hungarian territories, except Srem's important castles. In 1532, Nikola Jurišić defended Kőszeg and stopped

13125-503: The term "Beneš decrees" refers to the decrees of the president and the ordinances of the Slovak National Council (SNR) concerning the status of ethnic Germans , Hungarians and others in postwar Czechoslovakia and represented Czechoslovakia's legal framework for the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia . It was based on the international Potsdam Agreement. The decrees treated German and Hungarian citizens as collective criminals, enforcing racial segregation and disenfranchisement. As

13250-510: The territory of Burgenland (now part of Austria ), Međimurje (now part of Croatia ), Prekmurje (now part of Slovenia ) and a few villages which are now part of Poland . From 1102 it also included the Kingdom of Croatia , being in personal union with it, united under the King of Hungary . According to the demographers, about 80 percent of the population was made up of Hungarians before

13375-676: The theologist founder Jan Hus , was judged. In 1419 Sigismund inherited the Crown of Bohemia after the death of his brother Wenceslaus of Luxembourg , obtaining the formal control of three medieval states, but he struggled for control of Bohemia until the peace agreement with the Hussites and his coronation in 1436. In 1433 was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope and ruled until his death in 1437, leaving as his only heir his daughter Elizabeth of Luxembourg and her husband. The marriage of Elizabeth

13500-544: The town's council by one councillor stemming from the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (DFDR/FDGR). Kingdom of Hungary (1000%E2%80%931526) The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen I at Esztergom around

13625-545: The two empires quelled the revolution. The desired political changes of 1848 were again suppressed until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 . Population 1910 (Kingdom of Hungary without Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ) Bene%C5%A1 decrees The Beneš decrees were a series of laws drafted by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during

13750-461: The ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party in response to the activities of Hungarian members of parliament and organizations in Hungary. The Beneš decrees were a significant talking point of the Hungarian extremist groups Magyar Gárda and Nemzeti Őrsereg , which became active in August 2007. The approved text differed from the proposal in several important respects. The resolution commemorated

13875-439: The victims of World War II, refused the principle of collective guilt, expressed a desire to stop the reopening of topics related to World War II in the context of European integration and declared a wish to build good relationships with Slovakia's neighbors. It also rejected all attempts at revision and questioning of laws, decrees, agreements or other postwar decisions of Slovak and Czechoslovak bodies which could lead to changes in

14000-442: The workplace or even publicly on the street. The German minority in Slovakia has more or less always constantly been decreasing since the late 19th century onwards, according to the official Slovak national censuses. After 1947, their numbers gradually shrank even more in the wake of the expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II. The Carpathian and other German groups in Romania are currently represented by

14125-507: The year 1000; his family (the Árpád dynasty ) led the monarchy for 300 years. By the 12th century, the kingdom became a European power. Due to the Ottoman occupation of the central and southern territories of Hungary in the 16th century, the country was partitioned into three parts: the Habsburg Royal Hungary , Ottoman Hungary , and the semi-independent Principality of Transylvania . The House of Habsburg held

14250-592: The Árpád dynasty, was Ladislaus I of Hungary , who stabilized and strengthened the kingdom. He was also canonized as a saint. Under his rule Hungarians successfully fought against the Cumans and acquired parts of Croatia in 1091. Due to a dynastic crisis in Croatia, with the help of the local nobility who supported his claim, he managed to swiftly seize power in northern parts of the Croatian kingdom ( Slavonia ), as he

14375-527: Was Archduke of Austria , and was related to Louis by marriage. Due to previous agreements that the Habsburgs would take the Hungarian throne if Louis died without heirs, Ferdinand was elected king by a rump diet in December 1526. Although the borders shifted frequently during this period, the three parts can be identified, more or less, as follows: On 29 February 1528, King John I of Hungary received

14500-469: Was a claimant to the throne due to the fact that his sister was married to the late Croatian king Zvonimir who died without an heir. However, kingship over all of Croatia would not be achieved until the reign of his successor Coloman . With the coronation of King Coloman as " King of Croatia and Dalmatia " in Biograd in 1102, the two kingdoms of Croatia and Hungary were united under one crown. Although

14625-477: Was adopted, in which ethnic Hungarians who were Czechoslovak citizens on 1 November 1938 and lived in Czechoslovakia at the time of the act's promulgation could regain Czechoslovak citizenship if they pledged allegiance to the Republic within 90 days. Taking the oath would, according to German laws valid at the time in 1948, automatically lead to loss of German citizenship. On 13 July 1949, Act 194/1949 Coll.

14750-553: Was adopted. Under article three of the act, the Interior Ministry could bestow citizenship on applicants who had not committed an offence against Czechoslovakia or the people's democracy, had lived in the country for at least five years, and who would lose their other citizenship by receiving the Czechoslovak one. On 24 April 1953, Act 34/1953 Coll. was adopted. Under this act, ethnic Germans who lost Czechoslovak citizenship under Decree 33 and were living in Czechoslovakia on

14875-610: Was arranged with the Duke Albert V of Austria , who was later crowned as King Albert of Hungary in 1437. The Hungarian kingdom's golden age was during the reign of Matthias Corvinus (1458–1490), the son of John Hunyadi . His nickname was "Matthias the Just". He further improved the Hungarian economy and practised astute diplomacy in place of military action whenever possible. Matthias did undertake campaigning when necessary. From 1485 until his death, he occupied Vienna, aiming to limit

15000-401: Was based on the Ordinance of the SNR 33/1945. The Beneš decrees and SNR ordinances sometimes contained different solutions. The list of decrees which have never been valid in Slovakia contains several with a significant impact on German and Hungarian minorities in the Czech lands: In 1990 the speakers of the Slovak and Hungarian parliaments, František Mikloško and György Szabad , agreed on

15125-578: Was confiscated by Nazi authorities and not nationalized immediately after the war (and who, therefore, could benefit from the laws of 1991 and 1994). The committee found that Brokova was denied her right to equal protection under the law, in violation of article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights refused the application of Josef Bergauer and 89 others against

15250-580: Was decapitated during this battle. In 1456, John Hunyadi delivered a crushing defeat of the Ottomans at the Siege of Belgrade . The Noon Bell commemorates the fallen Christian warriors. In the 15th century, the Black Army of Hungary was a modern mercenary army, with the Hussars the most skilled troops of the Hungarian cavalry . In 1479, under the leadership of Pál Kinizsi , the Hungarian army destroyed

15375-605: Was formed in Bratislava, which later made a common list at the 1935 parliamentary elections with the Sudeten German Party ; Konrad Henlein became its leader in 1937, with Franz Karmasin as deputy. In 1935, both parties obtained a seat in both parliamentary assemblies. In 1939, the KdP was renamed the German Party , with Franz Karmasin as führer, who had become in October 1938 state secretary for German Affairs in

15500-404: Was the son of King Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary , the sister of Ladislaus IV. However, Andrew III took the crown for himself and ruled without inconvenience after Charles Martel's death in 1295. Upon Andrew's death in 1301, the country was divided between powerful lords hostile to each other. A coalition of some of these oligarchs first crowned Wenceslaus III , who quickly fled from

15625-612: Was used officially from 1784 to 1790 and again between 1849 and the 1860s. The Hungarian name ( Magyar Királyság ) was used in the 1840s, and then again from the 1860s to 1946. The unofficial Hungarian name of the kingdom was Magyarország , which is still the colloquial, and also the official name of Hungary. The names in the other native languages of the kingdom were: Polish : Królestwo Węgier , Romanian : Regatul Ungariei , Serbian : Kraljevina Ugarska , Croatian : Kraljevina Ugarska , Slovene : Kraljevina Ogrska , Slovak : Uhorské kráľovstvo , and Italian (for

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