Based on sources and information below follow the questions. Make conclusions and present it to your class. Pay special attention to the similarities and differences in the history of Poland and Hungary.
Read the fragment of The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (1939). What agreements did the document below include regarding Poland?
Secret Additional Protocol. (Moscow, August 23, 1939) „Article II. In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement of the areas belonging to the Polish state, the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. shall be bounded approximately by the line of the rivers Narev, Vistula and San. The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable the maintenance of an independent Polish States and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments. In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means of a friendly agreement.”
2. Read the article. Describe what attitude the Hungarian state had toward the German and Soviet occupations in Poland.
Based on sources and information below follow the questions. Make conclusions and present it to your class. Pay special attention to the similarities and differences in the history of Poland and Hungary.
3. Read a report from a Polish newspaper about the Hungarian reaction to the Treaty of Trianon. Check if the Hungarians made any moves to get their lost territories back.
Źródło: „Czas”, R. 73, nr 133, 7 czerwca 1920, s. 1.(Domena publiczna, https://polona.pl)
Translation:
„Budapest, June 6 (PAT.) According to the Hungarian correspondent’s office: Due to the signing of the peace treaty, all shops were closed yesterday. At 10 a.m., the bells of all Budapest churches could be heard ringing. Trams, railways, and other means of transportation were suspended for 10 minutes. In all state and municipal offices, all work stopped for 10 minutes, and theaters and public venues were closed in the evening. Before noon, Hungarian refugees from 48 occupied districts held a protest march. Solemn services were held in the temples.„
4. Read the text below. Describe the time and circumstances in which Poland regained its independence.
„Political conditions after World War I allowed Poland to regain its independence on November 11, 1918. Poland was divided between three powers for 123 years. This caused many political, economic, and social problems. It was necessary to unite the country again.One of the most important problems of the reviving state was the struggle to define its territory. The Treaty of Versailles set the border with Germany in the west, but it completely ignored the issue of the eastern border.At the beginning, the Polish state was limited to the western part of the Russian and Austrian partitions. The fight for borders, which lasted several years, began. A successful uprising against Germany broke out in Wielkopolska. As a result of three uprisings and a plebiscite in Upper Silesia, Poland gained the third part of this country. The reborn Polish Army undertook fight in the east, firstly with Ukrainians for Lviv, then with Soviet Russia that posed a threat to the existence of the Republic of Poland. The Polish victory in the Battle of Warsaw (the so‑called Miracle at the Vistula) in August 1920 turned out to be of a key meaning. It was not possible to rebuild the Republic of Poland within the borders from before partitions, but the reborn Polish state included lands from all three partitions, including with access to the sea. The main cities were Warsaw, Cracow, Poznań, Lviv and Vilnius.”
5. What was the situation of national minorities in both countries?
