Skip to main content

Primary sourceDocument4 June 1920

Treaty of Trianon

4 June 1920

The 1920 peace treaty between the Allies and Hungary, signed at the Grand Trianon near Versailles, that set Hungary's new borders after the war Kun's regime had fought to resist.

The treaty set the territorial losses that Kun's nationalist-revolutionary war of 1919 had aimed to prevent.

Ask Béla Kun about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Spine and cover of a bound book with a dark green spine and grey-brown boards. Gold lettering on the spine reads 'TREATY OF PEACE... HUNGARY' and 'Cmd. 896'. A white library barcode label reads 'DOCS. COLL. CU-1' and 'D001182819'. A Google digitized watermark appears at the lower right.
Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Hungary, signed at Trianon, 4 June 1920. Published by H.M. Stationery Office, London.

About this source

What it is

This is the Treaty of Trianon, a peace settlement signed at the Grand Trianon at Versailles on 4 June 1920. It was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and formally ended World War I between most of the Allies and the Kingdom of Hungary. The copy shown here is a printed British edition published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, presented to Parliament as Treaty Series No. 10 (1920).

Why it matters

The treaty fixed the territorial losses that had fuelled the nationalist-revolutionary war of 1919, in which Béla Kun led the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Hungary lost about 72 percent of its pre-war territory, and about 3.3 million Hungarians came to live in neighbouring states. The treaty was dictated by the Allies rather than negotiated, and Hungarian delegates signed under protest. Its consequences caused lasting resentment in Hungary.

Look closer

  • Why did the Allies refuse plebiscites for the new borders, and how did Hungarian diplomats read the Millerand letter?
  • Who gained from the treaty, and whose voices are missing from a document written by the victors?
  • How does a printed British government copy change the way students might read a document about Hungary?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Béla Kun on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Béla Kun sources

Meet the AI Béla Kun →
Front page of the first issue of the Hungarian newspaper Vörös Ujság, dated Budapest, 1918 December 7, with the masthead 'VÖRÖS ÚJSÁG' and subtitle 'KOMMUNISTA LAP', and a lead editorial titled 'Osztályharcot!' in several columns of Hungarian text.Newspaper article

Primary source

Vörös Újság: First Editorial

Béla Kun · 7 December 1918

Black and white photograph of a man in a dark suit and vest speaking to a dense crowd of men in hats in front of a building; other men sit on a rooftop and balcony at left and right.Photograph

Primary source

Béla Kun, Leader of the 1919 Hungarian Revolution

1919

Photograph of a yellowed Nazi propaganda pamphlet titled 'Die Totengräber Russlands' with a headline 'Nicht wegwerfen!' and 'Weitergeben!'. It has rows of ink caricatures of men's faces with text captions naming Soviet communist leaders, and the slogan 'Vor dem bolschewistischen Chaos bewahrt uns nur Adolf Hitler!' at the bottom. A handwritten note 'März 1937' is at the top left.Photograph

Primary source

Die Totengräber Russlands

March 1937

Sepia photograph of a dense crowd of men in hats and coats gathered in a city square in front of a stone building with arched windows. Lamp post and banners rise above them; a large statue on a pedestal stands at right, and a man on the far right holds a flag.Photograph

Primary source

Sándor Garbai and Béla Kun, Leaders of the Hungarian Soviet Republic

1919

Soviet postage stamp, 10 kopeck denomination, 1986, printed with the name Бела Кун and dates 1886 and 1939 above a black-and-white engraved portrait of a man with short dark hair and a mustache, wearing a suit and tie, with a laurel branch below and the text ПОЧТА СССР 1986.Artifact

Secondary source

Soviet postage stamp honouring Béla Kun (1986)

1986

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Béla Kun now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions