Territorial Problems and Transformation of Soviet-East European Relations: Conflicts over Transylvania and Teschen 1945-1947

Reviewing the Cold War History

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze how the Soviet Union resolved territorial problems among Eastern European countries and transformed its relations with them. After the Second World War the Soviets took the initiative in solving the issues of Eastern Europe's boundaries in the process of redrawing post-war territorial frontiers to secure the so-called security belt along its western frontiers, in which Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland played key roles. Considering this environment, in this article the author presents two case studies—the Romanian-Hungarian conflict over Transylvania and the Polish-Czechoslovak conflict over Teschen.
In Soviet leadership on 10th January, 1944, I. M. Maiskii, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote a letter to V. M. Molotov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, laying out the post-war Soviet foreign policy and its possible position in relation to the Eastern European countries. When it comes to the Romanian-Hungarian conflict over Transylvania, Maiskii proposed that this problem should be resolved in Romania's favor; that is, the northern parts of Transylvania, which Hungary annexed from Romania before the war, should be returned to the latter. On the Teschen problem, Maiskii emphasized that in his judgment Czechoslovakia should be reestablished along its previous borders that existed before the Munich conference, 1938, with the parts of Teschen Poland absorbed after Munich being returned to Czechoslovakia.
Based on this proposal of Maiskii, generally, the Soviet Union supported the Romanian and Czechoslovak positions on reestablishing national territory according to the pre-Munich and pre-war borders, but resolving territorial problems among these countries was subordinated to the Soviet foreign policy and was vulnerable to the situation in each country.
First, the Soviet Union supported Romania on recovering Transylvania as far as the latter would recognize the annexation by the former of Bessarabia. In Romania, P. Groza formed a government, receiving the support from the Soviet. The Groza government needed the recognition of its possession of the northern parts of Transylvania by the international community, especially by the United States and Great Britain, because Hungary would not give up its claim over Transylvania. Finally, on 7th May, 1946, at the Paris conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Soviet Union succeeded in having both the United States and the Britain recognize including the article that formulates the possession by Romania of Transylvania in the peace treaty between Romania and the United Nations.
Second, the Soviet Union generally favored Czechoslovak over Teschen, but it did not make its position clear. The Teschen problem was connected with the recognition of the Polish Communist government. The west would not recognize Communist Poland; only the Soviet Union and its allies did. In addition, the internal situation in Poland was instable. Considering this, the Soviet Union set about strengthening the political and social system of Poland and refrained from urgently resolving the Teschen problem. Both the Czechoslovaks and the Poles, however, demanded possession of Teschen; the former in particular proposed the recognition of the latter under the condition that the Poles made a compromise on the Teschen problem. After the Communists won the election on 19th January 1947, in Poland, the Soviet Union considered that the situation of Poland was stable and demanded that Czechoslovakia recognize the latter. Eventually, the Soviets decided to pend the Teschen problem.
In the process of resolving the territorial problems, the Soviet Union urged the parties concerned to improve their relations. These Soviet indications led the countries to become intimately related with each other and improved Romanian-Hungarian and the Polish-Czechoslovak relations. The Soviets tried to influence the Eastern Europe through its initiatives in