The First Vienna Award transferred southern Slovakia and Carpathian Rus' from Czechoslovakia to Hungary, redrawing Central European borders under Axis arbitration.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 2 November 1938
- Venue
- Belvedere Palace, Vienna
- Arbitrating powers
- Nazi Germany and Italy
- Territories transferred
- Southern Slovakia and southern Carpathian Rus'
- Treaty nullified
- 1947 Treaty of Paris declared award null and void
- Basis of revision
- Revision of the 1920 Treaty of Trianon
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Munich Agreement of September 1938 partitioned Czechoslovakia and opened the way for further territorial revisions. Hungary sought to reclaim predominantly Hungarian-populated lands lost under the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, while Germany and Italy backed Hungarian revisionist claims, having already undermined the post-WWI order through the remilitarisation of the Rhineland and the Anschluss of Austria.
On 2 November 1938, Germany and Italy arbitrated the Vienna Award at the Belvedere Palace, compelling Czechoslovakia to cede southern Slovakia and southern Carpathian Rus' to Hungary. These territories were predominantly inhabited by ethnic Hungarians. Czechoslovakia also transferred small areas in the Spiš and Orava regions to Poland. The award restored to Hungary a portion of the lands it had lost after World War I.
Hungary regained territories now forming parts of modern Slovakia and Ukraine, and in March 1939 occupied the remainder of Carpathian Rus' with Hitler's permission, restoring a common Hungarian–Polish border. This border facilitated the passage of tens of thousands of Polish soldiers and refugees into Hungary after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. The 1947 Treaty of Paris ultimately declared the Vienna Award null and void.
Political Outcome
Czechoslovakia ceded southern Slovakia and southern Carpathian Rus' to Hungary; the award was declared null and void by the 1947 Treaty of Paris.
Southern Slovakia and Carpathian Rus' were part of Czechoslovakia following the post-WWI settlement.
These territories were transferred to Hungary under Axis arbitration, strengthening Hungary's alignment with the Axis powers.