Czech Corridor?

[Minchandre]

I recently learned about the Czech Corridor, a proposal at the Paris Peace Conference to create a corridor some 80 km (or more, in some of the proposals) wide and 200 km long to allow the Slavic brothers of Czechoslovakia and Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to share a border. Apparently the side effect of removing the Austrian/Hungarian border was simply an unforeseen side effect, and was by no means intended to prevent any sort of Austro-Hungarian national union. That would be silly.

In the end, the proposal was shot down...mostly because neither Yugoslavia nor Czechoslovakia wanted the corridor (which was populated 60% by ethnic Hungarians, >20% by ethnic Germans, and only <20% by Slavs). Still, some groups - certain Czechoslovakian factions, pan-Slavists, Croat nationalists, and for some reason the French - pushed pretty hard for it. Hard enough that while it's incredibly unlikely, I'm don't think it's quite ASB.

So let's say that for some reason - paranoia about Austro-Hungarian union probably the most likely - the Czech corridor goes through (probably with all of it under Czechoslovakian sovereignty). What kinds of implications will this have? How pissed are the Hungarians going to be? Could it lead to closer Czechoslovak/Yugoslavian ties, even to the eventual point of union? Assuming it doesn't completely butterfly WWII, what will happen to it during and after the conflict? Could it lead to Yugoslavia being drawn into the Soviet sphere...or Czechoslovakia somehow staying neutral-ish?

 

[Midas]

I'm biased as I tend to get pretty frustrated with these negotiations, but my initial thoughts are that a Czech burgenland will only exacerbate German and Hungarian territorial irredentism. But there's so many other factors at play during this period, so it's going to play into how those work around too.

The immediate changes I can see is that Germany will now have two outstanding claims on territory largely populated by Germans that has been grafted onto the same Slavic state (Czechoslovakia) in Sudetenland and Burgenland. However, depending on the size if enough eastern parts of Transdanubia are included we could very well see Hungary legitimately joining into these claims... without sharing a border with Austria anymore.

A weird geopolitical situation it would be, in retrospect.

 

[SunilTanna]

Here's a map
http://terkepek.adatbank.transindex.ro/kepek/netre/168.gif

 

[machine3589]

That will look... utterly wierd on the historical maps. Dont expect it to last for long.

 

[NomadicSky]

I'm not seeing how the Czechs were supposed to defend it either a strip of land full of Austrians and Hungarians how are they supposed to defend it if it gets invaded it would last off of a few hours especially once the population rises up.

 

[Kalan]

One of the side effects ist that the Czechs no constitute a minority. If their relationship with the slovaks is as bad as IOTL this will cause serious troubles for them.

 

[Marix]

One of the side effects ist that the Czechs no constitute a minority. If their relationship with the slovaks is as bad as IOTL this will cause serious troubles for them.

The Slovaks? I thought that Czechs and Slovaks had good relations, they did like, share a country for 70 years.

 

[Alex Richards]

The Slovaks? I thought that Czechs and Slovaks had good relations, they did like, share a country for 70 years.

So did the Serbs, Bosniaks and Croatians.

 

[SavoyTruffle]

The Slovaks? I thought that Czechs and Slovaks had good relations, they did like, share a country for 70 years.

Czechoslovakia was dominated by the Czechs, not to mention that industry was focused in the Czech part of the country. It was a result of the Slovaks being subject to Hungary and the Czechs to Austria in the Ausgleich.

Of course, they had a more amicable divorce than the South Slavs.

 

[Wendell]

Wasn't Tito talking about doing this after World War II as well?

 

[Thande]

Wasn't Tito talking about doing this after World War II as well?

That could have interesting consequences for the Prague Spring, assuming it's not butterflied away.

 

[Cook]

Wasn't Tito talking about doing this after World War II as well?

Why would Tito have cared?

He was a bit busy trying to take over Trieste and Greek Macedonia at the time.

 

[Nietzsche]

...

So, let me get this straight. The Entente didn't want Germany and Austria to unify. Ever. ...but some of them were thinking about taking -more- territory away from Austria? Seriously?

I'm starting to think that the purpose of Versailles was to turn the collective German people into a raping-and-pillaging latter day Viking.

 

[Wendell]

Why would Tito have cared?

He was a bit busy trying to take over Trieste and Greek Macedonia at the time.

Apparently, there are Croats in Burgenland. So, instead of adding this area to Czechoslovakia or allowing Austria to retain it, it would go to Yugoslavia.

 

[Valdemar II]

The Czech Corridor in West Hungary

I was looking at the hisory of Burgenland, when I found precisely how the Czech corridor would look:

Its population was more less split between 420 000 Hungarians 350 000 Germans and 100 000 Slavs (mix of Croats and Slovaks) in 1906 (by 1920 it had 1,2 million inhabitant).

It seem it was mostly Italian protest which kept it from being created. But what consequences would it have for the Czech state if this idea was pushed?

 

[Valdemar II]

 

[Valdemar II]

Demographic it would push the Czechs from a majority to a plurality, it would push the Germans up to 3,5 million and the Hungarians to 1 million.

 

[Tyg]

Demographic it would push the Czechs from a majority to a plurality, it would push the Germans up to 3,5 million and the Hungarians to 1 million.

Would those "Germans" have seen themselves that way, or as Austrians first?

That this corridor would push Hungary deeper into revanchism is probably a given, but would it be significantly weakened with the loss of such territory?

On the other hand, might an actual border with Yugoslavia promote a stronger Balkan alliance system?

 

[Valdemar II]

Would those "Germans" have seen themselves that way, or as Austrians first?

The Austrian identity was a joke outside Austria between 1918-1945. It had shown its failure as such "Austrian" minorities defined themselves as Germans. We also have the aspect that the Burgenland dialect were/are quite distinct from the other East Austrian dialect. This come from the fact that the area was mostly settled with Catholic from all over Germany in the late 16th century . So they would likely see themselves as Germans.

That this corridor would push Hungary deeper into revanchism is probably a given, but would it be significantly weakened with the loss of such territory?

No not really, it has a rather region dominated by agriculture. The centre of Hungarian population run in a belt in the northen part of the country

On the other hand, might an actual border with Yugoslavia promote a stronger Balkan alliance system?

Maybe, it would likely increase the Yugoslav-Czechoslovakian trade, which could result in a better Yugoslavian army, but on the other hand it will also make Czechoslovakia more unstable.

 

[Josephus]

This come from the fact that the area was mostly settled with Catholic from all over Germany in the late 16th century .

Not really, or rather not exclusively. There were several settlement waves of German-speaking groups there, in the 16th century against the Turks- parallel to the Settlement of the local Croats- the Krawoden in local parlance But also in the 11/12th century (the Heanzen), and possibly some time before that. There are some settlements in remote parts of the Leithagebirge whose dialect had very archaic elements, which in some scholars mind represent a substratum buried under later settlement of Bavarian settlers of the 8th century Carolingian Avar March before the Magyar Incursion. In any case, the area was inofficially called Deutsch-Westungarn since soon after the christianization of the Magyars.