POLAND - HUNGARY - Introduction

In an attempt to discuss Polish-Hungarian relations through the long period of eleven centuries, it has to be made clear first that the Polish-Hungarian associations, usually excellent all this time, represent not only memories, but also tragic or sentimental events. They represent evidence from the past, experience for the present, and hopes for the future. And not only for the present and future of Poland and Hungary - when talking about Poland and Hungary one must keep in mind the present and the future of East-Central Europe as a whole.
Freedom in East-Central Europe could be and will be possible only on the base of friendship and cooperation of the two most important regions of this European area - Poland and the Carpathian Basin. If Poland and Hungary are not free, other smaller nations of East-Central Europe will still remain victims of an alien imperialism. As Oskar Halecki stated in his Borderlands of Western Civilization [1952]:
"... a free East-Central Europe is indispensable for any sound balance of power on the Continent... The temporary disappearance of that whole region created a dangerous tension between suppressed nationalisms and apparently well-established imperialisms which usually were in a dangerous rivalry with one another."
Consequently, the introduction of Polish-Hungarian relations and mutual friendship should be much more than simply a nice story for Polish and Hungarian patriots. It should be a stimulating testimony for other East-Central European intellectuals, and also an advice and useful experience for all European peoples. If History is really "the great teacher of Life", then the combined history of Poland and Hungary should provide good lesson not only for Poles and Hungarians, but for other Europeans and for the American intellectuals as well.
What are those common geopolitical and cultural characteristics which stimulated the mutual interests of Poland and Hungary?
1. Both, Poland and Hungary are very old nations of Europe, which established their statehoods at about the same time - more than one thousand years ago;
2. Both adopted Western (Roman) Christianity in association with the founding of their national states;
3. Both, at a very early stage of their nationhood, recognized their common fate - being threatened by Pan-Germanism from their western border, and Russia-oriented Pan-Slavism from their eastern side.
Recognizing their common geopolitical situation, Poland and Hungary became good neighbours, showing each other friendship and affection which were simply unparallelled in European history. Their identical situation encouraged them to build dynastical relationships in the Mediaeval times and to continuous developing of the political, military, social, cultural and economic relations ever since. These relations effected real blessings for both nations - made them stronger, defended them and secured them through the course of more than ten centuries.
Those, who tend to speculate about the possibility of friendly relations between nations only on the base of a common race and language, may wonder about the case of the Polish-Hungarian friendship - and the facts are there:
- the IX century revealed on the territories between the Vistula and Odra Rivers Slavic tribes, such as: Polanie, Pomorzanie, Goplanie, Slezanie, Opolanie, Ledzianie, Mazowszanie, Wislanie, Luzyczanie - the cradle of the Polish nation was unquestionably a Slavic cradle;
- in about the time of the existence of these Slavic tribes in the Vistula-Odra region, Mongol- and Turkish-looking nomadic tribes arrived in Europe from Asia and settled down in the Carpathian Basin. The Magyars (Hungarians) came to conquer the territories which in the past belonged to the great empire of Attila the Hun, and to reestablish the Carpathian empire of the proud Avar Khaganate. They spoke various dialects of the Magyar (Hungarian) language, with large amounts of Finnish and Turkish vocabulary. The language of these nomadic horsemen was not Slavic. Their language was not even similar to any member of the Indo-European languages family. Their race could be specified as Turanian, and their language as a Finno-Ugric branch of the Ural-Altaic family of languages.

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Despite such different racial, linguistic and cultural roots, the Polish and Hungarian nations remain in friendship for more than ten centuries

title page illustration: BATORY'S SIEGE OF PSKOV - a painting by one of the most notable Polish painters of the XIXth century, Jan Matejko. Many of his works depict important events in Poland’s history. This scene shows Ivan The Terrible’s emissaries asking cringingly the King od Poland, Stephen Bathory for peace, following a war with Poland lost by Muscovy.
Stephen Bathory - a Hungarian magnate (Istvan Bathori, the Voivode of Transylvania), became the king of Poland in 1576. During his reign (1576-1586), he restored Poland’s former might and splendour (the Golden Age of Poland)

POLAND - HUNGARY
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