“The Danube Has Died.” Press Coverage in Komárom during the Breakup of the Hungarian State

Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
In the 20th century, soldiers of different armies marched through the streets of Komárom (Komárno in Slovakia) several times – in 1919, 1938, 1945 and 1968. This was not unusual in the region due to the shifting borders, but the history of Komárom is something special because of its geographical location. The fortress, built in the 16th century, gave the town at the confluence of the Danube and Vág rivers a strategically important role, which reached its peak during the Hungarian War of Independence in 1848–1849. After the First World War, in January 1919, the northern part of the city was occupied by Czechoslovak soldiers, while southern Komárom (the former Újszőny) remained in Hungarian hands. The history of the press in Komárom in 1919/1920 is interesting because some of the local newspapers remained in the northern, i.e. Czechoslovak, part of the city, while others moved south to Hungary. The aim of this presentation is to present and compare the opinions of newspapers under different state administrations and with different ideological views on the changes that took place in Komárom.
The following questions can be formulated: What was the image of Czechs and Slovaks in the newspapers, especially of the soldiers who conquered the northern part of the town? How did they report on the relationship between the Hungarian population and the soldiers or the new Czech administration? When and for what reason did the Hungarian-language press decide to resist or cooperate? What did they think of the events in Budapest? How did the formulation and definition of state identity change? What was their definition of “home” and “abroad”?


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Péter Hevő is assistant professor at the Department of International Relations and European Studies, Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. He received his Ph.D. in History from the same university in 2019. His research interests include diplomacy, German foreign policy, and contemporary political history with a focus on East-Central Europe. He has held fellowships in Berlin, München, Potsdam, Heidelberg, Washington, D.C. and Prague. He is also an editor of the online history journal, Újkor.hu, and author of the monograph Vissza a fegyverekhez? A hadsereg és külpolitika kapcsolata az újraegyesített Németországban.