In 1001, at the foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary, some western frontier
regions inhabited by Germans were included into the new state. In the course
of the following centuries other Germans also migrated to this territories
and by the end of the Habsburg Monarchy, the German population - known as
Heinzen (also Hänzen or Heinzi) - made up the majority of the inhabitants of
the four comitats / counties into which West Hungary had been divided :
- Eisenburg (Hung. : Vásvár)
- Ödenburg (Hung. : Sopron) (1)
- Pressburg (Hung. : Pozsony - Slavonic : Bratislava)
- Wieselburg (Hung. : Moson)
(1) The town of Ödenburg / Sopron was the only place having a
Hungarian majority.
GERMAN WEST HUNGARY 1918 - 1922
In 1918, after the end of Habsburg rule, a movement aiming at selfgovernment
- and possibly also re-union with Austria - developed among the different
German minorities in Hungary. (2)
At first the Hungarian government tried to suppress the movement (3), but in
early 1919 it made some concessions and formally organized five autonomous
German Gaue, German West Hungary being however the only one to be formally
established. (4)(2) Apart from the Heinzen of West Hungary, the movement also
included other groups like the Donauschwaben in Southern
Hungary and the Sachsen in Siebenburgen / Transylvania.
The movement - which was partly sponsored by some Austrian
politicians - was headed by the German People's Council /
Deutscher Volksrat
Chairman of the Deutscher Volksrat
1918 - .... Gottlieb(?) Brandsch
(3) In dec 1918 the Hungarian army terminated the Heinzenrepublik
- set up by pro-Austrian groups - only a few hours after its
foundation.
Leader of the pro-Austrian movement in German West Hungary
1918 Karl Wollinger 1877 - 1945
(Not certain he also was the leader of the Heinzenrepublik)
(4) The other Gaue should have been :
Central-, Northern-, Southern-Hungary and Transylvania
But as the Hungarians in Central Hungary were strongly
opposed to the plan and the other territories were occupied
by foreign armies nothing came of it.
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ADMINISTRATORS OF THE AUTONOMOUS GAU GERMAN WEST HUNGARY
Hungarian Minister-Delegates for German Affairs
(Responsible for all German affairs)
1919 ... Junker
1919 Heinrich Kalmár (styled people's delegate)
Governor(s?)
(Head(s?) of the regional government of German West Hungary)
1919 ... Zsombor
(?)...
After the fall of the Hungarian Soviet-regime the autonomous status of the
region lapsed and was formally abolished in 1920.
In the meanwhile, by the Peace Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of 1919, the
Allies had agreed to cede most of the region to Austria.(5) It was however
only after Hungary had been forced to accept this decision by the Peace
Treaty of Trianon of 1920 that Austria could take possession of the territory
and appoint its first administrator.
(5) The territory of Pressburg was ceded to Czechoslovakia. This
was the only result of a combined Czech - Yugoslav attempt to
secure the region - or at least part of it - as a "corridor"
between the two new Slavic states.
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AUSTRIAN ADMINISTRATORS
Landesverwalter
1921 - 1922 Robert Davy (6)
1922 Alfred Rausnitz
(6) His tenure of office was mostly purely nominal as the Austrian
forces were soon driven out by Hungarian freecorpses, the most
important being the so-called "Osztenburgmilitia".
As a result of these events the tranfer of the territory to
Austria was temporarly suspended by the Allies, who now toke
over the administration of the region.
Chairman of the Allied Commission for German West Hungary
1921 - 1922 Carlo Antonio Ferrario (Italy)
AUSTRIAN LAND BURGENLAND
In 1921 new negociations led to an Austrian - Hungarian agreement which made
the transfer of the region of Ödenburg subject to the result of a plebiscite.
As this was in favour of a return to Hungary, Austria finally only acquired
the two counties of Eisenburg and Wieselburg, which, in 1922, were organized
as the Austrian Land Bürgenland. (7)(7) The name Burgenland was apparently invented in 1919 by a
certain Odo Rötig and refered to the German names of the
four major towns.
(Originally the name had been Vierburgenland, but after the
annexation of Pressburg to Czechoslovakia, the numeral was
dropped)
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CHIEF EXECUTIVES
Landeshauptleute
1922 - 1923 Alfred Rausnitz s.a.
1923 - 1924 Alfred Walheim 1874 - 1945
1924 - 1928 Josef Rauhofer 1875 - 1939
1928 - 1929 Anton Schreiner 1873 - 1932
1929 - 1930 Johann Thullner 1880 - 1937
1930 - 1931 Anton Schreiner (2x)
1931 - 1934 Alfred Walheim (2x)
1934 - 1938 Hans Sylvester 1897 - 1939
1938 Tobias Portschy (8) 1905 - 1996
In 1938 Burgenland was divided between the Gaue Niederdonau and Steiermark.
(8) N.S.D.A.P. Landeshauptman appointed after the annexation
of Austria to Germany.
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