Restoration: Northern Transylvania, 1940 (2010)

The purpose of the exhibition was to present the contemporary reception of the restoration of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary: the reactions to the act in both countries as well as its longer term consequences.
The Second Vienna Award fundamentally influenced the two countries' roles in World War II, and has been a source of tensions and unresolved traumas in the memories of both nations ever since. In 1940, by the decision of the Axis powers, primarily Hitler-led Germany, Northern Transylvania including Székelyföld was restored to Hungary. This was an area of the approximately 43 thousand square kilometers: about two fifths of the one-time Hungarian territories awarded to Romania by the Treaty of Trianon. The approximately 60 thousand square kilometers of South Transylvania, however, remained Romanian.
Using contemporary archival documents, press clippings, Hungarian and Romanian propaganda material, personal memoirs and diaries, radio broadcasts and hitherto unseen amateur photographs and footage, the exhibition focused on how these historical changes influenced people's lives. By objectively reconstructing history, free from the distortions caused by the grievances entertained on either side, our goal was to help confront the past, and to resolve traumas that have since burdened Hungarian and Romanian relations. In this spirit, this exhibition was a cooperative effort by Hungarian and Romanian historians.
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