Treznea massacre
| Treznea massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Treznea, Romania (Then Ördögkút, Kingdom of Hungary) |
| Date | 9 September 1940 |
|
Attack type
|
genocide (targeted killing of the local ethnic Romanians), ethnic cleansing |
| Weapons | machine guns, rifles, grenades, bayonets |
| Deaths | 93 ethnic Romanians and Jews |
| Perpetrator | Hungarian Army, locals |
The Treznea massacre occurred in the village of Treznea, Sălaj in north-western Transylvania on 9 September 1940, during the handing over of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary after the Second Vienna Award. The circumstances of the massacre are controversial.
On that day, instigated by the former landlord Francisc (or Ferenc) Bay, the 22nd Hungarian Border Guards Battalion "Debrecen", led by Lieutenant-Colonel Ákosy, made a 4 km detour from the Zalău–Ciumărna–Hida route to exterminate the locals from the "Măgura" area of the commune, which formerly belonged to Francisc Bay. The Hungarian troops entered the village at noon, the first victims being the children who pastured the animals. The troops fired at will on the locals, killing many of them and partially destroying the Orthodox church. The sources recorded that 87 Romanians and 6 Jews were killed, including the local Orthodox priest, Traian Costea, who was burned alive in his church, and the Romanian local teacher with his wife, Lazăr and Aurelia Cosma (the parents of the Romanian musicologist Octavian Lazăr Cosma).
Some Hungarian historians claim that the killings came in retaliation after the Hungarian troops were fired upon by inhabitants, allegedly incited by the local Romanian Orthodox priest. These claims are not supported by the accounts of several witnesses. The motivation of the 4 km detour of the Hungarian troops from the rest of the Hungarian Army is still a point of contention, as it could not have been as a routine occupation maneuver. Most evidence points towards the local noble Ferenc Bay who lost a large part of his estates to peasants in the 1920s, as most of the violence was directed towards the peasants living on his former estate.
By the accounts of some witnesses, not all soldiers were wearing full uniform and some of them were drunk. Also, some villagers claim to have recognised some of the young men as locals from Zalău. This might suggest that not everyone in these Hungarian troops were operating under the jurisdiction of the Hungarian Army.
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Wikipedia