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| WorldWar2.ro Forum > The Interwar Period (1920-1940) > Hungarian-built railway in N. Transilvania 1940-44 |
| Posted by: sid guttridge July 29, 2005 05:23 pm |
| I noticed that the south-eastern tip of Northern Transilvania that was awarded to Hungary at Vienna contains no secure railway line back to Hungary proper. So I checked on a wartime Hungarian military map of the area held in the Map Library of the British Library. Sure enough, the Hungarians planned to build a secure railway between Szeretfalva and Deda. What are the current Romanian names for Szeretfalva and Deda and did the Hungarians complete such a strategic railway during 1941-44? (The Slovaks had a similar problem when Hungarian annexations in 1938 cut the railways to the eastern end of their country and they did build a new railway to reconnect it during the war.) Cheers, Sid. |
| Posted by: Imperialist July 29, 2005 07:55 pm | ||
Sid, Deda is still named Deda and lies in Mures county. Szeretfalva I havent found, the closest in name being Szekelypalfalva. Which is Pauleni in Harghita county. The railway between Deda and Szekelypalfalva is somewhat logical given the ethnic make-up of Harghita county. So Szeretfalva could be the 60-years-ago name of Szekelypalfalva. Hope it helps. take care |
| Posted by: Dénes July 30, 2005 12:25 am | ||
Szeretfalva = Saratel (about 10 km SW from Bistrita=Beszterce). Déda = Deda Gen. Dénes |
| Posted by: sid guttridge July 30, 2005 11:09 am |
| Hi Imperialist and Denes, Many thanks. Is there currently a railway between Deda and Saratel? Cheers, Sid. |
| Posted by: Imperialist July 30, 2005 01:24 pm | ||
Yes Sid, there is. take care |
| Posted by: sid guttridge August 01, 2005 12:25 pm |
| Hi Imperialist, Thanks. That only leaves open the question as to whether it was completed by the Hungarians in 1941-44? Cheers, Sid. |
| Posted by: dragos August 01, 2005 10:26 pm |
| I don't know if they built that railroad, but I would also like to know what routes did they use to transport the Jews they delivered to Germans for the extermination camps. I suppose they used the railroad network for this. |
| Posted by: sid guttridge August 02, 2005 11:23 am |
| Hi Dragos, Yes. The Hungarians and the Germans did use railways for this purpose. This is a well established historical fact. It is highly likely that the line I am asking about was also used for this purpose - if it was completed by the Hungarians. By contrast, railways were little used by the Romanians for this purpose in Transnistria. Your point is? Cheers, Sid. |
| Posted by: dragos August 02, 2005 11:58 am | ||
Asking for the routes. |
| Posted by: dragos August 02, 2005 12:40 pm |
| I have found the deportation trains from Northern Transylvania passing through Kassa (Kosice) in 1944. The list is at the bottom of the page: http://www.oradeajc.com/features_hcreport.htm |
| Posted by: sid guttridge August 06, 2005 11:38 am |
| Hi Dragos, I see your point. There was, in fact, an existing alternative rail route available to the Hungarians from the southern tip of Northern Transilvania. However, for some of its distance it ran along the new frontier and was under direct observation by Romania. It was therefore militarily easily interdicted. The new Deda-Saratel route was planned because it was well away from the Romanian border and so was not so vulnerable to interdiction. Thus, if the new Deda-Saratel route was built by the Hungarians, it needn't necessarily have been used for deporting Jews, but I cannot see any good reason why they would not do so. Cheers, Sid. |
| Posted by: Imperialist August 06, 2005 12:45 pm | ||
Sid, Deda and Saratel are villages. The distance between them must be 20-25km at most, looking at a map. So the hungarians were planning just a small "add-on" to an already existing main line. take care |
| Posted by: sid guttridge August 07, 2005 02:26 pm |
| Hi Imperialist. Yup. There was an existing network of railway lines in the south-east of Northern Transilvania, but their only outlet to Hungary proper ran along the new border right under Romanian view. Hence the need for this new line. Cheers, Sid. |