oa De Nederlandse protestantse kerken onderweg naar het Verdrag van Trianon (1920)

At the end and in the aftermath of World War I, Hungary’s situation was very difficult: the war had been lost, the country was tormented by hunger and revolution, and the victoring countries were about to assign two-third of Hungary’s territory to neighboring countries. In this situation Hungary’s Protestant churches asked their Dutch sister churches for help and support in late 1918. A Hungarian delegation led by the theologian J. Sebestyén visited the Netherlands. What could the Dutch do? Articles in favor of the Hungarian cause were published, lectures were given, rallyes were organized. The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands took the initiative of a joint declaration on behalf of the Hungarians. The declaration, signed by many other Dutch Protestant churches, offers a rare example of ‘ecumenic’ collaboration in those days.