Mişcarea naţională românească pentru unirea Banatului cu România (februarie–august 1919) / The National Romanian Movement for the Union of the Whole Banat with Romania (February–August 1919)

Abstract

At the Peace Conference in Paris, the Romanian contingent fought for recognition of the union of Transylvaniaand undivided Banat with the Romanian Kingdom, with the support of French and Italian public opinion. Still,in February 1919, rumors were spread that the Banat region would be divided between Romania and Serbia. ] eRomanians revolted. So, in many rural and urban settlements from the Old Kingdom or from the Romanianprovinces that were united with Romania in 1918, many protest demonstrations were organized against theintention of the Great Powers to divide Banat. The Cultural League and the Banat League organized meetingsin Orăştie, Cernăuţi, Chişinău, Balţi, Kahul, Văleni-de-Munte, Ploieşti, Slatina, Bucureşti, Bârlad, Iaşi, Craiova,Turnu-Severin, Târgu-Jiu, Constanţa, Piatra-Neamţ, Sibiu, Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Beiuş, Gherla, Lugoj şiTimişoara and in many other places.At the people’s assemblies several resolutions were adopted in which they asked that the whole, undividedBanat become part of Romania. They were sent to the Romanian Government and to the Romanian contingentattending the Peace Conference in Paris with the purpose of demonstrating that the entire Romanian nationsupported the head of the Romanian contingent, I.I.C. Brătianu, who requested that the entire undivided Banatbecame part of Great Romania, on 1st February 1919. The large number of protest movements, in which tensof thousands of citizens from all the Romanian counties participated, was impressive. They all fought for anundivided Banat and for union with the Romanian Kingdom.Yet, on 1st August 1919 ,,the ”Big Four” decided that the Banat region would be divided between Romania,Yugoslavia and Hungary. The Great People’s Assembly in Timişoara in August 10th 1919 and the People’s Assemblyof Banat Swabians, on the same day marched to the highest point in the fight for the whole Banat, but the decisionof the Great Powers remained unchanged, to the disappointment and grief of the entire Romanian nation. ] egreater national interests of Romania and Yugoslavia prevailed. They imposed the reconciliation and resumedtheir traditional relations of friendship and neighborliness in the year 1921 when the two countries became alliesagainst their common enemies.