A vasúti határforgalom-ellenőrzés története 1920-tól 1944-ig

Abstract

Abstract:

Introduction: Railway border checks are an area at the intersection of transport history and law enforcement history, whose historical development has determined border control practices. The historical and legal aspects of the Treaty of Trianon on railway border checks have only been partially explored. Little is known about how the organizational framework and implementation of railway border checks changed, or what external factors shaped them. This study aims to address these gaps.

Objectives: The aim of the research is to explore the history of development between 1920 and 1944, with particular emphasis on the dimensions of transport infrastructure, state borders, international treaties, and organizational frameworks.

Methods: The study was conducted on the basis of an extensive analysis of the literature and legislation, supplemented by contemporary primary sources. In addition to systematizing the relevant legislation and international conventions affecting rail traffic, I applied a chronological approach based on specific dimensions that I developed myself.

Results: As a result of the Treaty of Trianon, more than half of the Hungarian railway network was annexed to neighboring states, and the new state borders fundamentally transformed border traffic. International cooperation came about with the emergence of economic interests, leading to bilateral agreements with neighboring states. The organizational framework for border traffic checks by rail was stable, as in peacetime these were carried out by border police stations operating as part of the state police.

Conclusion: The lesson learned from the period under review is that international rail connections and, consequently, border traffic control by rail transcended political issues, with national economic interests increasingly replacing national security considerations. Effective border traffic checks required a stable organizational structure and authorization under international agreements. A possible direction for future research is the analysis of the period following World War II.

Keywords: border station, border control, railway border checks