Repercussions of the situation of the Hungarian population of Bukovyna at the beginning of World War II i n the documents of the State Archive of Chernivtsi Region

The outbreak of World War II brought signifi cant changes to the Kingdom of Romania, both in relations with traditional allies and in the structure of the territory. The loss of a number of territories led to the voluntary outfl ow of part of the population from their places of traditional residence. The latter applies not only to Germans, but also to Hungarians who repatriated in 1941. Purpose of the article. The purpose of this publication is to introduce into scientifi c circulation the information about the Hungarian population of Bukovyna during the initial period of World War II, shown in the documents of the State Archive of the Chernivtsi Region. Research methods. A synchronous approach and special historical methods were used during studying this issue. Comparative and chronological methods to study the situation were applied. The latter methods allowed tracing the sequence of events related to the solution of the issue of repatriation of the Hungarian population of Bukovyna, who lived in fi ve villages in the south of the region. The use of the synchronous method makes it possible to trace the sequence of decision- making by government officials regarding the Hungarian population in the context of Romania’s territorial losses and the implementation of revisionist activities by the Hungarians. The academic novelty of this article lies in its repercussions of the situation related to the solution of the issue of the Hungarian population of Bukovyna fate in the initial period of World War II and the beginning of the German- Soviet campaign, for the fi rst time in Ukrainian historiography. Conclusion. The territorial losses of the Kingdom of Romania, which occurred during June- September 1940, led not only to the change of the political situation in the country itself and the loss of powers of individual institutions, but also to the change of the ethnic situation in the country. The separation of the northwestern part of Ardeal from Romania by decision of the Vienna arbitration of August 30, 1940, played a decisive role in the decision of the Hungarian national minority of Bukovyna to repatriate to Hungary. At the same time, the Vienna arbitration did not solve, as the following events showed, the issues of relations between Romania and Hungary, which remained tense throughout the subsequent stages of World War II until the fall of 1944. Despite the participation in the alliance with Germany in 1941-1944, Hungary and Romania were in the state of hidden confrontation, which was manifested by the presence of Romanian military units on the new border with Hungary, the secret migration of Ardeal residents across the new border of the countries, and the constant intelligence and propaganda activities from both sides.