Most Austrians believe that in making countless policy decisions relating to Austria after World War I the Allies only twice demonstrated an awareness of the actual situation in Austria and took into account the wishes of the people: (1) when they determined to subject the conflicting claims to the Klagenfurt Basin to the test of a plebiscite; and (2) when they transferred the German-speaking areas of West Hungary to Austria without a plebiscite. However, although the creation of the Burgenland was commemorated in 1971 at numerous semicentennial celebrations in all parts of the country, the official speeches stressing the progress and the achievements of Austria's youngest province, no matter how tactful they were, could not entirely blot out memories of the bitter and bloody struggles of fifty years ago. The refusal of Hungary in her hour of humiliation to give up another piece of national territory; the political intrigues and military operations around the disputed borders; the fraudulent plebiscite in Ödenburg, as a result of which the new province lost its natural capital; and the Hungarian government's diplomatic efforts almost up to the outbreak of World War II to undo the Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon are all too much a part of Austrian history to be passed over in silence.