Ceremonial Book Launch at ZMNDU

Maj.-Gen. (Ret.) Dr. János Isaszegi, the Head of the Zrínyi Média Book and Publication Editorial Office welcomed the participants of the event, including MoD Cabinet Chief Dr. Gábor Szarka, Col. Tibor Visi, the acting Rector of the ZMNDU, Historian Prof. Sándor Szakály, the consultant of the book and the co-authors, Col. Klára Kecskeméthy Siposné, a professor teaching at the ZMNDU and Györgyi B. Kalavszky, a museologist of the MoD Military History Institute and Museum as well as the current and former cadets of the Ludovika.

Maj.-Gen. Isaszegi said that Zrínyi Média had published several books this year, for instance those related to Hungary’s EU Presidency. In addition, the “little brother" of the Ludovika volume is in preparation. The book with the working title “From Jutas to Szentendre" is going to be an album commemorating the NCOs.

On behalf of Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende, Dr. Gábor Szarka welcomed the participants and said thanks for “a common dream that has now come true", of which the Zrínyi Média, the MoD MHIM and all those preserving, cherishing and enriching the Ludovika spirit can be proud.

The Cabinet Chief – who himself had been the student and then professor of the ZMNDU and has been proud to represent the Ludovika spirit until the present day – stated that Ludovika is history. Although it was considered a forbidden topic for most of the military and the public at large for decades, that was no use because science has finally made it accessible.

Dr. Gábor Szarka pointed out that “those browsing through this volume will see that the Ludovika Academy is a tradition worth following." The Ludovika is a tradition which has been inherited by many of us, Gábor Szarka went on saying. We inherited it from our families or from the Ludovika cadets we came to know. This tradition, however, cannot be inherited the same way as a silver cigarette-case. We have to appropriate this tradition because this is the only way for it to become part of our lives. And the authors started to conduct research into this magnificent story.

“As for myself, I chose a different path: I became a soldier, an officer of the Hungarian Defence Forces because I wished to belong to the people who live their lives for the vocation of national defence. The example of the Ludovika cadets showed us how beautiful and great this commitment must be", the Cabinet Chief added.

Addressing the young Ludovika cadets, Dr. Gábor Szarka said: “This community has the mission of giving content to the name “Ludovika" again. The attitude of this community to honor and professional humility, to the work done and the achievements fought for will determine the value of the name “Ludovika". Now, when we are working towards a complete renewal of the system of national defence, we all would like to see this name to have a serious value".

In what followed, as a symbolic gesture, Gábor Szarka handed over the book entitled “The Ludovika" to Lt.-Col. Zsolt Molnár, the commander of the HDF Ludovika Battalion and Péter Molnár, the chairman of the ZMNDU Students’ Union. After the ceremonial act, Dr. János Isaszegi and the co-authors of the book received tokens of appreciations.