Hungary’s Spring

Szöveg: Sándor Galambos | 2011. március 18. 8:08

On March 15 MoD Parliamentary State Secretary Dr. István Simicskó held an unconventional history class in the Peacock Room of the Cifrapalota (‘Fancy Palace’) of Kecskemét: he introduced the exhibition ‘Hungary’s Spring’ to Hungarian children living in neighboring countries. The unique exhibition that displays relics of the heroes of the 1848/49 Revolution and War of Independence comprises Norbert Máday’s collection.

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Dr. István Simicskó had a busy schedule in the afternoon of the national holiday in Kecskemét: he turned into a history teacher, joined a torchlight procession, saw the hand-to-hand combat between Imperial troops and Hungarian soldiers in the main square of the town, and in the evening he opened the exhibition ‘Hungary’s Spring’ in the Cifrapalota within the March 15 central ceremony of the Bács-Kiskun County General Assembly.

The Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence arrived in Kecskemét well before the start of his official program, since he was interested in Norbert Máday’s exclusive collection unofficially too. Szabolcs Rosta, the director of the county’s museums, Anikó Szabóné Bognár and the owner of the rare relics gave the State Secretary a guided tour, after which students from the southern part of Slovakia (Felvidék), from the Bácska region of Serbia and from Romania filled the rooms.

The discussion started as an unconventional history class; both the children and the ‘exhibition guide’ enjoyed it so much that they were almost late for the torchlight procession. While the participants of the procession were gathering outside the mayor’s office, Hungarian soldiers and Imperial troops were staring each other down outside the Cifrapalota. As the crowd approached them, they engaged in hand-to-hand combat, which ended with the Hungarians’ victory this time. The commander of the Austrians handed his sword over to the Hungarian lieutenant and the troops marched into the Cifrapalota together in peace.

Here participants were greeted by Gábor Bányai, Chairman, Bács-Kiskun County General Assembly, who also commemorated the heroes of 1848/49, which was followed by a musical-literary program of Hungarian children from neighboring countries. The program finished in the evening with István Simicskó opening the exhibition ‘Hungary’s Spring’.

The MoD Parliamentary State Secretary noted that upon entering the room, he was surprised to see the multitude of objects on display, the huge collection of 1848/49 relics.

“This unique collection reminds visitors of a glorious historic era when the people of Hungary were able to join forces and stand up together for timeless values, human freedom and national independence with all their might. March 15 has a message for us today: we must say no to opportunism, weakness, injustice, evil and oppressors" – said Dr. István Simicskó.

The State Secretary went on to say that “Life is based on faith, the quest for truth, and the sense of freedom. The memory of 1848 encourages us to have a healthy national self-esteem. Of course, these days we do not have to fight against the two most powerful armies of that era, the Austrians and the troops of the Russian Tsar – we live in an age of different challenges. Globalization may pose a potential threat to the Hungarian nation: if we don’t take care, we may lose our national culture, our self-esteem and language. We must gain strength from the examples of our glorious predecessors, we must have the courage to say no to injustice, oppression and evil. We must build our future on truth, faith, our conviction, and our national consciousness!"

“I would also like the children who have come from beyond our borders to understand this! They should be proud of being Hungarian and should retain their Hungarian identity. I hope this exhibition will reassure them that being Hungarian makes sense indeed! The present government has given them the opportunity to keep their Hungarian identity alive not just in their hearts, as they can apply for Hungarian citizenship on reaching adulthood" – said István Simicskó.

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Photos by the author

Ha érdekelnek a Magyar Honvédség hírei, iratkozz fel hírlevelünkre!