Let Us Remember the Heroes and Friends Who Have Preserved the Holy Crown!

In his speech, Csaba Hende recalled how our most important national relic went to American hands in 1945 after the Honvéd crown guards – in one of the most glorious and greatest endeavors of World War II – had made huge efforts to rescue it from Hungary in World War II and so kept it out of harm’s way.

Col. Ernő Pajtás, the commander of the Honvéd Crown Guard was willing to hand over the Holy Crown to the Americans only after he made sure that they would not carry it as a trophy of victory or auction it off as booty. Afterward the Americans treated the crown with great respect, providing it with duly strict security. During its checkered history, the crown was now farthest away from the homeland.

The Minister pointed out that 35 years ago when US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance had personally escorted the crown back home in accordance with Jimmy Carter’s decision, many in America said that this was all too early since Hungary had not been a democratic state at that time. Later, the Communist dictatorship locked up our symbol in the Hungarian National Museum among the memories of the past like rusty plows and blunted swords.

“But anywhere it was, it was here at home in Hungary", the Minister said in recalling the long queues stretching in front of the museum even several months after the return. He mentioned the year 2000 as a milestone when the crown occupied its deserved place again in Parliament building. All this symbolizes that we belong together, outside and inside our national borders, and all governments of the country have the task of serving the nation in the spirit of the Hungarian constitution and freedom.

The Minister stressed the recent re-establishment of the Crown Guard, by which the most excellent Hungarian soldiers are guarding the Holy Crown again. “Be proud of them!" – Csaba Hende addressed his audience with these words, and said thanks to the Hungarian Association of Crown Guards for their long-standing dedicated efforts to re-establish the Crown Guard.

Csaba Hende noted that even today, there are some who mock that ancient tie which binds us, Hungarians to the Holy Crown, yet we should think of them with forgiveness on this day because they are also the children of the Holy Crown – even if they are not aware of this fact.

The deserved safekeeping and return of the Holy Crown established a rarely mentioned but very strong tie between Hungary and the United States of America. We must preserve this tie, since we have allied to protect freedom, our common freedom. We must remember what a great treasure we have in Hungarian freedom and the Holy Crown incorporating it.

“Let us remember those heroes and friends of ours who preserved and kept them for us", the Minister said.

In his speech, Timothy Alan Betts, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy pointed out that the return of the Holy Crown symbolizes the trust between the two nations, and the safekeeping of our national relic was a great honor to the United States.

The Deputy Chief of Mission went on praising the relations between the two countries, making special mention of the cooperation between the Hungarian Defence Forces and the US military.

Photo: Mária Krasznai-Nehrebeczky