Memorial to World War I Prisoners of War

Szöveg: Dániel Kovács | 2015. február 19. 9:00

On Tuesday, February 17 the Russian Peace Foundation inaugurated a stone memorial in Tokod, Komárom-Esztergom County. The memorial is dedicated to those prisoners of war who were captured during the First World War and died in camps in the area.

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Contagious diseases were common in one of the largest POW camps of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy set up near Tokod, and the soldiers suffering from them were accommodated in the buildings of the Tokod mining site. During the First World War, nearly 1,000 Russian, Romanian, Italian and Serb POWs lost their lives due to epidemics, and they were buried in four cemeteries of the village.

Tivadar Tóth, the mayor of Tokod

The memorial was made by sculptor Vladimir Surovtsev. The Russian inscription carved in the stone slab commemorates five named and 86 unknown soldiers. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the monument, Tivadar Tóth, the mayor of Tokod said that “if a nation values itself, it values not only its historic figures but also the common men who were called up, went and did what they felt honor-bound to do. This memorial stands here to commemorate these soldiers. For 100 years now, their families have been waiting in vain for them to return home."

Mikhail Lavrenenko, the president of the Russian Peace Foundation said that they would do their best to make sure that all descendants of the soldiers buried here – no matter which country’s citizens they are today – can hear about that day’s event so they can visit the place to pay tribute to their ancestors.

Mikhail Lavrenenko, the president of the Russian Peace Foundation

Brig.-Gen. Gábor Horváth, Commander, HDF 25th “Klapka György" Infantry Brigade of Tata also attended the commemoration, together with Lt.-Col. Gyula Téglás, the head of the MoD Public Relations and War Memorial Service Department Centenary Program Office, who laid a wreath of remembrance on behalf of the Ministry of Defence by the inaugurated monument.

This was not the first time that the Russian Peace Foundation had erected a memorial in Hungary. On February 13, the Russian organization put up Cardinal József Mindszenty’s lifelike sitting bronze statue next to the basilica in Esztergom. The foundation is also restoring the “Csalamádé" cemetery in Esztergom, the final resting place of Russian, Serb, Romanian and Hungarian soldiers.