‘Do Good And Tell About It’

2008 is the year of anniversaries in the military history of Hungary: the Hungarian Defence Forces were established 160 years ago, the Air Force celebrates its 70th birthday as an independent unit, while the Museum of Military history, the memorial for the abovementioned and much more, is preparing for the 90th anniversary of its foundation. These jubilee dates are the reason why the Hungarian Defence Forces are given greater publicity than usual. In line with this, Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres gave a gala evening and a reception yesterday, in honour of the celebrated one(s). The presence of Mr Árpád Kovács, President of the State Audit Office of Hungary, Mr József Pálinkás, who has recently been elected President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Mr Sándor Csányi, Chairman and CEO of OTP Bank Plc, among other public figures, further raised the high profile of the event.

Yesterday generals and civilian guests assembled to remember and celebrate. The Veszprém Air Force Orchestra was of great assistance in this – a musical play lead us through 160 years in the history of a family of military musicians, embracing the conception of the armed forces, the fight for freedom, the first and the second World War, the reconstruction and the story of the people’s army, as well as the memory of 1956, when the defence forces of Hungary have demonstrated their commitment to the revolution by their passivity. Naturally, the youngest member of the Katona (’Soldier’) family plays music in the professional armed forces of a country which is free, once again, and which is a member of the NATO. The participants of the evening gave a big round of applause to the hits of Ákos, Bon-Bon, and Elsõ Emelet, which were played in swing-style this time.

Following the performance and the popular tunes, which lasted nearly an hour, Dr. Imre Szekeres greeted the Defence Forces. The Minister of Defence emphasized that in 1848 the armed forces had gathered the best people. He also called attention to the fact that the organization – owing to its loyalty and honour –often finds itself in a situation where it is defenceless against politics. This was the reason behind the role we had played in the world wars, the Treaty of Trianon, the Holocaust, or the succession of dictatorships. The armed forces have a joint and an individual responsibility as well in the prevention of anything like the aforementioned – stressed Dr. Imre Szekeres, who also added that the voluntary armed forces, remodeled in 2004, enjoy strong social support. This recognition is further improved by our troops, who participate in numerous missions worldwide – said the Defence Minister, pointing out that at present there are a thousand troops serving in 13 countries of three continents. In this context he also noted that the ars poetica of the Defence Forces is ’Do good and tell about it’.

Nevertheless, the celebrated one must be given a present – Mr Sándor Csányi, CEO of OTB Bank has taken care of that: in the name of his company and of MOL Plc he presented Dr. József Holló, General Director of HDF Institute and Museum of Military History (HM HIM) with the sabre of Károly Knézich, a weapon which preserves the glorious memory of the battle of Komárom, keeping the faith in the independence of Hungary. As Mr Csányi told in his speech, by giving a present these two corporations have also expressed that they feel a special responsibility towards keeping the traditions alive, since this strengthens national identity, which is quite an asset in the process of globalization. When honvedelem.hu asked Mr Csányi about the motive for the donation, he said that revolutions are among the brightest situations in history, and later he added that there couldn’t have been a conciliation without 1848.

We have also learned that this is not the first relic granted to the museum by the corporation – Mr Csányi told us that following the sword of János Damjanich, this is the second general’s sabre to finally find the place it deserves. The CEO also noted that he would be happy to present the museum with the swords of the other 1848 generals, as well, but their authenticity must be proven first. When Dr. József Holló was handed over the Knézich sabre he was touched to tears. The director of the Museum of Military History emphasized that the sabre is a priceless and unique relic, granted to Károly Knézich on the occasion of his appointment as general. And a coincidence: Knézich was born in 1808.

As Dr. József Holló told honvedelem.hu later, the relic is worth HUF 50-60 million, but we are more precise if we say it is priceless. Upon our inquiry the director of the museum told us that the reason why the memorabilia of the martyrs of Arad survived was that the members of the families have hidden them. So did the two Knézich-girls. The sabre was owned by a private collector until now – said Dr. Holló, who also added that according to the legend, Knézich never laid down the arms at Világos. They say that the general – whose soldiers acted so heroically under his command that they were granted an undisturbed pullout – broke the sword he’d used to defend the fortress of Komárom in two pieces under a wagon.