The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1985 (12. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1985-08-01 / 8. szám
Preservation of Hungarian Military Artifacts I would like to introduce myself. My name is Zoltán Korossy, and for the past five years I have been actively involved in acquiring Hungarian military artifacts from the mid 1800’s up through WW II, with a primary emphasis on the 1920-1944 era. My father, having been an officer in the armed forces of Hungary during the war, was the primary incentive for my latest interest in Hungary’s uniformed services. Five years ago I had the marvelous good fortune of having the opportunity to purchase a Hussar (mounted light cavalry) Lt. Col. tunic with pants, overcoat, and hat. This opportunity confirmed to me the fact that this type of material was available in the U.S. and that I had a desire to learn of the military heritage of Hungary. With tremendous zeal I launched into the search for related items. This was not as easy as one might imagine since there was little confrontation between U.S. and Hungarian forces in WW II giving little opportunity for souvenirs to be collected and brought back to America. In addition, those individuals (dealers) specifically involved with the buying and selling of military artifacts have little or no knowledge of Hungarian items, therefore they tend not to have material of this nature available for sae. Nevertheless, in the past five years I have managed to assemble what I believe to be the larest private collection of this type in the world. As the items have slowly accumulated, I have shared the collection with anyone who wished to view it. After seeing the dedication and sincerity that has been placed in my work, many individuals have been led to make donations of their own. A record is kept of all such individuals along with the item they presented. The collection now occupies one whole room in my home which is affectionately called the ‘museum’. Within the collection are over 25 tunics, overcoats, caps, hats, helmets, boots, medals, badges, swords, pistols, rifles, bayonets, statues, 3000 photographs, films, documents, newspapers, magazines, books, postcards, articles, and etc. As you can see, this is a major commitment. My endeavor to round out the collection has not been solely limited to the accumulation of artifacts, but has naturally led into other areas. For instance, all items, whether in the collection or otherwise, are photographed for the purpose of building up a reference library. I hope to have an article published soon on the history of the Hungarian paratroopers. Recently, I August, 1985 managed to contact a U.S. airman who was shot down over Hungary and taken P.O.W. by the Hungarian authorities during the war. There is also an ongoing correspondence with 10 to 15 Hungarians throughout the world. You may now be asking what exacty is my intention for this collection. They are as follows: 1. To preserve the military artifacts and releated items of Hungary up through WW II. 2. To insure a safe haven for these items where the proper respect will be given to their importance. 3. To restore and exhibit these items as space allows so that others may view them. 4. To transfer the collection to the Hungarian Military Museum in Budapest upon Hungary’s liberation as agreed upon by a free and democratic government. 5. If I should not see the liberation of Hungary then one df my sons will continue my work. The number of these items is finite. Each day something is thrown out, lost, destroyed, or damaged and with it goes a bit of our history. As you can see my desire is to prevent this from happening as much as possible, but I need your help. If you should have some of these mememtos and seek to find a place where they will be preserved, respected, find made available for the future, may I suggest considering placing them in this collection. This request is not for personal gain, but for the benefit of us all. All postage will be reimbursed. Please contact me by mail. If you would like to talk about the Hungarian military then call me by phone. If you should be in the area then come by and see a part of your heritage. My address is: Zolton Korossy 11227 Woodson Ave. Kensington, Maryland 20895 Phone number 301-946-2414 Please Note: All Hungarian Americans, or others, who would like to have their donations to the Statue of Liberty—Ellis Island Fund listed in the Eighth Hungarian Tribe magazine and recorded by the Hungarian Eighth Tribe Foundation, please make your check out to: STATUE OF LIBERTY—ELLIS ISLAND FOUNDATION, and mailed to: HETF, P. 0. Box 637, Ligonier, PA 15658. After it is recorded for publication, it will be forwarded to the Statue of Liberty—Ellis Island Foundation's New York address, and will be credited to the Hungarian Americans' Account. Page 5
