Prohászka László: Polish Monuments - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2001)

FlAQÜE COMMEMORATING PllSÜDSKI

relief was the work of Szilárd Sződy, the designer of the Przemysl memorial. The memorial plaque was damaged in 1945 and was soon pulled down. The bronze relief got lost, the sunk Piast heraldic eagle in the wall becoming the only thing left undamaged to remind passers-by that there had been a memorial there. The street name was also changed soon afterwards.

The memorial has always marked an important spot for the Polish community of Hungary, and after a long pause a celebration was held there in 1989. Then on 26 May 1993 a new Pitsudski memorial was unveiled in front of the house at Number 2 of what is now Apor Vilmos tér. The sizeable bronze relief with the marshal’s portrait was made by Ágoston Pusztai and it was fixed to a new limestone plaque. Yet the history of the memorial was not over with this dedication ceremony. As Pilsudski’s name had disappeared from public awareness after 1945, the József Bem Association and the Embassy of the Polish Republic decided to place a brief informative inscription next to the relief. It appeared on 11 November 1995, the day of Polish independence and reads: Józef Pilsudski /President of the re-born Polish Republic / between 1918 and 1922 / Minister of Defence between 1926 and 1935 / Prime Minister between 1926 and 1928, and in 1930.

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