A Hajdú-Bihar Megyei Levéltár évkönyve 28. 2001 (Debrecen, 2001)

Tanulmányok - Gazdag István: Kossuth Lajos születésének 100. évfordulója Debrecenben

dicsőítésére, születesse 100-dik évfordulója napjának ünneplésére, egyiket szept. 17- dikén tartja a magyarság szívében: Debreczenben, a másikat pedig megüli szept. 19- dikén az ország fővárosában: Budapesten! Debreczen, 1902. augusztus 25-dik.

Komlóssy Arthur, a debreczeni Kossuth-ünnepélyek rendező bizottságának h.

elnöke.

Debrecen, 1902. augusztus 26.

170 Gazdag István: Kossuth Lajos születésének 100. évfordulója Debrecenben

THE 100™ ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF LAJOS KOSSUTH IN DEBRECEN

István Gazdag

The objective of the study is to show how the memory of Kossuth lived in the city of Debrecen in the early 20th century, at the 100th anniversary of his birth. Thanks to first the foreign and then also the Hungarian press, news of the politician kept coming in from the early 1850s onward. The local newspapers published their reports a little late, but with increasing intensity on the activities of the Kossuth and on how the citizens of Debrecen remembered the "Moses of Hungarians".

The 100,h anniversary of Kossuth’s birth was a memorable event for a long time. The contemporaries complained louder and louder about the absence of a Kossuth statue, denouncing along the way the municipal leaders, and especially the mayor.

The city leaders started to discuss the organisation of the celebrations in early June. Because of the celebrations in the capital city, the local events took place earlier: the city of Debrecen celebrated the anniversary on 17 September by illuminating the streets, a procession, picnic, firework and speeches. A very successful exhibition was also held. Published in the appendix of the study: the documents entitled "A memorandum of Debrecen college students to the House of Representatives," "An open letter to Aladár Komlóssy," and "The reply to Gyula Szi- nay’s open letter."