Defence Minister P. Gajdoš pays tribute to memory of General M. R. Štefánik on occasion of upcoming 100th anniversary of his tragic death

Today (2 May 2019), Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš paid tribute to the memory of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik at the symbolic tomb of General Štefánik during an Act of Remembrance in Ivanka pri Dunaji, at the site where he died tragically 100 years ago.

Speaking at the ceremony, Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš said: “Milan Rastislav Štefánik loved life, his native land, and his nation. It is true that he left Slovakia for a while, but he always acted to bring credit on the Slovak Nation.” At the same time, he emphasised that General Štefánik had excelled in a number of fields during his short life. “He was an excellent astronomer, a pilot, a diplomat, a French general, but above all else, he was an organiser of the Czechoslovak Legion and a warrior for the establishment of a common state of Czechs and Slovaks,” he added.

General Milan Rastislav Štefánik takes the greatest credit for his key role in the formation of the Czechoslovak resistance movement abroad during WW1 and in the establishment of Czechoslovakia, the common state of Czechs and Slovaks. He died on Sunday morning, 4 May 1919, when his plane crashed close to the village of Ivanka pri Dunaji near Bratislava.