Deputy Defence Minister Majer pays his respects to General Milan Rastislav Štefánik's memory in Bratislava

To mark the 103rd anniversary of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik's tragic death, Deputy Defence Minister Majer paid his respects to the memory of Gen Štefánik during a commemoration on Štefánik Embankment in Bratislava today (4 May 2022). Among those who also took a moment to pay tribute to this prominent figure of contemporary Slovak history were Parliamentary Speaker Boris Kollár, Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Czech Ambassador Tomáš Tuhý, French Ambassador Pascal Le Deunff, and Serbian Chargé d’Affaires Marije Barlovič.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Defence Minister Majer said: “General Milan Rastislav Štefánik is credited with playing a major part in building the national identity of Czechs and Slovaks. Through his active engagement as a tireless advocate for the cause of Czechoslovakia abroad, he made a significant contribution to establishing their common, independent state. His vision of a free and democratic world, built upon the idea of “trust the truth, live the truth, defend the truth”, is still very much alive, even in these critical times. Never ever will the deathless legacy of Štefánikʼs sacrificial love of his country, heroism and patriotism fall into oblivion.”

General Milan Rastislav Štefánik, born on 21 July 1880 in Košariská, is viewed as one of the most prominent personalities of contemporary Slovak history. The man of many talents has gone down in European history as an astronomer, a pilot, a diplomat, a French Army general, an organiser of the Czechoslovak Legion in France, Russia and Italy, and a co-founder of Czechoslovakia.

On 4 May 1919, he boarded a Caproni Ca.33 biplane at Udine-Campoformido airfield to return home to Czechoslovakia. On approach for landing, his airplane crashed near Ivanka pri Dunaji. His final resting place, along with two Italian airmen, is at Gen Štefánik's Tomb on Bradlo Hill in Brezová pod Bradlom.

For more information on the 103rd anniversary of Gen Štefánik's tragic death, visit the Institute of Military History website at: VHU.