Polish-Hungarian Friendship Day

2023-03-28

Members of the Youth Justice Council together with members of the Fúzió Hallgatói Közösség organized a celebration of Polish-Hungarian Friendship Day. The virtual meeting on March 23, 2023 was opened by Prof. Marcin Wielec, the Head of the Institute of Justice.

There are many initiatives in both Poland and Hungary highlighting Polish-Hungarian friendship. This includes economic, cultural and scientific cooperation. The Institute of Justice in Warsaw conducts lively scientific cooperation by conducting research with Polish-Hungarian teams in prestigious projects: Polish-Hungarian Reaserch Platform and Central European Professors’ Network. “We think it is important that the good relations between our countries continue”, wrote the young Hungarians.

During the virtual discussion, they talked about how the Polish-Hungarian friendship developed. How are relations between the two nations today? What can be expected in the future? Among the invited guests were IWS Director Professor Marcin Wielec and András Nagy Dénes from the Institute for Strategic Studies at the National University of Public Service in Budapest. “With Marcin Wielec, professor at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw and director of the Institute of Justice Institute of Justice, we discussed the past, present and future of Hungarian-Polish relations”, – András Nagy Dénes wrote on social media.

Since the mid-19th century, cultural creators have been reflecting on the extraordinary phenomenon that the centuries-old friendship between Poles and Hungarians appears to be. According to a 2019 poll, 53.5% of Hungarians believe that the intensity of relations between Poles and Hungarians should be “increased,” while 39.4% believe that the situation is “adequate.” – Based on the comments of young people from Poland and Hungary, we don’t need to worry about the next generation, because thanks to them our friendship of more than a thousand years will continue to strengthen, according to András Nagy Dénes.

However, the history of Polish-Hungarian contacts is much longer, as it dates back to the 10th century, when both countries were baptized. Over the years, our countries have cooperated internationally since the Middle Ages, when borders often brought us closer together.

As a result of the Visegrad congress in 1339 (or 1338), the king of Hungary also became king of Poland. As a result of the agreement, after the death of Casimir the Great, the throne passed into the hands of Louis of Anjou and later his daughter Jadwiga. The greatest flowering of friendship, however, occurred during the years of partition. The Polish uprisings were described by Hungarian Romantics, and were the igniting element for the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. It is also worth remembering the arms aid from Hungary during the war with Bolshevik Russia in 1920.

Polish-Hungarian Friendship Day has been officially celebrated since 2007. At that time, a declaration of friendship was adopted in the Parliament of Hungary and the Polish Sejm. The text of the Polish Sejm’s resolution recalls the events and historical figures that unite Poles and Hungarians: the reign of King Stefan Batory, who came from Hungary, when Poland experienced one of its most glorious periods in history, the achievements of General Jozef Bem in the fight for Hungary’s freedom, and the Poles’ support for the 1956 anti-communist uprising in Budapest, which was suppressed by Moscow’s armed intervention.