THE STATUE OF JOZSEF BEM (see bem.gif)

The statue of Jozsef Bem stands in Buda, a part of the city of
Budapest, on the right side of the river Danube.
     Jozsef Bem was one of the generals of the Hungarian Liberation
Fight of 1848-49, and is very highly regarded by the Hungarians. A
Polish by origin, his remains were brought back from Aleppo to his
home town Tarnow, Poland, in 1927, and for this occasion, sculptor
Janos Istok received the assignment to build the statue of the
general, which was dedicated in 1934, on the 140th anniversary of
the death of the great soldier. This is not the only statue of
general Bem in the historic Hungary. In 1880, sculptor Adolf Huszar
made the first one in Marosvasarhely, Transylvania (see mvhely1-
3.gif) (Rumania today) showing Bem as a settled, calm, wise man,
whereas the statue in Budapest renders him a commanding battle
leader in action. His wounded and tied up right hand refers to the
battle at Deva, Transylvania (Rumania today), so he raises his left
to command the battle at Piski to capture a bridge. There is no
unnecessary mark on the figure of the general (i.e. military rank,
decoration, etc.), he was so popular that everybody knew who he
was.
     In the pillar of the statue, they built in a brick from the
house he was born, and smaller low reliefs and the names of the
towns where he made his victories are engraved. The epigraph of the
statue refers to a battle at Piski. With his name on the top "Bem
Apo" (i.e. approx. Uncle Bem), the epigraph says: "the battle at
PISKI, 1849. I'll recapture the bridge or I'll fall! Forward,
Hungarian, if there's no bridge, there's no country!
     A member of the Polish delegation attending the dedication
ceremony in 1934, was a direct descendant of general Bem, and for
this sculpture, Janos Istok received a Mickiewicz-prize in 1938.
     The power of general Bem over the Hungarians did not die even
one hundred years later. On October 23 1956, the crowd gathered for
demonstration at the Bem statue as well, as part of the series of
events which lead to the Liberation Uprising of 1956.


     Dr. Andras Szeitz
     University of British Columbia
     szeitz@unixg.ubc.ca