Deputy Defence Minister Majer honours General Milan Rastislav Štefánik's memory 103 years on from his tragic death

Today (7 May 2022), Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer paused to honour the memory of Gen Milan Rastislav Štefánik, one of the most prominent personalities of Slovak history, in a commemoration ceremony marking the 103rd anniversary of his tragic death at General Štefánik's Tomb on Bradlo Hill in Brezová pod Bradlom.

Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer said: “General Štefánik died a sudden death, while finding himself literally on the threshold of new life in his liberated homeland in the establishment of which he has great merits. In this difficult period, he gave his maximum for the cause of building Czechoslovak statehood. And as its co-founder, he forever deserves an honourable place in the memory of Czechs and Slovaks.”

When advocating for a democratic and pro-European Slovakia, he was aware that life in a free and prosperous society was never a matter of course. “Thatʼs why even today, we must not forget where we belong and what values we want to subscribe to,” Majer added.

The life of General Štefánik – a scientist, an astronomer, a soldier, a pilot, a diplomat, a politician, a key organiser of the Czechoslovak Legion in France, Russia and Italy – was extinguished prematurely on Sunday 4 May 1919. The airplane with the first, and at the same time, last Czechoslovak Minister of War on board crashed unexpectedly near Ivanka pri Dunaji. The entire crew perished in the accident.