Slovak heroes deserve our respect – the official MOD address to be renamed after General Viest is now a step closer to reality
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- Date: 04.04.2023
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Bratislava-Nové Mesto Borough Council today met in formal session and unanimously agreed to rename a section of Kutuzov Street in Bratislava-Nové Mesto as General Viest Square. General Rudolf Viest is a major figure of Slovak military history and a hero of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP).
Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “I think the time has come to take action and ensure that the institutions responsible for Slovakia’s defence and security agenda are located on a street that bears the name of an important personality of our military history. Undoubtedly, General Rudolf Viest is just such a person and deserves to be remembered in a dignified way in the capital city. We owe a lot to him and many other heroes, which is why I hope that our proposal will be accepted by the borough council and that we all together will give this true hero well-deserved homage.”
According to Minister Naď, it is unacceptable for the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Staff to be located on a street named after a military figure of the country which today represents one of the greatest threats to the values of freedom and sovereignty.
Rudolf Viest was born on 24 September 1890 in Revúca, Austro-Hungary. Shortly after WW1, he played a vital role in recruiting Slovaks for the Czechoslovak Legion in Russia. His journey with legionaries took him across Siberia, around the world, and back to his homeland. He joined the Czechoslovak Army on 1 January 1921. For six years of his active duty service during the First Czechoslovak Republic, he held a range of high command and staff appointments in Bratislava. In 1933, he became the first Slovak officer to be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of the Czechoslovak Army.
In late August 1939, he left the Slovak State and immigrated to France. There, he commanded the 1st Czechoslovak Division. After the outbreak of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP), he returned home and took command of the Resistance forces in Slovakia on 7 October 1944. General Viest was captured by Einsatzkommando 14 on 3 November 1944 and was most probably transported to the Flossenbürg concentration camp. After WW2, the Communist regime did not recognise his wartime merits and turned him into a forgotten man. Throughout his life and after his death, Army General in memoriam Rudolf Viest was awarded a number of Czechoslovak, Slovak and foreign medals and decorations.
The proposal to rename a section of Kutuzov Street in Bratislava-Nové Mesto as General Viest Square must still be approved by Bratislava City Council. The residents of Bratislava will not be affected by the renaming in any way.
Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “I think the time has come to take action and ensure that the institutions responsible for Slovakia’s defence and security agenda are located on a street that bears the name of an important personality of our military history. Undoubtedly, General Rudolf Viest is just such a person and deserves to be remembered in a dignified way in the capital city. We owe a lot to him and many other heroes, which is why I hope that our proposal will be accepted by the borough council and that we all together will give this true hero well-deserved homage.”
According to Minister Naď, it is unacceptable for the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Staff to be located on a street named after a military figure of the country which today represents one of the greatest threats to the values of freedom and sovereignty.
Rudolf Viest was born on 24 September 1890 in Revúca, Austro-Hungary. Shortly after WW1, he played a vital role in recruiting Slovaks for the Czechoslovak Legion in Russia. His journey with legionaries took him across Siberia, around the world, and back to his homeland. He joined the Czechoslovak Army on 1 January 1921. For six years of his active duty service during the First Czechoslovak Republic, he held a range of high command and staff appointments in Bratislava. In 1933, he became the first Slovak officer to be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of the Czechoslovak Army.
In late August 1939, he left the Slovak State and immigrated to France. There, he commanded the 1st Czechoslovak Division. After the outbreak of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP), he returned home and took command of the Resistance forces in Slovakia on 7 October 1944. General Viest was captured by Einsatzkommando 14 on 3 November 1944 and was most probably transported to the Flossenbürg concentration camp. After WW2, the Communist regime did not recognise his wartime merits and turned him into a forgotten man. Throughout his life and after his death, Army General in memoriam Rudolf Viest was awarded a number of Czechoslovak, Slovak and foreign medals and decorations.
The proposal to rename a section of Kutuzov Street in Bratislava-Nové Mesto as General Viest Square must still be approved by Bratislava City Council. The residents of Bratislava will not be affected by the renaming in any way.
