The Hungarian Ambassador, Orsolya Zsuzsanna Kovács, Ph.D. thanked János Tischler for his many years of work in Poland. Jarosław Szarek, Ph.D., the President of the Institute of National Remembrance, as well as Rafał Reczek, Sc.D., the Director of the IPN Branch in Poznań, and Konrad Białecki, Sc.D., the Head of the IPN’s Historical Research Office, Poznań Branch were among the invited guests.
“ We owe the fact that we are present all over Poland in terms of culture, to many Polish institutions and our Polish friends. We have been cooperating with the most prominent institutions, including the Institute of National Remembrance. We have been very fortunate, as these have been good times,” said the Director of the Institute of Hungarian Culture in Warsaw, János Tischler, summarizing his 9-year diplomatic mission in Poland.
“There are numerous examples of the IPN’s cooperation with the Institute of Hungarian Culture. János Tischle,r Ph.D. is leaving but the effects of his work will remain, constituting a significant contribution to the commemoration of our common history,” emphasized Jarosław Szarek, Ph.D., the President of the Institute of National Remembrance, thanking János Tischler, Ph.D. for many years of fruitful cooperation. In the commemorative book prepared for the occasion, he wrote:
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János Tischler ... – I heard his name being mentioned at the Institute on numerous occasions when we were preparing a ‘Hungarian’ project. Sometimes it was in the context of erecting a monument or unveiling a commemorative plaque, sometimes publishing a book. Any time an idea concerning Polish-Hungarian affairs was put forward, János Tischler appeared almost immediately, his presence being a guarantee of the undertaking’s future success. This might seem quite natural, as that is the role of the Director of the Institute of Hungarian Culture, but what made János Tischler’s approach unique were his passion, kindness and wholeheartedness. From the times of St. Emeric, St. Kinga of Poland, St. Jadwiga of Poland to modern times – the spiritual, thus lasting, Polish and Hungarian bond has remained strong. The bond is not solely of a spiritual nature – 1920, 1939, 1956 ... It is impossible to list all the people who make up this bond. Many of them can be found in János Tischler’s book on the turning points in Polish – Hungarian History “I do szabli… Polska i Węgry, punkty zwrotne w dziejach obu narodów w latach 1956 oraz 1980‒1981”. Over the years, as the Director of the Institute of Hungarian Culture in Warsaw, he has added further chapters to our shared history, the permanent traces of which are visible across Poland, from Szczecin to Szczawnica. Years ago, the book Węgierski łącznik [The Hungarian Connection] appeared in Poland. It features talks with Áks Engelmayer, Csaba György Kiss, István Kovács, Attila Szalay and Imre Molnár, who, not agreeing to communist rule, tried to build relations between free Hungarians and free Poles despite those difficult, dark times. They most definitely made their mark on the road to independence both in Hungary and in Poland. |
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Today, we are able to live and work in free countries. We remember all those who did not live to see such times and often paid the highest price for their dreams of independence. It is our duty to do everything we can to make sure that such people are not forgotten. János Tischler is yet another Hungarian connection with whom we work for the benefit of both our countries. I strongly believe that together we will also be able to do a lot more in the future.
Jaroslaw Szarek President of the Institute of National Remembrance |
János Tischler is a historian and a researcher of the 20th century history of Polish-Hungarian relations. He studied history and Polish studies at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. János Tischler was a researcher at the Institute for the History of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. In the years 1998–2001 he was the Deputy Director of the Institute of Hungarian Culture in Warsaw, and its Director in the years 2011–2020. He is the author of the book I do szabli... Polska i Węgry. Punkty zwrotne w dziejach obu narodów w latach 1956 oraz 1980–1981” (with an introduction by Andrzej Paczkowski), and a co-author of the publication on 'contemporary Polish-Hungarian history', the editor of the collection 'Hungarian Revolution 1956 in Polish documents' and author of several hundred publications in various languages, including Polish. He was awarded the Polish Knight's and Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and the Pro Patria Medal.
János Tischler has been a true friend of the Institute of National Remembrance. He has taken part in many joint Polish-Hungarian projects. Recently, he made a contribution to the discussion about the book by Balázs Ablonczy Pál Teleki (1879–1941) published by the Institute of National Remembrance.