Bényi János Esterházy Memorial Site

We all know that Esterházy has not been rehabilitated to this day, and only in recent years have they dared to erect a worthy memorial to him throughout the country. The Bényi Handicraft House Association has long been involved with the Polish refugees who were admitted to the Bényi Pálfy Castle during World War II. And this is where János Esterházy came into the picture, who helped their escape and their existence here from the background between 1939-1944. ; I know from hearing from older people in our community that nearly 40 Polish families lived in the castle, and even from archival records it turned out that in Bényi, Hungary at that time, there was a Polish agricultural vocational high school in the castle, which also included a dormitory. There was a school on the shores of Lake Balaton, but the dormitory only belonged to the Bényi, and no one noticed János Esterházy's presence here, as he was the chairman of the director's weaver of the sugar factory in Oroszka, seven kilometers away, and a shareholder of the factory. So he visited the Pálfy castle, mostly on business trips. I was always thinking that I needed a memorial plaque for myself and for the Poles who had fled here. Unfortunately, the castle was demolished, and there was nowhere to put it. That's when I met Vince Buják, a woodcarver awarded the Knight of Hungarian Culture, who has made more than a dozen memorial plaques in Esterházy's honor. His works can be found in Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, all over Hungary, but also in several places in the Felvidék. Esterházy made headstones for his daughter, Mrs. Alice, among others. He deserves special thanks for all this. I mentioned to him whether he would make a memorial plaque for us too? Given our old friendship, he immediately agreed to the request and made it in the spring of 2017. Unfortunately, due to his illness, the inauguration was delayed until the autumn. On October 27, 2017, at the ceremony held by the Csemadok organization in Bény, Imre Molnár, director of the Hungarian Institute in Bratislava, gave a lecture on the life of János Esterházy in the local community center. Iván Farkas, county representative, vice president of the Hungarian Community Party, praised the historical role of János Esterházy and pointed out its current relevance. The participants then inaugurated the Esterházy memorial site created in the village park, where Vince Buják, the creator of the memorial site, gave an inaugural speech with the participation of the local choir. The program was enriched by a performance by the local choir.