The memory of the Pan-European Picnic does not fade
At Sopronpuszta, in the Pan-European Picnic Memorial Park, the city paid tribute to the 34th anniversary of the border breakthrough, marked as a historical turning point, on Saturday evening.
Parliament member Attila Barcza emphasized to our question: on August 19, the events of the Pan-European Picnic, the border breach contributed greatly to the reunification of Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the communist world order. The importance of this is enormous, which we remembered together with our German and Austrian friends today. We are still living in historic times, many dangers threaten us, Hungary and the European Union, for which we must find solutions.
Mayor Dr. Ciprián Farkas emphasized in his celebratory speech: there are events that become truly valuable only as time progresses, and there are those whose historical weight is already clearly visible at that moment. The Pan-European Picnic belongs to the latter.
- It soon became clear that the Pan-European Picnic and the crossing of the border were a fate-changing event not only for Hungarians and Germans, but also for all citizens of Europe. This was the day when Hungary knocked out the first brick from the Berlin wall, he added.
- Peace, freedom, and independence are now also shown by the war events taking place in the neighboring country to be a great treasure. It was not only difficult to achieve these values, but it is at least as important to preserve them and pass them on to the next generations, said Dr. Ciprián Farkas.
Julia Gross, Germany's ambassador to Hungary, and Patricia Lips, deputy leader of the CDU/CSU faction in Germany's parliament, also spoke, who told Sopron Média that Germany fulfills its duty and does its part to preserve the memory of the Pan-European Picnic, but the role of young people is important, as this historic event will live on through them.
The ceremony was attended by Dr. Simon István deputy mayor and dr. Deputy mayor Szabolcs Csiszár, dr. László Magas, the president of the Pan-European Picnic ’89 Foundation, the management of the Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung, as well as neighborhood mayors, local government representatives and contemporaries were also present.
