"Pole and Hungarian brothers be" (the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

version) and "Pole and Hungarian, two good friends" (the Hungarian version) are English translations of a popular saying about the traditional kinship, brotherhood, and camaraderie between

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

and

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

Texts

The saying's Polish text reads

''Polak, Węgier — dwa bratanki,'' ''i do szabli, i do szklanki,'' ''oba zuchy, oba żwawi,'' ''niech im Pan Bóg błogosławi.''

The full, two-couplet Hungarian version reads

''Lengyel, magyar – két jó barát,'' ''Együtt harcol s issza borát,'' ''Vitéz s bátor mindkettője,'' ''Áldás szálljon mindkettőre.''

The Polish text may be translated

Pole and Hungarian brothers be, good for fight and good for party. Both are valiant, both are lively, Upon them may God's blessings be.

or, more literally,

Pole and Hungarian — two brothers, good for saber and for glass. Both courageous, both lively, May the Lord God bless them.

A shorter Hungarian couplet

''Lengyel, magyar – két jó barát,'' ''együtt harcol s issza borát.''

may be translated

Pole and Hungarian — two good friends, fighting and drinking at the end.

or, more literally,

Pole, Hungarian — two good friends, together they battle and drink their wine.

The saying's Polish version has two couplets, each of the four lines containing eight syllables. The shorter Hungarian version has a single couplet, each of the two lines also consisting of eight syllables. The Polish ''bratanek'' (in modern

parlance {{Short pages monitor During the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, Poles demonstrated their support for the Hungarians by donating blood; by 12 November, 11,196 Poles had donated. The

Polish Red Cross Polish Red Cross ( pl, Polski Czerwony Krzyż, abbr. PCK) is the Polish member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Its 19th-century roots may be found in the Russian and Austrian Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwe ...

sent 44 tons of medical supplies to Hungary by air, and larger amounts were sent by road and rail. In February 2021, Hungary returned to Poland the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

armor of Polish King

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

, which ended up in Hungary in the interwar period as a result of a misunderstanding, as it was believed to be the armor of King

Louis II of Hungary Louis II ( cs, Ludvík, hr, Ludovik , hu, Lajos, sk, Ľudovít; 1 July 1506 – 29 August 1526) was King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia from 1516 to 1526. He was killed during the Battle of Mohács fighting the Ottomans, whose victory led to t ...

. The gesture is perceived as another example of Polish-Hungarian friendship.

Friendship Day

On 12 March 2007, Hungary's parliament declared 23 March as Hungarian-Polish Friendship Day. Four days later, the Polish parliament declared 23 March Polish-Hungarian Friendship Day by

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

.''Uchwała Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 16 marca 2007 r.''
Friendship Day is celebrated regularly in both countries with concerts, festivals, and exhibitions. Some Polish music groups, such as SBB, feature Hungarian musicians (for example,

Tamás Somló Tamás Somló (17 November 1947 – 19 July 2016) was a Hungarian musician, singer-songwriter and artist. He is mostly known for having been a member of Hungarian rock bands Omega and Locomotiv GT and for composing several of their successful son ...

and Gábor Németh); Hungarian bands such as

Locomotiv GT Locomotiv GT (often abbreviated LGT, and sometimes using the nickname Loksi) was a Hungarian rock band formed in 1971. Starting out as a progressive rock band, they later experimented with many other styles including jazz, funk, and Pop music, pop ...

and

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. The ...

feature Polish musicians, including Józef Skrzek.

Gallery

Two oaks 3.JPG, Two-oaks mural in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, symbolizing Polish-Hungarian friendship Wars87DSC 1242.jpg, Plaque in Warsaw commemorating Hungarians' support for the Polish November Uprising of 1831 Budapest pomnik Bema.jpg, Monument to

Józef Bem Józef Zachariasz Bem ( hu, Bem József, tr, Murat Pasha; March 14, 1794 – December 10, 1850) was a Polish engineer and general, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European patriot ...

in Budapest Ratusz, tablica (2014), 2020 Sárospatak.jpg, Plaque in

Sárospatak Sárospatak (german: Potok am Bodroch; la, Potamopolis; sk, Šarišský Potok or ; ) is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, northern Hungary. It lies northeast from Miskolc, in the Bodrog river valley. The town, often called simply ''Pa ...

commemorating Hungarians' help to 140,000 Polish soldiers and refugees in World War II Katyń memorial in Budapest.JPG, Memorial, in Budapest, to victims of the

Katyń massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...

Powstanie Węgierskie-pomnik.JPG, Memorial, in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, to heroes of the

Notes

References

Józef Kasparek Józef Kasparek (1915–2002) was a Polish lawyer, historian, and political scientist. Until World War II he lived in southeastern Poland (in Poland's southern ''Kresy''), in an area that is now in western Ukraine. Early years Józef Kasparek was ...

, "Poland's 1938 Covert Operations in Ruthenia", ''East European Quarterly'', vol. XXIII, no. 3 (September 1989), pp. 365–73. *

, ''Przepust karpacki: tajna akcja polskiego wywiadu'' (The Carpathian Bridge: a Covert

Polish Intelligence This article covers the history of Polish Intelligence services dating back to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Commonwealth Though the first official Polish government service entrusted with espionage, intelligence and counter-intelligence ...

Operation), Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Czasopism i Książek Technicznych SIGMA NOT, 1992, . *

Edmund Charaszkiewicz Edmund Kalikst Eugeniusz Charaszkiewicz (; Poniec, 14 October 1895 – 22 December 1975, London) was a Polish military intelligence officer who specialized in clandestine warfare. Between the World Wars, he helped establish Poland's interbellum ...

, ''"Referat o działaniach dywersyjnych na Rusi Karpackiej"'' ("Report on Covert Operations in Carpathian Rus"), in ''Zbiór dokumentów ppłk. Edmunda Charaszkiewicza'' (Collection of Documents by Lt. Col.

), ''opracowanie, wstęp i przypisy'' (edited, with introduction and notes by) Andrzej Grzywacz, Marcin Kwiecień, Grzegorz Mazur,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Księgarnia Akademicka, 2000, , pp. 106–30.

External links