President Zuzana Caputova bestowed state awards on 25 people from the social, cultural and sport sphere on Sunday evening, with six of them receiving awards posthumously. Among those who received a state award posthumously were Albert Pucik, Eduard Tesar and Anton Tunega - three members of the Christian anti-communist movement who were sentenced to death during the political processes in the 1950s. The President also gave a posthumous award to Margita Kosturikova, a nurse and midwife who was working in a centre for retired people where she took care of COVID patients. She contracted the virus herself and died after 5 weeks in January 2021, shortly before Slovak medical staff started to be vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the Slovak ice-hockey legend, NHL Hall-of-Famer Marian Hossa and long-distance walker, world and Olympic champion Matej Toth received awards for their extraordinary merits in developing sport in Slovakia. Another award was given to car designer, chief designer at Volkswagen Jozef Kaban for giving Slovakia a good name abroad.
Other awardees included the President of the Slovak Red Cross Viliam Dobias, oncologist Michal Mego, cardiologist Jozef Masura, teacher Zita Adamova, one of the first Jewish girls transported to Auschwitz Laura Spanikova, who died in April shortly before turning 100. Alžbeta Göllnerová-Gwerková was a translator who fought in the Slovak National Uprising and was killed by the Nazi police gestapo in the biggest mass killing in Slovakia, in Kremnicka.
Among the awardees are late artist Maria Bartuszova, writer Irena Brezna, director Peter Mikulik, actor Jana Olhova, photographers Milota Havrankova and Zuzana Minacova, singer Maria Macoskova, historian Vojtech Celko, opera singer Sergej Kopcak, climatologist Milan Lapin, Roma activist Kvetoslava Berkyova and one of the last founders of the Democratic Party in Slovakia Stefan Kopecky.
Source: RTVS, TASR
