09/11/2026
🇺🇸🇸🇰 The Unbroken Spirit of 9/11
🕯️ Wednesday evening, our premises played host to a commemorative event marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, organized in collaboration with Slovak PRO. Alongside fellow compatriots and American guests, we paid tribute to the memory of the victims, the survivors, and the heroic first responders.
📷 The defining highlight of the evening was the opening of an exhibition by Slovak photojournalist Paul Martinka, who has resided in New York for over 30 years and has been photographing for the New York Post since 2001. On the ground during the attacks, he captured through his lens not only the tragedy, but also the courage, solidarity, and humanity of all those impacted. His photographs have been featured in publications such as TIME, Rolling Stone, People, and DER SPIEGEL.
Speaking about his iconic 9/11 photographs, Paul offered a sentiment that perhaps best encapsulates their enduring impact:
“If I had a choice, I would far prefer never to have had to take them.”
During a moderated panel, personal recollections were also shared by Andrej Droba, Ambassador of the Slovak Republicat in USA—who served as a Slovak diplomat in New York at the time of the attacks—and Chief Joseph Fox Joe Fox, a 37-year NYPD veteran and former Chief of the NYPD Transit Bureau.
🎶 The Slovak dimension of the event was underscored by an intimate performance of an excerpt from Requiem:Oratio Spei (Prayer of Hope) by the prominent Slovak composer and Košice native Juraj Filas. The Requiem, which he was finalizing around the time of the attacks, was dedicated to their victims and subsequently performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
🙏 We extend our gratitude to Marta Kotyza and the Harmony Foundation for this musical tribute, and our thanks go to all guests, speakers, and partners for fostering such a dignified atmosphere throughout the evening.
Thank you very much to our product sponsors: Kofola and Château Topoľčianky
📸 Photo credit: Emily Martinka
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🇸🇰🇺🇸 The Unbroken Spirit of 9/11
🕯️ V stredu večer sa v našich priestoroch uskutočnilo spomienkové podujatie pri príležitosti 25. výročia 9/11, ktoré sme zorganizovali v spolupráci so Slovak PRO. Spolu s krajanmi a americkými hosťami sme si uctili pamiatku obetí, preživších a hrdinských záchranárov.
📷 Vyvrcholením večera bolo otvorenie výstavy slovenského fotoreportéra Paula Martinku, ktorý žije v New Yorku viac ako 30 rokov a od roku 2001 fotografuje pre New York Post. Počas útokov bol priamo v uliciach mesta a svojím objektívom zachytil tragédiu aj odvahu, solidaritu a ľudskosť všetkých, ktorých tieto udalosti zasiahli. Jeho fotografie boli publikované v časopisoch Time, Rolling Stone, People či Der Spiegel.
O svojich ikonických záberoch z 9/11 Paul povedal vetu, ktorá azda najlepšie vystihuje ich silu:
„Keby som si mohol vybrať, bol by som najradšej, keby som ich nikdy nemusel odfotografovať.“
V moderovanej diskusii sa o svoje osobné spomienky podelili aj veľvyslanec SR v USA Andrej Droba, ktorý v čase útokov pôsobil ako slovenský diplomat v New Yorku, a Chief Joe Fox, 37-ročný veterán NYPD a bývalý šéf NYPD Transit Bureau.
🎶 Slovenský rozmer podujatia zvýraznilo komorné uvedenie časti diela Requiem: Oratio Spei (Modlitba nádeje) košického rodáka a významného slovenského skladateľa Juraja Filasa. Rekviem, ktoré dokončoval v čase útokov, venoval ich obetiam; neskôr zaznelo aj v newyorskej Carnegie Hall.
🙏 Za túto hudobnú spomienku ďakujeme Marte Kotyza a Harmony Foundation. Všetkým hosťom, rečníkom a partnerom zároveň ďakujeme za vytvorenie dôstojnej atmosféry večera.
Veľmi pekne ďakujeme našim produktovým sponzorom: Kofola a Château Topoľčianky.
📸 Photo credit: Emily Martinka
