Pavol Horňák
amateur historian and researcher
About
Pavol Horňák is an amateur historian and researcher from Košice, Slovakia, who has long focused on documenting wartime stories connected to Slovakia, historical personalities, and memorial sites related to the Second World War. His work combines archival research, contact with veterans’ families, and public historical outreach.
Fields of Interest
His interests include 20th century military history, the stories of Slovaks serving in foreign armed forces, military aviation, American and British intelligence missions during the Slovak National Uprising, the history of space exploration and technology, as well as lesser-known stories connected to emigration and world history.
Selected Projects and Initiatives
Memorial Sites
He has participated in the creation of several memorials and information panels dedicated to personalities and events of the Second World War in Slovakia.
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John Alois Kravec
(extension of the memorial site, 2026) -
Eugene Andrew Cernan
(information panel at the observatory, 2024) -
M. V. Vodolazhsky
(memorial site, 2024) -
Andrew Babjak
(memorial site, 2024) -
B-17G 44-8186
(memorial site, 2019) -
Augustín Kubovič
(memorial site, 2019)
Historical Exhibitions
He has co-authored and organized exhibitions dedicated to space exploration, wartime cryptography, and other historical topics.
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Julia Cservenka
(information panel at the exhibition, 2025) -
Enigma: The Secret World of Ciphers
(co-author of the exhibition, 2023) -
Journey to the Moon: 50th Anniversary of Humanity’s Greatest Expedition
(author exhibition, 2019)
Documentation of Wartime Stories
He has long focused on locating relatives of soldiers, airmen, and veterans abroad and reconnecting their stories with Slovakia.
Public History Outreach
He cooperates with museums, municipalities, embassies, and other partners in promoting historical topics to the public.
Current Activities
He currently focuses primarily on documenting the stories of American airmen and members of Allied armed forces connected to Slovakia during the Second World War, as well as the development of the digital archive projects LastPost and Letecká bádateľňa. Professionally, he works in the field of internal corporate communications related to transformation projects in financial management.