Budapest has many memorials to General Jozef Bem, the national hero of Poland, who is also a respected figure in Hungary, where he is sometimes referred to as Father Bem (Bem Apo). However, the most important of these is the monument near the Danube in the first district.

Born in 1794, Jozef Bem was placed by his parents in the Artillery and Engineering Cadet Corps at the age of 15, and later went to the Artillery and Engineering Application School. After completing his training, he began his service in the army of the Duchy of Warsaw. He took part in Napoleon's expedition to Moscow, and then served in the army of the Kingdom of Poland. He took part in the November Uprising, during which he gained fame after, among other things, the Battle of Ostrołęka. After the fall of the uprising, he emigrated to Germany and later to France. He was involved in attempts to create a Polish army. During the Spring of Nations, he led the defence of revolutionary Vienna, and after its fall fled to Hungary to join the struggle for independence against Austria there. He was entrusted with the command of operations in Transylvania, where he was initially successful. The situation was changed by the incursion of Russian troops. Jozef Bem at this time was appointed commander-in-chief of the Hungarian army. However, under the overwhelming pressure of the Russians and Austrians, the uprising collapsed and the Polish general and his survivors fled to what is now Bulgaria, under Turkish rule, and joined the Turkish army. He even converted to Islam and took the name Murad Pasha. He continued his military career and became governor of Alappo in Syria, where he died of malaria.

In the 1920s, Polish authorities began efforts to repatriate General Józef Bem's remains to Poland. The initiative came from Tarnów residents, who, following news of the erection of his memorial plaque in the house where Bem lived in Budapest, initiated the idea of bringing the ashes of this distinguished Pole to the country. At the same time, an initiative to commemorate this outstanding commander with a monument was born in Budapest. In part, this was a reaction to the news that in 1919 unknown perpetrators had demolished the Bem monument in Marosvásárhely, erected by Hungarians back in the 19th century. The Social Committee failed to obtain funding from the state budget, and managed to garner support for the display of Bem's ashes in the Hungarian capital while they were being transported to Poland. The year 1928 saw the start of fundraising for this purpose and the designation of a suitable site for the monument. The original plans envisaged that the monument would depict Bem as a figure sitting on a horse. Initial sketches of the concept for the monument were made by the Hungarian artist Adolf Huszár, who envisaged a dynamic form for the monument.

In 1929, thanks to the efforts of the Polish authorities, General Józef Bem's remains were repatriated to Poland. In June of that year, the train carrying the General's ashes stopped in Budapest, where an urn containing his remains was displayed in front of the National Museum for a farewell ceremony. Although at that time not enough funds had yet been raised to begin construction of the memorial, and in addition there were mutual accusations among the organisers and problems with unauthorised fundraising, fundraising continued.

By 1931, despite continued efforts, the necessary amount had not been raised, and the lack of financial support from the state and the anxiety caused by the world economic crisis forced the organisers to change the concept of the monument. Finally, in May 1932, it was decided to commemorate Bem by creating a representation of the figure in a standing posture, placed on a high stone plinth. The pedestal was to feature commemorative plaques and reliefs cast in bronze.

The front and left sides of the monument were to feature figures of soldiers, inspired by the work of Jan Styka, while the figures on the right side were to depict a soldier holding a flag and shouting the slogan 'Long live Father Bem'. The unveiling of the monument was scheduled for 1934, and two sculptors, János Istók and János Pásztor, were invited to design the monument. On 21 September 1932, the committee chose the design by János Istók.

The design for the monument was published in 1932, and was well received by the people of Budapest at the time, although it raised objections from the authorities because of its elaborate form. During the same period, it was decided to change the location of the monument once again. The artist was obliged to make revisions to the design, which was finally accepted in February 1933, with minor amendments. In the autumn of that year, the authorities gave permission for construction to begin.

Work began in February 1934. The ceremonial unveiling of the monument took place on 13 May 1934 and was attended by some 300 people, including a delegation from Poland that included Major Włodzimierz Bem de Cosban, representing the Bem family.

The sandstone plinth, according to the plans of the architect Tibor Müller, was made by the stonemason Ferenc Unger. A brick was placed at the base of the monument, which was specially imported from Josef Bem's home in Tarnow. The statue was cast in the foundry of Franc Krausz and placed on the pedestal on 14 April 1934. Bem's characteristic hat was based on a drawing by Sándor Petőfi.

In 1956, the Joseph Bem monument in Budapest became a silent witness to important historical events. It was under it, on 23 October 1956, that a crowd gathered to manifest support for the political thaw in Poland. It took place the day after Wladyslaw Gomulka's famous thaw speech was published in the Hungarian press. It gave young people hope for similar changes in Hungary. From there, demonstrators set off towards the parliament building and the radio building. This demonstration became the spark that ignited a national uprising of Hungarians against communist rule and became a symbol of the quest for freedom and independence.

General Jozef Bem is depicted in a dynamic pose, with his left hand stretched upwards, pointing ahead. The right hand rests on a sling, the hand is wrapped in a bandage. The silhouette is upright. Facial expression resolute and posture full of vigour. He is dressed in a wax coat, with a sabre attached to his side. On his head is a distinctive wide hat. The statue sits on its own base with an inscription in relief on the front: "BEM APÓ". It sits on a sandstone plinth. The plinth has two steps on a wide base. On the first step, a representation of attacking soldiers is depicted in flat relief in a panel. On the second step of the pedestal, on the front, the engraved inscription: "PISKI / CSATA 1849 / A HIDAT VISSZAFOGLALOM / VAGY ELESEM / ELŐRE MAGYAR / HA NINCS HÍD, NINCS HAZA". On the sides of the monument are engraved inscriptions in two columns with the names of the towns where battles involving Bem took place. On the left side, in the first column: DÉS / ZSIBÓ / CSUCSA / KOLOZSVÁR / BESZTERCZE / BETHLEN / NASZÓD / TIHUCZA //, in the second: MVÁSÁRHELY / GÁLFALVA / NAGYSZEBEN / SZELINDEK / VÍZAKNA / SZÁSZSEBES / SZÁSZVÁROS / PISKI //. On the right, in the first column: ALVINCZ / MEDGYES / JÁD / VÖRÖSTORONY / BRASSÓ / OLASZFALU / SEPSISzGYÖRGY / SEGESVÁR //, in the second column: HÁTSZEG / KARÁNSEBES / LUGOS / TEMESVÁR / FEHÉRTEMPLOM / PETRILOVA / SZÁSZKA / ORSOVA //. On the back is the inscription LEGYEN EZ A SZOBOR A VILÁG ELŐTT / A MAGYAROK FELSZABADÍTÁSÁNAK / SZIMBÓLUMA! //. And below, a poem by Sándor Petőfi, who served as adjutant general: SZERENCSE ÉS AZ ISTEN / TŐLÜNK ELPÁRTOLT, / EGY PÁRTFOGÓ MARADT CSAK / VELÜNK; EZ BEM APO. / OH BEM, VITÉZ VEZÉREM, / DICSŐ TÁBORNOKOM! / LELKED NAGYSÁGÁT KÖNNYES / SZEMEKKEL BÁMULOM. / S HA VOLNA EMBER, KIT MINT / ISTENT IMÁDNÁK, / MEGHAJLANÉK ELŐTTED / TÉRDEM, MEGHAJLANÉK. / 1849 FEBRUÁR / PETŐFI SÁNDOR //. All letters on pedestal engraved, filled in with black paint.

At the foot of the monument there is a slab with a rectangular hole in which a brick from Jozef Bem's family home in Tarnów was originally placed, together with a preserved engraved inscription: TEGLA / BEM TARNÓWI / SZÜLŐHÁZÁBÓL //. On the right side of the monument a plaque with the inscription was diagonally mounted: GENERAL / JOZEF ZACHARIASZ BEM / 1794 TARNÓW - 1850 ALEPPO / "I WILL TAKE THE BRIDGE OR DIE / FORWARD HUNGARIANS! / WITHOUT A BRIDGE THERE IS NO HOMELAND" //.

In Hungary, Jozef Bem enjoys considerable respect, being the patron of many schools, streets and squares. In Budapest, in addition to a monument, 14 streets and squares bear his name. The Polish Cultural Association in Hungary also chose him as its patron, which testifies to Bem's lasting place in the culture of both nations. Contemporary busts of Bem can be found in Verpelét, Kiskőrös, Székesfehérvár, Nyíregyháza and Budapest, among others. Plaques in Debrecen and Győr, as well as in Budapest, including on the house where Józef Bem lived. Poles also commemorated János Istók, the creator of the Bem monument, in Budapest. Polish participants in the Spring of Nations are commemorated in Szolnok.