16th of April is, since 2000, the Holocaust Memorial Day in Hungary.
16th of April 1944 was the day when they started building the Jewish Ghetto in Budapest.
16th April 2004, sixty years after the fall of the Ghetto, an odd and symbolic monument was inaugurated on the Danube riverside, very close to the Parliament. Sixty pairs of shoes created by the sculptor, Gyula Pauer and his filmmaker friend, Can Togay.
It honors the Jews who fell victim to fascist Arrow Cross (Nyilasok in Hungarian) militiamen in Budapest and depicts their shoes left behind on the bank when they fell into the river after having been shot during World War II. Not only once did the Arrow Cross soldiers break into the homes of the Jews and forced them to march along the city in a row. Once arrived to the Danube, they were standing in a line, facing the river and their death.
Only one time, namely on 8th January 1945, a group lead by the workers of the Swedish Embassy could save the marching Jews that day.
The shoes are attached to the stone embankment, and behind them lies a 40 meter long, 70 cm high stone bench. At three points are cast iron signs, with the following text in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew: "To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–45. Erected 16 April 2005."
The shoes are almost in front of our Parliament, between the two main bridges, watching the castle hill. Yet, they are hidden, small, they pass almost without being noticed, you can barely cross the road with the heavy trafffic to get to see them. What is more, do not count them, probably some of the shoes are missing...
This is some added symbolism to this Holocaust memorial.
Useful links:
Terror House Museum
http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en/museum/first_page.html
discover where the Budapest Ghetto was
http://budapestgolocal.blogspot.com/2010/09/design-street-off-beaten-path.html
Bakonyi Zsuzsa
I have a few pages on my website with more information about the Budapest Ghetto, the Glass House and profiles of some of the diplomats and members of the clergy, who saved many thousands of Jewish lives during the years 1944-1945. Please see:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.budapestvacationservice.com/budapest_ghetto_1944-1945.html
http://www.budapestvacationservice.com/the_glass_house.html
http://www.budapestvacationservice.com/holocaust_heroes_budapest.html
and follow the links out from these pages