One of the interesting things that we saw when we were in Budapest was a memorial to honor the citizens, most of them Jewish, who were executed along the shore of Danube River. In December 1944 and January 1945, as World War II came closer to an end, the local fascist militia group called the Arrow Cross killed thousands of people along the shore of the river. It is a humbling reminder of the atrocities that were committed during the war. Making it even more tragic is the inclusion of the shoes of children as entire families were brought to the shore to be executed.
Soldiers from the Arrow Cross would go to the Jewish Ghetto, where the majority of the Jewish citizens of Budapest were forced to live in horrid conditions, and take them to be executed along the river. The Budapest Ghetto was made up of several blocks of the Jewish Quarter that were surrounded by a high fence and stone wall that completely isolated them from the rest of the city. The reason for the shoes as the memorial is that they would be forced to remove their shoes before being executed. According to one of the people that worked at our hotel, the soldiers would tie groups of people together and then shoot the first few in line so that they would fall and then drag in everyone else to drown. Apparently it was done in an attempt to save on bullets, which were needed as the Soviet Union forces approached.
The memorial was erected in 2005 and was conceived by director Can Togay and consists of 60 pairs of shoes made out of iron that attached to the stone embankment. We visited the Shoes on the Danube Bank on a rainy day, which only added to the impression that it created. People leave flowers among the shoes to honor the memories of all of the people who lost their lives there.
I’ve seen photos from there before. I can’t imagine the feeling that memorial has. Wonderful photos. 😀
It was very surreal. Thank you 🙂
Very moving. I was there prior to 2005 so had never seen this. So horrible what people do to other people.
Yes, it is very hard to imagine what they went through.
Amazing and so moving. Thank you
Nice pictures. Shame about Hungary’s currently hostile politics.
What horrid visions this memorial inspires. I haven’t heard of this before but glad you have shared. It seems this, for the families that perished, is very necessary reminder that man is capable great evil as well as good. Love this post!
We found out about it from another blogger when we were planning our trip. It was surreal to see and imagine the tragedies that happened there.
Reblogged this on Our Travel Blog and commented:
Two weeks ago our group was in Budapest and visited this very sad memorial. Very powerful monument.
Wow, this is so moving. It must be even more so in person. Sometimes when we travel, it’s hard to reconcile the beauty of the place we’re visiting in modern day, with the atrocities of its history.
Completely agree.
I visited a concentration camp Memorial in Germany when I live there. I’ll never forget seeing this one black and white photograph. I remember seeing a long line of women and children. It took me a minute to realize that they were naked. My eyes moved along the line of women until the end. A woman was holding her toddler, both were naked. She was clutching the little girl, the little girl had her face buried in her chest. In front of them was a ditch full of dead people. And in front of the woman was a Nazi female guard laughing. It was the most horrible picture I’ve ever seen in my life
Wow, not surprising that you won’t forget the photo. We don’t think we would either.
Sorry to share such an experience but the shoes brought that memory back
What a heart-rending reminder of one of the darkest chapters in human history.
It definitely was.
Your post is so heart-touching. I can’t imagine how emotional you must have been to see this in person. Thank you for sharing. Everyone should see this.
It was very hard to see the shoes and know what had been done to so many people.
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