Our arrival into Budapest by boat enabled us to take in the city sights from our vantage point on the water before we docked and one of the things pointed out to us was the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial erected in April 2005“ to the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross Militiamen in 1944 - 1945”
Hungarian Jews were herded here, made to strip off their clothes and valuables and step out of their shoes. Then summarily shot, keeling forward into the river.
It was a dark and vicious time in their history and all three local tour guides we spent time with spoke passionately about the horror.
One guide recommended we view the video I have embedded below. It is titled, “Tell your children”, although in our context it may not be something to show children as it is haunting viewing.
The Shoes on the Danube Bank is a memorial in Budapest, Hungary. Conceived by film director Can Togay, he created it on the east bank of the Danube River with sculptor Gyula Pauer to honour the Jews who were killed by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes, and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away. It represents their shoes left behind on the bank.
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