Strange Visit to the Danube Holocaust Memorial

Have you ever got the chance of taking the wonderful glimpse of the shoes for remembrance of the Holocaust on the bank of a river? If not, you should go to the European country of Hungary for this. Budapest, the national capital of this nation, offers the visitors the rare chance of paying a visit to the Holocaust memorial. Europe Tour Packages from India are specially designed to make the tour of this destination easy, comfortable and convenient.

Shoes on the Danube Bank

Being a renowned Holocaust memorial, the Shoes on the Danube Bank, which is located in Budapest, the national capital city of Hungary, is a must visit during the tour of Hungary. For honouring the people (majorly Budapest Jews) murdered by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in the city of Budapest during the World War II, this Holocaust memorial, which was conceived by a film director named Can Togay, was made by the sculptor named Gyula Pauer on the eastern bank of the Danube River. The mentioned people, who got the ordered for taking off their shoes, were shot dead at the edge of the water in this way their bodies fell into this river and were carried away. This memorial is meant for the representation of their shoes left behind on the bank of the river.

Location 

This Holocaust memorial, which is situated on the side of the city of Pest in Hungary and in front of the Hungarian Parliament building, has been created on the east bank of the Danube River.

Number of Shoes displayed

Along the riverside, 60 pairs of shoes, which were made of iron, were set on the promenade by the Danube River. Here, you can watch all the shoes attached to the embankment made of stone. This Holocaust Memorial is located at a distance of approx 300 m to the south of the building of the Hungarian parliament. Behind the line of the shoes, you can find a stone bench with its length of 40 m and height of 70 cm. On the basis of an original pair of shoes made in 1940 A.D., each pair of shoes was modelled. Each pair of shoes is pointed towards the river.

As here, you can see different sizes and styles of shoes, it shows that nobody was safe at that time, whether it be men, women or children.

Homage to the Victims

Now-a-days, for paying an homage to the victims, the candles are lit and put in the shoes and flowers are offered alongside or inside a particular shoe by the visitors. For honouring the victims, flowers and other gifts are placed in the shoes. Here, you can see children shoes with candy and women shoes with flowers.

The Reason of Shoes Displaying

The reason of the shoes displaying in the Holocaust memorial is that before being shot, all the people, whether men, women or children had to take off their shoes as they were forcefully ordered to do so as the shoes were valuable things at the time of the war. After this misdoing, the militiamen would sell the shoes or put on them themselves.

History

This Holocaust memorial shows that during the final years of the World War II, approx 3,500 people, including 800 Jews were shot and they fell into the Danube River. All this occurred during the time of the terror of the Arrow Cross. All this happened when the national socialist Arrow Cross Party took control over Hungary. The Arrow Cross Party, which was led by Ferenc Szalasi, shared many beliefs with the Nazi Party of Germany – comprising Antisemitism and ruled the nation as in cooperation with the Nazis.

On the night of the 8^th of January, 1945 A.D., an execution brigade of the Arrow Cross Party forced all the residents of the building on the Vadasz Street by the bank of the Danube River. All the victims were forced to strip naked, lined up along the bank of the Danube River and machine gunned into the river by the Nazis of Hungary. The members of the Arrow Cross Party, a firing squad, machine gunned the captives at close range on the bank so that they (prisoners) would fall into the river to be carried away.

Signage 

 

On the moving memorial, at three different spots, you can find cast iron signs written in Hungarian, Hebrew, and English. These signages have the statement: “To the memory of victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944-45.”

Year of Establishment of the Memorial

This Holocaust memorial, which meant to memorize the victims shot into the river Danube by the militiamen of the Arrow Cross during the Year 1944 – 45 A.D., was established on the 16^th of April, 2005 A.D. Before being shot, all the victims were lined up.

Tourism Importance

The tourism importance of this Holocaust memorial is that it is perfect for taking the fine glimpse of panorama, Jewish heritage, and history. As the Danube River separates both the cities Buda and Pest, this holocaust moving memorial can be visited in every condition whether you are staying in Buda or Pest.

How to Reach the Shoes on the Danube Bank

By the edge of the Danube River on the Pest side, this moving memorial is situated between the Hungarian Parliament Building and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. This Holocaust moving memorial is just south of the Hungarian Parliament Building. For approaching to this Holocaust open memorial, one can take Streetcar 2 either to Széchenyi István tér or to Kossuth tér.

More Insight about the Jewish Heritage of Budapest

One can sign up for a Secrect of the Jewish Quarter Tour in case of being willing to get more information about the Jewish Heritage of Budapest.

Suggestion to Get More Information

For getting more information about this, one can read ' Budapest's Moving Memorial: Shoes on The Danube'. If you want to know more about the ruthless killing of Jews in Budapest, you can head to the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, serving as a museum and memorial about and for Hungarian Jews that were slaughtered in The Holocaust.

Importance in Popular Culture

In the popular culture, the main importance of this moving memorial is that a Holocaust movie, which is based on this real bad occurrence, also offers the scene of it. At present, this memorial is counted among the most touching Holocaust memorials in the global city of Budapest.

In this way, we can justly say that the memorial, namely the Shoes on the Danube Bank is a must visit in Hungary during the tour of the charming continent of Europe. If you are also willing to visit this wonderful memorial, you can book Europe Holiday Package with Best Deals. Being affordable to the budget for all types of people, all of these tour packages can be availed from Sharp Holidays, one of the leading tour and travel operators of India as well as the world. To know more about the packages, one can also visit us online at: sharpholidays .

So, if you are willing to pay a visit to the memorial on the bank of the Danube River dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust, you can head to Budapest, the national capital of the European country of Hungary. During the tour of the European country of Hungary, this moving memorial is a must visit, whether you are going to visit Pest or Buda or both of them.