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All Hungary Budapest Memorial for Victims of the German Occupation

Memorial for Victims of the German Occupation

A highly-criticized monument in Budapest has become the site of a makeshift Holocaust memorial.

Budapest, Hungary

Added By
katielou106
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Makeshift memorial at the base of the statue   Fred Romero / CC BY 2.0
Makeshift memorial at the base of the statue   Fred Romero / CC BY 2.0
German Occupation Memorial   Szilas / Public Domain
The archangel Gabriel and the Germanic eagle   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The broken columns of the memorial   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
Some of the photos and messages left by the families of victims of the Holocaust   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
Poignant memorial left at the base of the memorial   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The Memorial for Victims of the German Occupation   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
  matthewmetcalfe / Atlas Obscura User
  coljay72 / Atlas Obscura User
  coljay72 / Atlas Obscura User
By Dr Chris Stout   drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
  jlord7 / Atlas Obscura User
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The Memorial for Victims of the German Occupation stands at the southern end of Liberty Square. Built in 2014, it was meant to commemorate the Nazi takeover of Hungary that occurred on March 19, 1944. The memorial shows the archangel Gabriel, representing Hungary, being attacked by a Germanic eagle with the year 1944 on its ankle, set against a backdrop of broken columns. An inscription at the base of the monument reads, "In memory of the victims."

Jewish groups have criticized the memorial as an attempt by Hungary's government to absolve themselves of responsibility for their complicity with the Holocaust. Some have said the monument sends a message that the Hungarians could do nothing to resist Nazi Germany and therefore are not to blame for the atrocities that occurred within Hungary. 

Others criticized what they saw as an attempt to absolve the Horthy regime of blame for the terrors of WWII and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Hungarians.  At the time of the memorial's construction, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was accused of "falsifying the Holocaust" and "confusing the murderer and the victim." 

It was considered so controversial from the announcement of its development to mark the 70th anniversary of the occupation that its installation was completed in the middle of the night.

In Hungary, the Holocaust began years before the arrival of German soldiers, with pogroms, mass killings, deportations, and forced labor camps. Germany then got help from the Hungarian authorities in deporting 437,000 Jews in 1944.

In front of the memorial, you will find photos and messages left by the families of those killed during this dark period of Hungarian history, making the memorial even more poignant.

Related Tags

Memorials World War Ii Monuments

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Added By

katielou106

Edited By

matthewmetcalfe, drchrisstout, Michelle Cassidy, jlord7...

  • matthewmetcalfe
  • drchrisstout
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • jlord7
  • coljay72

Published

September 22, 2023

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Sources
  • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-holocaust-german-memorial/hungary-pm-defends-contested-monument-to-nazi-victims-idUSBREA0L1H820140122
  • https://www.euractiv.com/section/central-europe/news/controversial-monument-divides-hungarians-angers-jewish-community/
  • https://historycampus.org/2015/erect-a-memorial-erase-the-past-the-memorial-to-the-victims-of-the-german-occupation-in-budapest-and-the-controversy-around-it/
Memorial for Victims of the German Occupation
1 Szabadság tér
Budapest, 1054
Hungary
47.503167, 19.050674
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