I went to Budapest in March for a long weekend and we made a stop on the Danube riverside to gaze at one of the simplest, yet most poignant Holocaust memorials I've ever seen in Europe. Empty cast iron shoes. Just shoes. Lined up on the banks of the river. From a tourist point of view, there is not much to see here, and I think that is the point.
The Shoes on the Danube is a memorial to the Budapest Jews who were shot by Arrow Cross militiamen between 1944 and 1945. The victims were lined up and shot into the Danube River. They had to take their shoes off, since shoes were valuable belongings at the time.The memorial was created by Gyula Pauer, Hungarian sculptor, and his friend Can Togay in 2005. It contains 60 pairs of iron shoes, forming a row along the Danube. Each pair of shoes was modeled after an original 1940's pair. For more of an insight read 'One of Budapest's Most Moving Memorials: Shoes on The Danube'.
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