The Sad Story of These Shoes Sitting By the River

Although it now accompanies many people’s view enjoyment with its calmness, it was once hell itself The Danube River is the grave of thousands of people.

Located very close to the Hungarian Parliament Building, the shoes tragic You may not be able to hold back your tears while reading the incident.

The heartbreaking story of Iron Shoes took place in the dark and freezing nights of 1944-1945.

In October 1944, Hitler overthrew Hungarian Government Leader Miklos Horthy and replaced him with Ferenc Szalasi. The far-right and anti-Semitic Arrow Cross Party, led by Szalasi, cooperated with the Nazis and took part in Budapest. reign of terror started it.

Party militias roamed the streets and committed inhumane acts against Jews. They beat, plundered and killed. some jews deportation while some are to concentration camps sent. It is thought that more than 10 thousand people were killed and more than 80 thousand people were sent to concentration camps during the five-month reign of the Arrow Cross Party.

Not only did they kill brutally, they also sold the shoes of those they killed.

The militias, who carried out brutal massacres all over the city, were no longer able to send the Jews to death camps due to the approaching Soviet armies. increased executions. They began to throw the Jews into the Danube, and they did it in the most brutal way. Before throwing the victims into the river They forced him to take off his shoes. After all, shoes were a valuable item during the Second World War. They wore some of them themselves and sold some of them.

After the militiamen, who were the executioners of the Jews, took off the shoes of the people they were going to kill, they killed the people three by three. tied his feet together. They shot the middle person from each group, and the person who fell into the river took the other two people with him. During the massacre, some were shot and some died by drowning.

Iron Shoes, which were turned into a monument of shame after many years.

Turkish Director born in Hungary Can Togay, After many years have passed since the massacre, in order not to remain silent about the massacre, to remember the incident and to commemorate thousands of Jews, Holocaust Memorial designed it. The sculpting of the shoes in the open air museum Gyula Pover took over.

The 60 pairs of shoes in the monument built along the banks of the Danube River look as if their owners had just taken them off their feet and left them there. To those who lost their lives in the unforgettable massacre of the period tribute Shoes that qualify include women’s, men’s and children’s shoes.

Reflecting the style of the 1940s The workmanship on the shoes is also heartbreaking. Creepy shoes include many shoes, from workers’ boots to high heels, from children’s shoes to loafers.

The following text is written in Hungarian, English and Hebrew at three different points on the monument:

“Erected on April 16, 2005, in memory of the victims of the 1944-45 Arrow Cross Party militia shot into the Danube River.”

(This incident is described as “being shot in the Danube” rather than “being shot in the Danube”.)

They’re not just shoes.

People visiting the monument to commemorate the dead Jews lighting a candle or leaving flowers. When you look at the shoes and the Danube River, it gives you chills to think about how many innocent people the Black Sea carries and the mass murder.