Phot-o' the Day: Shoes on the Danube Bank; Budapest, Hungary

This is the poignant "Shoes on the Danube Bank" memorial in Budapest, Hungary. This is to honor those the thousands killed here, along the banks of the Danube, by the Arrow Cross, the indigenous Nazi party of Hungary. The killings took place mostly in December 1944 and January 1945. Those killed were predominantly, but by no means exclusively, Hungarian Jews.

Why shoes? Those who were being executed were ordered to remove their shoes before they were shot. The bodies would fall into the river and be carried away by the current. The shoes here are correctly-sized, 1940s-style shoes cast in iron.

This is located on the Pest-side bank of the Danube River in Central Budapest. I visited here in May 2010.

Budapest, Hungary: Cast Iron Shoes

The final sight of my first day walking tour of Budapest was this collection of 60 pair of cast iron shoes along the Danube.

This is the Holocaust Monument.

On January 8, 1945, the Arrow Cross (the Hungarian Nazi Party) executed a large number of Hungarian Jews. They were shot at this site, and their bodies fell into Danube. The executed Jews were living in what had been declared to be safe houses, including the Swedish Embassy, along Üllői Street in Pest. They were being protected by Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. As you can see, this took place in the shadow of the Parliament building.

Nowadays, people leave flowers, notes, even votive candles inside the shoes:

The Danube is far more peaceful now:

This Monument is all the more evocative because it is so understated. It's the old story about a whisper being loud. Very chilling.