We are approaching Memorial Day and I probably will not post until then.
On Memorial Day we will be remembering all military men and women who have given their lives for our country.
An e-mail and a link to a PowerPoint presentation I received from a relative, however, poignantly took my thoughts to others—civilians—who have died as a result of a cruel war that also involved the genocide of innocent men, women and children: World War II and the Holocaust.
I just wanted to share with you perhaps one of the most emotions-evoking memorials I have seen about the horrors of the Holocaust.
No, it is not a gruesome depiction of the gas chambers or other atrocities committed by the Nazis.
On the contrary it is very simple, and heart wrenching.
While I am sure that there are other presentations and videos in English, I could not find one that even begins to approach the power of the one sent by my relative.
Since it is in Spanish and Hungarian, I am taking the liberty to quote from Wikipedia and from “Shoes” at www.greatsynagogue.hu/gallery.
The Shoes on the Danube Promenade is a memorial created by Gyula Pauer and Can Togay on the bank of the Danube River in Budapest. It honors the Jews who fell victim to fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest and depicts their shoes left behind on the bank when they fell into the river after having been shot during World War II.
The memorial was inaugurated on April 16, 2005
According to “Shoes”:
The idea to place a monument on the river embankment to the victims of the Arrow Cross terror belongs to Gyula Pauer, Hungarian sculptor awarded the Kossuth-prize, and to his friend Can Togay. The monument contains of 60 pairs of iron shoes, forming a row of about 40 meters. It is a commemoration dedicated to the victims of the fascist Arrow Cross party who shot the people right into the river, sparing themselves the hard work of burials. The victims had to take their shoes off, since shoes were valuable belongings at the time.
The site is symbolic, this part of the embankment was not the only one used for this purpose.
The iron shoes were placed on the embankment in 2005, on 16th April. The name of the composition is Shoes on the Danube Promenade, each pair being modeled after a contemporary shoe from the 1940’s.
You can see the “Shoes on the Danube” monument by clicking here and also listen to the haunting music…
You’ll see flowers and candles left by visitors.
You’ll also see children’s shoes…
CODA:
The concluding photo says, “Recuerda el padado, para cuidar el futuro.” Roughly translated it means, “Remember the past to take care of the future.”
Perhaps another conclusion could be, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.