Shoes on the Danube Bank
Budapest
Shoes on the Danube Bank is a powerful Holocaust memorial located on the Pest side of Budapest's Danube promenade. Created by film director Can Togay and sculptor Gyula Pauer, it commemorates the thousands of Jews and other victims shot into the Danube River by the Arrow Cross Party militia during 1944–1945. The memorial features sixty pairs of iron shoes fixed to the stone embankment, symbolizing the shoes left behind by victims before they were executed and their bodies thrown into the river. Behind the shoes lies a long stone bench with inscriptions in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew honoring the memory of those lost. The monument stands near the Hungarian Parliament and the Academy of Sciences, a solemn reminder of the atrocities committed during the Arrow Cross terror. It was unveiled on April 16, 2005, on Holocaust Memorial Day in Hungary, drawing thousands of mourners. The memorial not only honors the victims but also highlights heroic rescue efforts by individuals such as Raoul Wallenberg and Karoly Szabo, who saved many Jews from persecution. Despite occasional acts of vandalism, the site remains a deeply moving and respected place of reflection and remembrance in Budapest.
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Tip: Visit the memorial during daylight hours for respectful contemplation and photography. The site is outdoors and accessible year-round. It is recommended to combine the visit with nearby landmarks such as the Hungarian Parliament and the Danube promenade. Tickets are not required as it is a public memorial. Visitors should approach with reverence, avoiding any disrespectful behavior such as stepping into the shoes. Participating in guided Holocaust remembrance tours can enrich understanding of the memorial's significance.
Interesting facts
- •The memorial features sixty pairs of iron shoes representing the footwear left behind by victims before being shot into the Danube.
- •It commemorates approximately 23,500 victims, of whom around 20,000 were Jews, executed by the Arrow Cross militia during WWII.
- •The memorial was chosen as the world's second-best public sculpture in 2016.
- •The shoes symbolize the value of footwear at the time, as victims were ordered to remove them so the militia could steal and resell them.
- •Karoly Szabo and Pal Szalai, honored as Righteous Among the Nations, played key roles in rescuing Jews from the Arrow Cross executions.
- •The memorial is located about 300 meters south of the Hungarian Parliament, between Roosevelt Square and Kossuth Square along the Danube promenade.
History
The memorial was inaugurated on April 16, 2005, to commemorate the victims of the Arrow Cross Party's mass executions along the Danube during late 1944 and early 1945.
During this period, approximately 23,500 people, mostly Jews, were forced to remove their shoes and were shot at the riverbank, their bodies falling into the Danube.
The site also recalls the heroic efforts of diplomats and local rescuers like Raoul Wallenberg and Karoly Szabo, who saved hundreds of Jews from deportation and execution.
The memorial has faced incidents of vandalism, including theft of bronze shoes in 2014 and disrespectful acts by tourists in 2023.
Despite this, it remains a poignant symbol of remembrance and a testament to human courage amid horror.
Place Guide
Iron Shoes Sculpture2005
Sixty pairs of period-appropriate iron shoes affixed to the stone embankment symbolize the victims' shoes left behind before execution. Each pair reflects footwear styles of the 1940s, evoking the personal stories of those lost.
Stone Bench and Inscriptions2005
Behind the shoes lies a 40-meter-long stone bench, 70 cm high, with cast iron plaques inscribed in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew. The text honors the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–1945 and marks the date of the memorial's erection.
