Public installation inaugurated in Budapest to mark Gulag memorial year

Budapest (MTI) – The forcing of millions of innocent people into Gulag labour camps was one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, the deputy mayor of Budapest said on Wednesday at the inauguration of a public installation made for the Gulag memorial year.

An estimated 800,000 Hungarians were deported to the forced labour camps in the Soviet Union during and after the second world war, and nearly 300,000 died on the way or while imprisoned in the camps, Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. The survivors were forced by the secret services to stay quiet after returning to Hungary, she added.

The public installation set up in Budapest’s City Hall Park has already been on show in Szombathely and Pecs and will travel to Debrecen. The Gulag memorial year runs until Feb. 25.

Source: MTI