Russian foundation erects WW1 memorial in N Hungary

Budapest, February 17 (MTI) – The Russian Peace Foundation inaugurated a memorial in Tokod in northern Hungary on Tuesday dedicated to the Russian, Romanian, Italian and Serbian prisoners of war who died in camps in the area during the first world war.

Mayor Tivadar Toth said that nearly a thousand prisoners of war who died in epidemics rest in four cemeteries in Tokod today.

Head of the foundation Mikhail Lavrinenko told the event that their aim is to remember those that fell victim of wars throughout Europe.

The memorial was blessed by Catholic Bishop Janos Szekely and Protoyerey Nikolai Kim, who represented the Orthodox Church in Hungary. Representatives from the embassies of Serbia and Kazakhstan and the defence ministry also attended the event.

One of the largest POW camps of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy operated in the area between 1914 and 1918. Research shows that 100,000 people were held there. Cholera and typhus epidemics caused by overcrowding and poor health conditions killed many of the POWs.

Photo: www.tokod.hu

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters