Hungarian officials and clergy mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Members of the municipal government and the clergy marked Hungarian Holocaust Memorial Day at the House of Terror in Budapest late Sunday.

Budapest guards the memories of those heroes who kept their humanity during that time of inhumanity, who were bearers of hope in a time of despair, Budapest Deputy -Mayor Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky said at the event.

These memories have been woven into the fabric of life in Budapest, as seen in the memorials, the renovated buildings of the former ghetto, the celebrations and festivals, the proud and vibrant Jewish and Gypsy cultural life, and flourishing church culture, she added.

A concert was performed at the event to commemorate László Ádám, a member of the Salesian Order who hid Jews during the Holocaust.

Also participating at the commemoration were Bishop Tamás Fabiny, the head of the Lutheran Church in Hungary; Pal Huszar, the lay president of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary; and László Győrfi, the deputy head of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation.

Hungarian lawmakers declared April 16 Hungarian Holocaust Memorial Day from 2001. The date marks the anniversary of the beginning of the separation of the Hungarian Jewish community in ghettos.

Source: MTI