March of the Living in Budapest

The Budapest March of the Living attracted over 25,000 people in the Hungarian capital on 21 April 2013.

This year, the 11th annual march focused on those few who resisted the Nazi terror and extermination and did their best to save lives and human beings.  

The guest of honor was Mrs. Agnes Hirschi from Switzerland, the daughter of the legendary Swiss diplomat in Budapest in 1944, Carl Lutz.  Lutz saved thousands of lives by issuing the so called "Schutzbriefe," a Swiss document stating the protected status of its holders and financing "protected Swiss houses," a relatively safe shelter for thousands of additional people.   

Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism of the Government of Canada (currently the IHRA Chair country) sent a video message to Budapest in which he emphasized, "We encourage the government of Hungary and all countries in Europe to go to the heart of the issues involving the Holocaust and its root causes, as we never forget those who lost their lives to the Nazi terror and to that inflicted by the accomplices of Nazi fascism."

President of the Swiss National Council Ms. Maya Graf underlined in her message to the Budapest march the necessity of fighting against racism and discrimination by all legal means provided by international law and democratic systems.

"The yearly growing number of participants shows that racism is still a burning issue of our times," emphasized the president of the organizing Hungarian civil group.

The leader of the Budapest main synagogue Dr. Robert Frolich said in his final speech, "it is more and more important that the civil society clearly declares what is acceptable for the society and what is to be banned even from the political vocabularies."

Image gallery: March of the Living in Budapest

Click on one of the images to view the gallery (4 images).