A new photography exhibition gets underway in Prague that takes a novel approach to one of the thornier subjects in modern Czech history: the massacres that took place during the expulsion of millions Germans at the end of WW2. Photographer Lukáš Houdek has reconstructed some of those actual events – using Barbie and Ken dolls.
Read the article here.
Holocaust Remembrance Day
68 years ago the on January 27, 1945 the Auschwitz–Birkenau death camp was eliberated.
Here you find some stories of survivors, commemorations around the world:
President of Hungary, János Áder addresses a letter to the Jewish Community, saying that the act of commemorating the victims of the death camps meant recognizing that ‘any of us could have been among the innocent victims.’
Find the letter here.
Laló – documentary by István Jávor about a Jewish man who survived Auschwitz. Learn about old Marosvásárhely (today Targu Mures in Romania), where he is from; about the fate of Transylvanian Hungarian Jews; about the war and the Holocaust through this man’s eyes. In Hungarian, no subtitles.
Laló is Lajos Erdélyi, famous photographer from Marosvásárhely. His memoires have been published in a book also, introduced to the public on January 31 at 6pm in the Balint House (Budapest, Révay street 16.).
The event on FB here.
Fragment from the book here.
International Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day
The first Romas were sent to Auschwitz in 1941. In February 1943, a Gypsies’ camp was set up in the Birkenau camp which imprisoned Roma people from 14 countries.
April 8th was the day when the first international Roma congress, with 23 delegates from 10 countries, was organized to commemorate the Gypsy victims of the Holocaust in Oprington, next to London in 1971. On the initiative of the representatives of India April 8th was chosen to be the Day of the Roma Nation, to remember all the Gypsies who have left the homeland and have been wandering since for over 1000 years. The Gypsy flag and the hymn were chosen and the language became officially recognized. Since then April 8th is the day of different anti – racism, discrimination and war campaigns.
In 1990, on the 4th world congress in Serock, next to Warsaw April 8th, the day of the first congress was recognized as a Roma holiday.
Many Gypsies in numerous countries celebrate the wandering on festivals, throwing flowers and candles into the river where they live and follow their way until they can.
Photo exhibition in the Budapest History Museum 12 April – 13 May 2012
The exhibited photos were actually taken by Carl Lutz in Budapest between 1942–1945.
His office in Budapest was on the Szabadság (Liberty) square in the building of the American embassy near the Parliament house in Pest and he lived in the house of the British embassy on Werbőczi (today Mihály Táncsics) street in the castle of Buda.
He was a passionate amateur photographer, through his photos we can see Budapest in 1944 as a city far away from the war front and then Budapest during the siege, finally the results of the catastrophic destruction of the war.
The last photo of the exhibition was taken in 1949 when Carl Lutz returned to Budapest after his 1945 expulsion from Hungary, to marry Magda Csányi.
One of the photos:
Budapest castle district after the siege in 1945.
The poster of the exhibition:
More information here: Budapest History Museum
Raoul Wallenberg 1912 – 2012
On January 17th in the Hungarian National Museum the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Year was launched. Hosts of the event: minister for Foreign Affairs in Hungary Janos Martonyi and in Sweden Carl Bildt, guest of honor Yoseph Peled minister from Israel.
Calendar of events:
– January 17: ‘To me there’s no other choice – Raoul Wallenberg 1912 – 2012’ Swedish photo exhibition opened (this is the day he was last seen on in Hungary)
– January 27: UN Holocaust remembrance day
– 14 February: Seminar on Raoul Wallenberg´s activities in Budapest. Seminar organised by Living History Forum and City of Lidingö, Stockholm
– April 15th: Wallenberg commemorative concert in front of the House of Terror Museum (www.terrorhaza.hu). March of the Living, a march along the streets of Budapest down to the Danube embankment to remember the victims of the Holocaust (www.eletmenete.hu).
– April 16th: Hungarian Holocaust remembrance day
– April 17th: 25th Auschwitz – Birkenau Pilgrimage
– May 10th: Wallenberg stamp issued by the Hungarian and the Swedish Post
– May 15th: research conference: “Can we say no?” in the Holocaust Documentation Center (www.hdke.hu).
– June 16th: planned conference on democracy and human rights
– August 4th (Wallenberg’s birthday): “Righteous among the Nation´s award” meeting for Hungarian citizens who have been presented the “Righteous among the Nations” award in the Holocaust Memorial Center
– August 5th: memorial evening in the Dohany street synagogue
– September 9th: Raoul Wallenberg 100 – evening
– November 18th: charity concert in the Dohany street synagogue
For more details and events connected to the Raoul Wallenberg 2012 memorial year please visit : http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/15418