Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27). One of the most poignant memorials we saw on our trip last year was the “Shoes on the Danube Bank” in Budapest, Hungary.
The “Shoes on the Danube Bank” memorial in Budapest honors Hungarian Jews and others shot by Arrow Cross militiamen into the Danube River in 1944-1945; the 60 iron shoe sculptures represent the victims forced to remove their valuable shoes before being executed, symbolizing their stolen dignity, lives, and humanity as their bodies were washed away by the river.” ~AI overview. There were shoes of all sizes and shapes; men, women and children. People commemorate their visit by leaving a stone in a shoe.
NCC President Rev. Dr. Allen Church paying his respects at “Shoes on the Danube Bank” in Budapest, Hungary, March 2025.
Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
Psalm 7:9