Holocaust Memorial Center

"The Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, located at 39 Páva Utca, is dedicated to preserving the history of the Holocaust, with a particular focus on Hungarian Jews who were persecuted and murdered during this tragic period. The museum is situated on the grounds of the former Páva Street Synagogue, which was completed in the 1920s. In addition to its focus on Jewish victims, the museum also acknowledges the discrimination and killings of Romani people, homosexuals, and the disabled during the Holocaust. Opened in 2004, the Holocaust Memorial Center was the first state-funded Holocaust memorial in Central Europe, established by the Hungarian government in 1999. The museum was designed by architects István Mányi and Attila Gáti. The building features asymmetrical architecture, with a set of stairs leading visitors into the exhibitions, symbolizing the disordered and twisted nature of the time during the Holocaust. The center hosts both permanent and temporary exhibits, as well as a research center, which allows individuals to search for family members and contribute to the museum's database of victims. In the courtyard of the Holocaust Memorial Center, a wall is inscribed with the names of 60,000 of Hungary’s approximately 600,000 Holocaust victims, serving as a powerful reminder of the scale of the tragedy. However, the center has been at the center of controversy, particularly following the appointment of András Levente Gal as the head of the center in 2010. Gal, appointed after the victory of Viktor Orbán's Fidesz Party, was accused of downplaying Hungary’s role in the Holocaust, instead placing blame solely on Nazi Germany. His efforts to minimize the involvement of Hungarian leaders like Miklós Horthy, who aligned Hungary with Nazi Germany, sparked significant criticism from Hungarian Jews, as well as international organizations such as Yad Vashem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This controversy led to Gal’s eventual dismissal."

"I understand this activity may not be for everyone but this museum is actually one of the most impactful ones, so I think its certainly worth a visit. Bear in mind that this is really a sensitive topic and this museum has some explicit pictures. "

"This memorial center shares with you many sad, moving, and uplifting stories of Jewish people before, during, and after the war. It will take several hours to read and visit all the information. "