Shoes on the Danube Bank

About

Shoes on the Danube Bank is a moving memorial that stands on the eastern bank of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary. Erected on 16 April 2005, the monument was conceived by film director Can Togay and brought to life by sculptor Gyula Pauer. It commemorates the approximately 3,500 men and women—about 800 of whom were Jewish—who were executed by the Arrow Cross militia during the final months of World War II. Victims were forced to remove their shoes, which were then thrown into the river so that the bodies would be carried away. The memorial displays sixty pairs of iron shoes, each styled after the period in which the victims lived. They are affixed to a stone embankment and positioned in front of a 40‑metre long, 70‑centimetre high stone bench. Inscribed signs, which read in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew, proclaim: "To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–1945. Erected 16 April 2005." The monument is situated in the heart of Budapest, close to Parliament, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the Danube Promenade, making it accessible to visitors walking along the river. While the memorial itself is free to visit, there are no official entrance fees, ticketing or booking requirements. It serves as a quiet place of remembrance and reflection, popular among history enthusiasts, families visiting the city, and anyone looking to understand a somber chapter of Budapest’s past.