Off the wire
• Economic Sentiment Indicator of Albania falls in Q1  • Macedonian unemployment rate decreases to 27.6 pct from its peak of nearly 40 pct  • Moon is 4.47 bln years old, U.S. researchers say  • Spotlight: China believes in UN's leading role in coordinating states' cyberspace behavior  • Urgent: Oil prices extend gains amid supply forecast  • 1st LD Writethru: 6.1 magnitude quake hits Aegean Sea off Crete island, no injuries reported  • Collated results of ATP Monte-Carlo Masters  • Urgent: Gold down slightly, settle near 1,200 USD  • OPEC oil output increases sharply in March  • Roundup:Somali refugees reluctant to return despite Kenya directive  
You are here: 　 Home

Hungarians mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Xinhua, April 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Hungarians marked the Memorial Day for the Hungarian Victims of the Holocaust on Thursday, on the anniversary of the day in 1944 when members of the Jewish community were first locked in ghettos, leading to the death of about 600,000 Hungarian Jews.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban issued a statement underlining that in an increasingly uncertain and troubled world, Hungary is determined to offer certainty and safety to all its citizens.

"The Jewish community of Hungary can always count on the respect, friendship, and protection of the government," he added, emphasizing that the Jewish community was an integral part of the Hungarian nation.

A ceremony was held at Budapest's Urania National Theater, where attendees focused on the life and tragic death of Gedeon Richter, the man who established Hungary's modern pharmaceutical industry.

The pharmaceutical factory Richter founded, which bears his name, is one of Hungary's best producing industrial facilities to this day. The current director, Erik Bogsch called it their job to retain the fantastic spirit of their founder.

Janos Lazar, head of the prime minister's office, recalled the death camp to which Hungarian Jews were sent and the massacre on the banks of the Danube in the winter of 1944 where Richter was killed.

He likened anti-Semitism to an infection and called on all Hungarians to boost their immune systems. At this time "we cannot be satisfied with our joint immune system," Lazar said, referring to recent manifestations of anti-Semitism.

Other commemorations included a ceremony in the courtyard of the Dohany Street synagogue, by the Emanuel Memorial Tree, a sculpture of a weeping willow by artist Imre Varga with 30,000 tiny metal leaves on it, each one bearing the name of a Holocaust victim.

Another was held at the Holocaust Memorial Center attended by United States Ambassador Colleen Bell and Israeli ambassador Ilan Mor as well as by Hungarian officials.

The Memorial Day for the Hungarian Victims of the Holocaust has been marked in Hungary since 2001. Endit