Since 2001 Hungarians have commemorated the victims of the Holocaust on 16 April, marking the day in 1944 when the ghettoization of the Hungarian Jewish community began. On this year’s remembrance day, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán laid a wreath at the Shoes on the Danube memorial, which honours the Jews murdered in Budapest by Hungarian Nazi collaborators. Posting a photo of the visit, Orbán wrote on social media: ‘We will not forget.’
At a separate commemoration held at the Holocaust Memorial Centre, State Secretary for Energy Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Sztáray warned of rising anti-Israel sentiment in international institutions since Hamas’ 7 October 2023 terrorist attack against Israel. He stressed that ‘the normalization of the targeting of Israel leads to the normalization of the targeting of Jews, and the Hungarian government does not accept either.’ Sztáray underlined Hungary’s continued resistance to sanctions, legal proceedings, advisory opinions, and arrest warrants that he said would only further complicate Israel’s situation. He added that such diplomatic and legal attacks open the door to antisemitism and even physical violence.
Hungary is widely regarded as Israel’s closest ally in the European Union. In a show of solidarity, the Hungarian government recently announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Orbán hosted Netanyahu in Budapest in early April, sending a strong message of support for Israel in its war against Hamas. While leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and opposition leader Friedrich Merz signalled they would not enforce the ICC warrant in case of a visit by Netanyahu, Orbán’s move to exit the court was condemned by progressive forces.
Hungary’s Jewish community continues to enjoy relative safety and prosperity, especially when compared to the situation in several Western European countries, where antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric have surged since 2023. This rise is often attributed to the consequences of open border policies and mass migration. The Hungarian government has banned pro-Hamas demonstrations and maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward antisemitism.
Speaking at the ceremony, Andor Grósz, President of the Association of Jewish Communities in Hungary (Mazsihisz), reminded attendees that the Holocaust is not only about the hundreds of thousands of lives lost, nor only about the grief of survivors or inherited trauma, but also about the stolen future. ‘The common future of an entire nation—the absence of which is still felt today,’ he said.
‘Between 1941 and 1945, approximately 564,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered’
Between 1941 and 1945, approximately 564,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered—more than two-thirds of the country’s pre-war Jewish population. The most devastating phase occurred between 15 May and 9 July 1944, when Hungarian authorities, acting under German occupation, deported 437,402 Jews—mainly to Auschwitz–Birkenau. The rural Jewish communities were nearly annihilated, while in Budapest, some survived the ghettoization and the brutal rule of the Arrow Cross Party.
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