The civilian victims of the siege of Budapest were remembered in the capital
The civilian victims of the siege of Budapest were commemorated by the National Heritage Institute on Sunday at the Farkasréti Cemetery on the occasion of the siege of the capital 77 years ago.
Róbert Répássy, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, emphasized at the commemoration that the victim of the Hungarian people who died in the siege is teaching us to appreciate human life, the survival of our country, freedom, independence and peace.
We only respect the freedom and culture of other peoples, strive for cooperation with all nations of the world, he added.
The Secretary of State recalled that the siege, which lasted more than a hundred days, was one of the most devastating urban battles of World War II. After Berlin and Stalingrad, the Hungarian capital suffered the biggest losses.
By this time, Hungary had lost its sovereignty, the Hungarian soldiers were commanded by the leaders of the German army, and the Arrow Cross party services played a particularly shameful role during the siege, the politician pointed out.
About 100,000 people were killed in the siege, including 38,000 civilians. Of our civilians, we had 15,000 Jewish compatriots. The death of our 7,000 Jewish fellow citizens, who were killed by the Arrow Cross, was mostly painful in the Danube, Róbert Répássy reminded.
Only for the population locked in the basement of the houses in Budapest, there was a struggle for survival every day, water, lack of food, severe cold and diseases decimated the population, he added.
He also said that another horror ensued after the siege, because the Soviets considered the Hungarian population a prisoner of war.
“The wealth and life of the Hungarian people, the dignity of women mean nothing to the Soviets, it became a spoil of war”Said Róbert Répássy.
Gábor Móczár, Director General of the National Heritage Institute, recalls that the inhabitants of the city lived in cannon fire for more than three months, between bombings. Tens of thousands waited hopefully for the fighting to end.
The siege caused inconceivable damage, as most of the buildings in the capital were destroyed or severely damaged, and there were few intact apartments left in and around the Castle. The Pest Vigadó, the Buda Castle were burnt down, the Opera House, the Academy of Music and the National Theater were badly damaged, and the retreating Germans blew up all the Danube bridges, he listed.
The Director-General stressed that the National Heritage Institute considers it important to remember those who have fallen victim to the fighting as civilians.
For we have a responsibility to preserve the memory of the anonymous heroes and victims, to pass it on to future generations. Because we can also thank the peaceful scene of our nation for their sacrifice – Gábor Móczár emphasized.
At the end of the commemoration, the participants of the ceremony wreathed the two symbolic tombs that exploded during the siege of II. district Regent House and the memorial dies in the corner houses at 2. Vitéz utca and Fő utca 59.