We visited the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest which is a memorial site of 1,441 lost Jewish communities and over 500,000 victims. They have an amazing exhibit which makes you feel as though you are part of this history. And actually, we are. We are not so distantly removed. If we think we are, then we forget.....we forget how to really love our neighbor, how to love people we don't like, how to treat a refugee, how to treat someone who is different from us, how to live in humility rather than pride, and how to have compassion.
A communist symbol was sprayed painted onto the wall beside the Holocaust Memorial Center. The letters above the symbol are in reference to the gas pipeline that is planning to be built through Hungary in order to transport gas from Russia to the rest of Europe. It's just another small piece of evidence to prove that the threat and scent of communism does still linger in the air here.
The outside of the center reflects the distorted and twisted world of Nazism and the darkness of atrocious killings. Immediately we were swept into a world of despair, unfairness, and ugly ethnic pride.
This synagogue is one of the largest built in Budapest in 1924. It has been restored and is now a part of the center and is used for concerts and exhibits. The blue and gold colors are strikingly beautiful. As another reminder of lives lost, there are empty glass chairs labeled with individual names.
This is a small portion of the wall that lists names of all Hungarians who died in the Holocaust. Relatives can locate their family name through a computer database, and research is still being done to finish collecting all the names. For now, there are still some blank spaces.
"All that is required for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing."
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