Thousands turn out for ‘March of the Living’ Holocaust remembrance parade in Budapest
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Thousands of people took to the streets of Budapest on Sunday to commemorate the March of the Living memorial day, in memory of Hungarian victims of the Holocaust.
Participants walked along a 1.9-kilometre route connecting two memorials in central Budapest to pay tribute to forced labour prisoners who were placed in concentration camps during the Second World War.
“Part of the March is act and re-dedication. Re-dedicating ourselves to summon the strength to engage with those with whom we disagree, and stand up to those who target the vulnerable, to those who are driven by opportunistic hatred, who use us all to divide, to marginalise, to dehumanise,” said David Pressman, US Ambassador to Hungary.
The event got underway with poems and songs and speeches. The European Commission Coordinator on combating anti-Semitism, Katharina von Schnurbein, was this year’s guest of honour.
Organisers had underlined the importance of encouraging as many Holocaust survivors and Righteous Among the Nations award-winners as possible to participate in the event.
They were driven in electric cars in the front line of the march.
155 people from Hungary will travel to Poland on Monday to attend the International March of the Living on 18 April, where nearly 10,000 participants from 54 countries are expected to take part.