‘Through the gaps in the door, I saw Arrow Cross members leading people to the Danube bank to be shot to death. I also witnessed that those who could no longer walk were shot dead then and there, on the street.’

Hungary’s national anthem, the Hymn was written 200 years ago by Ferenc Kölcsey.

Altogether at least 700,000 Hungarians were taken to the Soviet Union by force to work in the infamous labour camps of the country. One third of these men and women never returned—and those who did, never received any compensation from Hungary’s Communist government.

6 October is a National Day of Mourning in Hungary remembering the Thirteen Martyrs of Arad who made the ultimate sacrifice for Hungary’s freedom and independence after the defeat of the 1848–49 Revolution and Freedom Fight.

5 October is dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg, who saved the lives of one hundred thousand Hungarian Jews during World War II.

Today, on 2 August we remember the victims of the Romani Genocide, the Porajmos.

During the 1956 Revolution, as prime minister, Imre Nagy committed the Hungarian regime to introduce a free multiparty system, leave the Warsaw Pact, and work towards the neutrality of the country.

On 12 April, 1947 more than 120 thousand Hungarians were deported, while 80 thousand people were transported across the Hungarian borders with no chance to return.