A monument was erected for those deported to forced labor on the Sashalmi promenade on the 19th of January, the day of the commemoration of the abduction and expulsion of the Germans in Hungary. In January 1945, the 137 inhabitants deported from the district to the internment camps of the Soviet Union left. The monument was created by sculptor R. Mária Törley at the request of the German National Government (NÖ). As we wrote earlier , the whole work will consist of 5 + 1 stations, each station displaying a historical chapter. The work now inaugurated is the first station to remember the expulsion.

The deportation and tragedy of the Germans in Hungary will be presented on the spot by stations (Source: German Nationality)

At the inauguration ceremony, Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Undersecretary of State for Civil and Social Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office, emphasized that on this day we "remember our compatriots" who have been forced to suffer unjust accusations in the storm of history. As he reminded us, in the 20th century, rapid changes took place all over the world, including Hungary. Shortly after the end of World War II, the decree on deportation and disenfranchisement was adopted in 1945, and on 19 January, 1946, just seventy-six years ago, the first train was carried out to transport the expelled Germans.

The deportation has radically changed the image of Hungary, especially Transdanubia, the deputy secretary of state said, noting that the property of the displaced had passed to the state. Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated that they still support the Germans in Hungary today.

Inauguration of the monument on the day of remembrance of the event of 19 January, 1945 (Photo: Zoltán Máthé / MTI)

Kristóf Szatmáry, the Fidesz Member of Parliament of the district, believed that the monument intended to commemorate the trials of the German-speaking Hungarians in the 20th century and to send a message to the future: never again collective stigma or dictatorship. He noted that the majority of Germans were not merely integrated: many of them became eminently brave patriots.

The German name became the basis for the humiliation of hundreds of thousands of people in the 20th century. Deportation, forced labor and death were the fate of many, Kristóf Szatmáry emphasized. The MP also said that the monument is an unusual attempt to refer to other traumatic events in addition to eviction.

Mayor Péter Kovács (Fidesz-KDNP) recalled that deportees of German-speaking people had been remembered in the district since 1990. There was a tragedy in Sashalmon, he said. Zoltán Balog, pastor of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, spoke about the fact that God helped him to survive in trouble and danger.

Kristóf Szatmáry, Member of the District Fidesz Parliament (Photo: Zoltán Máthé / MTI)

In 2013, the National Assembly declared 19 January to be a day of remembrance for the abduction and expulsion of Germans in Hungary; In 1946, on this day, the first train train carrying the expelled Germans left Hungary. In its resolution, the National Assembly emphasized that it paid tribute to the memory of all those who were, after World War II, abducted on the basis of an unjust accusation and principle of collective guilt.

Source: pestbuda.hu, MTI

Cover photo: A relief reminiscent of the victims captures the moments of deportation (Source: German Nationality)