The events that happened eight decades ago were remembered in Paks

– Deportations began in Hungary in June 1944, after the German occupation. About eight hundred people from Paks were taken to death camps, we remember that – said Péter Szabó in his speech opening the program. According to the mayor, especially in light of today’s events in the Middle East, it is important for young people to be aware of the events that happened eight decades ago, so that they do not happen again.

Péter Szabó also reminded of the event on his social media page. He said that as a historian, history teacher and as a private person, he was deeply touched by what happened to the Jews during the Second World War. Already in his university years, he was interested in this topic and in particular the history of the Jews of Paks. As he wrote, in 1994, on the 50th anniversary of the Holocaust, the city of Paks set an example for other cities to follow by assuming responsibility and emphasizing the importance of remembrance by erecting a memorial plaque in Hungarian and Hebrew on the former ghetto site, on the wall of the former synagogue, today’s library .

At the event, the Sabbathsong Klezmer Band presented a musical game close to the students. In their performance entitled Dance of Minutes, they presented the life of Hanna Szenes, who became a victim of this period at the age of 23. The musical game was based on his poems and his mother’s recollections. In the afternoon, the commemoration continued in front of the former synagogue, now the István Pákolitz city library building, with the participation of city leaders, representatives of political organizations, churches, and heads of institutions, where the Sabbathsong Klezmer Band played, and then those present laid a wreath on the plaque placed on the wall of the library in 1994.