Walk Through Budapest's Communist Past

Our walking tour through Budapest’s communist history was fascinating. We stood in Liberty Square, once the courtyard of a medieval prison, now home to political monuments from both sides of the Cold War, as well as nods to two American presidents - Reagan and H.W. Bush. One of the last remaining Soviet memorials still stands here, It’s remained, in part, out of respect for the Soviet soldiers who died liberating Hungary from the Nazis… even if they forgot to leave afterward.

Our guide shared stories of Goulash Communism—Hungary’s “lighter” version of life behind the Iron Curtain. It was the most free of the Eastern Bloc countries, yet still shadowed by fear. During the 1956 Revolution, countless Hungarians died, but official records were impossible—families couldn’t report the loss without risking suspicion themselves. Her own uncle escaped to Amsterdam by riding on top of a train, and she pointed out bullet holes hidden in the facades of the beautiful buildings.

While a number of classic block style communist buildings are seen in Budapest, the resistance managed to keep many of the glorious old buildings intact by citing the high cost of demolition and reconstruction and other similar excuses.

The statue outside of Parliment Square honors Imre Nagy, the martyred prime minister of the 1956 uprising. Apparently, he's often called the George Clooney of Budapest due to his good looks. Nearby, our guide pointed out a church with two equal towers - one representing church, the other state. During the communist era, a hammer and sickle was added above the state tower, deliberately taller, to assert dominance.

She recommended the film "Walking with the Enemy", based on a true story of resistance during WWII.

We ended our tour at the haunting Shoes on the Danube, a quiet memorial to Jewish victims shot into the river by the fascist Arrow Cross militia. Groups of 3-4 would be tied together, and then just one shot, plunging them all in to the Danube (to save bullets). Sixty pairs of iron shoes line the riverbank - men’s, women’s, children’s - a reminder of Hungary's complicity with the Nazi regime. The mood around the monument is somber, and I found myself crying at the site of the little shoes next to a pair of women's loafers.もっと詳しく