16 April
Holocaust Memorial Day
for Hungarian Victims

Since 2001, April 16 has been observed every year as Holocaust Memorial Day for the Hungarian victims, commemorating the day in 1944 when the Jewish population in Hungary was first forced into ghettos.

The initiative for the commemoration came from Zoltán Pokorni, the then Minister of Education, who, on the 55th anniversary of the liberation of the Budapest ghetto, suggested on January 18, 2000, that schools observe April 16 each year as a day to remember the Holocaust.

The Hungarian Holocaust, the tragic "final chapter" of which led to the destruction of the Jewish community, was the result of a long journey. The full equal rights of Hungarian Jews were established in 1867, with the creation of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and in 1895, the Jewish faith was recognized as an "official religion," granting it equal status with other religions.

The first restrictive measures emerged directly after the World War I, following the fall of the Soviet Republic. On September 21, 1920, the National Assembly passed Law XXV of 1920, the numerus clausus, which stipulated that “ethnic groups and nationalities” in Hungary could not have a proportionate number of students at universities beyond their representation in the overall population. This law primarily affected the Jewish community.

It is a misconception that the term “Jew” was never mentioned in the numerus clausus law. In fact, the term "Jew" and "Israelite" were both explicitly used in the law’s regulations. It was also specified that Israelites should not be treated as a religious group but as a nationality. This legal framework allowed for the institutionalized discrimination of Jews and laid the groundwork for the later tragedies during the Holocaust.

Holocaust Memorial Day in Hungary is not only a day for remembering those who perished in the Holocaust but also for reflecting on the events leading to the devastation of the Jewish community. It serves as a reminder of the atrocities and the importance of protecting human rights and standing against intolerance and hatred.