By Hagar Shelly
Shoes, seemingly mundane objects, have taken on profound significance in Holocaust memorialization. They serve as powerful symbols of personal loss and collective tragedy, bridging the gap between the vast numbers of victims and their individual stories. Two poignant examples of this are the displays at Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Shoes on the Danube Promenade in Budapest, each using shoes to evoke the deeply personal impact of the Holocaust.
At Auschwitz-Birkenau, one of the most notorious Nazi concentration and extermination camps, shoes are a central element in the memorial’s exhibitions. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, established on the grounds of the former camp, features a harrowing collection of personal belongings left behind by victims. Among these, thousands of pairs of shoes are displayed, often in large, somber piles. These shoes were taken from victims upon their arrival at the camp, symbolizing the immediate dehumanization they faced. The museum’s display of these shoes serves as a stark, visceral reminder of the individuals who once wore them, each pair representing a life brutally cut short. The sheer scale of the collection, coupled with the personal nature of the items, creates a powerful and emotional experience for visitors, emphasizing the human cost of the Holocaust.
In contrast, the Shoes on the Danube Promenade in Budapest offers a different but equally moving tribute. This memorial, unveiled in 2005, consists of 60 pairs of bronze shoes set along the Danube River. Created by artist Can Togay and film director Gyula Pauer, the installation commemorates the Jewish victims murdered by the Arrow Cross militia during the final years of World War II. The victims were forced to remove their shoes before being shot and dumped into the river, which the bronze shoes on the promenade vividly recall. The arrangement of the shoes—some worn, some new, and others of various styles—captures the randomness of the victims’ lives and their untimely deaths. The memorial’s location by the river, where the bodies were discarded, adds to its emotional weight, allowing visitors to reflect on the brutality of the execution method and the personal stories behind each pair of shoes.
Both Auschwitz and the Shoes on the Danube Promenade utilize shoes to convey the personal nature of the Holocaust. At Auschwitz, the shoes are part of a larger exhibit that underscores the scale and systematic nature of the atrocities. They serve as a poignant reminder of the individual lives lost amid the overwhelming numbers. The Shoes on the Danube, while also commemorating victims of the Holocaust, focuses on a specific and localized act of violence, using the shoes to symbolize the particular horror of that moment in history.
In their own ways, these memorials highlight the significance of personal items in the context of mass tragedy. Shoes, as everyday objects, evoke a sense of the individual and the intimate, making the historical event more immediate and relatable. They help to humanize the vast and impersonal statistics of the Holocaust, reminding us of the countless individual lives that were extinguished. Through these powerful symbols, both Auschwitz and the Shoes on the Danube Promenade ensure that the memory of those who suffered and perished is preserved, emphasizing the importance of remembrance and reflection.