The Hungarian government is bringing the House of Fates to Hungary next year to mark the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust.
“The government decision also includes the fact that the owner of the Holocaust museum will be the Jewish Community, something which is unique in Europe," said Gergely Gulyás, minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office.
The government will provide a budget of 2 billion HUF (6.1 million EUR) to Priority State Investment Centre Non-Profit Cls. for the milestone, and will also be contributing to the operating costs of the memorial site.
The minister said the government will be establishing the House of Fates in cooperation with the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation (EMIH), headed by Rabbi Shlomo Köves, and the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and Eastern European History and Society, directed by Mária Schmidt; the museum’s owner will be the EMIH.
“The terrible acts committed by the Nazi and Communist dictatorships of the 20th century can never be forgotten," Gulyás said.
“The fact that in Hungary the organised, mass transportation of Jews to death camps only occurred following the German occupation on 19 March 1944 does not mask the responsibility and guilt with relation to the fact that following this the state did not protect its citizens. There is no collective guilt, but there is state responsibility," he added.
The purpose of the memorial site will be to present personal fates through which people can not only learn about the era but also understand what happened, particularly from the perspective of the child victims of the Holocaust.