Memorial for the victims of the German occupation

Controversial monument on Liberty Square (2014) for victims of the German occupation — with a citizen counter-memorial right alongside.

The Memorial for the Victims of the German Occupation stands on Liberty Square in Budapest and was unveiled on 19 March 2014, the 70th anniversary of the Wehrmacht entering Hungary. The monument shows a column group with reliefs and two bronze figures: Hungary as the protective archangel Gabriel, and the German occupation as an eagle. It has been deeply controversial since its erection — critics see it as an attempt to obscure Hungary's own role in the Holocaust. Directly opposite, citizens and survivors have assembled an unofficial counter-memorial of photos, documents, and stones that challenges the official narrative.