LatinosUSA

Hi everyone, its Robbie Cheadle here today with the June post in my Street and Public Art on LatinosUSA – English Edition.

This post focuses on Shoes on the Danube Bank, a poignant Holocaust memorial located on the Pest side of the Danube River. The memorial comprises of 60 pairs of 1940s-styled iron shoes cast into the concrete promenade.

Origin and tragic history

Shoes on the Danube Bank was created by film director, Can Togay, and sculptor, Gyula Pauer to honour the thousands of mainly Jewish victims murdered by the fascist Arrow Cross militia in 1944 and 1945.

Victims were forced to remove their shoes before being shot in the back and falling into the icy water. Leather footwear was a valuable commodity on the black market during World War II.

To save ammunition, the militiamen sometimes tied two or three victims together using shoelaces and then only shot the front person, who fell dragging the others over the edge and into the freezing river.

The 60 pairs of shoes comprising the monument include heavy boots, delicate ladies heels, and children’s sandals.

The shoes are permanently attached to the edge of the stone embankment. The memorial is a cenotaph erected to honour the victims whose bodies were never retrieved and remain within the river.

About Robbie Cheadle

South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Social Media Links

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