Holocaust Memorial Center — Attraction in Budapest

Holocaust Memorial Center is a national institution established by the Government in 1999. In 2002, it decided to construct the building of the Center in Páva Street, outside of the traditional Jewish quarter, further emphasizing its national character. The invading German troops included a Sonderkommando led by SS officer Adolf Eichmann, who arrived in Budapest to supervise the deportation of the country's Jews to the Auschwitz concentration camp in occupied Poland. Between 15 May and 9 July 1944, over 434,000 Jews were deported on 147 trains, most of them to Auschwitz, where about 80 percent were gassed on arrival. The deportation was powerfully assisted by Hungarian authorities. The Holocaust Memorial Center focuses entirely on Holocaust research and education. The visitors are welcomed into a unique space that was named as the most impressive in Budapest, beside the city’s panorama itself by Frank Owen Gehry, one of the leading architects in our time. The modern building is organically linked to the Páva Street Synagogue, an authentic venue that once used to be the second largest site for Jewish worship in Budapest. The Institution is a center for scientific research education and culture. It welcomes visitors with interactive permanent and special periodic exhibitions, experience-based museum pedagogical programs and cultural performances. Guided tours are available in five languages and special, thematically focused tours are offered regularly. A bookshop and a cozy coffee shop contribute to a memorable visit. A toilet is also available...

A good reminder of the horrors of the holocaust. Some clever exhibits which try to give you a feeling of what it may have been like during the atrocities. Very, very saddening. However, the memorial museum has a large historical inaccuracy on the first informational placard as you walk in, which states "prior to 1941, never before in the history of mankind had the leaders of a state wanted to kill every single member of a people, a nationality or a religious group." This is a large oversight of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, that took place just 26 years before the Holocaust, and which led Hitler to declare during his Obersalzburg speech just before his invasion of Poland "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" This quote is inscribed on one of the walls of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial...

Worst experience. I read the previous reviews and followed advise on tickets and time. They only accept local currency, no credit card or EUR. Did not provide guidance on where to locate ATM machine. Left for a 45 minute hike to find. Cage back and asked for two tickets and got charged for three. They said they misunderstood but did not attempt to refund me. We went inside and noticed there were headsets and recordings referenced. Went back to desk and asked for headset. Not available without a guide, no guides today. Went back to room to start reading and got very hot within 5 minutes. No conditioner. I went back and asked about A/C and was told none. This was a waisted half day and left a bad taste in the city and people. Not recommended. If zero Stars were an option, that would have...