Thousands gathered in Budapest for the “Day of Honor” in early February to glorify those who fought alongside the Nazis during World War II, according to Légió Hungária, the organizers of the annual event.
The event honored Waffen-SS collaborators, paying tribute to a failed operation in which Nazi and Hungarian troops attempted to break out of the city during the Soviet Army’s siege in 1945. The Siege of Budapest was one of the most brutal in modern history, lasting 100 days and resulting in the total destruction of the city.
Thousands of individuals—many of whom wore far-right insignia and Nazi uniforms—participated in a “memorial hike” from Buda Castle, according to images publicized by Getty.
“Budapest is ours,” Outlaw Army said on their website, another organization that participated in planning the event.
“This date is important because our Hungarian and German comrades defended Europe from communism and its materialistic, evil ideas,” Francesco, a member of the neo-fascist movement CasaPound Italia, remarked in a speech published on the Légió Hungária website.
Preventing Dangerous Narratives
“Honoring Waffen-SS collaborators is an insult to the memory of the 600,000 Hungarian Jews murdered in the Holocaust and a direct threat to our democratic values,” the European Jewish Congress tweeted in February. “We urge authorities to prevent such dangerous narratives from gaining ground.”
Approximately two-thirds of Hungary’s Jewish population was massacred between 1933 and 1945, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Nearly 500,000 of these Hungarian Jews were murdered in the last year of World War II alone.
Hungary’s government has previously been scrutinized for antisemitic statements and historical revisionism. In 2017, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received backlash after referring to Admiral Miklós Horthy, a staunch ally of Adolf Hitler, as an “exceptional statesman,” AP News reported.
“Hungary, with a well-known track record, has declared zero tolerance against Nazi ideology, open anti-Semitism, and racism, which it also prosecutes by means of the law,” the Budapest police informed The Jerusalem Post. “The police will take firm, unambiguous action against extremist manifestations.”
Violent Response in 2023
In February 2023, members of an anti-fascist organization launched a counter-demonstration in response to the “Day of Honor.” According to the Hungarian police, far-left activists physically assaulted participants of the commemoration with rubber mallets, vipers, and other tools.
In response, an increased number of law enforcement officers were present at the most recent rally in 2025.
“The police are cooperating with domestic and foreign intelligence services,” the police stated in a press conference in late January. “The BRFK guarantees everyone the right to peaceful assembly, but we will not allow extremist groups to attack anyone!”
The police did not report any violent altercations during this year’s commemoration and counter-protest.
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