Victims of the 1944 air strike commemorated in Beregszász
The Pro Cultura Subcarpathica (PCS) NGO and the Consulate of Hungary in Beregszász commemorated the victims of the bombardment of Berehovo on 9 October 1944 at the plot of the city’s public cemetery, and then at the local railway station.
István Gyebnár, the temporary representative of the Consulate of Hungary in Beregszász, gave a speech at the public cemetery of the town.
As he stated, every year people gather to commemorate the deceased. During the memorial services and funerals, they say farewell to people who lost their lives as a result of the war. This is especially important today, when we are once again living through difficult times.
Afterwards, participants heard a poetic composition by students from the Bethlen Gábor Lyceum in Beregszász. Representatives of the church also addressed the audience, who laid wreaths in memory of the victims. The students commemorated the tragedy by placing ribbons in Hungarian national colours.
The even continued at the train station, where Szilveszter Ferku, a Hungarian major student, opened the event with a song performance.
Zoltán Babják, Mayor of Beregszász, spoke about the importance of remembrance.
“It is important to preserve their memory by all means at our disposal. It is necessary to stand here and talk about it! Let us not let their story be forgotten, even if remembering leaves painful wounds.
György Csatáry, Head of the Department of History and Social Sciences of the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, recalled the events of 1944.
After the speeches, the participants laid wreaths at the memorial plaque on the wall of the railway station.
The commemoration ended with a performance by Szilveszter Ferku of Miklós Radnóti’s poem „I cannot know„.
