Janthopoyism
Sacred Travel: Shoes on the Danube Bank
#holythrowback to 2019 when I visited the Shoes on the Danube Bank, in Budapest, Hungary.
With my holy throwbacks (and indeed all my travels), I try to give every religion its fair share of the spotlight. For this reason, I always cringe when it comes to Judaism’s turn because while there may be some renowned synagogues out there, it’s the holocaust memorials which leave a stronger impact.
One that stands out is the Shoes on the Danube Bank, which memorialises Hungary’s ugly role in that conflict. During World War II, around December 1944 and January 1945, the fascist Hungarian militia from the Arrow Cross Party lined up Jews next to the Danube River, forced them to remove their shoes and then shot them so their bodies would fall into the water, minimising the clean up. As shoes were valuable, they could be sold. 800 Jews were killed in this way.
Fast forward to 2005, and Hungarian film director Can Togay wanted to create a piece to honour those who were massacred. This collection of sixty iron shoes was the result as a palpable and unignorable reminder of what took place right here as well as the horrors so many people faced during those years with such a forceful knock-on effect that wars continue to stem from it to this day.
Like an idiot, I only snapped this one snowy photo, but it is worth your clicks to source more to better grasp the bigger picture.
42.5% of Hungarians identify as Christians, mostly Roman Catholicism. However, this may not be the biggest faith after all, simply because 40.1% of the population did not answer that portion of the census in 2022.
With my holy throwbacks (and indeed all my travels), I try to give every religion its fair share of the spotlight. For this reason, I always cringe when it comes to Judaism’s turn because while there may be some renowned synagogues out there, it’s the holocaust memorials which leave a stronger impact.
One that stands out is the Shoes on the Danube Bank, which memorialises Hungary’s ugly role in that conflict. During World War II, around December 1944 and January 1945, the fascist Hungarian militia from the Arrow Cross Party lined up Jews next to the Danube River, forced them to remove their shoes and then shot them so their bodies would fall into the water, minimising the clean up. As shoes were valuable, they could be sold. 800 Jews were killed in this way.
Fast forward to 2005, and Hungarian film director Can Togay wanted to create a piece to honour those who were massacred. This collection of sixty iron shoes was the result as a palpable and unignorable reminder of what took place right here as well as the horrors so many people faced during those years with such a forceful knock-on effect that wars continue to stem from it to this day.
Like an idiot, I only snapped this one snowy photo, but it is worth your clicks to source more to better grasp the bigger picture.
42.5% of Hungarians identify as Christians, mostly Roman Catholicism. However, this may not be the biggest faith after all, simply because 40.1% of the population did not answer that portion of the census in 2022.
Janthopoyism is a spiritual philosophy meets self-improvement program.
We view the Absolute collection of all Universal Energy to be the highest power. You are part of that power. You are an extension of divinity.
The ultimate purpose of this power is to evolve, and we each have a unique part to play in this progression. The details of your role are relayed to you every moment of your life via emotional notifications.
The tricky bit is that human beings have developed a communication barrier between themselves and this instruction.
This barrier is called "the brain".
But never fear! By utilising some very simple practices, you can open the flow of exchange, granting you access to the ether of infinite ideas, the infallible path of your guided destiny, and the recollection of your holiness.
Which is basically a wanky way of saying that your life is about to get a whole bunch better.
Join the movement before it becomes too mainstream.
We view the Absolute collection of all Universal Energy to be the highest power. You are part of that power. You are an extension of divinity.
The ultimate purpose of this power is to evolve, and we each have a unique part to play in this progression. The details of your role are relayed to you every moment of your life via emotional notifications.
The tricky bit is that human beings have developed a communication barrier between themselves and this instruction.
This barrier is called "the brain".
But never fear! By utilising some very simple practices, you can open the flow of exchange, granting you access to the ether of infinite ideas, the infallible path of your guided destiny, and the recollection of your holiness.
Which is basically a wanky way of saying that your life is about to get a whole bunch better.
Join the movement before it becomes too mainstream.
