"Shoes of Silence"

Visiting 6 countries in 21 days leaves you with a mind full of memories.  Gliding on the moonlit waters of the Blue Danube, the visual beauty of church sanctuaries in Vienna, walking the winding, narrow streets of Regensburg before enjoying the 'best wurst' I have had in a long time, the wonder of a rock forest with monasteries perched on high peaks in Meteora, the wonder of ancient faith preserved inside Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

One memory lingers with the power to disturb my thoughts and stir my soul.  It is the "Shoes of Silence" I saw on the Pest side of Budapest.  On the Promenade beside the Blue Danube River is a memorial for victims of the Holocaust.  As World War II was ending and defeat was near Jewish people of all ages were lined up along the banks of the Danube.  Shoes were a valuable item and so they were forced to remove them before being shot to death.  The bodies fell into the chill waters and the shoes were gathered up.

The memorial is composed of 60 pairs of bronze shoes, a grim reminder of humanity at our worst.  Tourist cameras flash and the bus moves on.  It would be easy to overlook this memorial with all of the awesome architecture in Budapest.  One young man has blogged "maybe if you were older it would mean more but I don't think it is much to see."

Having stood in the furnace room at Dachau in 2010...watching news video of Syrians being shot by their own government...living in a world of tragedy created by IEDs and soulless Drones I can not escape the shoes.  It matters every time the innocent die!  It wounds the collective soul of humanity every time we turn another person or people into the 'other' and find freedom to violently end their lives.

I was reminded of the old saying about 'walking a mile in their shoes.'  Before we decide there is not 'much to see' in the violent moments of life perhaps we can learn from the 'shoes of silence.'  Injustice, by whoever and whenever, needs to be challenged and not forgotten.  Unlike the young blogger I think those shoes are important to see!