The 'graveyard' for communist statues

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2023

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Hungarian city of Budapest's communist statue 'graveyard' opened on 29 June 1993. Statues representing communism were not destroyed, instead they were relocated to a specially designed park on the outskirts of the city. Laura Jones has been speaking to Judit Holp, who runs Memento Park. This programme has been updated since the original broadcast. In the original version, we said Budapest is in Eastern Europe. We should have said that it is in Central Europe. (Photo: Republic of Councils Monument in Memento Park Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The Happy Pod is a special weekly episode from the Global News Podcast bringing new positive stories and uplifting interviews from around the world.
0:09.0	I've got some good news for you. It's a beautiful place to be.
0:12.0	A really good vibe, you know.
0:14.0	It's the audio equivalent of rose tinted spectacles.
0:17.0	The world's happier stories for your stories. Absolutely inspirational.
0:20.0	A pudding. Remarkable.
0:22.0	Listen now by searching for the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.0	Thanks for downloading the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service with me, Laura Jones.
0:40.0	As countries around the world grapple with the decision of what to do with statues from the past.
0:45.0	I'm taking you back 30 years to the central European city of Budapest in Hungary.
0:51.0	After the end of communism, when a so-called graveyard for statues was opened in 1993.
0:57.0	Let's rather large Russian was up there on the hill watching the liberation monument.
1:02.0	Now he's down here in a load statues home. Along with a lot of other retired dignitaries from the communist era.
1:09.0	The greater public agreed that here in Hungary they wouldn't destroy a single communist propaganda statue.
1:16.0	The mental park let everybody develop his or her idea about this part of our history.
1:23.0	Because it's not only the history of Hungary.
1:26.0	It is part of European dissonant heritage.
1:29.0	We all have something to connect with to the mental park.
1:34.0	So this is what it seems like that that you are really on your own.
1:38.0	But surrounded by this giant cost in bronze.
1:42.0	And yet it's open air.
1:45.0	So if it's sunny, then you definitely get in our very positive mood.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.