Day of Honor (Neo-Nazi rally)

The Day of Honor (in Hungarian: Becsület napja) is a neo-Nazi gathering held annually in Budapest around February 11, honoring the German soldiers of the Waffen-SS and the Hungarian troops who attempted to break the Soviet siege of Buda Castle during the Siege of Budapest in 1945. It has become the second largest neo-Nazi gathering in Europe.

Introduced in 1997 by the Hungarian National Front, then taken over by Blood & Honour in 2003, it attracts thousands of participants, including many Hungarian and foreign far-right groups.

Despite several attempts by the authorities to ban it, the rally receives favorable media coverage in government-controlled media and has received public subsidies. In 2023, there was a crackdown on anti-fascist counter-protesters, notably through European arrest warrants.

History

The Day of Honor is held every year in Budapest around February 11 to honor the soldiers of the German Waffen-SS and Hungarian troops who attempted to break the Red Army's siege around Buda Castle during the Siege of Budapest in 1945.[1][2]

Introduced in 1997 by the Hungarian National Front, the first edition of this gathering attracted 150 participants. It was then taken over by Blood & Honour in 2003. This commemoration has become the second largest neo-Nazi gathering in Europe, attracting thousands of people, including European neo-Nazi leaders.[1] Despite Blood & Honour being banned in Hungary in 2004, its symbols and ideology remain very present during the ceremony.[2]

Since 2005, Fidesz has also organized official ceremonies through the municipality of Budapest's 1st district.[1]

In 2020, the event was organized by the violent far-right group Légió Hungária.[3] For the first time, an anti-fascist counter-demonstration drew more participants than the neo-Nazi event.[4]

Event schedule

The event takes place mainly on Heroes' Square[2] and includes a gathering at Városmajor Park, the site of a massacre perpetrated by the Arrow Cross Party against Jews in January 1945,[4] as well as a 60-kilometer night march following the route taken by SS and Hungarian soldiers.[4][5]

Participants

Various Hungarian far-right groups such as the Pax Hungarica Movement,[2] the Jobbik,[2] and the Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement[6] have also participated in this event, as well as numerous foreign neo-Nazis, such as German parties The Right[3][7] and Third Way,[4] the Nordic Resistance Movement[4][7] and the Serbian branch of Blood & Honour.[7]

Many participants wear period uniforms, including those of the Wehrmacht and SS units, equipped with authentic or reproduced military accessories, while others participate in civilian clothing.[5]

Some participants do not claim any ideological affiliation.[5]

Relations with authorities

Since Viktor Orbán came to power in 2010, this commemoration has received favorable media coverage in government-controlled media outlets, which, according to left-wing magazine Jacobin, portray the Axis powers as "heroic defenders of Europe."[4] In 2018, Orbán attempted to prevent the neo-Nazi rally from taking place, in accordance with a promise made to the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary, but was unsuccessful.[6]

In 2022, Hungarian police banned the annual commemoration of the Day of Honor, citing the likely presence of extremist groups that could disturb public order and promote ideas that undermine the dignity of World War II victims.[7] However, it has been permitted in subsequent years.[5]

According to Le Figaro, Orbán is showing particular tolerance towards this event compared to other banned neo-Nazi demonstrations. The French daily also notes that the organizers of the Day of Honor have received public subsidies.[5]

Counter-protesters

In 2023, 18 anti-fascist activists, mainly German and Italian, were prosecuted by the Hungarian courts for their participation in a counter-demonstration in response to the Day of Honor.[8] Hungarian authorities launched a Europe-wide manhunt by issuing European Arrest Warrants to apprehend activists, particularly in France, Italy, Germany, and Finland.[9]

Italian activist Ilaria Salis is accused of injuring three participants and belonging to a criminal organization.[10] Eleven years in prison are sought against her.[11] Salis suffered numerous violations of her fundamental rights during her incarceration, deprived of access to basic hygiene products, including during her period, forced to wear soiled clothing, suffering from malnutrition, deprived of basic medical care, and prevented from communicating with her family for more than six months,[10] subjected to more than a month of solitary confinement, and detained in a cell infested with insects.[9] She was also subjected to interrogations without a lawyer or translator[9] and was shackled at the ankles in a Hungarian court in 2024.[11]

Her legal team was repeatedly denied access to the case file, while Hungarian government officials publicly portrayed her as guilty. During the hearings, neo-Nazi activists in paramilitary uniforms intimidated those suspected of supporting her. Her notoriety in Italy led to her election to the European Parliament in June 2024 under the banner of the Greens and Left Alliance, which granted her parliamentary immunity, which Orbán's allies attempted to lift.[9]

Gabriele Marchesi, an Italian man in his twenties, escaped extradition after a Milan court blocked the European arrest warrant in 2024, although nothing prevents Hungary from issuing a new warrant if Marchesi travels to another European Union country.[9]

After fleeing when legal proceedings against him in Finland appeared to be leading to his extradition to Hungary,[9] Albanian anti-fascist activist Rexhino Abazaj, known as "Gino," was detained in France in November 2024 in connection with this case. He refused to be extradited to Hungary and was released in March 2025. In April 2025, the Paris Court of Appeal definitively refused his extradition, ruling that he would not receive a fair trial in Hungary and could be subjected to ill-treatment there.[8]

Maja T., a German non-binary activist, is facing extradition to Hungary despite a subsequent intervention by the Federal Constitutional Court, which sanctioned the court that authorized the transfer due to prison conditions in Hungary and anti-LGBTQ+ measures under the Orbán government.[9][11] In February 2025, Maja appeared in court in Budapest in chains, stating: "I am being prosecuted by a European state because of my anti-fascist activism."[9]

In January 2025, six people suspected of involvement in the 2023 attacks have surrendered to German authorities to avoid extradition to Hungary.[11]

In September 2025, Viktor Orbán cited the arrest of Ilaria Salis to justify his decision to classify "Antifa" as a terrorist organization, following the example of US President Donald Trump.[12]

Historical analysis

According to academic Magdalena Marsovszky, its name recalls the Waffen-SS slogan "My honor is called loyalty." She criticizes these commemorations for presenting the Nazi forces and their Hungarian allies as defenders and victims, when in fact they were part of the Axis powers that were the aggressors during World War II, but also for omitting the Holocaust and glorifying troops allied with the Nazis.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Marsovszky, Magdalena (2012). "Le 11 février 1945, mythe de la politique mémorielle hongroise". Écrire l'histoire (in French). 10: 57–64. doi:10.4000/elh.203. ISSN 1967-7499.
  2. ^ a b c d e Godin, Emmanuel; Jenkins, Brian; Mammone, Andrea, eds. (2013). Varieties of right-wing extremism in Europe. Routledge studies in extremism and democracy. Abingdon, Oxon New York, N.Y: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-08046-7.
  3. ^ a b Colborne, Michael. "Neo-Nazis from across Europe rally in Budapest". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Szijarto, Imre; Schwartzburg, Rosa (2020-07-03). ""My SS Uniform Is Just My Heritage"". Jacobin. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  5. ^ a b c d e Kornél, Albert (2024-02-11). "Hongrie: à Budapest, «antifas» et néonazis se font face". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  6. ^ a b "Des néo-nazis commémorent la bataille de Budapest". Le Courrier d'Europe centrale (in French). 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  7. ^ a b c d Kuloglija-Zolj, Nermina (2022-02-02). "Hungary Bans Annual Neo-Nazi Gathering in Budapest". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  8. ^ a b Houcine, Margaux (2025-04-09). "La justice refuse l'extradition du militant antifasciste Gino vers la Hongrie". Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Stetler, Harrison (2025-03-26). "Viktor Orbán's Europe-Wide Manhunt of Antifascist Activists". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  10. ^ a b Lemahieu, Thomas (29 January 2024). "Ilaria Salis, militante antifasciste dans les geôles d'Orban". L'Humanité.
  11. ^ a b c d "Thousands join far-right rally in Budapest as anti-fascists protest". The Japan Times. 2025-02-09. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  12. ^ Edwards, Christian (2025-09-19). "Following Trump, Orban says Hungary will designate Antifa a terrorist group". CNN. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
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