The Autonomous Movement called for a protest on Saturday afternoon against the so-called "Day of Honor" and the Breakout performance march held on this occasion.

Several hundred people, including Germans and Italians, gathered around the antifascist and anti-Nazi banners at Széll Kálmán (formerly Moszkva) Square. As expected, there was high police readiness, with police cars and troop carriers frequently passing by in the nearby Széna Square.

Although the autonomists encouraged the use of Covid masks during the protest and this was originally allowed the police later disapproved of the idea. One of the organizers announced, "The police insist that we do not wear masks that cover the entire face, including Covid masks."

The far-right commemorates the attempted breakout on February 11, 1945, by the troops of Nazi Germany and their Hungarian allies from the Soviet-encircled Buda Castle. According to historian Krisztián Ungváry, the casualties of the Red Army were slightly higher than the combined numbers of civilian casualties and German and Hungarian defenders. Adolf Hitler alone insisted on defending the Hungarian capital, which he declared a "fortress." German ambassador and special envoy Veesenmayer stated that "we do not care if Budapest is destroyed ten times if it means we can protect Vienna."

A speaker at the antifascist demonstration in Széll Kálmán Square called for action: "Let's fight against the day of dishonor!" The protesters marched to the Buda Castle with strong police protection, chanting slogans in multiple languages to the beat of drums. The banner at the front of the march read: "Enough of the glorification of Nazis!"

German voices could occasionally be heard. Most appeared to be average hikers, but not all: some wore military uniforms. On some, swastikas, Nazi symbols, crossed-out hammer and sickles, and Árpád stripes were seen. This is not surprising, as it closely aligns with the spirit of the event. Participants receive an iron cross patch and a commemorative certificate, which according to its text honors "the heroic defenders of Budapest."

One young man, 17 years old from the countryside, was fully dressed in imperial eagle combined with a swastika and SS insignia, sporting the Totenkopf symbol of the Waffen SS, the Z symbol supporting the war against Ukraine, and the emblem of the Wagner Group, with white shoe laces in his boots symbolizing "white power". He wore a cross around his neck.

He freely gave a statement to the press. For instance, he reported that he hoped his new party, founded with friends and bearing a German name translated to 'death squad,' would soon be registered. When asked, he admitted considering himself a neo-Nazi but reassured that he did not agree with the concentration camps and the murder of millions of Jews.

Thanks to police cordons, the counter-protesters and the march participants did not encounter each other. Szabolcs Hegyi, a legal expert at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ), was also present at the site. After the antifascist demonstration concluded, he told our paper that, to his knowledge, there had been no atrocities or other extraordinary incidents.