Hungary: University makes Holocaust class mandatory

Thousands of Hungarians were executed and thrown into the Danube after the Arrow Cross party came to power in 1944

A university in Hungary has introduced a compulsory class on the Holocaust, it's reported.

From September, every student at Peter Pazmany Catholic University near Budapest will have to take the course before they can graduate, regardless of their degree subject, the Index news website reports. Students will study the class, called The Holocaust and its Remembrance, along with one other university-wide, mandatory course - Introduction to the Catholic Faith. The university's rector, Szabolcs Szuromi, announced the move alongside Israel's ambassador to Hungary, Ilan Mor. The ambassador describes the initiative as a "milestone" for Hungary, and says it's unique in Europe. The university has nearly 10,000 students studying for degrees in humanities, theology, law and teacher training.

Hungary's Jewish population suffered huge losses during the Holocaust. More than 400,000 Jews were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in just two months in 1944. Thousands more were murdered in Budapest under the Arrow Cross party, with many shot dead on the banks of the Danube. How the country commemorates its history has been the subject of much debate in recent years. In 2014, the government was criticised for constructing a monument which some people felt glossed over the Hungarian state's role in the Holocaust, instead depicting the country as an innocent victim of Nazi occupation.

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