Holocaust Memorial Center, Budapest

What Holocaust Memorial Center, Budapest does

The Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest (legal name: Holokauszt Emlékközpont; Holocaust Documentation Center and Memorial Collection Public Foundation) is a state-established nonprofit public foundation operating a memorial museum, research institute, and educational facility at Páva utca 39 in Budapest's 9th district. Founded by the Hungarian government in 2002 as the legal successor of the Hungarian Auschwitz Foundation (1990), it is the first Holocaust memorial center in Central Europe established by a state and one of only six state-established Holocaust institutions worldwide. Its core offerings include a 1,500 sq. meter permanent exhibition ("From Deprivation of Rights to Genocide") opened in 2006, rotating temporary exhibitions (most recently a 2026 exhibition on the Roma Holocaust), the Memorial Wall of Victims with approximately 180,000 laser-engraved names, and the Tower of Lost Communities listing 1,441 annihilated Jewish settlements. The institution maintains the only public collection in Hungary exclusively dedicated to Holocaust documents and objects, comprising a 7,000-volume library and approximately 20 meters of archival documentation.

The center's business model blends state budget funding (primary, via the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office), modest ticket revenue (adult permanent exhibition ticket 3,600 HUF; combined ticket 4,000 HUF; guided tours 6,900–15,600 HUF per group), and tax-deductible private donations. It runs museum pedagogy programs, annual teacher training seminars (notably the "Holocaust by Bullets" program with Yahad-In Unum since 2017), guided tours, and the Shoah Stories digital platform on TikTok and Instagram Reels targeting younger audiences. Dedicated segments include students (aged 12+), teachers, survivors and victim families, and the general public; partnerships span Yad Vashem, MAZSIHISZ, Hungarian National Museum, multiple Hungarian universities, Russian Holocaust organizations, and traveling exhibition venues across Hungary. Operational staff totals 14 employees, supported by an academic-staff-heavy structure of historians, museologists, archivists, and educators. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and no venture or private equity funding is involved.

Name

Holocaust Memorial Center, Budapest

Legal name

Holocaust Dokumentációs Központ és Emlékgyűjtemény Közalapítvány

Website

https://hdke.hu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest is a state-established public foundation that operates a memorial museum, research archive, and educational program dedicated to the Hungarian Holocaust, serving students, teachers, survivor families, and the general public through exhibitions, victim databases, and teacher training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Holocaust Memorial Museum and Educational Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120), Libraries and Archives (51921)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI), Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

Keywords

• Holocaust memorial museum
• Holocaust education programs
• Victim name database
• Museum pedagogy services
• Holocaust research archives

Headquarters

HQ city

Budapest

HQ country

Hungary

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. State Funding: The center is financed from the Hungarian state budget as a public foundation established by the government. State funding covers operational costs and basic tasks.
2. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from admission tickets for permanent and temporary exhibitions, combined tickets, and group bookings.
3. Donations and Private Support: The center accepts donations from individuals and organizations. Donations are tax-deductible under Hungarian law.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Holocaust Memorial Center is a state-founded memorial museum, research institution and educational facility that operates permanent and temporary exhibitions, an eight-meter laser-engraved Memorial Wall with approximately 180,000 victim names, the Tower of Lost Communities, a digital victim database, and a Holocaust documentation library of 7,000 volumes. It delivers museum pedagogy, guided tours, teacher training seminars, and commemorative programming to honor victims and educate future generations about the Hungarian Holocaust.

Product overview

The Holocaust Memorial Center is a state-founded memorial museum and research institution offering a comprehensive portfolio centered on Holocaust education, commemoration, and research. The core offering is the permanent exhibition "From Deprivation of Rights to Genocide" (1,500 sq. meters) complemented by regularly changing temporary exhibitions in the synagogue space. Key visitor-facing products include the Memorial Wall with approximately 180,000 victim names and the Tower of Lost Communities listing 1,441 settlements. The educational suite encompasses guided tours, the Shoah Stories digital platform, and Holocaust by Bullets teacher seminars. Research services include a victims database, rescuers recognition program, a physical collection of documents and library (7,000 volumes), and the Hurbán journal publication. All offerings serve the dual mission of honoring victims and educating future generations about the Hungarian Holocaust.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• From Deprivation of Rights to Genocide (Permanent Exhibition) The permanent exhibition across 1,500 square meters presenting the Holocaust in Hungary through thematic blocs (deprivation of rights, despoilment, deprivation of freedom, dignity, and life), multimedia touch-screens, original documents and objects, and personal and family stories. It is the core public-facing museum product open to all visitors.
• Temporary Exhibitions Regularly changing periodic exhibitions displayed in the refurbished synagogue and inner courtyard, covering topics linked to the Holocaust and Roma Holocaust with photos, art, documents, and contemporary reflections. Open to the general public with discounted and full-price admission tickets.
• Victim Names Database (Áldozati adatbázis) Searchable digital database of victims of the Hungarian Holocaust, allowing queries by name, maiden name, birth year, birthplace, residence, father's name, mother's name, death year, and place of death. Approximately 14,500 victim questionnaires have been returned to the Center to populate it.
• Memorial Wall of Victims (Áldozatok emlékfala) Eight-meter high glass wall designed by graphic artist László Zsótér with approximately 180,000 to 500,000 names engraved by laser. Visitors can search the digital database and receive commemorative cards indicating the on-wall location of names.
• Tower of Lost Communities (Elveszett Közösségek Tornya) Glass hall with twelve special glass panes designed by László Zsótér listing the names of 1,441 settlements where Jewish communities were destroyed as a consequence of 1944 deportations, with names arranged according to the 1941 toponymic dictionary.
• Guided Tours and Jewish Quarter Tour Docent-led guided tours of the permanent exhibition (90 minutes) plus a Jewish Quarter Tour (120 minutes starting at Dohány Street Synagogue). Available in Hungarian (HUF 6,900/group) and English, French, German, Italian, Russian (HUF 9,400/group); Jewish Quarter Tour at HUF 15,600/group. Provides historical insights from victim, perpetrator, rescuer, and bystander perspectives.
• Shoah Stories Educational Platform International Holocaust education platform producing short videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and ready-to-use lesson plans designed to integrate Holocaust content into educational activities for young audiences.
• Holocaust by Bullets Seminar for Teachers Teacher training seminar organized jointly with Yahad-In Unum focusing on Holocaust by Bullets as a lesser-known chapter of Holocaust history. Includes historical insights, educational materials, and workshops targeting teachers from Central and Eastern European countries.
• Collection (Documents, Objects, Library) The only public collection in Hungary dealing exclusively with documents, materials and objects from the Shoah period. Approximately 20 meters of documentation and a library with 7,000 volumes, accessible for research purposes by visiting the library.
• Rescuers Database and Righteous Among the Nations Recognition Research and registration of rescue activities during the Holocaust. The Center maintains a database of Hungarian rescuers and operates a Plaque for Commitment program recognizing individuals and communities that took action to save Jews.
• Hurbán Journal (Hurbán Folyóirat) Annual academic journal published by the institution covering Holocaust research, historical studies, and commemorative topics. Digital issues from 2023 to 2025 are accessible on the website.
• Through Memory — Narratives and Imprints of the Roma Holocaust (Az emlékezet útján – A Roma Holokauszt narratívái és lenyomatai) A new temporary exhibition focused on the memory of the Roma Holocaust through personal stories, community memory practices, documents, objects, and contemporary visual reflections, based on comprehensive anthropological research. Open to the public with admission tickets.

Quantifiable outcome

• 150,000+ identified victims commemorated by name on Memorial Wall
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Yad VashemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, is a key strategic partner for Holocaust research, education, and remembrance. The partnership involves recognition of Righteous Among the Nations, victim documentation, and international Holocaust education initiatives.
• Yahad-In UnumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint organization of annual 'Holocaust by Bullets' seminars for teachers since 2017, focusing on documenting mass executions in Eastern Europe. The partnership involves research collaboration and educational program development.
• Hungarian National MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hungarian National Museum arranged the permanent exhibition 'From Deprivation of Rights to Genocide' and manages the exhibition program office at Páva Street.
• The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary partner representing Hungarian Jewish communities, involved in Holocaust remembrance and education activities.
• Jewish Theological Seminary - University of Jewish StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for research and education on Holocaust history and Jewish studies.
• Ludovika University of Public ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership for public service education and Holocaust remembrance programs.
• Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Szeged for research collaboration.
• Russian Holocaust Research and Education CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint staging of exhibitions on Holocaust history, including the 2020 Auschwitz liberation commemorative exhibition.
• Russian Jewish CongressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner for international exhibitions and Holocaust research.
• Hungarian Openair Museum (Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for cultural heritage programs and exhibitions.
• Miniszterelnökség (Prime Minister's Office)coreOthersGovernment ministry serving as the supervisory authority (fenntartó) for the public foundation.
• KortársPRos Ltd.minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic relations and marketing services for event promotion and communications.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Yad Vashem: Israel's official World Holocaust Remembrance Center. Most directly comparable institution: state-established Holocaust museum, archive, research center, and educational authority with which the Budapest Center has a formal mutual partnership.
• House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Educational Site: Berlin memorial and educational site at the location where the Wannsee Conference was held. Comparable in combining a memorial site, permanent exhibition, and structured teacher/visitor educational programming.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: US federal Holocaust memorial museum in Washington, D.C. Comparable in mission (memorialization, research, education, victim documentation), institutional scale, and international standing among state-affiliated Holocaust institutions.
• Jewish Museum Berlin: Germany's central Jewish history museum with major Holocaust exhibition component. Comparable as a European state-supported Jewish heritage museum combining permanent exhibition, research, and educational programming.
• Topography of Terror: Berlin memorial and museum on the site of the former Gestapo headquarters. Comparable as a German state-funded documentation center combining permanent exhibition, research, and educational programming on Nazi-era crimes.
• Wiener Holocaust Library: London-based Holocaust archive, library, and educational institution. Comparable as a Holocaust-focused research and education body with archival holdings, exhibitions, and teacher programming, though smaller-scale and archive-led rather than museum-led.
• Anne Frank House: Amsterdam museum and foundation operating at the Anne Frank hiding site. Comparable as a Holocaust memorial and education institution running a museum, educational programs, traveling exhibitions, and international outreach.
• Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum: Polish state-run museum at the largest former Nazi concentration and extermination camp. Closest geographic/regional peer for Budapest and the dominant pilgrimage destination for Holocaust tourism in Central Europe.
• Mémorial de la Shoah: Paris-based Holocaust memorial, museum, archive, and research center. Comparable in offering a permanent exhibition, archive, library, teacher training, and commemorative programming in an urban European setting.

Broad incumbents

• Imperial War Museums (Holocaust Exhibition): UK national museum group with a dedicated Holocaust Exhibition. Comparable in delivering Holocaust exhibition and education content, though as part of a broader war-history portfolio rather than a single-subject institution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@holocaustmuseumbp
• Facebookfacebook.com/hdke.hu
• TikToktiktok.com/@holocaustmuseumbp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holocaust-memorial-center-budapest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Holocaust Memorial Center, Budapest