"It is war." Agnes Loose reads from the diary of her father Michael Ritter from Budaörs (Hungary)

Agnes Loose reads from the diary of her father Michael Ritter (1919-2011), a winegrower who was expelled from Budaörs in 1946. Michael Ritter was conscripted into the Hungarian army. He was still serving as a "Honvéd" when he wrote the following lines in his newly created diary:

"14.10.1943. The decision to keep a diary arises from a sad occasion. Yesterday I received my marching orders to Russia. It is war."

The diary, which he kept between 1943 and 1953, provides very personal insights into everyday life as a soldier, the expulsion from Hungary in 1946 and the process of settling in and starting a new family life in Germany.

The event marks the start of our annual focus "1945. The end of the war". Perspectives on the end of the war and its significance today".