A monument that opponents say minimises Hungary's responsibility for the Holocaust was completed in the early hours of Sunday morning, despite months of protests from the Jewish community.
The final parts of the statue were raised under police guard shortly after midnight in Budapest. Demonstrators, including some opposition politicians, gathered soon after to protest. Some threw eggs at the monument, which was surrounded by an iron fence in front of which stood police.
Construction started in April but stalled after the scheduled completion date of May 31 passed. No reasons were given for the delay and no notice that it would be finished on Sunday.
The statue shows a German eagle attacking an angel, meant to symbolise Hungary. Critics say this implies Hungary was a victim rather than an ally of the Nazis during a period when more than 500,000 Hungarian Jews were killed.
