Via Calvaria - A Run for Acceptance and Forgiveness

The Path of the Message - A Journey Toward Acceptance and Forgiveness

Eighty years ago, citing the principle of collective guilt, 250,000 Germans living in Hungary were deported / driven from their homeland, including from villages in the Bakony and Balaton Uplands. Elemér Sümegi, an ultra-runner, is German Hungarian, from Lókút. His ancestors arrived in the Bakony region three centuries ago, founded a village, worked, and lived through the vicissitudes of Hungarian history. Following World War II, there was hardly a family in the settlement that was not affected by deportation. Family celebrations were put on hold; grandparents could not see their growing grandchildren, and for a long time, the only contact was through letters. Today, these are yellowed, faded postcards and well-thumbed pages. These letters were treasured by families here and there, because for them, this was the MESSAGE.
A message that they are alive, that they are surviving, that they are thinking of one another. Often, they lay hidden in the depths of boxes for decades. That’s how Elemér found a stack of such letters on an old attic floor. This is where the idea came from to retrace the journey of the deportees on foot to the settlement that took in the largest number of people from Lókút, Hebertshausen, which is now Lókút’s sister town. 

This run is the PATH OF THE MESSAGE. A tribute to those who were driven out and to those who welcomed them.

THE MESSAGE

is

• to those who came before us, that we will not forget,
• about acceptance and hospitality
• and to our children about the importance of remembrance.

THE JOURNEY

• During the preparation period, we welcome various groups—kids, adults, athletes, parasport athletes, and beginners/ are invited to join a group run and a discussion related to the route. It’s important that we can still convey the message of running this way.

The program is linked to the preparation phase of Elemér Sümegi’s ultramarathon , focusing not on the ultra-marathon itself, but on its social message and community outreach efforts.