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Sinti and Roma Genocide Remembrance Day. 82nd anniversary of the liquidation of the Roma camp in Auschwitz.

Eighty-two years ago, on the night of 2-3 August 1944, the Germans liquidated the so-called family camp for Gypsies (Zigeunerfamilienlager) in Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Around 4,300 children, women and men, the last Roma prisoners of the camp, were murdered in the gas chambers.

In Poland, 2 August is observed as the Day of Remembrance for the Genocide of Roma and Sinti, established by a resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in 2011. Since 2015, this day has also been the European Roma Genocide Remembrance Day, established by the European Parliament.

This year’s anniversary commemoration took place in section BIIe of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp, where a monument commemorates the Roma and Sinti deported to and murdered in Auschwitz.

It was attended by representatives of the Roma community from many countries, representatives of state authorities, including Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Szymon Hołownia, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Petra Bayr, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Monaco Isabelle Berro-Amadei, representatives of the governments of the Czech Republic and Germany, representatives of the diplomatic corps, and institutions and organisations involved in commemorating the genocide of Roma and Sinti.

The first to speak was Roman Kwiatkowski, President of the Association of Roma in Poland, who emphasised that remembrance of the victims must go beyond anniversary commemorations: “Our memory cannot be limited to one place or to one day a year. It is our duty to remember. But it is also our duty to speak the truth.”

“One of the most tragic chapters of this history are the pseudo-medical experiments conducted by Dr Josef Mengele on Roma children, especially on twins. That is why the presence of young people among us takes on special significance. Looking at them, it is hard not to think of those children who were deprived of their future,” Kwiatkowski said.

“But looking at them, we also see something else. More than eighty years ago, the Nazis wanted to condemn the Roma to complete extermination. They wanted future generations never to be born. Today, those future generations stand among us. They are present, they live, they learn, they dream. They are the most beautiful proof that, despite an unimaginable tragedy, our people survived. This is the victory of life over hatred. Of memory over oblivion,” he added.

Romani Rose, Chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, recalled that the memory of the genocide of Roma and Sinti remains part of Europe’s shared responsibility: “After the end of the Second World War, the international community adopted the Charter of the United Nations and international law. This was humanity’s response to Auschwitz.”

Rose also stressed that counteracting antigypsyism requires not only legal measures, but also education: “Antigypsyism must be countered not only through criminal law, but also through prevention, education, and the dissemination of knowledge.”

“We are witnessing the rise of a resurgent and increasingly aggressive antigypsyism in Germany, but also in other European countries. This development is not taking place in a vacuum. Across Europe, we see electoral successes of far-right and nationalist parties, which are once again making hatred and incitement to hatred socially acceptable,” Rose added.

Survivor Dieter Flack addressed an appeal to young people: “Use every opportunity to broaden your education, learn languages, and get to know other countries and cultures. This helps break down prejudices and create a climate of tolerance and acceptance.”

“Here, at the site of the greatest crime against humanity, I call on all those exercising political power to include the history of the Sinti and Roma in the curricula of all schools in Europe,” Flack emphasised. In his view, anti-Roma stereotypes must be replaced by knowledge of the history and cultural achievements of Roma and Sinti.

In his speech, Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Szymon Hołownia said that remembrance of the victims remains an obligation for contemporary generations: “They wanted to turn this place into a black hole. So that these human lives would disappear. So that death would consume them. There is no other way to respond to an ocean of death than to fill it with life.”

He also stressed that remembrance requires not only recalling the victims, but also moral responsibility on the part of people today: “This place is an enormous obligation for each of us. (...) Always with those who are harmed. Against those who harm. (...) And never to allow Auschwitz to fall from the sky on us again.”

A letter to the participants of the commemoration was sent by the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki. It was read by Dr Grzegorz Berendt, Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Poland for Historical Diplomacy.

In Block 13 on the grounds of the former Auschwitz I camp, an exhibition commemorating the genocide of Roma and Sinti is available to visitors. It presents details of the crime committed against Roma in German-occupied Europe. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of this exhibition.

Fifteen years ago, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland established 2 August as the Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of Roma and Sinti.

On the night of 2-3 August 1944, the Germans murdered around 4,300 women, men and children in the gas chambers, the last prisoners of the Roma family camp. This event became a symbol of the genocide of Roma and Sinti during the Second World War.

The family camp for Roma was established in sector BIIe of Auschwitz II-Birkenau in February 1943. By order of Heinrich Himmler, Roma and Sinti from occupied Europe were deported there. In total, around 23,000 Roma were sent to Auschwitz. Around 21,000 registered prisoners died as a result of hunger, disease, exhaustion, pseudo-medical experiments, or were murdered in the gas chambers. Around 2,000 people were killed without being registered in the camp records.

The Museum has published an academic monograph devoted to the fate of Roma and Sinti in the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. Its authors are Piotr Setkiewicz, Sławomir Kapralski and Jerzy Dębski.

The history of the Roma victims of the camp is also presented in the online lesson “Roma in Auschwitz”, one episode of the podcast “On Auschwitz”, and volume 7 of the educational series Voices of Memory. The exhibition “Roma in Auschwitz”, prepared by the Museum, is also available on Google Cultural Institute.