In memory of the Sinti and Roma
On 2 August, 2020 we commemorated the last 4,300 Sinti and Roma in the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, who were murdered by the SS on that night in 1944 despite their fierce resistance. In memory of all 500,000 Sinti and Roma murdered in Nazi-occupied Europe, the European Parliament declared this date the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma in 2015.
Due to the Covid-pandemic, additional to the small commemoration ceremony at Auschwitz Memorial, a virtual space of remembrance was created with testimonies from survivors and speeches and greetings from a large number of high-ranking representatives of national and international institutions and governments: https://www.roma-sinti-holocaust-memorial-day.eu/
The website was prepared by an international 9 person group (Germany, Poland, GB) from Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma (Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma), Heidelberg/Germany while staying at the IYMC July 29th – August 3rd 2020.
With the website and the virtual commemoration the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, in cooperation with the Association of Roma in Poland and in collaboration with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, wanted to enable the participation of Sinti and Roma in Germany and internationally.
Photo Ł. Lipiński, Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau
