Commemoration in Lety

May 8, 2026 Published by: Roma Foundation

On Sunday, 10 May 2026 at 12:00 CET the commemorative ceremony honoring the memory of the victims of the WWII-era concentration camp for Roma and Sinti will be held on the grounds of the Lety u Písku Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia. The gathering is held by the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic with the support of the Czech Culture Ministry and the Foundation for Holocaust Victims.

LIVESTREAM: Commemorative ceremony in Lety u Písku, Czech Republic, remembers the Holocaust and its Romani and Sinti victims. In: Romea. 08.05.2026. https://romea.cz/en/czech-republic/livestream-commemorative-ceremony-in-lety-u-pisku-czech-republic-remembers-the-holocaust-and-its-romani-and-sinti-victims
https://youtu.be/9FRC466etLs

Austria Germany News Western Europe

Zentralrat on Austria

May 8, 2026 Published by: Roma Foundation

The Chairman of the German Central Council of Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, pointed out that the National Socialists called on the population in 1933 not to buy from Jews and had police and SS troops march in front of Jewish businesses. He was criticising a letter by the Austrian police of the Burgenland warning the population about Sinti and Roma.

Rose appealed to Interior Minister Karner of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) to initiate disciplinary proceedings against those responsible within the police force. He emphasized that the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities entered into force in Austria in 1998. This obligates the state to counteract all forms of anti-Gypsyism. The Central Council stated that the Europe-wide rise of nationalist forces, which often base their political program on racism and incitement and have now become the strongest political force in Austria, is alarming.

Polizeiskandal in Österreich: Zentralrat „schockiert und fassungslos“ über Boykottaufruf in Neusiedl am See.. In: Deutschlandfunk. 08.05.2026. https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/polizeiskandal-in-oesterreich-zentralrat-schockiert-und-fassungslos-ueber-boykottaufruf-in-neusiedl–100.html

Austria News Western Europe

Austria, the Police, and Roma

May 8, 2026 Published by: Roma Foundation

The Austrian Equal Treatment Commission criticized a letter issued by the Burgenland police authority in Neusiedl on Friday, in which the police warned the population about Roma and Sinti. The letter, the Commissioner argued, perpetuates historical anti-Roma stereotypes. The letter’s instruction not to accept services from members of this ethnic group could constitute an incitement to discrimination, emphasized Sandra Konstatzky, head of the Equal Treatment Commission.

Kritik an Polizeiaussendung zu Roma und Sinti wächst. In; Der Kurier.08.05.2026. https://kurier.at/chronik/burgenland/gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft-polizei-neusiedl-roma-und-sinti-diskriminierung-burgenland-facebook/403157983#google_vignette
Polizei Neusiedl warnt vor Roma und Sinti, Gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft übt Kritik. In; Der Standard. 08.05.2026. https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000320011/polizei-neusiedl-warnt-vor-roma-und-sinti-gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft-uebt-kritik