Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

March 11, 1943, 642 Roma men, women and children were deported to Auschwitz Birkenau from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. This was the beginning of the systematic extermination of Roma in that region.

For the majority of Czechoslovak society at the time, this remained on the fringes of interest. Although there were cases where local residents showed sympathy or tried to help, in general, there was little awareness of the fate of the Roma. And after the war, the tragedy of the Roma Holocaust was neglected for a long time. The participation of Czech gendarmes and camp commanders in the genocide of the Roma during World War II was denied for forty years under communism. The taboo was broken after the revolution by historian Ctibor Nečas and journalist Markus Pape, and courageous activists from among Roma also played their part. For example, Jan Hauer, Antonín Lagryn or Čeněk Růžička, all sons of Leti prisoners.

• “Mordovali mě tam Češi.” Vzpomínky Romů na tzv. cikánský tábor v Letech. In: Aktualne. 16.03.2025. https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/mordovali-me-tam-cesi-vzpominky-romu-na-tzv-cikansky-tabor-v/r~f415621e00e211f0ae9c0cc47ab5f122/

On April 2, 2025, the gates of the Roma and Sinti Holocaust Memorial in Moravia in Hodonín near Kunštát will open again after the winter break. This will be the 7th visitor season overall. The exhibition “Stories of Survivors” remains from last year, which presents the fates of Holocaust survivors of Roma and Sinti who were internment in the camp in Lety u Písku in the form of biographical medallions.

• Památník holokaustu Romů a Sintů na Moravě zahájí v dubnu novou návštěvnickou sezónu. In: Radio Žurnal Rozhlas. 12.03.2025. https://radiozurnal.rozhlas.cz/pamatnik-holokaustu-romu-a-sintu-na-morave-zahaji-v-dubnu-novou-navstevnickou-9430295

An article about the memoirs of Karolína Kozáková, née Růžičková, published under the title Journey through life in a gypsy wagon. It represent a unique testimony about the internment of Roma in the Ruzyně forced labour camp and their subsequent transport to the Auschwitz II-Birkenau extermination camp. It is from these memoirs published by the Museum of Romani Culture in the book Memoirs of Romani Women (2004) that the information leaflet prepared by the Prague Forum for Romani History at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, for this year’s 82nd anniversary of this tragic event draws. It is the only known eyewitness testimony that captures the internment of Romani people in the Ruzyne forced labour camp.

• „Bože můj, kdybyste viděli rozloučení s mámou!“ Příběh Karolíny Kozákové o hrůzách deportace Romů z Ruzyně do Osvětimi. In: Romea. 12.03.2025. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/boze-muj-kdybyste-videli-rozlouceni-s-mamou-pribeh-karoliny-kozakove-o-hruzach-deportace-romu-z-ruzyne-do-osvetimi

On Monday, March 10, 2025, dozens of people commemorated the 82nd anniversary of the mass deportation of Roma and Sinti from Prague to the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp with a memorial service in Ruzyne, Prague. The participants, most of whom wore black clothing, laid floral wreaths at the wooden statue. The event, which has been held at this location for the third year and was initiated by the Roma and Sinti Center, is organized by the Prague 6 district in cooperation with the Museum of Roma Culture and the Prague Forum for Roma History at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University.

• ZÁZNAM: Pietní akt v Ruzyni připomněl oběti holokaustu Romů a Sintů. In: Romea. 10.03.2025. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/primy-prenos-pietni-akt-v-ruzyni-pripomene-obeti-holokaustu-romu-a-sintu