Safeguarding Oral History of the Genocide of Roma in Ukraine
Safeguarding Oral History of the Genocide of Roma in Ukraine is an ongoing project dedicated to documenting, preserving, and safeguarding the oral histories of Roma genocide survivors in Ukraine. The project focuses on the collection and digitalization of survivor testimonies and the development of a unique methodology for recording oral history under conditions of ongoing war.
The project documents the experiences of Roma survivors who endured the Nazi genocide of Roma and who continue to face the consequences of war, displacement, and discrimination today. These testimonies represent an irreplaceable historical record that reflects persecution, survival, resilience, and intergenerational trauma. Preserving these voices is essential to ensuring that future generations understand the scale and impact of violence against Roma communities and to preventing the continued marginalization and distortion of Roma history.
Building on ARCA’s previous documentation work, the project records new in-depth oral history interviews and contributes to the preservation of a broad collection of unique Roma survivor testimonies. In addition to documenting historical experiences of genocide, the project also captures the current living situations of survivors, showing how ongoing war, forced displacement, and social exclusion continue to shape their lives today.In addition, the collection of interviews will be presented to stakeholders in research, politics and commemorative culture, and opportunities to use the content in exhibitions, commemorative rituals and publications will be presented.
The project places strong emphasis on education and public engagement. A unique methodology for non-formal education based on survivor testimonies is being developed and implemented through workshops for teachers, students, and Roma youth across Ukraine. These activities promote inclusive Holocaust remembrance, strengthen public awareness of Roma experiences in genocide history, and contribute to countering denial, distortion, and exclusion from national and European memory cultures.
The project implementation is done in partnership with KONTAKTE-KOНTAKTbI. The project is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (EVZ), the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, and the Documenting Ukraine program.