May 16 - Romani Resistance Day

The history of the Roma people is inextricably linked to pain, persecution and destruction. And May 16 is a date that reminds us of the terrible historical events and the heroic resistance of the Roma. It is the Day of Roma Resistance.

Auschwitz-Birkenau. A name that gives you goosebumps. A place that has become a symbol of terror and genocide. A factory of death. Living in inhuman conditions, in constant fear. Titanic work. Almost daily executions.

And on May 15, 1944, information spread among the prisoners that a mass execution of Roma was planned for the next day. Which the Nazis called the “liberation” of the “Gypsy settlement”.  So 600 people do not go to the morning formation, but instead barricade themselves in their barracks. The unarmed people resisted the German military so desperately that the extermination was postponed.

The SS units did not expect such resistance. They were afraid of losses in their ranks. They also wanted to prevent the riots from spreading to other parts of the camp. As a punishment, the protesters were deprived of their already meager food rations. A week later, the Roma began to be distributed to other death camps. 

The Roma camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau was liquidated on the night of August 2 to 3, 1944. The Germans were preparing for this operation.They gassed all the Roma who were still alive at the time-about 3,000 people.
In total, about 23 thousand Roma were prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau. More than 80% of them were killed.

The Day of Roma Resistance is a reminder of the terrible consequences of Nazism, racism, and antiпypsyism. Any domination of one people over another is a tragedy for the whole world. And at the same time, it is a testament to the fact that unity is the force that can counteract any evil.

Unarmed against bullets. This is not a metaphor. This is the reality of Roma life.

And now, every day of their lives, serving in the Armed Forces, working in hospitals, schools, engaging in creativity or law, Roma prove that no one can be discriminated against. The tragedy of the extermination of peoples must not happen again.