Events marking International Roma Genocide Remembrance Day continue in Poland and Ukraine
On August 2, the world remembers one of the most silenced tragedies of World War II — the genocide of the Roma people. On the night of August 2–3, 1944, nearly three thousand Roma women, children, and men were murdered in the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Svitlana Myalyk spoke with organizers, historians, and representatives of Roma organizations about commemorative events taking place in Ukraine and Poland.
On August 2 and 3, the world honors the memory of tens of thousands of roma who were killed as a result of Nazi persecution during World War II. The largest massacre occurred on the night of August 2–3, 1944, in Auschwitz-Birkenau, when, according to different estimates, between three and four thousand people were exterminated. These days, Poland is hosting an educational and commemorative program for youth. The program includes the participation of young roma and non-roma in the Dikh he na bister (“Look and don’t forget”) seminar dedicated to the remembrance of the Roma genocide during World War II.
This was reported by Nataliia Tomenko, Deputy Director of the Youth Agency for the Advocacy of Roma Culture “ARCA.”
“This is an important date both for the roma and for Ukraine as a whole. Roma have always considered themselves part of Ukrainian society, and it is important that in the time of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, roma are seen as a full-fledged part of society. That’s why this year the commemoration is taking place at the state level. And we hope it will draw the attention of European partners and show that Ukraine is a multinational state,” emphasized Nataliia Tomenko.
According to her, participants in the events include representatives of Ukrainian state institutions, diplomatic missions, Ukrainian and international organizations, researchers, activists, and members of the Roma community. The commemorative events are organized by the National Historical and Memorial Preserve “Babyn Yar” and ARCA — the Youth Agency for the Advocacy of Roma Culture — with the support of the Embassy of Germany in Kyiv, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, and the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies.
As noted by Roza Tapanova, head of the National Historical and Memorial Preserve “Babyn Yar,” attention to the Roma genocide within the framework of memory culture has begun to form only in recent years. Now, the invisibility of the Roma tragedy is gradually being erased. Hence the idea and the name of the exhibition “The Invisible. Resilience: Past and Present of the Roma,” which is opening at the “Living Memory” exhibition center.
“The idea for the exhibition emerged about six months ago. A report noted that for many, roma remain unseen. There is also the factor of assimilation into society — Ukrainian society no longer perceives them as roma. So we made the decision that we were ready to support this. And this story is also connected to Babyn Yar.
So we contacted ARCA to create a powerful exhibition together — one that would present documentation of the destruction of roma under Nazism, as well as the story of today’s Roma youth, some of whom serve in the army. This represents a shift in perspective: to see roma not only as victims of history, but as full-fledged subjects of both the past and present, and as Ukrainians,” emphasized Roza Tapanova.
Volodymyr Yakovenko, Executive Director of the Youth Agency for the Advocacy of Roma Culture “ARCA,” says that work in the historical context is not complete, as not all countries have recognized the persecution and mass killings of roma during World War II on ethnic grounds as genocide.
You can listen to the interview in the attached file.
Svitlana Myalyk
Source: Polish Radio for Ukraine