OSCE/ODIHR calls for remembrance of and education about Roma genocide as key to avoiding recurrence of past atrocities

WARSAW, 1 August 2020 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today joins the international community in marking 76 years since the Nazis murdered the remaining 3,000 Roma men, women and children in Zigeunerlager, the "Gypsy camp" at Auschwitz-Birkenau on 2 August 1944. While the number of Roma victims remains unknown, it is estimated that up to 500,000 Roma and Sinti people died under the Nazi regime, as well as its allies and collaborators.

Currently, Roma and Sinti continue to suffer intolerance, systemic racism and discrimination, and remain victims of racially-motivated violence and hate crime. Racist ideologies, rooted in the belief that some are superior to others, still exist and are spread today, even at the highest political and government levels.

Governments have the responsibility to remember the Roma and Sinti genocide. By ensuring that this tragic history is included in school curricula and public awareness initiatives facilitate engagement of all of their societies in discussion about the consequences of racist ideologies, governments can work to ensure atrocities are not repeated. Learning essential historical lessons must be connected with ongoing efforts to combating contemporary expressions of prejudice, bias, and racism against Roma and Sinti. 

ODIHR’s Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues, as mandated by the 2003 Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area, promotes official recognition of and teaching about the Roma genocide. ODIHR’s publication Teaching about and Commemorating the Roma and Sinti Genocide: Practices within the OSCE Area gives a broad overview of official commemoration and education practices, including those of the seven OSCE participating States that officially commemorate the Roma and Sinti genocide on 2 August.

ODIHR has also continued its co-operation with the Council of Europe and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) to create a portal to learn more about the Roma Genocide.