“SILENCED THEN, IGNORED NOW: WHY THE ROMA HOLOCAUST STILL HAUNTS EUROPE”
Each year, we pause to remember the memory of victims and survivors of the Roma Holocaust. Nazi tore our families apart, and they tried to erase our language, our songs, our history. On the 2nd of August, 1944, the remaining 2,897 Roma prisoners in Auschwitz-Birkenau were killed. This day is more than a date on a calendar; it is not solely about remembering, either, but it reveals more: it is about resilience!
When we bring forward the real stories that lie behind the wall of the concentration camp, we stand firmly against every prejudice that still haunts Europe. When we raise our voices on 2 August, we bring the past into clear sight and we demand an end to antigypsyism today!
The ongoing denial and lack of recognition of this genocide show that this is an injustice in itself. This date is not widely known in Europe and beyond, leaving a gap in public understanding of our shared history. And not only that, but the hate that once fuelled mass murder now seeps into everyday life.
We are experiencing sudden forced evictions that leave Roma families homeless; we witness police brutality targeting our communities without consequence; school segregation that traps our children and denies them the same learning opportunities; hate speech and online attacks that spread fear. All of this is happening because of antigypsyism, which is not just prejudice but systemic racism rooted in Europe’s history.
Even after liberation, doors stayed closed. Prejudice walked free, and we remained exiles in our own homes. The Roma Holocaust is not only a historical tragedy, it is an open wound. Despite the genocide of thousands, denial and silence continue. The same structures of exclusion, racism, and dehumanisation that led to the 2nd of August remain alive today in the form of institutional and everyday antigypsyism. Remembering must be more than mourning; it must be resistance.
Across Europe, Roma communities are speaking up. Each year, Roma youth return to Auschwitz to honour the dead and speak for the living. Roma courageously demand their rights every year and speak loudly for their future. From Brussels to every corner of Europe and beyond, Roma voices echo through the halls of power. We seek justice, we are naming antigypsyism, and we are demanding change. This is not only remembrance. It is resistance.
Not just today but every day, we must challenge institutions that stay silent and educators who leave our history untaught. Antigypsyism did not end in 1945. It continues in new forms, in new places, every day. Recognising it is not optional; it is urgent!
Picture by Brett Olah