Slovakia is commemorating the victims of the Roma Holocaust, marking the memorial day observed each year on August 2.
Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer-SD) said the tragedies of the Second World War must continue to be remembered and taught to future generations so that the international community never forgets where hatred, racism and discrimination can lead.
Blanár highlighted Slovakia's more than twenty years of membership in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, saying the country remains actively involved in education, research and preserving the memory of the genocide of Roma people during the Holocaust.
He also paid tribute to Roma who fought in the anti-fascist resistance, including during the Slovak National Uprising.
The memorial day recalls the night of August 2nd to 3rd, 1944, when nearly 3,000 Roma were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Historians estimate that around half a million Roma and Sinti were killed during the Holocaust, including about one thousand from Slovakia.
Source: TASR
