We should never forget the mistakes of the past, such as ‘Porajmos’ or the Roma Holocaust. The 2nd August is the day of commemoration for the victims of the Roma Holocaust.
“Exactly 70 years ago, on the nights of the 2nd and 3rd, August 1944, was the first liquidation of Roma at the concentration camp Auschwitz in the gas chambers,” said Member of the Slovak parliament of Roma origin Peter Pollák. “When Jewish people use the word holocaust, which in Greek means incineration, Roma for their attempted liquidation in concentration camps use the word Porajmos, meaning devouring” added the government plenipotentiary for Roma. The overall number of victims is estimated at between 300,000 and 500,000 for the whole war period. There will be various events across the country to mark this dark day in history for one of Slovakia’s minority populations.
