Minister Sklenár observes Roma Holocaust Memorial Day with ceremony at SNP Museum in Banská Bystrica
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- Date: 02.08.2023
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Defence Minister Martin Sklenár today observed Roma Holocaust Memorial Day (RHMD) with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) Museum in Banská Bystrica. This day commemorates the genocide of European Roma and the events that took place on the night of 2-3 August 1944, when nearly 3,000 men, women and children perished during the liquidation of the largest concentration camp for Roma at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Speaking after the ceremony in Banská Bystrica, Defence Minister Martin Sklenár said: “The quality of a society is measured by how it can come to terms with its own past and how it can take care of its minorities. Today reminds us that we must continue to work on both in Slovakia, so that we foster positive engagement within the communities.”
Elsewhere, Martin Sklenár commemorated the Roma Holocaust by attending a cultural event at the Holocaust Museum in Sereď.
The Roma Holocaust was an attempt by Nazi Germany and its allies to exterminate Europe's Roma during WW2. In the Romani language, the Holocaust is known as the “Porajmos, meaning “the Devouring”. With Nazi persecution of the Roma community taking several forms, historians estimate that the Nazis and their collaborators killed up to 500,000 Roma people.
Over this period, Roma murder cases were also recorded in Slovakia. According to the 1938 Population Census, the Roma population in Slovakia was at 26,265. However, the actual number may have been twice as many as had been officially reported. The total number of the Holocaust Roma victims in Slovakia is estimated at 1,000.
Speaking after the ceremony in Banská Bystrica, Defence Minister Martin Sklenár said: “The quality of a society is measured by how it can come to terms with its own past and how it can take care of its minorities. Today reminds us that we must continue to work on both in Slovakia, so that we foster positive engagement within the communities.”
Elsewhere, Martin Sklenár commemorated the Roma Holocaust by attending a cultural event at the Holocaust Museum in Sereď.
The Roma Holocaust was an attempt by Nazi Germany and its allies to exterminate Europe's Roma during WW2. In the Romani language, the Holocaust is known as the “Porajmos, meaning “the Devouring”. With Nazi persecution of the Roma community taking several forms, historians estimate that the Nazis and their collaborators killed up to 500,000 Roma people.
Over this period, Roma murder cases were also recorded in Slovakia. According to the 1938 Population Census, the Roma population in Slovakia was at 26,265. However, the actual number may have been twice as many as had been officially reported. The total number of the Holocaust Roma victims in Slovakia is estimated at 1,000.
