It took decades for Germany to recognize the Roma Holocaust – the Nazi genocide of an estimated 500 European Roma during World War II. It took another few decades for the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day to become an official day of remembrance in Germany and Europe, observed annually on August 2.
Based on the initiatives of Roma groups in Poland, the Nazi liquidation of the so-called "Gypsy Family Camp" at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp, on the evening of August 2-3, 1944, was commemorated for the first time half a century later, in 1994.
Thousands of deported Roma had died earlier from malnutrition and disease. That evening, thousands more were forced into gas chambers, shot, and beaten to death by Nazi enforcers.
In 2015, the European Parliament declared this date as the European Day of Remembrance of the Roma Holocaust. In Germany and other European countries, the genocide is commemorated by officials with the participation of government representatives. On some occasions, representatives of European governments travel to the memorial site at Auschwitz.
However, in most cases, countries organize their own memorial ceremonies – especially in Central and Southeastern Europe, where the Nazi extermination often targeted Roma populations.
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Poland: 15 years of commemoration
Poland, where about 30 Roma live, has marked August 2 since 2011. The ceremony usually includes a visit by parliamentary and government representatives to the Auschwitz Memorial.
Another important day of remembrance is held annually on July 3 in the village of Szczurowa, east of Krakow. It honors the memory of Polish Roma massacred by German troops in 1943. In 1956, Szczurowa became the site of the first European memorial to Roma Holocaust victims.
Other towns and villages in southeastern Poland also commemorate the murder of Polish Roma during the Nazi German occupation.
Czech Republic: From pig farm to memorial site
In the Czech Republic, where about 250 Roma live, August 2 has been an official day of remembrance since 2015. The most important ceremony is held in Lety, south of Prague, where Roma organizations have commemorated the genocide for decades. This is the place where Nazi Germany set up a concentration camp in 1940 and from 1942 began deporting and imprisoning Roma families from occupied Bohemia.
After the war, the site was turned into a pig farm. It was closed in 2018, after a long controversy, and transformed into a memorial site.
Czech President Petr Pavel and then-Prime Minister Petr Fiala attended the opening ceremony in April 2024.
Another memorial site is located in Hodonín, north of Brno, on the site of another Nazi concentration camp where Roma from Bohemia and Moravia were imprisoned. It also commemorates the mass deportation of Roma and Sinti to Auschwitz on August 21, 1943.
Slovakia: Remembrance Day since 2005
About half a million Roma live in Slovakia. Here, Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day has been marked on August 2 since 2005. The main ceremony is held at the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banska Bystrica.
The museum honors the 1944 armed uprising against the Nazi occupation, one of the largest anti-fascist movements in Europe during World War II.
The memorial ceremony is organized by the government's envoy for Roma communities and Roma non-governmental initiatives. It is also attended by representatives of the state and the presidency.
Hungary: Anti-gigantism yesterday and today
About 600 Roma live in Hungary. Since 2005, following a parliamentary resolution, August 2 has been marked in various places as Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Budapest alone, there are three memorial sites for Roma killed during the Holocaust where ceremonies are held.
The reason for these memorials is the fact that Hungarian Roma were targeted for deportations and murders, especially after the German occupation in 1944 and during the fascist Arrow Cross regime.
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Historical memory in Hungary is also linked to the wave of racist killings against Roma between 2008 and 2009. Four Hungarian neo-Nazis killed six people and injured 55 others. They planned their latest crime for the night of August 2 in the village of Kisleta.
Romania: Deportation to Transnistria
In Romania, where around 2 million Roma live, Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day has been official since 2020. The main event is held at the Holocaust Memorial in Bucharest, inaugurated in 2009.
Under dictator Ion Antonescu, an ally of Nazi Germany, Romania itself organized the mass deportation of Jews and Roma to Transnistria, where an estimated 380.000 Jews and 11.000 Roma were killed or died of starvation and disease.
In 2025, President Nicușor Dan became the first Romanian head of state to personally attend the memorial ceremony.
In 2004, Romania declared October 9 as its National Holocaust Remembrance Day, which also honors the Roma deported and murdered by the Antonescu regime.
Bulgaria: Commemoration without an official day
Around 700 Roma live in Bulgaria. Here, August 2nd has not yet been declared an official day of remembrance, but is marked with activities organized by Roma organizations. State representatives often make commemorative statements.
Although Bulgaria was an ally of Nazi Germany, it refused demands to deport Jews and Roma. However, these groups were discriminated against through racist laws and treated as second-class citizens.
Croatia: Focus on escape attempt
There are about 25 Roma living in Croatia. Parliament declared August 2 a day of remembrance only in 2014. The main ceremony is held at the site of the former Jasenovac concentration and extermination camp, where the fascist Ustasa regime imprisoned Serbs, Jews, Croats and Roma.
Between 15 and 20 Roma were killed there. Senior politicians regularly attend memorial ceremonies. In general, commemorations at Jasenovac also highlight April 22, when prisoners attempted to escape in 1945.
North Macedonia: Remembrance Day and National Holiday
About 100 Roma live in North Macedonia, where August 2 has been an official day of remembrance since 2017. A major ceremony is held in Skopje, at the Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia.
However, August 2 is both a state and religious holiday (Republic Day and Saint Elijah), so the commemoration of the Roma genocide often receives less public attention.
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Serbia: No official day of remembrance
In Serbia, where about 130.000 Roma live, August 2 is not an official day of remembrance for the Roma genocide. However, there are other days of remembrance for the genocidal policies of the Nazi and Ustasa regimes, which also honor the memory of the murdered Roma.
