European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma (August 2): Roma in Ukraine Call for Equal Remembrance and Support Amid the War

On the occasion of the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma on August 2, Roma in Ukraine are calling for the genocide against their ancestors to be more fully integrated into Ukraine’s national consciousness and culture of remembrance, as reported by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP): “In the territories they occupied, the Nazis systematically murdered our ancestors: in the District of Galicia, in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, and in the zone controlled by the Wehrmacht. The Nazis’ allies—the Romanians under the leadership of Ion Antonescu—deported and murdered Roma in the Transnistria Governorate, which they had established on Ukrainian territory. Roma in Transcarpathia were murdered by the Hungarians—another German ally under the leadership of Miklós Horthy,” explains Natalia Tomenko of the STP partner organization Youth Agency for the Advocacy of Roma Culture (ARCA), whose grandmother survived the genocide against the Roma in Ukraine.

“During the Soviet era, Roma were not recognized as a group victimized by the Nazis. On the contrary, negative stereotypes about Roma were perpetuated. It was only after Ukraine gained independence that steps were taken to integrate the genocide against the Roma into the culture of remembrance,” recalls Sarah Reinke, head of human rights work at STP. The approximately 400,000 Roma in Ukraine are suffering particularly severely today as a result of Russia’s war against their country. They make up a high proportion of the 3.9 million internally displaced persons, and many children in Roma communities have no access to schooling. There is a lack of medical care, housing, and work. Children, women, and veterans urgently need support.

In addition to the overall precarious humanitarian situation in Ukraine, this is attributed to systematic antiziganism, which means that Roma are still not accepted as an integral and natural part of Ukraine’s diverse society. “This, too, is connected to remembrance. This is not just about historical justice. Equal remembrance is a tool for combating antiziganism and discrimination against Roma today,” Tomenko is convinced.

Germany bears a special historical responsibility toward the descendants of the genocide survivors. “Even in the fifth year of the war, we see no particular commitment on Germany’s part toward this minority. Therefore, together with our partner organization, we demand that Germany ensure that Roma in particular benefit from aid programs, that projects tailored to the needs of the Roma are launched, and that Roma among the internally displaced persons receive more financial assistance. In its contacts with Ukrainian partners, Germany should consistently draw attention to the unique situation of the Roma and their resulting needs,” explains Sarah Reinke of the Society for Threatened Peoples.

This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at 65]G378o6DD6CA.