cahrom (2013)15 en overview on the recognition …a.cs.coe.int/team20/cahrom/6th cahrom plenary...

Strasbourg, 19 June 2013CAHROM (2013)15

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AD HOC COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON ROMA ISSUES(CAHROM)__________

OVERVIEW ON THE RECOGNITION OF THE GENOCIDE OF ROMA AND SINTI (PHARRAJIMOS /

SAMUDARIPEN) DURING WORLD WAR II AND ON RELATED REMEMBRANCE DAYS IN MEMBER STATES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

__________

Document prepared by the Support Team of the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe for Roma Issues

in co-operation with the Secretariat of the European Roma and Travellers Forum__________

This document contains abstracts of

the OSCE-ODIHR report “Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE Region:An overview of governmental practices” (December 2012)

(http://tandis.odihr.pl/hmd/pdf/Holocaust_Memorial_Days_2012.pdf)and

the OSCE-ODIHR report “Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism” (April 2006)(http://www.osce.org/odihr/18818?download=true),

as well as abstracts of the joint Council of Europe/OSCE-ODIHR website on the genocide of Roma

(www.romagenocide.org). Please consult this website for additional information.

For useful references on the genocide of Roma, please consult ERIO PDF document:

__________

This version of the document includes corrections/updated information provided by:CZECH REPUBLIC (23/04/2013)

GERMANY (26/04/2013)GREECE (19/06/2013)

LUXEMBOURG (03/05/2013)RUSSIAN FEDERATION (08/05/2013)

SWITZERLAND (26/04/2013)UNITED KINGDOM (05/04/2013)

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http://www.romagenocide.org/

http://www.osce.org/odihr/18818?download=true

http://tandis.odihr.pl/hmd/pdf/Holocaust_Memorial_Days_2012.pdf

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Albania page 3Andorra page 4Armenia page 4Austria page 4Azerbaijan page 5Belgium page 5Bosnia and Herzegovina page 6Bulgaria page 6Croatia page 8Cyprus page 8Czech Republic page 8Denmark page 10Estonia page 11Finland page 12France page 12Georgia page 14Germany page 14Greece page 16Hungary page 17Iceland page 18Ireland page 18Italy page 19Latvia page 20Liechtenstein page 21Lithuania page 21Luxembourg page 22Malta page 22Republic of Moldova page 22Monaco page 23Montenegro page 23The Netherlands page 23Norway page 25Poland page 26Portugal page 27Romania page 27Russian Federation page 28San Marino page 29Serbia page 30Slovak Republic page 31Slovenia page 32Spain page 33Sweden page 34Switzerland page35“The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” page 36Turkey page 36Ukraine page 37United Kingdom page 39

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ALBANIA

Official recognition

In Albania, the Holocaust is recognized; however, there is no information whether the Roma are recognized or not as victims of the Genocide.

According to the OSCE (Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism, p. 55), the Holocaust in Albania is referred to as the “systematic and regular genocide pursued by the German Nazis against various ethnic, religious and national groups prior to and during World War II, up until 1945”. The following groups are included in references to the Genocide: Jews, Roma and Sinti, communists, immigrants, gays and lesbians, alcoholics, religious fundamentalists, and German dissidents.

Commemoration day(s)

Albania observes 27 January as its Holocaust memorial day. The day is called the “Day of Commemoration” or “Day of Memory”. It was established by Law Number 9280, adopted on 23 September 2004, and proclaimed by the President of the Republic in decree number 4345 of 11 October 2004. Article 2.1 of the law sets 27 January as the commemorative date.

On 27 January, governmental institutions - at both national and local levels - schedule commemorative activities in memory of the victims of the Holocaust – particularly the Jewish victims – and those who sacrificed their lives in the fight for freedom against Nazism. Government officials at all levels participate in the commemorative events, including the President, the Prime Minister and other ministers, the Chairman of the Parliament, heads of municipalities and communes and other official employees at all levels.

In addition, Albanian schools observe 10 December each year as a day devoted to “Good understanding and tolerant attitudes in schools”, following an order issued by the Minister of Education and Science in February 1998. Each 10 December, various activities on Holocaust historical events are held at schools.

Specialised institutions/museums/memorials/exhibitions/documentation centres

There are no specialized institutions dealing with this topic at the moment but in March 2013, the municipality of Tirana announced that a Holocaust Memorial will be built.

Schools and universities participate in events on 27 January through a number of activities aimed at remembrance of the Holocaust and its victims, in particular the Jewish victims. Activities organised at schools include expositions of paintings and drawings, poems and essays. A consistent theme of activities is “never again”. At the same time, schools focus on the importance of learning the lessons of the Holocaust as they apply to today’s crises in the world. Elementary, middle and high school educators seek to integrate multicultural, anti-bias and social justice themes into their lesson plans.

A wide range of organisations and institutions are involved in various types of events around the 27 January Day of Commemoration. Those participating include museums, non-profit organisations (Amnesty International, the Centre for Human Rights, the History Teachers Association), scientific institutions, the Academy of Sciences, the Institute of History, cultural associations, theatres and the electronic and print media. The types of activities organised include academic discussions, expositions of paintings and drawings, poems, essays, concerts, speeches, television shows and visits with families that protected Jews during World War II. In addition, an Albanian scholar, Professor Shaban Sinani, produced a book entitled “Jews in Albania: The Presence and Salvation”.

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ANDORRA

The Government of Andorra has not designated a special day of commemoration for the victims of the Holocaust.

ARMENIA


Roma are not in the state’s official definition of the Holocaust. According to an OSCE report, the Holocaust is defined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as ‘the attempted murder of the Jewish people by the Nazi Germany regime” (See Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism, p. 57).


24April is the National Genocide Memorial Day in Armenia. This is “a universal remembrance day. There is no particular Holocaust memorial day; reference to the Holocaust is made in the Genocide Memorial Museum in Yerevan”1 (See Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism, p. 57).


No information.

AUSTRIA


The Austrian legal system does not provide legal recognition of historical facts, although the denial of the Holocaust is a criminal offence under the “Law prohibiting the Reactivation of National Socialism”. Although Austria has not officially recognised the Holocaust or the Samudaripen – in Austria referred to as the Holocaust of the Roma – through any legislative act, the Samudaripen or the Holocaust of the Roma is recognised as an integral part of the Holocaust as such. In 2004, the official commemoration organised by the Austrian Parliament on the occasion of the Holocaust, on the 5th of May – the Austrian Holocaust Day – was dedicated exclusively to the Genocide of the Roma.


Austria commemorates the genocide of Roma and Sinti in November and includes Roma in commemorations on 5 May.


The Documentation Centre of Austrian Roma has a special exhibition on this topic, as does the permanent exhibition of the DöW (Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes - Documentation Centre of the Austrian Resistance) in Vienna. The Mauthausen Memorial has a special monument dedicated to the Roma Victims of the Genocide. There are special monuments in Salzburg, Weyer, and Lackenbach/Burgenland.

“The Roma Base Project” at the University of Graz2 has been a major research centre for Roma history in Austria for many years and was a major contributor to the “Factsheets on Roma History”

1 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism”, p. 57.2 http://romani.uni-graz.at/rombase/ .

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http://romani.uni-graz.at/rombase/

published by the Council of Europe3, which contain a very detailed account of the fate of Europe’s Roma populations between 1938 and 1945.

The topic of the Genocide of the Roma is an integral part of Holocaust commemorative activities in Austria – such as “Letter to the Stars”4 or the teacher training programmes on the topic.

AZERBAIJAN


No information.


Azerbaijan observes 27 January as the “Day of the Victims of the Holocaust Genocide”. The day was chosen to coincide with the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

Holocaust victims are also commemorated during the events held on the anniversary of the victory over fascism, celebrated each year on 9 May.

Each year, in connection with the Holocaust Memorial Day, the “Alley of Martyrs” in Baku is the site of visits. Meetings, roundtables, conferences and other gatherings are organised in various State, public and private institutions, in both Muslim and other communities. In some instances, commemoration of Holocaust victims is held concurrently with remembrance of victims of other events and tragedies occurring in Azerbaijan in the twentieth century.


In particular, the State Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Work with Religious Organisations participates each 27 January in meetings organised by Jewish communities to commemorate the Holocaust. The State Committee on the Work with Religious Organisations recommends to religious communities in Azerbaijan that they provide the public with information about national genocide days, hold commemorative ceremonies and recognize the Holocaust in their religious services.

State secondary schools and institutions of higher education are involved in commemoration activities.

BELGIUM


No information.


In 2004, the Belgian Federal Government decided to designate 27 January as the country’s Holocaust Memorial Day. Prior to this decision, 8 May (the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe) had been Belgium’s official Holocaust Remembrance Day. The 8 May anniversary continues to be marked as “Peace Day”, while 27 January is now commemorated as the “Remembrance Day of the

3 http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/roma/histoCulture_en.asp . 4 http://www.lettertothestars.at .

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http://www.lettertothestars.at/

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/roma/histoCulture_en.asp

Genocide Committed by Nazi Germany” and is generally referred to as “Holocaust Remembrance Day”.

On 8 May, a number official ceremonies are held, each of which is attended by a government delegation. One example is the annual ceremony at the Antwerp Deportation Monument that is attended by official representatives of Belgium’s national and local governments and by Jewish organisations.


There is some information in the Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance in Mechelen / Malines. There is a remembrance place in the Dossin Barracks, which are located in Mechelen / Malines, and from where Sinti and Roma were sent to Auschwitz.

An annual commemorative trip to Auschwitz is organised each January on the initiative of the Minister of Defence, whose portfolio includes war victims, and the National Institute for War Disabled, War Veterans and War Victims (“Instituut voor Veteranen – Nationaal Instituut voor Oorlogsinvaliden, Oud-strijders en Oorlogsslachtoffers/Institut des Vétérans – Institut National des Invalides de Guerre, Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre”), with the participation of survivors, witnesses and secondary school students.

On 29 January 2009, 135 youngsters and Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. A variety of activities focusing on the Holocaust and on the issue of peace and tolerance education also take place on Peace Day (8 May).

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA


According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Holocaust is defined as “the destruction of Jews during World War II”5.


Bosnia and Herzegovina does not officially mark 27 January as Holocaust Memorial Day, due to the absence of state-level legislation on official holidays. On 27 January 2007, the International Holocaust Memorial Day was, however, marked.6


Commemoration events or conferences (e.g. “The State of Holocaust Studies in South Eastern Europe: Problems, Obstacles and Perspectives”) took place on the premises of the Jewish community, some of them under the patronage of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Institute for Research of Crimes of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the International Law University in Sarajevo, the Goethe Institute and the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina were among the organisers of such events.

BULGARIA


5 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism”, p. 62.6 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE Region”, p. 9.

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In Bulgaria, the Holocaust is recognized; however, there is no information on whether the Roma are recognised or not as victims of the Genocide.


In Bulgaria, 10 March has been designated as the “Day of the Holocaust and Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews” (known also as the Day of Holocaust Victims). This date was designated by the Council of Ministers in its Decision No. 5 (February 2003) as the “Day of the Salvation of the Bulgarian Jews and of the Victims of the Holocaust and of the Crimes against Humanity”, which is also known as the “Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and of the Victims of Crimes against Humanity”.

The date marks the anniversary of the day in 1943 when the Deputy Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly, Dimar Peshev, together with Metropolitan Bishop Stephan of Sofia, Metropolitan Bishop Cyril of Plovdiv and many other prominent public figures – with the support of members of the general population – prevented the planned deportation 50,000 Bulgarian citizens of Jewish origin to the Nazi concentration camps. The day was first marked with an official commemoration in 2002.

Traditionally, a commemorative meeting is held in front of a plaque dedicated to the memory of Dimar Peshev, located near the National Assembly building. Representatives of the Bulgarian Government, the National Assembly, other institutions and civil society groups pay homage to the victims of the Holocaust, as well as to individuals who rescued Bulgarian Jews. The President of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Speaker of the National Assembly, deputies, and high-level officials from the Government and regional public institutions have participated in commemorative events on 10 March. Government officials at different levels also take part in various cultural events dedicated to the special meaning of the Day of Remembrance on 10 March, as do municipal officials. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sciences provides support, information, documentation and resources for the 10 March commemorations.

This Remembrance Day is also nationally commemorated in Bulgarian schools with a special lesson called “10 March: Lesson of Dignity.” Commemoration activities include meetings with survivors, visits to monuments and other sites, art and essay competitions on the topic, and research projects on primary-source documents.


Teaching about the Holocaust and crimes against humanity is imbedded in State educational requirements. The Centre for Jewish Studies and the regional structures of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science provide schools across the country with materials to support the 10 March commemoration. Events are held yearly in schools throughout the country. Such activities have included:

- Giving lessons entitled “10 March – a lesson on dignity”, which are specifically dedicated to Holocaust commemoration, and are delivered in classes on history and civilization, Bulgarian language and literature, and arts and philosophy, as well as in the class of the head teacher;

- Studying monuments and sites related to the history of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews, carried out in the form of extracurricular activities;

- Organizing and holding meetings with persons who witnessed the historical events of 1943; - Tracing different sources of information (such as photos, documents, newspapers, magazines

and texts), regarding what happened in 1943; - Holding competitions for drawings, poems or essays on the occasion of “10 March – a lesson

on dignity”; - Watching documentaries and movies telling the story of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews. The

University Centre for Jewish Studies, based at Sofia University, supports many of these educational activities.

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CROATIA


The Republic of Croatia recognizes that, together with Jews and Serbs, the Roma have suffered the most in the Second World War in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

In the baseline study document submitted by the Republic of Croatia to the ITF (Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research) in 2005, the Genocide against the Roma was explicitly mentioned. The document was a prerequisite to achieving full membership in the Task Force, which took place in November 2005.


Each year, on Sunday closest to 22 April, the occasion of the final breakout of prisoners from Camp III Ciglana Jasenovac, which occurred on 22 April 1945, members of a Roma delegation from the area of the former Socialist Federative Republics of Yugoslavia lay wreaths at the Roma cemetery in Uštica. The following representatives address the ceremony: President of the Republic, representatives of the Government, Parliament, different religious communities, as well as representatives of all groups victimized in Jasenovac, including the Roma. The commemoration is broadcast on national television.

The victimization of the Roma in the Ustasha Concentration Camp Jasenovac is presented as a separate thematic unit in the permanent museum exhibition of the Jasenovac Memorial Area Memorial Museum, through documents, photographs, commemorations and audio-video testimony from a surviving Jasenovac prisoner (Nadir Dedić).

In 2003, the Ministry of Education and Sports has adopted the Decision to Establish the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and the Prevention of Crimes Against Humanity, and since then schools are encouraged to commemorate events that took place.


There is no specialized institution/research centre dealing only with the issue of the Genocide of the Roma.

The Jasenovac Memorial Area is responsible for maintaining authentic sites and monuments of the former Ustasha Concentration Camp Jasenovac; it collects, classifies and presents museum material and documentation relevant to the operation of the Ustasha Concentration Camp Jasenovac. It educates visitors and preserves the memory of the victims of the concentration camps.

CYPRUS

No information.

CZECH REPUBLIC


In the Czech Republic, the genocide of Roma was officially recognized and the term used is “Roma Holocaust” or “Holocaust of the Roma” or “Genocide of the Roma”; the term “Porrajmos” is also used by some Roma groups and organisations.


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Holocaust in general is officially recognized as an important day in 245/2000 Coll. of 29 June 2000 on public holidays, the other holidays, significant days and days of rest)

January 27, - International Holocaust Remembrance Day, (Den památky obětí holocaustu a předcházení zločinům proti lidskosti). Every year the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno commemorates this day with special events.

March 7 – at this moment there is a parliamentary initiative on-going, which attempts to recognize March 7 as an official day as the Commemoration day for victims of Roma persecution during the Second World War.

Other days commemorating victims of the Holocaust, relevant to Roma and Sinti victims, include: March 7 – Museum of Romani Culture initiates a commemorative action, the date of the first

transportation of the Roma people from Brno to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1943. The museum prepares a commemorative afternoon in the museum’s exhibition hall dedicated to the history of the Genocide of the Roma for the Roma witnesses and survivors, delegates of the Czech Government and local politics, delegates of the Jewish minority and wide public.

April - Every year in April there is commemoration meeting in Lety, on the place of the former so-called “Gypsy Camp”, where the Roma witnesses and survivors, Roma representatives, delegates of the Czech Government and local politics, delegates of the Jewish minority and wide public met together to commemorate the Roma victims of the Genocide.

May 13 – Memorial service at the former concentration camp of Lety: this date represent historically first act of commemorating victims of Roma genocide during the Second World War at the reverent area in Lety in the Czech Republic in 1995. The ceremony is organised by the Lidice Memorial in collaboration with the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust and the Lety municipality.

July 10 – Reverent area in Lety: to commemorative ceremony in honor of the victims of the Romani Holocaust (July 10, 1942 the Decree on combating the gypsy nuisance was issued – the Prime Minister wanted to establish a basis for commemoration which would actually be historically linked to a significant date connected with this site and the fate of the Romani people during the Second World War)

August 1 – Reverent area in Lety: commemorating victims of Roma genocide – this shall commemorate the establishment of the “Zigeunerlager Lety“ (Gypsy Camp Lety) on 1.8.1942, which was operational from 2.8.1942. The camp was closed on 8.8.1943).

August 2 – recognized by Czech Roma community, which regularly participate at commemorative acts in Auschwitz-Birkenau. There is no official commemoration in the Czech Republic. Roma community prefers to participate and commemorate this as an international event, which is linked to the events in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

August 21 – Reverent area in Hodonín u Kunštátu by the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno, commemorating the largest departure of the Roma prisoners from the so-called “Gypsy Camp” in Hodonín to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1943. The holly mess is prepared in the chapel of the village Hodonín, as well as a commemorative meeting on the former burying place with the mass graves near the camp, where the memorial site is since 1997.

Specialised institutions/projects

Memorials: The reverent area in Lety (a place where the prisoners of the “Gypsy Camp Lety” in Lety

are buried – cared by the Lidice Memorial) The reverent area in Hodonín u Kunštátu (place of “Gypsy Camp Hodonín u Kunštátu” –

cared by National Pedagogic Museum of Jan Amos Komesky; used to be cared by the Museum of Romani Culture, which still contributes to development of the site - the reverent area and the graveyard)

Černovice: Memorial plate at the cemetery is to commemorate buried victims from the so called “Gypsy Camp” in Hodonín. Unveiled on the 16th of May 1998 by initiative of the Museum of Romani Culture (regularly visited during the commemoration of August 21).

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Mirovice: A memorial plate at the cemetery is to commemorate buried victims from the so called “Gypsy Camp” in Lety. It was unveiled by the initiative of the Committee for the compensation of Romani Holocaust victims (regularly visited during the commemoration of May 13, August 1, and July 10).

Bohusudov: A memorial monument is to commemorate the deported Roma from this village to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Unveiled on the 29th of September 1985 by initiative of the local Union of the Anti-Fascist Warriors from the town Telč

Uherčice: A memorial plate at the cemetery is to commemorate the deported Roma from this village to Auschwitz-Birkenau on the 7th of March 1943. Unveiled on the 30th of May 2000 by initiative of the municipality.

Institutions: Museum of Romani Culture ("Muzeum romské kultury") in Brno - specialized institution

centre, which deals with Romani culture with deep understanding of the genocide of Roma (Samudaripen). The Museum describes history of not only Czech and Slovak Roma but overall Roma history in Europe. Roma Holocaust/genocide is one of the major topics the museum deals with.

The Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust (Výbor pro odškodnění romského Holocaustu) is an association representing the interests of surviving Roma Holocaust victims and relatives of victims in the Czech Republic. Established in 1998, and since then, among other things, this Committee has been striving to make the former concentration camps at Lety and Hodonín places of reverence. They would like these sites to become dignified memorials to the suffering of the Roma people during the Protectorate.

Memorial Lidice – The intention of Lidice Memorial is to take care of permanent preservation of the remembrance of the town of Lidice and the suffering of its residents who on 10.6.1942 became the victims of Nazi violence and to keep the name of the Lidice village as the world’s symbol of all victims of war crimes. Since June 1, 2008 the aim of the Lidice Memorial is also care and permanent preservation of the memory of extermination of village Ležáky and suffering of its inhabitants. Since May 4, 2009 the mission of Lidice Memorial is also care to preserve the memory of the suffering Romany people intervened in the former gypsy camp in Lety.

National Pedagogic Museum of Jan Amos Komesky: the museum was commissioned to build the Roma Holocaust Memorial in Hodonín u Kunštátu by the Government Decision No. 158 od March 2, 2011 amending Government Decree of 4 May 2009 No. 589 to modify the reverent area in Lety near Písek and Hodonín u Kunštátu.

Special Roma Holocaust working group, which works as an advisory committee of the Czech Ministry of Human Rights. This working group is trying to find and prepare data and solutions concerning the Lety and Hodonín camps – the most important Czech places of the Genocide of the Roma. There are plans to build there a new information and navigation system, roads and a parking place. The Museum of Romani Culture in Brno has already initiated in the Czech Ministry of Culture the application for the declaration of the former Hodonín camp as a listed and protected building.

DENMARK


No information.


In Denmark, victims of the Holocaust, as well as other genocides, are officially commemorated each year on 27 January. This national day of remembrance, called “Auschwitz Day”, was established in 2002 and has been observed since 2003. The significance of the day was explained by former Danish

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Chief Rabbi Bent Melchior: “The term Auschwitz has gained universal meaning. Really, it encompasses all forms of mass murder, ethnic cleansing and all collective crimes against people, whose only crime is to be born into or having joined the ‘wrong’ group. In our mind, Auschwitz, originally a European phenomenon covers atrocities in all parts of the world.”

Roma and Sinti victims of the Holocaust are commemorated together with other victim groups on Auschwitz Day.

The activities related to Auschwitz Day fall into two categories: public events on 27 January and educational activities about the Holocaust and other genocides. Each year on 27 January public events are arranged by six different municipalities across Denmark. The events are held in town halls, local museums, libraries and the like. They take various forms but generally include speeches given by genocide survivors, politicians and/or other relevant actors; concerts; movie screenings; poetry recitals; theatre performances; debates; exhibitions; and other such activities. The general public is invited to participate in these events.

On 5 May there is traditionally a memorial ceremony in Mindelunden, where members of the resistance to Nazism were executed. Christmas Eve is also marked in Mindelunden in commemoration of the fallen members of the resistance movement. On the morning of 5 May, flowers are laid on the graves and monuments related to the resistance movement. In the evening there is a ceremony with speeches and music. The event in Mindelunden is organised by Kammeraternes hjælpefond (the Aid Foundation of the Comrades) and is promoted on the official webpage7.


The Ministry of Education has established two bodies to organise events related to Auschwitz Day – a steering committee and a council whose membership comprises representatives of groups affected by the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities, and other relevant NGOs. The steering committee is comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Integration, as well as from the Danish Institute for International Studies and, like the council, from groups affected by the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities.

The educational activities related to Auschwitz Day include seminars offered to high school students and teacher training seminars. There are also educational websites targeting both secondary and high schools and educational material about the Holocaust and other genocides. Every year, the Government and its implementing partners introduce a new theme for Auschwitz Day. In 2009, for example, the theme was “Rescue” in 2008 and “The prelude to genocide” in 2007. A special website raises awareness about the events and provides information about the various activities in the municipalities.

The educational activities revolving around Auschwitz Day are promoted in a newsletter on the department’s educational website. Further information is posted on the website of the Danish Institute for International Studies.

ESTONIA


Estonia treats equally all victims of genocides and crimes against Humanity which took place on the territory of Estonia during the period of occupation, i.e. starting from June 16th 1940 to August 20th 1991 and including the period of World War II.

Commemoration day(s)7 www.mindelunden-4maj.dk.

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http://www.mindelunden-4maj.dk/

Since 27 January 2003 Estonia officially commemorates the Holocaust Remembrance Day, when official statements are made by different governmental parties and one of the speeches is given by a governmental representative, in which the fate of the Roma related to the Holocaust in Estonia is always mentioned.


In 1998 president Lennart Meri convened the IKUES (Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes against Humanity). The investigation of crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the Republic of Estonia was established as the main objective of the Commission’s work. The Commission decided to investigate crimes in three periods: the first Soviet occupation of 1941–1944, the German occupation 1941–1944 and the second Soviet occupation starting from 1944. The report about the first and the second period was published as a book in 2006. The Commission concluded that the killing of Estonian Jews and Estonian Roma during the German occupation met the definition criteria of genocide as set out in Article 6 of the Rome Statute; the killings of Estonian Jews and Estonian Roma were “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, racial or religious group”.

A Memorial of the Estonian Roma Holocaust was inaugurated at Kalevi Liiva in May 2007.

FINLAND


No information.


In Finland, 27 January has been designated as the “Memorial Day for the Victims of Holocaust” (“Vainojen uhrien muistopäivä”). The Memorial Day honours the memory of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, as well as other victims of persecution during World War II. It was established by the Prime Minister's Office on 20 February 2001.


No information.

FRANCE


The national day to commemorate racist and anti-Semitic persecution (16 July), instituted in February 1993 did not mention Roma.

In 1997, the Roma were mentioned for the first time as victims of the Holocaust by the French state authorities during a commemoration ceremony.

In its report "Gens du voyage: pour un statut proche du droit commun" released in July 2011, Senator Pierre Hérisson made the proposal to organise a debate in French parliament on the recognition of the genocide of Roma (“génocide tsigane”) during the Second World War.


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France officially remembers the victims of the Holocaust on the Sunday closest to 16 July. The memorial day is called the “National Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Racist and Anti- Semitic crimes of the So-Called ‘Government of the French State’, and in homage to the Righteous among the Nations from France”. The timing commemorates the rounding up of Jews in the Vélodrome d’Hiver, a former cycle track in Paris, on 16 and 17 July 1942. The Day of Remembrance was first officially introduced in decree signed by French President François Mitterrand on 3 February 1993. A law adopted on 10 July 2000 revised the decree of 1993, by adding that tribute should be paid to the French “Righteous among the Nations”.

In addition, remembrance activities also take place around 27 January, the International Day ofCommemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. It is also the Day of Remembrance of Genocides and for Prevention of Crimes against Humanity.


There are no specialised institutions. Internment camps and commemorative plaques include: Les Alliers (Charente): no memorial stone; Arc et Senans (Doubs): plaque (inaugurated on 9 April 1999); Barento (Manche): plaque (inaugurated on 11 October 2008); Montreuil-Bellay (Maine et Loire): plaque (inaugurated on 16 January 1988); Boussais (Deux Sèvres): no memorial stone; Choisel Chateaubriant (Loire Atlantique): plaque; Coray (Finistère): no memorial stone; Coudrecieux (Sarthe): no memorial stone; Grez en Bouère (Mayenne): no memorial stone; Jargeau (Loiret): plaque (inaugurated on 7 December 1991); Laval (Mayenne): plaque (inaugurated on 18 July 1993); Louvier (Eure): no memorial stone; Mérignac (Gironde): stone (inaugurated on 24 December 1985); Moisdon la Rivière (Loire Atlantique): no memorial stone; Moloy (Côte d’Or): memorial stone in position since 2005; Monsireigne (Vendée): no memorial stone; Linas-Montlhéry (Seine and Oise): memorial stone in position since 2004; Montsûrs (Mayenne): no memorial stone; La Morellerie, municipality of Avrillé-les-Ponceaux (Indre et Loire): monument inaugurated

on 14 January 2008; Mulsanne (Sarthe): no memorial stone; Peigney (Haute Marne): no memorial stone; Plénée Jugon (Côtes du Nord): no memorial stone; Poitiers (Vienne): stone (inaugurated on 4 September 1985). A second stone laid on 16 July

1994 supplements to the first inscription; Pontivy (Morbihan): no memorial stone; Rennes (Ile et Vilaine): no memorial stone; Saint-Maurice aux Riches Hommes (Yonne): no memorial stone; Argelès sur Mer (Pyrénées Orientales): plaque (placed in 1956); Le Barcarès (Pyrénées Orientales): no memorial stone; Lannemezan (Hautes Pyrénées): no memorial stone; Rivesaltes (Pyrénées Orientales): plaque (inaugurated on 16 January 1944); Saliers (Bouches du Rhône): memorial stone in position since February 2006.

GEORGIA


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The Holocaust is defined as ‘the massive destruction of Jews during the German Nazi regime in 1939-1945. The Ministry of Education and Science added that other victim groups are briefly mentioned”8.


Georgia has no official commemoration day for the Holocaust. Holocaust victims are included in commemoration events of WWII9.


No information.

GERMANY


The national socialist Genocide of the Sinti and Roma has always been an uncontested fact for the state authorities in Germany. However, the recognition of the genocide was given concrete expression by German authorities and documents only during the last decades. On the occasion of the foundation of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma (Zentralrat Deutscher Sinti und Roma) in 1982 as a political representation of the Sinti and Roma in Germany and their reception by the former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, the Chancellor stated the recognition of the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma on the level of international law as “Völkermord aus Gründen der Rasse” [“Genocide for racial reasons”, non-official translation]. This statement by the German Chancellor was then followed by the recognition of the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma by means of an official declaration of the German Government:

“Den Sinti und Roma ist durch die NS-Diktatur schweres Unrecht zugefügt worden. Sie wurden aus rassischen Gründen verfolgt. Diese Verbrechen haben den Tatbestand des Völkermords erfüllt .” [“The NS-Dictatorship inflicted grave injustice upon the Sinti and Roma. They were persecuted for racial reasons. These crimes have the characteristics of a genocide”, non-official translation].

On 16 March 1997 at the opening of the first permanent exhibition dedicated to the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma by the National Socialists at the Documentation and Cultural Centre of the Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg, the former President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Prof. Roman Herzog, stated: “Der Völkermord an den Sinti und Roma ist aus dem gleichen Motiv des Rassenwahns, mit dem gleichen Vorsatz und mit dem gleichen Willen zur planmäßigen und endgültigen Vernichtung durchgeführt worden wie der an den Juden. Sie wurden im gesamten Einflussbereich der Nationalsozialisten systematisch und familienweise vom Kleinkind bis zum Greis ermordet.” [“The Genocide of the Sinti and Roma was perpetrated for the same motive of race ideology, with the same intention und with the same goal of methodical and final extermination as the Genocide of the Jews. They were murdered systematically and in families from the toddler to the aged in the whole sphere of influence of the National Socialists”, non-official translation].

The denial of the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma is prosecuted by a law provision (§130 par. 3 German Criminal Code) according to which public denial, acceptance or trivialization of Genocide committed under the National Socialist regime will be punished with imprisonment up to five years or by imposing a fine.


8 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism”, p. 729 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE Region”, p. 16.

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The German Bundestag (Parliament) annually commemorates since 1996 all victims of the Holocaust, on 27 January, the annual Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust in Germany, in a special commemorative hour. On that day, all schools are invited to hold special lessons or organize events in remembrance of the Holocaust.

Furthermore, the German Bundesrat (upper house of the German Parliament, representing the Länder - counties) annually remembers the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma in a commemorative speech during its last session in December. This commemoration takes place on the occasion of the yearly anniversary of the so-called “Auschwitz-Erlass” (Auschwitz-decree) by Himmler on 16 December 1942, which determined the deportation of about 23,000 Sinti and Roma from 11 European countries to the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, where almost all of them have been executed.

Since 1924, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. (VDK) (German Public Alliance for Military and War Graves, a humanitarian organisation taking care of German war graves abroad) organises a national day of remembrance. The aim of this “National Day of Mourning” in the beginning was to preserve and foster the remembrance of millions of victims of World War I. A temporary substitution by the “Heroes’ Day” 1934 – 1945 which was celebrated annually in the month of March, did not substantially change the meaning of the National Day of Mourning. In the early 50ies, it was reintroduced in post-war Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany. Since then, it is celebrated annually in November as a special day of remembrance for the victims of the two world wars and tyranny.”

Specialised institutions/projects

The Federal Government of Germany has built a monument in commemoration of the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma in cooperation with the most important representatives and stakeholders of the victims, the “Zentralrat Deutscher Sinti und Roma”, “Sinti Allianz Deutschland” and the “Jenischer Bund”. This monument is located in Berlin, in the Tiergarten, close to the German Parliament and was inaugurated by Chancellor Angela Merkel on 24 October 2012. The monument consists of a fountain system based on a concept of the Israeli artist Dani Karavan. A document describing the persecution and treatment of the Sinti and Roma during the National Socialist regime was compiled, and is displayed on a panel next to the memorial and visible to visitors.

Memorial sites have been set up, which treat the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma as an integral part of their remembrance mission in Belsen, Buchenwald, Dachau, Flossenbürg, Mittelbau-Dora, Neuengamme, Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen, with several external sub-locations, where Sinti and Roma have been imprisoned, abused and killed. Some of the monuments are located in: Buchenwald (former concentration camp), Darmstadt (there are two monuments), Kiel, Cologne, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Stolberg (Aachen), Stuttgart, St. Pantaleon, Wiesbaden and Würzburg.

Other memorial sites are located in: Asperg, Bad Hersfeld, Bad Rippoldsau, Bayreuth, Bergen-Belsen (former concentration camp), Berlin (there are two), Berlin-Marzahn, Bochum, Braunschweig, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Buchenwald (apart of the monument), Dortmund, Dreihausen (there are two), Düsseldorf (there are two), Essen, Flensburg, Frankfurt (there are three), Fulda, Geesthacht, Gevelberg, Greven (there are two), Hamburg (there are three), Hanau, Hannover (there are two), Heidelberg, Herbolzheim, Jena, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Kleinbachselten, Koblenz, Cologne (there are four, apart of the monument), Landau, Leipzig (apart of the monument), Leonberg, Ludwigshafen, Magdeburg (apart of the monument), Mannheim, Marburg, Merseburg, Meuselwitz (former camp), Mittelbau-Dora (former concentration camp), Mulfingen, Munich, Nueuengamme (former concentration camp), Norderstedt (former camp), Nürnberg, Oldenburg (there are two), Pirmasens, Ravensbrück (former concentration camp), Recklinghausen, Reutlingen, Sachsenhausen (former camp), Sindelfingen, Singen, Solingen, Stuttgart (apart of the monument),Trochtenfilgen, Tübingen, Uckermark, Ulm-Söflingen, Weil, Wiesbaden-Kostheim, Worms, Würzburg (apart of the monument), and Wuppertal (there are two).

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Altogether, there are sites of remembrance, memorial tablets, names of streets and other signs indicating remembrance on the Samudaripen in more than 100 German cities. A list of all of these is available at the "Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma". It is also possible to get more information about all these remembrance places (including pictures and maps) on the website "Gedenkorte für Sinti und Roma" [Remembrance places of Sinti and Roma people]10.

Apart from the sites and exhibitions at the concentration camps there are two exhibitions dedicated only to the persecution of Sinti and Roma:

The permanent exhibition at the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma ("Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma", see item 3) in Heidelberg, since 1997;

Exhibition at memorial site Mittelbau-Dora, June–September 2008.

Among a number of permanent exhibitions that include remembrance of the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma, there are, for example, the exhibitions at the "Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand" (since 1998), the temporary exhibition "Topographie des Terrors" (about the Olympic Games in 1936, July 1996) or the temporary Holocaust-exposition at the "Deutsches Historisches Museum" in Berlin (January 2001) and many more.

The “Zentralrat Deutscher Sinti und Roma” (Central Council of German Sinti and Roma) in Heidelberg seeks to create a data-base of all memorial sites in Europe which are related to the Samudaripen.

GREECE


The Holocaust Remembrance Day is officially commemorated in Greece.


Greece is one of the many states which has observed 27 of January as the Holocaust Remembrance Day. The so called “Commemoration Day of the Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust” was established by a Law adopted by the Greek Parliament on 27/01/2004, whereas the nature, the context, the authorities in charge and the place of the commemorative events to be undertaken are regulated by Presidential Decree. According to the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs, in Greece the Holocaust is defined as “the systematic and planned Genocide of Jews, mainly in Europe, by the National Socialist regime of Germany during World War II”11. There are no mentions about the Roma people in the definition since there is no witnessed evidence –as of yet- on Greek Gypsies deported to Auschwitz II -Birkenau concentration camp.

Commemorative events are organised in the capitals of the regions of the country at the most important religious and cultural centres, with the participation of state authorities, representatives of political parties, the Central Board of Jewish communities in Greece, Jewish communities and organisations, as well as of any other Legal Authority wishing to commemorate the Holocaust Remembrance Day. The calendar of the activities provides inter alia for ceremonies of religious and cultural worship, public speeches and cultural events including school activities such as travelling exhibitions and a students’ essay competition.


10 http://gedenkorte.sintiundroma.de/11 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE Region”, p. 49-50 and OSCE-ODIHR report “Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism”, p.86.

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http://gedenkorte.sintiundroma.de/

Several Jewish organisations, communities and institutions have been established in Greece with regard to the presence of Jewish communities in Greece. The Jewish Museum of Greece in Athens, Thessaloniki and Rhodes, the 2nd Generation of Holocaust Victims, a number of Synagogues holding religious services but also serving as places of historical and archaeological interest are some of them. The umbrella organisation of the Greek Jewry is the Central Board of Jewish communities in Greece which was established by law in 1945, after the end of the World War II. It is a "Legal Body Under State Law", under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Religion, Culture and Sports. The aim of the Central Board is to co-ordinate the activities and represent the Jewish communities that function in Greece before the Greek Authorities and foreign Organisations12.

HUNGARY


Following a declaration by parliament in 2005, 2 August is commemorated in Hungary as Romaand Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day. The date commemorates the liquidation of the “Gypsy family camp” in Auschwitz-Birkenau over the night of 2 to 3 August 1944. The commemoration has been held regularly since 199413.


Every year there is a commemoration event at the Memorial for the Roma Genocide. There are commemoration events at the Holocaust Memorial Centre as well. The commemoration events include speeches, exhibitions and concerts. Events are organised by local governments, Holocaust commemorative organisations, non-governmental organisations and Roma organisations. Government representatives, sometimes even the President or ministers, attend the main memorial event.

The International Commemoration Day of the Genocide of the Roma – 2nd of August - was celebrated every year by the Roma Civil Rights’ Foundation in front of the Parliament of Hungary between 1996 and 2005. Since 2006 they bow before victims at the erected Roma monument in the Nehru Part in Budapest. Every year they hold similar events in Nagykanizsa, at the Roma Holocaust Memorial by the Várkapu. The National Roma Minority Self-Government organises their commemoration ceremony at the memorial plaque placed on the wall of their Dohány street headquarters in Budapest.

In August 2008, the National Roma Minority Self-Government commemorated the victims of the Porrajmos by the newly erected monument in the former Polish camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau with the participation of many hundred people, victims and their descendants. Governmental representatives from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary held speeches.


The Holokauszt Emlékközpont (Holocaust Memorial Centre) in Budapest has a permanent exhibition about the Holocaust in Hungary titled “From Legal Deprivation to Genocide – In Memory of the Hungarian Holocaust”. Its aim is to recount and present the suffering, persecution and massacre of those Hungarian nationals – mainly Jews and the Roma – who were condemned to annihilation in the name of the racial ideology.

ICELAND

Iceland has not designated a special day of commemoration for the victims of the Holocaust. There are no plans to establish a Holocaust memorial day.

12 For further information see http://www.kis.gr/en 13 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE Region” p. 53.

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http://www.kis.gr/en

IRELAND


No information.


Drawing on the assistance of the Holocaust Educational Trust, the Government has marked Holocaust Memorial Day as the Sunday nearest to 27 January each year since 2003. Local events commemorating the Holocaust had, however, been held before – for example, the unveiling of the Holocaust Memorial in Listowel in 1995. In addition, the Jewish community holds a memorial service on Yom Hashoah every year.

The national Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration takes place at the Mansion House in Dublin (the official residence of the city’s Lord Mayor). It is designed to cherish the memory of all of the victims of the Nazi Holocaust. An integral part of the commemoration is a candle-lighting ceremony, at which six candles are lit for the six million Jews who perished, as well as candles for all of the other victims. Readings are given by survivors and prominent people in Irish society. There are appropriate musical and choral interludes. A minute’s silence is observed.

At the national Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration, a keynote address is given by the Prime Minister or another senior minister. Members of Parliament and the Senate, heads of government departments and officials from government departments attend the event. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform gives the keynote address. The Lord Mayor of Dublin participates actively. The event has been attended in past years by the President of Ireland.

The thrust of the commemoration programme is to serve as a constant reminder of the dangers of racism and to provide lessons from the past that are relevant today. The inclusion of all victim groups is fundamental to the commemoration, and the importance of education about anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance is highlighted.

In addition to the participation of senior government officials, representatives from across the spectrum of Irish civic society are invited to attend, including educators.

Key institutions participating are the Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland; the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform; the Dublin City Council; the Dublin Maccabi charitable trust; the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, the Council for Christians and Jews, and the Sisters of Sion.


Students from at least four schools participate in the event and approximately 150 other school children attend with their teachers.

A well-illustrated booklet with key messages is created each year and some 6,000 copies are circulated.

The Crocus Project is intended for pupils of 11 years of age and upwards. The Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland provides schools with yellow crocus bulbs to plant in autumn in memory of the one and a half million Jewish children and thousands of other children who died in the Holocaust. It has proved to be a tangible way of promoting awareness and stimulating discussion about discrimination. In Ireland, the crocus blooms at the end of January around the time of International Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January. The yellow flower recalls the Star of David, which Jews were forced to

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wear. The Trust makes available guidelines and information to assist teachers in this activity, complementing existing material on racism and inter-culturalism.

Over 300 schools in Ireland participate in the Crocus Project, as well as schools in Poland, Austria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Malta and other European countries.

There are four Jewish Holocaust survivors in Ireland, two of whom speak regularly in schools. When a survivor speaks in a school, the Irish Government’s Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform co-operates with the Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland to distribute the Memorial Day booklets to participating schools. Usually, survivors speak to about 200 students per week (over a period of 15 to 20 weeks) and each pupil who attends the lecture takes home a booklet.

ITALY


There is no official acknowledgment of the Genocide of the Roma in Italy. The “Law 20 July 2000, no. 211”, that institutes the Day of Remembrance” for those who have been deported in the concentration camps during the Second World War, does not mention expressly the Roma.


Many Italian cities commemorate 8 April as the International Day of the Roma. There is not a national event related to this day; in fact, all the events and public ceremonies related to this day are organised by each city. In 2006, the Community of Sant’Egidio proposed a motion, which was approved, for the institution of the International Day of the Roma (8 April) in the municipality of Rome; on this day it is also remembered the Genocide of the Roma during the Second World War.

On the 27th of January, an important commemoration takes place in the Quirinale, the seat of the President of the Italian Republic. During this ceremony, the President welcomes Italian students who have visited concentration camps, as well as the winners of the annual competition on the topic of the Holocaust. In 2011, President Giorgio Napolitano gave particular emphasis to presenting awards to the winners of the competition. In addition, golden medals were presented to former political deportees. For the first time, Roma and Sinti youth actively took part in the ceremony. Giuseppe Galasso, a well-known Italian historian and scholar, delivered a keynote address on “The Jews and the Italian Unification”, and a short film by Roberto Olla about the Day of Remembrance was screened. The celebration was broadcast live by the public television channel Raitre, and it was given very wide media coverage.

Every year, on 16 October, in Rome, the Community of Sant’Egidio, in co-operation with the Jewish Community and the Roma Community, organises a march to remember the deportation of the Jews from the Ghetto, which took place on 16 October 1943, during the Nazi occupation and in the months thereafter. In that occasion, it is also remembered the Genocide of the Roma during the Second World War. Similar events are held in many other Italian cities.


There are not institutions or research centres dealing with this topic.

In Rome, there are two places where the Genocide of the Roma during the Second World War is remembered:

in Piazza degli Zingari (Square of the Roma people), near the Coliseum, there is since 2001 a plaque that commemorates the Genocide of the Roma;

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in the Shrine of “Divino Amore” there is a monument made by Bruno Morelli, as a reminder of the Genocide of the Roma.

LATVIA


No information.


Latvia observes 4 July as the “Commemoration Day of Genocide against the Jews”. The date is the anniversary of the burning of the synagogue on Gogol Street in Riga, which took place in 1941, while the victims were locked inside the synagogue. Commemoration Day is a day of remembrance for all the Jews killed by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. The event addresses the twentieth century as one of unprecedented terror and violence. The genocide against the Jewish people is remembered as the culmination point of evil, emphasizing that the mass killings during the Holocaust caused irreversible changes in Latvia and left deep scars on the collective memory.

Commemoration events have been held on 4 July since 1990.

Victims of the Holocaust are also remembered in commemorations taking place on 8 May – the day that marks the anniversary of the end of World War II.

Since 1995, the date 8 May has been observed as the “Day of the Defeat of Nazism and Commemoration Day of Victims of World War II”. This commemoration reflects the enormous destruction and suffering that World War II brought to Latvia. Approximately one-third of the country’s population was murdered in the Holocaust, allowed to die by deprivation in prison camps, deported to the Soviet Union and Germany or scattered in prisoner-of-war and refugee camps. The day is observed with a wreath laying ceremony at the Brothers Cemetery in Riga, with the participation of the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other representatives.

In 2009, in response to the European Parliament resolution on European conscience and totalitarianism, which called for the proclamation of 23 August as a Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, 23 August was established as a “Commemoration Day of Victims of Stalinism and Nazism in Latvia”. Official ceremonies surrounding 23 August have not been held.

The official commemoration event takes place in Riga, at the memorial site of the synagogue that was burned to the ground during World War II.

The President gives the opening speech during the event, followed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or another high ranking government representative. The event is attended by ambassadors and government officials.

The following groups and organisations are also involved in the event: the Latvian Council of Jewish Communities; the Jewish Religious Community of Riga; the museum “Jews in Latvia”; the Association of Latvian and Estonian Jews (based in Israel); the Jewish Survivors of Latvia (based in the United States); the Centre for Judaic Studies of the University of Latvia; the Riga Jewish School; and the Society for Research on Jewish Communities (Israel).


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The year 2011 marked the 70th anniversary of the tragic events of the year 1941. The Museum of Occupation of Latvia, in co-operation with the Museum “Jews in Latvia”, organised two commemorative exhibitions within the framework of the larger project “The Tragedy of Latvia, 1941”. The first exhibition, devoted to deportations on 14 June 1941, was unveiled by the President of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers; other senior officials also participated in the ceremony.

The second exhibition opened on 30 November to commemorate Holocaust crimes of 30 November and 8 December 1941 in Rumbula. The main goal of the project was to reinforce remembrance of the Holocaust in Latvian society, to reduce prejudices and to educate the younger generation.

The project received financial support from the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the European Commission Representation in Latvia

LIECHTENSTEIN

There is no Roma population resident in Liechtenstein and there were no concentration or internment camps in the country, therefore Liechtenstein has not specifically recognised the Genocide of the Roma. There are no monuments neither remembrance places related to this topic.

LITHUANIA


To this date there is no official recognition of the Roma “Pharrajimos”. Nonetheless, in 2012, Sajudis, a Lithuanian political party asked for an official recognition and initiated a proposal to install commemorative plates at places of particular importance to the Roma.


Lithuania observes 23 September as “National Holocaust Remembrance Day”. The date marks the anniversary of the liquidation of Vilnius ghetto in 1943. The day commemorates all victims of the Holocaust. It was established by a special resolution of the parliament in 1994.

For the Roma “Pharrajimos”, no official day is assigned. However, NGOs, activists with the attendance of the government representatives are commemorating it on 2 August.14


There are two major museum exhibits in Lithuania devoted to the Holocaust.

The Vilnius Gaon Jewish State Museum was re-established in Vilnius in 1989. In 1990, a permanent exhibition "Catastrophe" on the history of the Holocaust in Lithuania was opened. There is a branch of the museum in Paneriai memorial - the site of the greatest mass murder of Jews In Lithuania during Second WW. Museum receives more than 20 000 visitors per year; many of them are students who visit museum as a part of organised school groups.

Kaunas' IX Fort Museum also is a symbol of the remembrance of the Holocaust victims. There in 1941-1944 the Nazis murdered about 50 000 Jews. Museum receives about 100 000 visitors every year; students comprises 60 per cent of them. Beside these two major exhibits there are regional museums in Kedainiai, Utena, Siauliai, Panevezys and other towns and part of their exhibition is devoted to the Jewish life and their tragic fate during the Holocaust. It is also worth to mention Sugihara museum in Kaunas.

14 http://www.roma.lt/v2/index.php?holokausto-auka-minaejimas-paneria-memorialas-2012-08-02.

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http://www.roma.lt/v2/index.php?holokausto-auka-minaejimas-paneria-memorialas-2012-08-02

Holocaust sites are established in almost all areas of the country. Plaques in remembrance of the Holocaust victims are put in the most mass murder sites.

On the initiative of the International Historical Commission visits to the museums and field trips to the places related to the Jewish life before war and places of mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust are integral parts of teacher training programs and educational activities for students.

LUXEMBOURG


Officially, Roma people were not victims of the Genocide in Luxembourg, because there were no casualties among them. To date, we know of no evidence or documents proving the persecution of Roma in Luxembourg during World War II.


Since 1946, Luxembourg commemorates all "victims of war" the nearest Sunday October 10. (National Day of Remembrance).

Special commemorations for resistant (National Day of Resistance), the conscripted and victims of the Shoah are held annually in front of specific monuments.


No information.

MALTA

No information.

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA


No information.


Holocaust related events tend to take place on 27 January, during the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.


Several monuments were built in Chisinau, Bender, Orhei (at the Jewish cemetery), Balti, Soroca, Tiraspol, Dubasari, and in other areas that commemorate the victims of the Holocaust in Basarabia and Transnistria between 1941-1944. It is unknown if Roma are mentioned at the sites.

MONACO

Monaco observes 27 January as the “Day in Memory of the Shoah and for the Prevention of Crimes against Humanity”. The date was designated by the Government in 2006. Commemorations took place for the first time in 2007.

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MONTENEGRO


The official date for the commemoration of the Roma Holocaust is set to 16 December of each year.


December 16 was chosen in Serbia and Montenegro to mark the suffering of Roma, because on that day 1942, Heinrich Himmler issued an order for all Roma people in the occupied European countries to be arrested and deported to concentration camps15.


The “Roma Rota” association informed Roma that were victims of the Holocaust and their heirs that the Fondation of Roma Holocaust in Serbia and Montenegro invited all Roma that were victims of the World War II to submit applications for remuneration by 31 December. The invitation is made to all citizens of Serbia and Montenegro that survived Holocaust, and application can be also submitted by the victims’ children16.

NETHERLANDS


Recognition and official texts in the Netherlands include:

'Wiedergutmachung', since the fifties: few Roma benefited from it.

Since the sixties, there are legislative provisions and implementation, referring victims of WWII, which include Roma and Sinti: Laws on Pensions and Benefits for physically injured and/or psychologically damaged victims of WWII; Social work to make these benefits accessible and process individual reports; Council of Pensions and Benefits to judge and proceed with requests.

In 1995: Remembering 50 years after Liberation of the end of WWII, with grants for initiatives of victim groups.

In 1999: “Fourth Tranche Gold Pool”, a fund facilitated by the Dutch Government; this is an allocation financed by returned monetary gold (Monetary gold seized by the Nazi Germany, traced by the Allies, returned by the Tripartite Gold Commission). There was a subsequent call for proposals, resulting in projects including approximately ten on Sinti and Roma specifically.

In 2000: Decision of the Dutch Government to compensate for formality and imperfections in the rehabilitation of victims of WWII, along with the harsh acceptance of these victims after the end of the war, including Sinti and Roma living at the time in the Netherlands. Creation of a foundation managing the earmarked Sinti and Roma Compensation Fund (2001), with individual benefits and project purposes. Proceeding of requests for individual benefits (until 2006) and project proposals (until 2010). Monitoring by ministries and the Parliament (2000-2010).


15 http://www.royalfamily.org/statements/state-det/state-1327.htm.16 http://mrc.org.rs/starisajt/index_e.php?mod=prikaz&jezik=engleski&sta=vesti&id_tekst=1543 .

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http://mrc.org.rs/starisajt/index_e.php?mod=prikaz&jezik=engleski&sta=vesti&id_tekst=1543

http://www.royalfamily.org/statements/state-det/state-1327.htm

Since 1995 there is official and explicit recognition of the genocide of Roma (along with the presence of representatives of the Sinti and Roma) in the yearly National Remembrance Days on 4 May and 5 May (wreath-laying ceremony at the Dam Square monument in Amsterdam on May 4th; celebration of freedom on May 5th) and at the yearly Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January in Amsterdam (wreath-laying ceremony at Auschwitz monument in the Wertheim Park).

Since 1994 at the former transit camp Westerbork, on 19 May: Sinti Grass Roots organise the Remembrance of “Gypsy-razzias” in 18 Dutch municipalities (1944, May 16th) and subsequent deportation of 245 Sinti and Roma to Auschwitz-Birkenau (1944, May 19th).


National Institute for War Documentation (founded on May 8th 1945): Documentation and scientific research;

Leiden Institute: Scientific Research; Anne Frank Foundation. Racism and Extremism Monitors (including some monitoring

exclusively on Sinti and Roma);

The Government appointed the Commission Investigation on robbery and loss of possessions of war victims (terminated) (1997-1998). Their report included a paragraph on Sinti and Roma.

The Government appointed the SOTO-Foundation (1998-2001 which had a research programme “Return and Reception after WWII”, including the Sinti and Roma case (2001).

Other specialized and organisational initiatives working on supporting implementation of official measures include the following:

Sinti Grass Roots organisation (1989-2003); Lau Mazirel Advocacy Association (1989-1998); FORUM (1998-2010); Compensation Fund Foundation Sinti and Roma (2001-2010); Dutch Institute Sinti and Roma (founded in 2010); Anne Frank Foundation; National Committee for the 4th and 5th May (and local committees).

Within the framework of the Compensation Fund of WWII Victims ideas on forming a centre for Sinti and Roma were thoroughly discussed and researched. This led to the foundation of the Dutch Institute for Sinti and Roma in 2010, which is based in Den Bosch. This centre aims to permanently improve the position of Roma and Sinti in the Dutch society. It will do so e.g. by offering best practices and practical aid to municipalities, carrying out various projects (mainly focused on education and employability), being a documentation and information centre and acting as an intermediate between all parties involved, including government.

Memorials include: The creation in 1979 of the Roma Monument at the Museum Square in Amsterdam, initiated

and financed by the civil society (Roma association and the Allies); The creation in 1983 of Memorial Centre Camp Westerbork, with includes a special reference

to Sinti and Roma among the other main victim groups (Jews and political prisoners).

There is also incidental Sinti and Roma attention during yearly Commemorations at former camps in Amersfoort and Vught.

Local monuments for Sinti and Roma in former “Gypsy-razzia” municipalities were created.

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NORWAY


The Genocide of the Roma is recognized in Norway. The Genocide has been recognized since the founding of the Centre for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities in 2001.

Several official statements have been made by different governmental parties to condemn the Genocide against the Roma during WWII.

In the governmental report (White Paper) about National Minorities in Norway 17, the Norwegian hostility towards Roma in the 1920-1930 is discussed. The responsibility of the Norwegian Government, that denied a group of 68 Roma with Norwegian background to come back to Norway in 1934, is highlighted. Several members of this group were later exterminated in concentration camps.

There is no law provision against the denial of the Genocide in Norway.


Every 27 January (International Holocaust Remembrance Day), one of the speeches is hold by governmental representatives. They all mention the Genocide of the Roma during WWII.

The annual commemorative event is traditionally held in Oslo at the site of the Holocaust Memorial Monument in the port area. In 2012, the Norwegian Centre for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities (the HL-Centre) arranged a commemorative event at the quayside from which the Norwegian Jews were handed over to the SS by Norwegian police officers and brutally forced into the ships for deportation to Auschwitz and extermination.

Representatives of the Norwegian government, the Jewish community, former political prisoners and the Roma people addressed the meeting.


Apart from the Centre for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities, the Glomdal Museum (Glomdalsmuseet) is a local museum that presents the cultural history of Østerdalen and Solør (in the South-Eastern part of Norway). This museum has established a permanent exhibition and a website about the Travellers and their history in Norway called “Latjo Drom”.

The Wergeland Centre, a European resource centre for intercultural education, human rights and democratic citizenship established in the autumn 2008, in cooperation with the Council of Europe, has been used for raising awareness about the Genocide of the Roma.

In addition to that, the Genocide of the Roma is mentioned in the Permanent Exhibition of the Centre for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities in Oslo.

The Centre for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities has also hosted the travelling exhibition “The Holocaust against the Roma and Sinti and present day racism in Europe”.

POLAND


17 St. Meld. No. 15 (2000-2001).

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In 2011 the Sejm of Poland declared 2 August as the official Roma and Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day.


Roma and Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day is observed in Poland on 2 August. The main commemoration event is held at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. The observance is organised by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and/or the Chancellery of the President. The ceremony, which includes speeches by Polish and international leaders, laying wreaths and prayers, is attended by cabinet ministers and the voyvode. The commemoration is publicized through the media.

Poland observes 27 January as International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The date is observed nationally as an official day of remembrance. The commemoration honours all those who perished in the Holocaust, in particular Jews and Roma and Sinti. The Day of Commemoration was established in 2005.

In addition, 19 April, the anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, is observed in all Polish schools as the “Day of Remembrance of Holocaust Victims and for Prevention of Crimes against Humanity”.

Commemoration events marking Genocide Remembrance Day of the Roma and Sinti are held annually at Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum on 2 August. Several hundred people attend the ceremony, marking the anniversary of the liquidation of the "Gypsy Family Camp" at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Participants of the ceremony include former prisoners, members of Roma organisations, representatives of the Polish government, the Polish Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, regional and local authorities, the diplomatic corps, members of the Jewish community, and the management and staff of the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau.


No information on specialised institutions.

There are memorial sites in Auschwitz (former concentration camp), Hadamar (former camp), Lodz and Sczurowa.

Especially interesting are some national initiatives, for example the so called ‘Tabor Pamieci’(Caravan of Memory) in Poland, where initiated by Adam Bartosz, Director of Roma Museum fromTarnow together with Adam Andrasz, President of the Association of Roms in Tarnow, from 1996 onwards, every summer, Gypsies with horses and museum carts circle the memorable locations and present flowers to the graves of Gypsies, victims of the Holocaust, i.e. the commemoration of the “Roma Holocaust” already starts to accept ritualized forms18

PORTUGAL


No information.


Portugal observes 27 January as “Holocaust Remembrance Day”. The date was chosen to coincide with the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The day is the occasion to commemorate victims of the Holocaust, to promote education about the Holocaust in

18 http://www.academia.edu/1132663/Holocaust_Porrajmos_Samudaripen_..._Creation_of_New_National_Mythology.

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http://www.academia.edu/1132663/Holocaust_Porrajmos_Samudaripen_..._Creation_of_New_National_Mythology

schools, universities, communities and other institutions, and to reaffirm aspirations toward justice and mutual understanding, in order to avoid future acts of genocide. Although Holocaust Remembrance Day was formally established through a resolution adopted by the national parliament on 27 January 2010, the date has been observed in Portugal since 2006.

Commemorative events are normally held in the national parliament. The ceremony in the parliament includes a moment of silence and the delivery of speeches by the President of the Parliament, who is the second highest ranking official in Portugal, and by parliamentarians representing all political parties. Other participants include the Minister of Justice, the Mayor and other senior government officials. In 2011, a delegation from the ITF participated in the ceremonies in the context of their visit to Portugal.

The official observance is organised by parliamentarians, public administration officials, nongovernmental organisations (including Memoshoa – the Association for the Remembrance and Education of the Holocaust and the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Foundation) and teachers.

The Government promotes wide participation at the commemorative event. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a press release on its official webpage.

Schools also participate in commemorative activities around 27 January. The Ministry of Education organises educational activities throughout the country. Materials for teaching the Holocaust in schools are distributed. Jewish organisations sometimes co-organise and participate in school events. Students are encouraged to participate in special projects on the topic.


No information.

ROMANIA


On 23 October 2007, the Romanian President, M. Traian Basescu, apologised for the deportation of thousands of Gypsies to Nazi death camps during World War II, the first time a government official has done so publicly19.


Romania observes 9 October as a national “Holocaust Remembrance Day”. This date marks the anniversary of the date when the first Jews were deported to Transnistria from northern Romania by the Romanian authorities. The day has been observed since 2004. Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked every year with an extraordinary session of Parliament. The observance includes addresses by the President and cabinet ministers, roundtables, conferences, exhibitions, encounters with survivors, documentaries on radio and television, and articles published by the media.

In addition, 27 January is marked as the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. Events concerning the Roma Holocaust also tend to take place on 27 January during the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Commemorations are also organised on 2 August of each year for the Roma “Pharrajimos” by the Romani CRISS organisation, in collaboration with Romano Kher and the National Institute on the Holocaust in Romania "Elie Wiesel" among others..

19 http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-10-23-1767691328_x.htm.

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http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-10-23-1767691328_x.htm


The Romanian government created a commission on the Holocaust in 2003, in order to bear witness to the repression and massacre of Roma in Romania during the war.

In Bucharest, there is a Memorial for the Victims of the Holocaust. The inauguration took place in October 2009, during which President Traian Basescu stated that the Memorial was the expression of the honour given to the memory of the members of the Jewish and Roma community who fell victims during the Holocaust.20 The Memorial contains information on the deportation of the Roma in Transnistria and the Roma wheel is one of the five symbols represented within the structure, along with the David Star.

In terms of specialised institutions, the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania pays a particular attention to the Roma “Pharrajimos” and has issued several publications on the subject. Furthermore, it was actively involved in the commemoration event on the 2 nd of august initiated by the Romani CRISS foundation.

In May 2013, a Museum of Roma Culture will open in Bucharest, 6th sector, designed by two NGOs: Romano ButiQ and KCMC. The Museum will also act as a forum, agora of experiences and perception of Roma culture and identity21.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION


In the Russian Federation, the Holocaust “is defined as the extermination of six million Jews by the Nazis and their allies. Other victims of the Holocaust such as Soviet prisoners, Slavic people, and Roma and Sinti are also mentioned”22.

At present, the federal legislation and judicial practice in the Russian Federation do not qualify extermination of Roma during World War II as the crime of genocide.

Yet, the Russian Federation recognizes the fact of mass Roma extermination during World War II at the orders of the leaders of Nazi Germany and its allies in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, including the current territory of Russia. In addition to Roma, a number of peoples and ethnic groups that had inhabited the territory of the Soviet Union (Jews, Byelorussians, Russians, etc.) became victims of mass atrocities and crimes against humanity in this period as well. It is reflected in the relevant sections of history textbooks.Documents of German punitive agencies, Soviet documents and the historic memory of the inhabitants of the Smolensk region, Leningrad region and some other regions of Russia contain information about mass Roma extermination by Nazi German occupants in 1941-1944.

These were intentional crimes rooted in the Nazi attitude towards Roma as racially inferior people. They led to the destruction of many Roma communities.

Scientific research also confirms the facts of mass Roma extermination in the territories occupied by Nazi Germany and its allies, including the territory of the former Soviet Union, which has recently allowed scientists, researchers and journalists to speak about the genocide of Roma during World War II.

20 http://www.mediafax.ro/cultura-media/memorialul-holocaustului-din-romania-inaugurat-joi-in-capitala-4972070 21 http://www.business-forum.ro/in-exclusivitate/sub-lupa/42512-mrturii-cutremurtoare-la-comemorarea-victimelor-holocaustului.html 22 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism”, p. 94.

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http://www.business-forum.ro/in-exclusivitate/sub-lupa/42512-mrturii-cutremurtoare-la-comemorarea-victimelor-holocaustului.html

http://www.business-forum.ro/in-exclusivitate/sub-lupa/42512-mrturii-cutremurtoare-la-comemorarea-victimelor-holocaustului.html

http://www.mediafax.ro/cultura-media/memorialul-holocaustului-din-romania-inaugurat-joi-in-capitala-4972070


Both the offices of the President and Foreign Minister have, in the past, commemorated the international Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January through government missives and activities.

Commemoration of the Roma, who fell victims of Nazism, is officially held by the Federal National Cultural Autonomy of Russian Roma (the All-Russian “umbrella” Roma organization), regional national cultural autonomies of Russian Roma and other Roma NGOs in Russia within the framework of the annual celebration of the International Roma Day (April 8). On that day, the said Roma organizations conduct ceremonies in commemoration of the Roma, who perished during World War II, with the participation of representatives of the Russian federal, regional and local authorities as well as other ethnic communities. The Moscow House of Nationalities under the Moscow City Government hosts the Remembrance Day dedicated to those tragic events. Many journalists and periodicals also take part in these activities.


In 2007, “as instructed by the president, a section devoted to the Holocaust is being prepared within the framework of the permanent exhibition of the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. In St. Petersburg, the Jewish Museum is being established as a subdivision of the Russian Ethnographic Museum, where the issue of the Holocaust is expected to be reflected”23.

Additionally, through the support of the Foreign Ministry and the Mayor of Moscow, a Russian-Jewish Museum of Tolerance was inaugurated in Moscow in November 2012. It is unknown if Roma are included in this museum.

SAN MARINO


No information.


San Marino observes 27 January as the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The day commemorates all victims of the Holocaust and others persecuted by National Socialism and victims of other genocides. The commemoration day was established by Law Number 20 of 27 January 2006.

The official events are organised by ministries, the San Marino National Commission for UNESCO, schools and non-governmental organisations.

Officials of the ministries involved participate in the events, as do teachers. Participation by institutions, non-governmental organisations and the general public increased in 2012. The events are promoted through press releases, special programmes broadcast by State television and through specific informative materials. In addition to events at the national level, some township councils (administrative municipalities) have in recent years celebrated Remembrance Day with events characterized by reflection and aimed at strengthening the values of equality and liberty, and in hope of leaving a legacy to new generations.


23 See OSCE-ODIHR report “Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE Region”, p. 37.

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The Ministry of Education, in co-operation with San Marino National Commission for UNESCO, promotes several initiatives addressed at students and teachers in connection with the 27 January commemorations. In 2009, the San Marino National Commission for UNESCO organised, in collaboration with other bodies of the neighbouring Italian region Emilia Romagna and under the scientific direction of the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris, a seminar for history teachers on the history of racism, intended to encourage them to reflect on how racism and anti-Semitism contributed to laying the cultural foundations for the twentieth century’s genocides. This seminar was followed by another meeting to examine in greater detail the historical and cultural causes for the spread of racist thought in the twentieth century’s genocides. In the following years, other conferences and exhibitions were organised to celebrate Remembrance Day, always in collaboration with the Mémorial de la Shoah.

In 2012, theatre performances, video and film projections, and debates on specific Holocaust related topics took place. More generally, the San Marino National Commission for UNESCO promotes initiatives to preserve the memory and knowledge of the Holocaust, including annual teacher-training seminars and lessons for students with the participation of historians and witnesses.

SERBIA


In 2007, the date of 16 December was designated as a day of commemoration of the Roma and Sinti genocide.


On 16 December, designated day of commemoration of the Roma and Sinti genocide, ceremonies are held at the sites of World War II killings or concentration camps. The ceremony includes wreath laying, speeches and artistic or educational programmes. The events are organised by the Government, in co-operation with the National Council of the Roma National Minority and numerous educational, artistic and scientific institutions. Government representatives at the ministerial level participate in the commemoration. The media and other institutions publicize and promote 16 December as a day to remember Roma victims of the Holocaust.

Serbia also observes 27 January as a Memorial Day dedicated to Holocaust victims. The day was chosen to coincide with the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The Government of the Republic of Serbia proclaimed the Memorial Day, which has been observed since 2006.

In addition, Serbia marks “National Holocaust, Genocide and Victims of Fascism Remembrance Day” on 22 April, which was established under the Law on Founding the Genocide Victims Museum, adopted in 1992 by the national parliament.

In co-operation with the Federation of the Jewish Communities of Serbia and numerous educational, artistic and scientific institutions, the Government of the Republic of Serbia organises numerous commemorative ceremonies, as well as educational, scientific and artistic public events every year to commemorate those killed in the Holocaust. Commemorations are held, in particular, at the locations of the World War II killing sites or concentration camps. Observances traditionally include a wreath laying ceremony, an official address and artistic, scientific or educational programmes. On both 27 January and 22 April, the most senior government officials, including the President, Prime Minister and other ministers attend the central State commemorative ceremony or other programmes.


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Every year, since 2008, the Ministry of Education and Science has sent schools throughout Serbia a letter instructing them to devote the first class on 27 January, 22 April and 9 November (the anniversary of Kristallnacht) to the Holocaust, anti-fascism and anti-Semitism. All Serbian schools (primary and secondary alike) hold one class devoted to the Kristallnacht. Every teacher talks to her or his class about this historical event. Some teachers and students also prepare exhibitions dedicated to this event.

There are special units in the school curriculum devoted to the Holocaust and to Roma genocide issues.

All events, programmes and ceremonies receive significant media coverage, reflecting continued, major interest among the electronic and print media in Holocaust education, remembrance and research. Through the contribution of numerous articles, stories and special television and radio programmes, media provide an opportunity to the majority of people in the Republic of Serbia to recall the horrors of the Holocaust, as well as the suffering of Jews during World War II.

In 2007, the date of 16 December was designated as a day of commemoration of the Roma and Sinti genocide. Ceremonies are held at the sites of World War II killings or concentration camps. The ceremony includes wreath laying, speeches and artistic or educational programmes. The events are organised by the Government, in co-operation with the National Council of the Roma National Minority and numerous educational, artistic and scientific institutions. Government representatives at the ministerial level participate in the commemoration. The media and other institutions publicize and promote 16 December as a day to remember Roma victims of the Holocaust.

SLOVAK REPUBLIC


In the Slovak Republic, the Holocaust was recognised and the term used is “Holocaust”; on the contrary, the terms “Porrajmos” or “Samudaripen” are “not recognized and not acceptable”.

The official texts referring to the recognition of the Genocide of the Roma are: the official statement of Mr. Pal Csaky (Deputy Prime Minister for Minorities in Slovakia) including excuse for Genocide of the Roma in Slovakia (Zvolen, 10.04.2006) and the statement of Prime Minister Robert Fico from May, 2007. There is no law provision against the denial of the Holocaust.


In the Slovak Republic, the Commemoration Day of the Genocide of the Roma is 2 August.

There are two remembrance places in Čata and in Dunajská Streda, which opened in 2006.

The Roma and Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day is observed each year on 2 August, although the commemoration day has not been officially established. Events are held all across the country, mainly at places connected with the persecution of Roma during World War II. Events are organised by the Slovak National Museum, by many non-governmental organisations (especially the Milan Šimecka Foundation and the civic association In Minorita), by schools and teachers, municipalities, Roma organisations and local communities. High level governmental officials participate, for example the Deputy Prime Minister. Statements by members of the Government are issued. The commemorative events are announced in advance and there is usually good media coverage of the events.


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There is no specialized institution/commission/research centre dealing with the issue of the Genocide of the Roma / Samudaripen.

There are two NGOs, which are not strictly specialized on the issue of the Genocide of the Roma / Samudaripen, but deal with it: Milan Šimeček Foundation and In Minorita – Civic Association.

The first initiatives connected with remembrance of the Roma tragedy during World War II began in the Slovak Republic in the early 1990s. The theme was taken up, in particular, by the Milan Šimecka Foundation, which recorded testimony of Slovak Roma in addition to Jewish testimony under its project “Fates of Those who Survived”. The theme was further covered in the 2006 publication “Roma and the Second World War”. In 2005, the Slovak National Museum and the civic association In Minorita implemented a project called “Ma bisteren!” (Don’t Forget!). This project consisted of an educational programme for youth, a touring exhibition on the Roma genocide, and the unveiling of memorial plaques at sites that are connected with the persecution of Roma.

A Slovak official delegation is also present at the ceremony commemorating the Roma and Sinti genocide in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

SLOVENIA


No information.


Slovenia observes 27 January as its “National Holocaust Remembrance Day”. The day was chosen to coincide with the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The day aims to pay reverence to the victims of the Holocaust, including 2,330 Slovenians deported to Auschwitz, as well as to victims of other acts of genocide. The date was established in February 2008 by a decision of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia.

The Government does not directly organise events to commemorate this day. However, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Danilo Türk, serves as the honorary patron of a yearly event organised by the Maribor Synagogue to pay reverence to the victims of the Holocaust. The event includes a meeting, entitled “One Name Each Year”, and the symbolic laying of paving stones of remembrance, as well as a cultural programme by the students of the First Grammar School of Maribor. In 2012, the President awarded Erika Fürst, a Holocaust survivor, with the Gold Order for Services for her contribution to Slovenian and European awareness of the Holocaust.

In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened a website on the Holocaust, where most commemorative events are publicized. The Ministry also publishes a statement a day before National Holocaust Remembrance Day. Furthermore, the President of the National Assembly marked the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day by issuing a statement.


Schools are encouraged to commemorate National Holocaust Remembrance Day. School authorities send an e-mail to history teachers giving them suggestions on appropriate ways to commemorate the Holocaust and requesting them to provide feedback on their events. School authorities have also opened a website from which teachers can get additional information on the Holocaust.

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In 2012, special school activities included an exhibition at Drago Kobal Elementary School, Maribor, entitled “On the Trail of Jewish Heritage in Slovenia”, and another at Pesnica Elementary School, entitled “Holocaust 1933-1945: Courage to Remember”.

Civil society organisations sponsor a variety of events around National Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 2012, these included:

- A lecture in the Knights’ Hall of the National Museum of Contemporary History on “Jewish soldiers on the Isonzo Front”, as well as a poster exhibit in the same museum on the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust;

- A lecture at the Pomurje Museum in Murska Sobota, entitled “The Sky Glow over the Crematorium: The Prekmurje Jews during the Holocaust”, as well as an exhibit at the Museum, entitled “Past and Forgotton”;

- An exhibition at Lendava Synagogue, entitled “Jews in Medžimurje”;

- A presentation at the Historical Archives in Celje of a book by Dr. Andrej Panèur, The Jewish Community in Slovenia on the Eve of the Holocaust.

A poster exhibit at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts on International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust; and a special event at the Festival Hall in Ljubljana on the “67th Commemoration of the Liberation of the First Nazi Concentration Camp in Auschwitz”, organised by the Auschwitz Camp Committee and the Alliance of Associations of Fighters for the Values of the National Liberation Struggle.

SPAIN


No information.


Spain observes 27 January as Día Oficial de la Memoria del Holocausto y la Prevención de los Crímenes contra la Humanidad (“Official Day for Holocaust Remembrance and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity”). The day honours Jewish victims, Roma and Sinti victims and other Spanish people deported to concentration camps. The date was officially established in 2004 by agreement of the Council of Ministers24.

The principal commemorative event is held on 27 January in a prestigious hall or auditorium. The event is organised by the Casa Sefarad-Israel on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador at Large for Relations with the Jewish Community and Organisations. The Ambassador at Large co-operates with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, with Roma organisations and with representatives of associations of deported Spanish people. The Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture are also involved. Holocaust survivors from Spain and abroad are invited and honoured officially by the Government. Government participation is at the ministerial level or higher, while from 800 to1,000 invitees also attend the event.

From 2006 to 2010, the commemoration was held in the Paraninfo de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, which is a prestigious and historic hall in the old town of Madrid’s city centre. In 2011, the event took place for the first time in the Auditorio Nacional, which is the most distinguished concert

24 ORDEN AEC/4150/2004.

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hall in Madrid, because the event included a concert. The commemoration was entitled “The Violins of Memory, the Violins of Hope” and featured soloist Shlomo Mintz and violins rescued from the Holocaust and restored by Luthier Amnon Weinstein.

While the main theme of the commemoration varies from year to year, the ceremonies have traditionally included the following elements:

• Speeches by representatives of the Jewish community, the Roma and Sinti community and deportees;• Speeches by senior officials, possibly including the King, the President of the Government, ministers, the Vice-President of the Senate, the Vice-President of the Congress, and the President of the European Parliament;• Musical performances;• The lighting of six candles by Holocaust survivors or their relatives, in memory of murdered Jews, children, Spanish victims, Roma and other groups, and recognizing the Righteous Among the Nations and survivors who found a new life for themselves in Israel and the diaspora; and• A moment of silence.


Holocaust remembrance events take place in many schools around January 27. Holocaust survivors are sometimes invited to give testimonies to pupils or students. These events are usually supported by the Government, through the Inter-ministerial Commission for Holocaust, Remembrance and Research, and organised by Casa Sefarad-Israel (which works on behalf of the government), with its network of almost 600 teachers.

SWEDEN


No information.


Sweden observes 27 January as “Holocaust Memorial Day”. It commemorates all victims of the Holocaust. The day has been marked in Sweden since 1999.

The Living History Forum, a Swedish public authority, arranges a ceremony in the centre of Stockholm each year on 27 January. The ceremony is usually inaugurated by a cabinet minister. In addition, the Living History Forum assists in arranging an annual ceremony in the Parliament, initiated by a group of parliamentarians, without regard to political groups.

A theme is chosen for each year’s commemoration, which is sometimes clearly commemorative of Holocaust victims, while sometimes the day is more generally devoted to reflection on the significance of democratic values, the equal worth of every human being or other appropriate themes. In 2012, the theme was Raoul Wallenberg.

Holocaust Memorial Day is promoted by a website and through a network of school leaders, civil servants, municipalities and other organisations and individuals.


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The Living History Forum, under the Ministry of Culture, is commissioned to encourage schools to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. Many schools engage in commemorative activities of different kinds, but they do not get specific governmental support for these events.

The Living History Forum website provides educational material on the Holocaust suitable for teachers of students between the ages 14 to 18, and also makes available teacher-training courses.

In addition to the official ceremonies, commemorative events are held in many places all over Sweden, arranged by schools, municipalities and other organisers. There appears to be an increasing national awareness regarding 27 January.

SWITZERLAND


Switzerland has not officially recognised the genocide of Roma.


Switzerland commemorates the genocide of Roma on January 27 at the International Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust.

The day was chosen to coincide with the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. In Switzerland, the day commemorates victims of the Holocaust, other victims of National Socialism and victims of other genocides. The date is also devoted to the promotion of human rights and tolerance. The main objective of the commemoration day is to sensitize the population (in a spirit of prevention), and in particular school pupils, on atrocities sustained by victims, primarily of the Holocaust. The commemoration day was established in June 2003 by the 26 cantonal ministers responsible for public instruction.

Every year, the President of the Swiss Confederation delivers a written or oral statement to the public on Holocaust Memorial Day. Government officials at the national, cantonal or municipal level participate in various commemorative events.


Switzerland does not have a Ministry of Education. Public instruction is the responsibility of the 26 cantonal governments. Prior to 27 January, these cantonal ministers inform schools and educators about the importance of the commemoration and the commemorative activities. Teaching tools on the Holocaust are made available to schools, including video materials, exhibitions, conferences, excursions, teacher-training materials and lists of websites with teaching materials.

Events are organised on Holocaust Memorial Day at national, cantonal and municipal levels, focusing on remembrance, understanding, sensitization, awareness raising and prevention. Organisers include the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, the Platform of Liberal Jews of Switzerland, the National Coalition Building Institute, the Swiss Psychosocial Counselling Centre for Holocaust Survivors, the Fund for Projects against Racism and for Human Rights, the International League against Racism and anti-Semitism, the Archive for Contemporary History, Coordination Intercommunautaire Contre l’Antisémitisme et la Diffamation, the Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism, and other organisations.

“THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA”


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No information.


The 12th of March has been designated as the Holocaust Memorial Day. On the 12th of March 1943 the Jews were deported by the Bulgarian occupation forces to the National-socialist camps.


Currently the Macedonian Government is building a Holocaust Memorial Centre in Skopje. It is not known if Roma will be included at that centre.

TURKEY


No information.


Turkey has observed 27 January, the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, for the last two years.

The official ceremony is organised by the Turkish Jewish Community, in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul.

The ceremony was attended by local and national politicians from various parties, representatives of various religious communities in Istanbul, and academics and journalists, in addition to members of the Turkish Jewish Community.


Exhibitions are organised on the occasion of the commemoration event. In 2012, an Anne Frank exhibition was put together especially for the ceremony at the Neve Shalom Synagogue. The exhibition was then displayed at the Jewish Museum of the Quincentennial Foundation in Istanbul. The Museum itself, which is well visited, especially by school groups, has a permanent exhibition on Holocaust.

A documentary on the Shoah was also broadcast on the public television network TRT on the day of the commemoration event in 2012.

UKRAINE


The date of 2 August was officially established as a national Roma and Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day on 8 October 2004 by Verkhovna Rada Resolution Number 2085-IV “On the Commemoration of the International Day of the Roma Holocaust”. The resolution also recommended that the Government support research on the Roma genocide in Ukraine, facilitate the construction of memorials to victims of the Roma genocide, and provide support to the families of the victims and to Roma communities in general.


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Ukraine observes 2 August every year as the Roma and Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day. Solemn commemorative gatherings and artistic events take place on 2 August in Kiev and in cities with significant Roma communities. The observances are organised by Roma organisations and supported by Government bodies. In particular, until 2010, the former State Committee for Nationalities and Migration was involved in the organisation. Now the Ministry of Culture is involved, as are local self-government bodies and non-governmental organisations. The commemorative events are covered on national radio and television.

Ukraine also observes 27 January as “Holocaust Memorial Day”. The date was chosen to coincide with the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, designated by the United Nations General Assembly. The commemoration in Ukraine honours all victims of the Holocaust. The date was officially established by the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, in its Resolution Number 3560 -VI “On the 70th Anniversary of the Tragedy of Babyn Yar”, adopted on 5 July 2011. The Babyn Yar tragedy is the most important event related to the Holocaust regularly commemorated in Ukraine. The ravine of Babyn Yar, in Kiev, is the site of mass killings of more than 100,000 Jews and other local residents that began on 29 September 1941.

The parliament recommended, in its resolution establishing Holocaust Memorial Day, that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine design and implement a special plan of commemorative actions related to this event, and suggested that the plan should include commemorative gatherings, exhibitions in museums and libraries, special lessons in schools and other activities. The events were to be organised by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, local self-government institutions, cultural institutions, schools and colleges, academic institutions, Jewish organisations and other non-governmental organisations.

In addition to remembering the Jewish and Roma victims of the mass killing in Babyn Yar, Ukraine also commemorates the civilian residents, prisoners of war, communists, underground fighters, partisans and nationalists that were killed in this massacre.

Anniversaries of these tragic events have been commemorated in Kiev unofficially since 1965, and officially since Ukraine obtained independence.

The main ceremony takes place at the Babyn Yar National Memorial Site. The Site was established in 2007 and was given the status of the National Memorial Site in 2010. This and other events are organised by the president of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, local self-government institutions, cultural institutions, schools and colleges, academic institutions, Jewish organisations and other non-governmental organisations. The most senior leaders of government participate in the events, including the President, the Prime Minister and the Chairmen of the Verkhovna Rada.

In late September and early October 2011, the 70 th anniversary of the tragedy of Babyn Yar was commemorated with solemn mass gatherings, theme exhibitions in museums and libraries, special lessons in schools and other activities. The commemorations were covered extensively by public television and radio.


Tkuma All-Ukrainian Centre for Holocaust Studies is the first National centre for studying and teaching Holocaust History. Tkuma has representatives in all the regions of Ukraine, interacts with many cultural and educational organisations, closely cooperates with the Ukrainian Ministry of Science and Education, has connections with scientific institutions and leading Holocaust History researchers from many countries. Tkuma’s main missions are:

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research on Holocaust History; educational programmes; creation of Tkuma Central Holocaust Museum in Ukraine; promotion of inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue; fostering the atmosphere of tolerance

and consent in society as well as contracting xenophobia and anti-semitism.

Tkuma as a scientific centre for Holocaust studies conducts international scientific conferences, publishes scientific and methodical literature, which constitutes the “Ukrainian Library of Holocaust” Academic series, “Holocaust studies” scholar journal, etc. Tkuma International Academic Board includes recognized scholars from different countries.

The Tkuma Centre has great experience in educational work with teachers, secondary schools’ and higher educational establishments’ students and lecturers. In accordance with the Declaration of Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust a system of seminars, work program of the courses for teachers’ qualification improvement courses has been created in cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science and Regional Educational Institutes for secondary school teachers’ qualification improvement. Tkuma staff has elaborated academic curricula and educational manuals on Holocaust History for Ukrainian educational establishments. For the first time since the independence of Ukraine the project of a non-government organisation is included in the official curriculum of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (“Tkuma” International Inter-confessional Youth Seminar “The Ark”).

Tkuma is working towards the creation of the Tkuma Holocaust History Museum in Ukraine. Tkuma staff has already compiled the unique exhibits, created archives of documents, collection of scientific and methodical materials on Holocaust History, video and sound recording library.

The Ukrainian Centre for Holocaust Studies (UCHS) was established in 2002. It is a non-governmental organisation founded in partnership with I. Kuras Institute for Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The main directions of the UCHS's activities embrace Holocaust research and Holocaust education.

The research direction comprises regional aspects of the Holocaust on Ukrainian lands; reflection of the Holocaust in the mass-media of the Nazi-occupied Ukraine; Nazi ideology and the mechanisms of its implementation, Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, comparative research of the Holocaust and other cases of genocide. The UCHS holds scholarly conferences and seminars on these issues. In frames of the educational activities the UCHS consults Holocaust history teachers of secondary schools and higher educational establishments, promotes the creation of curricula and manuals on the Holocaust, and organises annual competitions of students' research and art works. Alongside with the main working directions the UCHS is actively involved into publishing and has its own periodical editions: semi-annual scholarly journal Holocaust and Modernity and bi-monthly informative-pedagogical bulletin Lessons of the Holocaust. The UCHS also participates in international projects in alliance with academic and educational institutions all over the world.

UNITED KINGDOM


The Holocaust is recognised and commemorated in the UK. The former Department for Children, Schools and Families (now the Department for Education) employed a full-time consultant for a number of years to ensure that the Holocaust, which is the killing of 6 million Jews under the Nazis, was included in the history curriculum. Reference might also be made to the persecution of other groups, including the Roma people at that time.

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Local authority Traveller Education Support Services encourage schools to adopt a curriculum that is inclusive of Roma and Traveller communities and their international history including the Genocide.


In the UK the Roma genocide is included in the Holocaust Memorial Day held annually on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January.


The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust organises the National Memorial Day each year. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is a standing organisation which provides information and advice to teachers, journalists and the interested public. They organise the National Memorial Day each year and list events, resources, PowerPoint presentations, films and regular news up-dates. Their homepage includes Roma and Sinti as victims of the Holocaust.

In addition, the Structure of Local Coordinators linked to the HMD Trust arranges events and organises the local HMD.

There were no concentration or internment camps for Roma people or mass murders against them in the UK during World War II. So there are no monuments or remembrance places in the UK.

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