Today marks Roma Holocaust memorial day, known as Porajmos, which means ‘The Devouring’. This marks the day in 1944 when almost 3,000 Roma were exterminated in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. An estimated 11 million people were murdered during the Second World War because of their nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, religious belief, political affiliation or because they were prisoners of war. The largest single group of people to be murdered during the Holocaust were 6 million Jews. It is estimated that over 500,000 Roma and Sinti died during the Holocaust. At least another 500,000 were displaced and dispossessed, their identity papers lost or destroyed. The Holocaust marked a deep trauma in the Roma community and impacted the whole community deeply.
Pavee Point would like to commemorate the Roma who suffered in the Holocaust and stands in solidarity with all Roma who continue to experience racism today.
See 5 minute video made by UK Gypsies about the experience of Roma in the Holocaust http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIXlECQ5jU4
For more information on Roma in the Holocaust, go to http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/people/victroma.htm