Commemoration at Lety u Písku, Czech Republic

On Sunday, 2 August, a commemorative ceremony for European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day will take place at Lety u Písku, Czech Republic, beginning at noon with the Czech national anthem and the hymn of the Romani prisoners of the Nazi concentration camps. After the laying of floral offerings at the monument, there will be a spiritual reflection and cultural program.

On this occasion, the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic (VPORH) will give its annual Award for Humanity to Gwendolyn Albert for her longstanding activity in defense of human rights, especially those of the Romani women who have been forcibly sterilized in the former Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic. ROMEA TV will broadcast the commemorative ceremony live online.

“As a consequence of these exceptional times we were forced this year to move our annual commemorative ceremony at the Lety Cultural Heritage Memorial, which is usually held on 13 May, to 2 August. We have chosen this date because we will be remembering what happened at Auschwitz-Birkenau in what was called the Zigeunerlager there,” said Čeněk Růžička, the chair of the VPORH.

“During the night of 2 August and morning of 3 August, 76 years ago, German Nazis murdered upwards of 3 000 Romani men, women and children in the gas chambers there,” the VPORH chair recalled. The event is being convened by VPORH with the support of the Czech Culture Ministry, the Foundation for Holocaust Victims, and the Museum of Romani Culture.

The ceremony will be held at the Lety Cultural Heritage Memorial, where some victims of the concentration camp were buried in unmarked graves during the war. You can find information about free transportation options to the event here.