Piotr Cywinski

Commemoration speech on the occasion of 2 August 2024, Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma

Memory is fundamental to identity. However, memory reaches far beyond identity. If we remembered only ourselves and our closest ones, the resulting self-centeredness would destroy our ability to compare, to assess and to act morally and ethically in relation to the past. Our foundation would become weaker and our identity, in turn, would be destabilized.

How many respondents in all kinds of surveys need to say that they do wish to have any Sinti or Roma as their neighbors in order for us to consider the situation as good? An erroneous question… since on the one hand, you would like to say, good begins not until the zero point is reached, on the other hand, in many European countries, we would be glad to see a decrease of at least a half a percent.

Hatred or ethnically incited hostility are always a perversion. They are always and above all an outcome of inferiority complexes and lack of faith in one’s identity.

The anniversary commemorating the liquidation of the “Zigeunerlager” in Birkenau is a moment of quiet contemplation of the tragedy the victims have gone through. But it is also our moral obligation to reflect on the present. Because there are still many people in our Europe today who are not equal before the law and one could give dozens of such sad examples. We need to reflect on our actions today and we owe this reflection to all the discriminated people. As much as we owe this to the victims 80 years ago.