Department of Global Communications to Host Virtual Discussion on Recognition of Holocaust, Romani People

The Department of Global Communications will host an online panel discussion, “From Pig Farm to Memorial Site Lety:  The Struggle for Recognition of the Genocide against the Roma and Sinti”, on 16 September, 10 a.m. EDT.  The campaign waged against Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust was grounded in centuries of anti-Roma prejudice, discrimination and violence.  Decades after the war, the struggle for recognition of the violence wrought by the Nazi regime and other racist States on the Romani people is far from over.  But is the tide finally turning?

The panel discussion forms part of the 2020 programme of Holocaust remembrance, education and outreach organized by The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme.  The discussion will examine the impact of the Holocaust on the Roma and Sinti, and the struggle for recognition of the Lety concentration camp as a historical site of the campaign waged against them.  The panel will also consider how grief and catastrophic loss can be rendered in a memorial.

The panel comprises Professor Ethel Brooks, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States; Anna Míšková, Museum of Romani Culture, Brno, Czech Republic; and Professor Julian Bonder, Roger Williams University, Rhode Island, United States.

The event will be broadcast on Microsoft Teams Live Events.  Register for the event here:  https://bit.ly/2Gq6TJL.

For further information, please contact Tracey Petersen, email:  petersen3@un.org.