Why is 2nd August the International Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma?
Prejudice against the ethnical minority of Roma and Sinti has its starting point long time before the Nazis dictatorship. A large part of society has labelled them criminal and uneducated.
Later on, as the Nazis took over, the perception of Roma people has become more racist, as they were accused of being a thread to the “Aryan” race.
Slowly, the Nazis began the persecution of Roma and Sinti by isolating them socially, so that they were expelled from the imperial chamber of musicians, not allowed to work or practice their culture.
In 1943, 22 000 German Roma have been deported to Auschwitz, nearly 19 300 died from hunger, cold, sickness or human medical experiments.
On the night from 2. to 3. August. 1944, the less than 4 000 Roma that have remained in the camp were killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz.
Including the areas of Crimea, western Ukraine and the transcarpatian region, 20 000 is the estimated number of Roma on Ukrainian ground in 1941.
The estimation of the number of victims is considered problematic, due to deportation of Roma from Romania to be killed in Ukraine, such as bad protocol of killings. The real number of Ukrainian Roma victims must be over 24 000.
Announcements
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Bulletin «Lessons of the Holocaust», № 2 (86), 2026
Dear colleagues! The fresh issue of information-pedagogical bulletin of UCHS «Lessons of the Holocaust», № 2 (86), Aprile-June, 2026 has been published.
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Public Project “Research Space”
The National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar has launched the public project Research Space, where archival documents, books, and films serve as tools for exploring family history and collective memory of the Babyn Yar tragedy.
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New Publication of the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies
Ukrainian Society and Holocaust Memory: Challenges in Times of War. Papers of the 19th Round Table for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Kyiv, January 27, 2026 / compiled by A. Podolskyi. Kyiv: Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies, 2026. 96 pp.
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History of the Genocides in Ukraine: Learning from Experience and Challenges of Modernity Seminars in Odesa and Kyiv
In early July, the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies held two two‑day academic and methodological seminars for teachers in Odesa and Kyiv under the title History of the Genocides in Ukraine: Learning from Experience and Challenges of Modernity.
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Learning from the Past - Acting for the Future. Training on Holocaust History and Human Rights. Seminar in Lithuania
The Olga Lengyel Institute (TOLI), together with the International Commission in Lithuania and the Jewish Community of Lithuania, held a five‑day seminar in Vilnius: “Learning from the Past – Acting for the Future.” The program brought together educators from across Lithuania, Ukraine, and Poland to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust, antisemitism, human rights, and effective teaching practices.
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