“The Day of the Roma Genocide reminds us that the greatest crimes of humanity do not begin with weapons. They begin with lies, stereotypes, and the devaluation of a person. With the attempt to convince that some people are less worthy than others,” J. Olekas is quoted in the Seimas Chancellery statement.
“And when this is not resisted, hatred turns into tragedy. We feel its consequences for many decades,” he noted.
“Therefore, today, honoring the victims of the Roma genocide, we also affirm the kind of future we want to build. I sincerely believe that Lithuania is strong as long as every person in it is respected – regardless of their ethnicity, language, or lifestyle,” the Speaker of the Seimas emphasized.
He stressed that the Roma genocide was a tragedy that was spoken about too little for a long time, so such a commemoration is especially important.
“Today we remember thousands of innocent people killed solely because of their origin. At the same time, we remember the Lithuanian Roma community, which lost almost a third of its people during the Nazi occupation. Just because they were Roma,” J. Olekas said.
In turn, Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys emphasized at the commemoration at the Paneriai Memorial that the memory of the Roma genocide returns, and this crime and the community that suffered it are not forgotten either in Lithuania or in Europe.
“I very much hope that today we will take away not only an obvious understanding for everyone that the Roma genocide is in our memory, but that it is also in our conscience,” K. Budrys is quoted in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.
He emphasized that the remembrance and commemoration of the Roma genocide is not only a sign of respect for the victims but also a restoration of historical justice, and only by remembering can we ensure that such crimes do not happen again.
As BNS wrote, at the commemoration event at the Paneriai Memorial, the Roma anthem was sung, an artistic program took place, flowers were laid, and the victims were honored with a moment of silence.
On Monday evening, a conference titled “Monuments commemorating the victims of the Roma genocide worldwide and in Lithuania” will also take place at the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum.
There, Lithuanian and foreign historians, memory researchers, cultural heritage specialists, and representatives of the Roma community will discuss genocide commemoration practices and the vision for the future memorial in Paneriai.
According to historians, about 500 Roma were killed in Lithuania during the Nazi occupation – about a third of the country’s Roma community at that time.
The Day of Remembrance of the Roma Genocide has been observed annually in Lithuania on August 2 since 2019. On this day in 1944, the Roma camp at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liquidated, killing several thousand of its prisoners.
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