2026 International Roma Genocide Remembrance Day

The Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (AIPG) commemorates August 2 as the International Roma Genocide Remembrance Day. This solemn day honors the memory of the victims of the Roma Genocide—also known as the Samudaripen ("mass killing" in the Romani language)—carried out during World War II as part of the racial purification campaign waged by Nazi Germany and its Axis allies. On April 15, 2015, the European Parliament officially recognized August 2 as the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, an annual day of international remembrance for this genocide.

In November 1935, the Nazi regime expanded its Nuremberg Laws to institutionalize its ideology of racial purity, formally designating the Sinti and Roma communities as "racially inferior," "problematic," and "enemies" of the Third Reich. In the years that followed, Roma and Sinti individuals were subjected to arbitrary persecution and forced deportation to so-called Zigeunerlager ("Gypsy camps") across Nazi-occupied Europe.

While scholarly understanding of the Roma Genocide has advanced significantly, many aspects remain insufficiently documented because of fragmented wartime records and the limited preservation of victims' testimonies. Current estimates suggest that between 220,000 and 500,000 Roma and Sinti were murdered during the Holocaust, although some scholars argue that the true number may have been considerably higher. Victims included tens of thousands murdered by Nazi military and police units and their collaborators in the occupied Soviet Union and the Balkans, as well as around 4,300 Roma, primarily women, children, older adults, and those deemed unfit for forced labor, who were murdered during the liquidation of the "Gypsy Family Camp" at Auschwitz-Birkenau on the night of August 2, 1944. Countless others died as a result of forced labor, starvation, disease, and executions in concentration camps and killing centers across Europe.

The Roma, whose ancestors migrated from northwestern India to Europe over several centuries beginning around the 9th century, today constitute Europe's largest ethnic minority. For centuries, they have faced systemic marginalization, exclusion, discrimination, racism, and identity-based violence. Despite important policy initiatives at the European level, anti-Roma discrimination and anti-Roma racism continue to affect millions of Roma across Europe in areas including education, employment, housing, healthcare, and political participation. Preventing and countering Holocaust distortion and denial, while addressing persistent structural racism, remain urgent priorities for governments, civil society, and international organizations.

AIPG's Mediterranean Basin Programs (MBP) have continued their Roma-focused efforts in Southeastern Europe through ongoing engagement, including workshops, consultation sessions, and other activities in collaboration with the Romanian National Agency for the Roma. These efforts build on the findings of the regional study, The Roma Holocaust/Roma Genocide in Southeastern Europe, which examined genocide distortion across eleven countries. The resulting report has fostered inclusive, transnational dialogue around memorialization, education, and anti-discrimination as tools to counter anti-Roma racism, identity-based violence, and democratic backsliding.

In late 2025, MBP also provided technical expertise for the "Proud to Be Roma!" Youth and Students Camp in Runcu, Romania. The initiative brought together 60 Roma students to explore the history of the Holocaust and the Roma Genocide, reflect on the lessons of these past atrocities, and examine how education and memorialization can promote civic responsibility and social cohesion. Further workshops for school inspectors, school directors, and youth educators on participatory approaches to preventing radicalization and identity-based violence are planned for the early fall of 2026.

On this day of remembrance, the Auschwitz Institute reaffirms its solidarity with Roma and Sinti communities worldwide. We honor the victims of the Holocaust and support all efforts toward the full and universal recognition of the Roma Genocide as an integral part of our shared historical record. Such recognition is vital not only for historical accuracy, but also for building effective atrocity prevention frameworks, promoting post-conflict education, and combating segregation, stigmatization, and marginalization.

Photos: Agenția Națională pentru Romi, Matei Demetrescu, Codrin Tăut, Oana Davidescu