World Roma and Sinti Day: Memorial to be erected in Vienna

Austria does not have a single memorial specifically commemorating the genocide of Roma and Sinti during National Socialism. The demand is in the House just in time for today’s World Day.

Over half a million Roma and Sinti were murdered by the Nazis during World War II. In Austria there were between 4000 and 5000 members of the groups who did not return from the concentration camps. In Austria, this fact is often not taught in schools, the community complains. The awareness of the history or even the existence of the Roma and Sinti would form a large white spot in Austria’s collective knowledge. There is still not a single memorial dedicated solely to the victims of the World War of this group of people. That should change now. On today’s World Roma and Sinti Day, a catalog of demands is before the House. This was introduced yesterday by representatives, as reported by the “Standard”.

Only in November 2021 was one Shoah Wall of Names opened in front of the National Bank. This contains the lists of those who were persecuted during National Socialism in Austria. Among them are Roma and Sinti. However, it is precisely this anonymity and “joining in” that is a thorn in the side of interest groups. A monument of its own is urgently needed to honor the victims among the Roma and Sinti properly. One wishes for a memorial for the “Porajmos”, in English “the devouring”, as the Holocaust is called in Romany. This should be erected as centrally as possible in Vienna to remind future generations of the atrocities committed once morest the group. Ideally, the next World Roma Day should take place on April 8, 2023 with an existing monument.

Old AKH as a possible location

Possible locations for the memorial are Human Rights Square or Ceija-Stojka-Platz in the seventh district, Dr.-Karl-Lueger-Platz in the first district and the Old General Hospital in the ninth district. Member of the National Council for the Greens and spokeswoman for memorial policy Eva Blimlinger speaks out in favor of the old AKH as a location in the “Standard” interview. The protected inner courtyard would be ideal for the format that the ethnic groups want for the monument. “I can imagine QR codes that go online to videos and information,” says Blimlinger, who has a virtual memorial in mind in contrast to a classic stone tablet names can also be added here later.

No matter which location you ultimately decide on, it is primarily important that “all groups came to an agreement,” says Blimlinger. We owe this in particular to students from the relevant interest groups. There is now support for the monument from all political parties. This is also supported by the President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka the endeavor. The MEPs Lukas Mandl (ÖVP) and Andrew Schieder (SPÖ) are also calling for August 2nd to be declared a day of remembrance for Roma and Sinti. On this day in 1944, 3000 Roma and Sinti were killed in the Auschwitz extermination camp.

(difference)