Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day

On the occasion of the Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day, Martine Reicherts, EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, commemorates the victims from the Roma community during the Holocaust.

Commissioner Reicherts said: "70 years ago today, around 3000 Roma women, children and elderly people were murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Holocaust. Today, we are commemorating all the members of the Roma community who were oppressed by the Nazi regime, killed under occupation and murdered in extermination camps.

We must not forget. Remembering the Holocaust and preserving the memory of its victims is essential. It allows us to build a better future. That is why the European Union supports projects that keep this memory alive. It helps to build a shared European future based on human dignity and respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities.

At the same time the European Commission is working – together with the European Parliament, Member States, local and regional authorities and civil society – to ensure that the daily lives of Roma communities in Europe today improve through national Roma inclusion strategies.”