Annual commemoration at Lety u Písku, Czech Republic, will honor the memory of the Jewish and Romani victims of Nazism on 8 May

The Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic (VPORH), the Museum of Romani Culture and its Center for the Roma and Sinti in Prague are convening a Commemorative Ceremony on Sunday, 8 May 2022 to honor the memory of the Jewish and Romani victims of Nazism. As is traditional, the ceremony will be held at the site of what was the makeshift burial ground for Romani prisoners who died in the adjacent concentration camp of Lety u Písku. 

The event will be held under the auspices of Czech Culture Minister Martin Baxa. Čeněk Růžička, the chair of the VPORH, has informed Romea.cz of this year’s date.

“Together, from this symbolic place of the suffering of Roma and Sinti, let’s tell all the neo-Nazis, xenophobes and racists that hatred towards any minorities in our country will not find support,” he said. The ceremony will include the annual awarding of the Committee’s Prize FOR HUMANITY, which will be given this year to the Czech branch of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders). 

The Committee traditionally charters a bus free of charge to Lety from Prague round-trip for attendees needing transportation. “The bus will be parked in the usual place, near the Florenc bus station in Prague, beneath the overpass on Na Florenci Street,” Růžička told Romea.cz.

“The bus will be marked with a sign reading LETY,” he said. It will depart from Prague at 9:45 AM and those interested can reserve seats by sending an e-mail to ruzicka.vporh@seznam.cz or an SMS to mobile phone number: +420 603 247 617.

Program:
12:00 Opening of the commemorative ceremony
12:15 Laying of wreaths
13:00 Religious worship
13:45 Speeches
14:45 Closing remarks
15:00 Presentation of the VPORH – FOR HUMANITY award to the Czech branch of Médecins Sans Frontières, followed by a glass of wine