Romany Holocaust centre to be in Czech Republic

An international documentation and educational centre of Romany Holocaust will be probably established in the former concentration camp for Romanies in Kunstat, South Moravia, Czech Ethnic Minorities and Human Rights Minister Dzamila Stehlikova told journalists today.

The council for Romany affairs also discussed the future of another former concentration camp for Romanies in Lety, South Bohemia, where a pig farm is situated now, which, as the Romanies’ descendants of the victims say, desecrates the commemorative place. A recreational resort is now located in the place of the former Romany camp in Hodonin.

Stehlikova said its owner agreed with its sale to the state for an officially appraised price. The centre, that is to be built next year, will be administered by the Romany Culture Museum in Brno, Stehlikova said. The Museum has over 1,000 artefacts in its collection, but it faces a lack of space for their exhibition, she added.

From the historical viewpoint, the Hodonin complex was more valuable than that in Lety. “Original houses for inmates have been preserved there,” Stehlikova said. About 6500 Romanies lived in the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia according to a count conducted at the onset of World War Two.

Experts say about 90 percent of pre-war Romany population perished under the Nazi rule. The Hodonin concentration camp had 1375 Romany prisoners, 207 of whom died there and another 800 were deported to Oswiecim (Auschwitz). In Lety, there were 1308 prisoners, 327 died there and over 500 were sent to Oswiecim.