UK Holocaust commemoration features Romani activist Daniela Abraham, who met with royals

Holocaust victims were honored last week on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Great Britain as well as elsewhere around the world. The commemorative ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp was attended by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Prince William, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Duchess Kate).

During the commemorative gathering at Central Hall in Westminster, the Romani activist Daniela Abraham, who is from Slovakia also addressed those in attendance, recalling the suffering of Romani people during the Second World War to those in the crowded hall. "It was my honor to be able to appear and recall the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in London," she told news server Romea.cz.

"I recalled the Romani women, men and children who lost their lives because of the Nazi regime," Abraham said. "It is our duty to commemorate the Romani people who were murdered or tortured and to educate the public about this overlooked chapter in history."

Abraham believes it is a very serious problem that ultra-right parties are on the ascent all over Europe, a rise correlating in time with a growth in racially-motivated violence against Romani people and their discrimination. "I hope that by commemorating the horrible things that happened in the past we can contribute to creating a better world where this kind of intolerance and racism will not appear and where all people will be treated equally," she told Romea.cz.

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The Romani activist then attended a special gathering with Duchess Kate and Prince William together with Holocaust survivors and their descendants. "It was an honor for me to be able to meet and speak with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge," she said.

"Both told me I am doing good work and encouraged me to continue," the activist reported. "I feel very proud and I want to thank all who support me and my work."

International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the events of 27 January 1945. That was the day on which the Nazi German death camp at Auschwitz in occupied southern Poland was liberated during the Second World War.

Between 1940 and 1945, 1.1 million people, most of them Jewish, but also Polish and Romani people, were murdered there. Among those who were imprisoned at Auschwitz were 50 000 citizens of Czechoslovakia, of whom about 6 000 survived.

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