On 2 August, 2018, the IHRA-funded digital exhibition https://romasinti.eu/ about the genocide of the Sinti and the Roma during the Second World War will release new stories from Hungary, Croatia and Romania.
The forgotten genocide exhibition tells the story of persecuted Sinti and Roma children with the use of unique source materials. Together these diverse stories illustrate the genocide of the Sinti and the Roma under the Nazi regime - stories which remained unmentioned until long after the war, even within the Sinti and Roma communities themselves.
Hundreds of thousands of Sinti and Roma were murdered during the Second World War, more than half of whom were under the age of 14.
Forgotten stories
The three new contributions tell the stories of Józef Forgács (Hungary), Maria Stancu-Costea (Romania) and Stjepan Mavrovi? (Croatia). Józef Forgács managed to survive a concentration camp, aged nine, and returned on foot to Zalaegerszeg, the town where he was born. He never found out exactly in which camp complex he had been imprisoned. Maria Stancu-Costea survived the deportation to Transnistria with the help of her aunts. Up until the time of her death she never succeeded in having her deportation officially acknowledged. Stjepan Mavrovi? did not survive the war. Along with 5,608 other Croatian Roma children, he was probably murdered and buried in one of many mass graves.
Cooperation
The digital exhibition has existed since 2012 and as of 2 August, 2018, will be available in English, Dutch, German, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Croatian and Romanian. This multilingual exhibition was developed together with institutions and researchers from various different countries. The forgotten genocide was developed by the National Committee for 4 and 5 May with the support of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), Stiftung "Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft" (EVZ) and the Anne Frank Foundation.
