Recognition of the Roma Genocide

Recognition, official texts

In North Macedonia the Holocaust is recognised as such but there is no information whether the Roma Genocide as such is recognised.

The 12th March has been designated as the Holocaust Memorial Day. On the 12th of March 1943 the Jews were deported to the National-socialist camps, namely Treblinka, by the Bulgarian occupation forces. Macedonia lost the highest proportion of its Jews of any country in the world - 98% of them perished in the Holocaust.

Data (camps locations, Remembrance places, measures etc.)

The Holocaust Memorial Centre in Skopje was inaugurated on 10th March 2011 in the presence of the country's president and representatives of international Jewish organisations. Unfortunately, information on the Roma Gencide is not included in that centre.

Other places of Remembrance are Jewish cemeteries in Bitola, Štip and Skopje and the Memorial Plaque at the Tobacco Factory, the monument erected in the building of an old tobacco factory that was used as a transit camp during the Holocaust. The memorial plaque on the factory premises and a monument were set up in 2004.

Specialised institution, commission, research centre etc., dealing with this issue

There are no specialised institution, commission or research centre dealing only with the issue of the Genocide of the Roma.

Holocaust Memorial Center of the Jews from Macedonia
11th March Street, no 2.
Skopje
Telephone: +389 2 329 8025

Official initiatives (campaigns, actions, projects, commemoration days, museums)

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 Teaching about the Roma Genocide

Inclusion of the topic in the school curriculum

In North Macedonia there is no special commemoration day of the Genocide of the Roma.

The central commemoration event is held at the Holocaust Memorial Centre for the Jews of Macedonia. It is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Jewish community and non-governmental organisations. The event is attended by high level Government officials, mayors, public figures and representatives of the Jewish community.

Other annual commemorative gatherings are also held on 10th and 11th March, which are also attended by Government officials, politicians, diplomats, representatives of the Jewish Community and public figures. In Skopje, the Jewish Community traditionally holds an official meeting with the Mayor, as symbolic recognition of the coexistence and good relations that have traditionally existed among various communities in North Macedonia. The commemoration ends with a concert in honour of the victims. The events are promoted through the media, as well as through the educational system. (OSCE report “Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE Region: An overview of governmental practices”, page 69).

Other dates of commemoration of victims of National Socialism are 9th May - the Day of Liberation and 11th October - the date of the start of the Macedonian uprising against fascism in 1941. These dates are commemorated to honour 28 000 citizens who lost their lives in World War II. Ceremonies are held in the National Assembly, in front of the monuments to victims throughout the country, and in schools and universities as well as at the Holocaust Memorial Centre for the Jews of Macedonia. Such ceremonies have been held since 1945. The events are organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, associations of veterans and representatives of the Jewish community. Government officials at the highest level participate in the ceremonies. Activities may include exhibitions, lectures and presentations of short movies about the lives and heroic deeds of the people in World War II, as per the OSCE report “Holocaust Memorial Days in the OSCE Region: An overview of governmental practices”, page 70.

A memorandum of cooperation was signed on 16th December 2014 between Albania’s State Archive and North Macedonia’s Holocaust Museum. In this document, both sides engage to boost scientific cooperation and exchange of archive documents.

The 12th March has been designated as the Holocaust Memorial Day. On the 12th of March 1943 the Jews were deported by the Bulgarian occupation forces to the National-socialist camps.

Currently the North Macedonian Government is building a Holocaust Memorial Centre in Skopje. It is not known if Roma will be included at that centre.

Inclusion of the topic in the school textbooks

The sixteen intercultural curricula for four subjects of primary education were developed, containing content of the history, culture, language and traditions of the Roma students who attended the school.

Training of teachers and education professionals

According to the OSCE, “the state does not provide separate teacher-training courses in the field of Holocaust education. The Bureau for Development of Education stated that teachers are sufficiently trained to teach about the Holocaust.” ("Education on the Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism: An Overview and Analysis of Educational Approaches", page 124).

The international seminar on Holocaust “The Diverse Survival Strategies of Jewish and Roma Communities in Macedonia: From Resistance to Memorialisation” was held from 26th September to 2nd October 2011 in Ohrid. The organiser was the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities Euro-Balkan from Skopje in cooperation with the International Task Force for Holocaust Research (ITF) and the Academic program Ohrid Summer University.

Particular activities undertaken at the level of education institutions

The Macedonian History Teachers Association organised a kick-off meeting in the EUROCLIO project “History that connects the Balkans, Rethinking History Education? 21st Century Approaches” in Skopje, from 2nd to 5th April 2015. Members of History Teachers Associations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia were invited to participate in order to discuss organisational issues with the development of regional website and with preparations for the summer school in Mrkonjić Grad. The summer school will be focused on topics such as cultural history, remembrance and glocal history (global and local history). In addition to this, there will be several on-site learning activities such as visits to archaeological sites, museums, former concentration camps and memorial sites. EUROCLIO was represented by Jonathan Even-Zohar (director), Judith Geerling (project manager) and by Ivan Markovic (trainee).