Poland observes 27th January as International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The date is observed nationally as an official day of remembrance. The commemoration honours all those who perished in the Holocaust, in particular Jews and Roma and Sinti. The Day of Commemoration was established in 2005.
Government educational institutions align and coordinate Holocaust education policies and educational content in accordance with the principles of IHRA, as defined in 2000 the Stockholm Declaration and reaffirmed in the 2020 IHRA Ministerial Declaration.
In March 2026, the Minister of Education signed the new core curriculum regulations for primary education as part of the “Compass of Tomorrow” reform. The new curriculum will be implemented for the 2026 cohort and will be introduced gradually and includes a new history curriculum which explicitly includes the term Samudaripen in the section on the Second World War. The curriculum states that students should use the concept when discussing the specificity of the war, and it also explicitly refers to the extermination of Jews, Roma, and Sinti by Nazi Germany.
In addition, the state instituted 19th April, the date of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity. The question of the Roma presence in the Warsaw Ghetto has recently been the subject of intense research, with important findings, for example about the Kwiek family in Warsaw Ghetto.
In 2020 IHRA adopted the Working Definition of Antigypsyism/Anti-Roma Discrimination, recognising the structural and historical dimensions of anti-Roma racism and its connection to the genocide of Roma and Sinti. The Polish government as member of IHRA, recognises this definition as valid and legitimate, although it is not legally binding.
On January 20, 2021, Krystyna Gil, a Holocaust survivor was awarded the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Consul General of Germany, Michael Gross, wrote in the letter informing her of the award that it honors her many years of work in support of “intergenerational, future-oriented dialogue, universal human values, and for all the content that you, as a Witness of History, have been conveying for years.”
In 2006, the President of Republic of Poland, Mr. Lech Kaczyński, awarded Mrs Alfreda Markowska, Polish Roma woman born in 1926, with Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta - the Polish second-highest civil medal given by the President of Poland for rescuing approximately 50 children of Roma and Jewish origin during the World War II (https://romowie.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/5-2006.pdf).
Data (camps locations, Remembrance places, measures etc.)
Auschwitz-Birkenau - Former German Nazi – Concentration and extermination Camp (information provided by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum)
It was established by Germans in 1940, in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the Nazis. Its name was changed to Auschwitz, which also became the name of Konzentrationslager Auschwitz. Consisting originally of a single camp, Auschwitz expanded constantly until, at the peak of its growth in the summer of 1944, it had become a complex of about 40 camps, holding 135,000 prisoners. The two principal camps were located in Oświęcim (I) and Brzezinka (Auschwitz II-Birkenau). Founded in March 1942 and covering an area of about 150 hectares, Auschwitz II-Birkenau contained prisoner barracks, gas chambers, 4 crematoria with a daily throughput calculated by Nazi officials at 4,416 corpses, and a complex of 30 warehouses for the personal belongings confiscated from the victims. From 1944, a three-track railroad spur was operational inside the camp; this is where the selection of mass transports of Jews was carried out. The so-called sub-camps (KL Auschwitz III-Aussenlager) were scattered throughout the Upper Silesian Industrial Region. The Auschwitz prisoners performed unpaid slave labor, mostly in German coal mines, mills, armaments plants, and at the large building sites for new industrial facilities of importance to the German war economy. When the prisoners had been worked to exhaustion, they were sent back to Auschwitz-Birkenau and killed. At least 1,300,000 people were deported to the camp, of whom at least 1,100,000 perished. Some estimates of the number killed are as high as 1,500,000.
The Roma were the third most numerous group of victims. A small number of Roma, estimated at several hundred, were deported to Auschwitz in 1940-1942 and registered in the general category of prisoners. The number of Roma and Sinti in the camp began to rise rapidly as a result of a 29th January 1943 decision by the Main Reich Security Office to deport whole Roma and Sinti families to Auschwitz. A total of about 23,000 Roma and Sinti were incarcerated in Auschwitz. They were placed in a special camp in Birkenau (BIIe). About 20,000 Roma and Sinti perished in the camp. About 6,500 were killed in the gas chambers. The largest group, consisting of about 4,300 men, women, and children were killed by gas on 2nd August 1944, during the liquidation of the Roma and Sinti camp.
The extermination of Roma and Sinti in Auschwitz was a fragment of the German Third Reich’s criminal plans for the almost total elimination of Roma and Sinti. It is estimated that from 200,000 to 500,000 Roma and Sinti perished as a result of executions and imprisonment in various camps.
The Roma and Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day is observed on 2nd August and the main commemoration event is held at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. The event is organised by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and the Association of Polish Roma with Chancellery of the Prime Minister and/or the Chancellery of the President. The ceremony, which includes speeches by Polish and international leaders, laying wreaths and prayers, is attended by several hundred people. Participants of the ceremony include former prisoners, members of Roma organisations, representatives of the Polish government, regional and local authorities, the diplomatic corps, members of the Roma and Jewish community, and the management and staff of the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau. A large contingent of Roma youth is also present as part of “Dikh he na bister”, organised since 2010 by ternYpe – International Roma Youth Network (https://2august.eu/)
An important commemorative site in Poland is the Memorial to the Murdered Roma of Szczurowa. The other sites are listed in the Małopolska Trail of Roma Genocide book by Adam Bartosz, and include: Żabno, Tarnów, Bielcza, Borzęcin.
One of key sites in that area is the monument commemorating the murder of 29 Roma near Borzęcin designed by Małgorzata Mirga-Tas and unveiled in 2011. It was vandalised in 2016 most likely by far-right extremists.
In 2026 Karczew (near Warsaw) became an important site of commemoration, with the unveiling of a monument commemorating the murder of 77 Roma in the village in 1943. The Institute of National Remembrance has been the organizer, but the initiative was led by Roma families and local historians.
The anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz on 27th January marks the day of largest commemorations in Poland. They take place at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, the Majdanek State Museum, the Sobibor Regional Museum, the Treblinka Museum of Struggle and Martyrdom, the Warsaw Ghetto Heroes Monument and the Radegast train station in Łódź, where the monument of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto is situated. Commemorative activities at these locations usually include speeches delivered by Holocaust survivors, those awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations, Polish and foreign government representatives, as well as representatives of the Jewish and Roma communities. References to Roma victims are now regularly included in commemorative events. In addition, memorial processions take place, wreaths are laid, candles lit and stones are placed on graves.
The Government of Poland promotes the commemorative events through announcements in the media and the live broadcasting of major events. It also works with civil society to organize the events. In addition to the official events, various unofficial commemorative events take place that are organized by local activists and priests. An important government institution that has become increasingly active in this field during the last decade is the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) which holds archival records, and is a research institution tasked with public dissemination of historical knowledge. IPN organizes events, lectures, publishes new research and provides institutional framework for commemorative events.
Specialised institution, commission, research centre etc., dealing with this issue
According to the available information, there is no specialised institution, commission or research centre specifically dealing with the issue of the Roma Genocide.
Official initiatives (campaigns, actions, projects, commemoration days, museums)
Dikh he Na Bister
A several-day event called “Dikh he na bister” takes place in Kraków during July/August. It consists of seminars, conferences, meetings, public debates, concerts etc. devoted to Roma and Sinti victims and the role of Holocaust of Roma and Sinti in modern Roma identity. The event includes the ceremony of 2 August commemoration in Auschwitz-Birkenau. “Dikh he na bister” is organised since 2010 by ternYpe – International Roma Youth Network gathering hundreds of Roma from all around Europe, see: https://2august.eu/.
As part of the event, Roma and non-Roma participants from Poland participated in the project called Pravde Jakhenca (With Open Eyes) which took place from 24 July to 04 August 2013 in Krakow/ Żywiec (Poland). 60 young Roma and non-Roma from Albania, Germany, Macedonia and Poland came together in Zywiec, Poland, to learn more about the Roma Genocide during World War II and to fight Antigypsism and racism in present times.
Caravan Memorial to commemorate the Romani Holocaust
In 1996, Adam Bartosz, curator of the Ethnographic Museum in Tarnów, together with Adam Adrasz, President of the Roma Association in Tarnów, created a Caravan Memorial – Tabor Pamięci to commemorate the Roma Genocide. In order to commemorate the Roma Genocide and the Szczurowa massacre and, at the same time, promote the integration of Roma into contemporary society, the organisers teach Romani children and youth about their culture and history and promote the use of the internationally recognised Romani anthem and flag. The organisers continue the tradition of a four-day trip which is popular with locals and the media. Starting in late July, the caravan leaves its starting point in Tarnów and makes symbolic stops along the way. Since 2019, the Caravan also includes a two day academic conference: https://muzeum.tarnow.pl/pl/node/1237. This has provided a significant boost for academic discourse around Roma in Poland and an opportunity for Roma and non-Roma scholars to discuss the most contemporary research, ethics and methodologies, with the Roma genocide an important dimension. The conference is the only one in Poland designated to Roma studies.
The Ethnographic Museum in Tarnow holds a permanent exhibition on Roma and their culture, with a part devoted to the Roma Genocide during WW II. In 2011, the Museum published a leaflet on the “Routes of Roma Martyrdom in Malopolskie Region” which comprises the map of sites of the Roma Genocide during the WW II in the region. The research programme on discovering these places is ongoing. In 2021 the exhibition underwent substantial changes in terms of content, terminology and visualisation, including a more thorough narrative around Roma martyrology.
An online resource listing all sites of Roma genocide with constantly updated content run by the Museum of Tarnów.
Polin Museum in Warsaw, as part of the 2nd August, organizes seminars, workshops, and various history dissemination initiatives aimed at promoting awareness on understanding of Roma and Sinti.
In Poland, 2 August is officially observed as the Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of the Roma and Sinti. The date commemorates the liquidation of the so-called “Gypsy Family Camp” (Zigeunerlager) in Auschwitz-Birkenau on the night of 2–3 August 1944, when approximately 4,300 Roma and Sinti were murdered.
In July 2011, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland adopted a resolution establishing 2 August as the official Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of the Roma and Sinti. Annual commemorations are held at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, bringing together Roma and Sinti survivors and their descendants, representatives of Roma organisations, public authorities and international institutions.
In addition to official ceremonies, remembrance activities include educational programmes, exhibitions, conferences and cultural events organised by Roma organisations, museums and educational institutions.
Testimonies
The Institute of Romani Heritage and Memory and Holocaust Victims, located in Szczecinek, collects copies of documents concerning the Roma Genocide.
In 2020 a new film was recorded with Krystyna Gil. The interview was conducted for the purposes of the 2020 European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma. Directed by Elżbieta Mirga-Wójtowicz and Monika Szewczyk; produced by German Federal Foreign Office and the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma. The documentary film is the last interview given before her death by Krystyna Gil (1943–2021), a Witness of History and Guardian of the Memory of the Romani Holocaust. She shared her memory and experience especially with young people. She was a well-known activist and leader, and for many years served as president of the Association of Romani Women in Poland.
Artistic initiatives often intersect with civil society initiatives, particularly in raising awareness of the Roma Holocaust.
Work by the renowned Polish Roma artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tass, creator of the monument in Borzęcin, has significantly contributed to rising awareness about the Roma Holocaust globally. Her work includes remembrances about Roma women survivors such as Krystyna Gil, Alfreda Markowska, Celia Stojka, Taikon sisters and many others. The art work involving themes of Holocaust have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, St Ives Tate, Berlin, Kunsthalle Charlottenburg in Copenhagen, Seville, Marseille, Locarno and many others.
Institute of Romany Heritage and Memory and Holocaust’s Victims, established by the Polish Roma Union in 2001, is a documentation and scientific unit, which conducts research on holocaust, long-lasting persecution of Roma, their culture and social history with an emphasis on their extermination during the Second World War.
In 2013 “Zalikierdo Drom - Interrupted Road” is a publication and exhibition featuring the works of Roma artists, it marks the 70th anniversary of the Genocide of Roma and Sinti, but it also marks a movement where Romani artists are addressing the attempted destruction of Roma by the German Nazis.
Teaching about the Holocaust is explicitly incorporated into the national school curriculum. The Holocaust is not taught as a separate subject, although it is incorporated into the history, Polish-literature and civic-education curricula of lower and upper secondary schools. It can also be elaborated in ethics and theology classes as well as through interdisciplinary activities.
In March 2026, the Minister of Education signed the new core curriculum regulations from primary education as part of the “Compass of Tomorrow” reform.
The new curriculum will be implemented for the 2026 cohort and introduced gradually. It includes a new history curriculum with much more detailed discussion of the Holocaust and explicitly includes the term Samudaripen in the section on the Second World War.
The curriculum states that students should use the concept when discussing the specificity of the war, and it also explicitly refers to the extermination of Jews, Roma, and Sinti by Nazi Germany (see: https://www.gov.pl/web/priorytety/p47). Teachers have the freedom to choose how much time they would like to devote to the issue.
Inclusion of the topic in the school textbooks
The topic of Holocaust is incorporated into history, Polish literature and civic education textbooks. However, the history textbooks accreditation into the curriculum is a political issue, hence the exact content fluctuates depending on the political climate. The coverage of Roma Holocaust awareness overall gains more presence in that context.
Training of teachers and education professionals
Teacher training courses are provided by the Centre for Educational Development, regional teacher training centres, the Jewish Historical Institute, the Institute of National Remembrance, universities, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial and other memorial sites as well as by many Roma organisations. There has been a significant increase in the number of initiatives and events organized during the last decade.
Particular activities undertaken at the level of education institutions
Between 2004 and 2013, the Pedagogical University of Cracow offered postgraduate studies on Roma culture and history within the framework of the Government Programme for Roma Integration including a component devoted to the Roma Genocide. From 2022 to 2026, the programme has been offered by Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (https://romowie.amu.edu.pl/ ). Approximately 400 people from various backgrounds (teachers, social workers, activists, students, journalists, civil servants, police officers, etc.) have completed the programme.
Since 2013, the International Youth Meeting Center in Auschwitz Museum, as part of the “Dikh he na bister” is co-organising a seminar “Roma and Sinti in Europe - identity, history, memory” devoted, among other topics, to the process of the gradual exclusion and persecution of Roma and Sinti in Nazi Germany.
Factsheet on the Roma Genocide in Poland
List of resources to download
