Spain observes 27th January as the official Day for Holocaust Remembrance and for the Prevention of Crimes against Humanity (Día Oficial de la Memoria del Holocausto y la Prevención de los Crímenes contra la Humanidad). The day honours Jewish victims, Roma and Sinti victims, and other Spanish people deported to concentration camps during World War II. The date was officially established in 2004 following an agreement by the Council of Ministers.
Spain became a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2008.
In 2020, the government approved an Institutional Declaration to “honour the memory and express gratitude for the sacrifice made for democracy and freedom” by the victims of Nazism in Spain, designating the 5th of May as the date for commemorations in subsequent years, coinciding with the 1945 liberation of the Mauthausen camp in Austria. Since then, the Day of Tribute has been celebrated to honour Spaniards who were deported to Mauthausen and other camps, Spaniards who died there, as well as all the victims of Nazism in Spain. However, due to the lack of historical records at the time, the Romani victims of Spanish-Caló origin were not explicitly mentioned.
Data (camps locations, Remembrance places, measures etc.)
It has commonly been reported that around a hundred Spanish Roma (that is, Caló Roma) were killed in the Holocaust. However, there are no official figures, as there are no comprehensive historical studies on the subject. The most recent historiographical research on this topic, associated with historian Rafael Buhigas Jiménez (2026), allows us to highlight some key points:
The Nazi authorities did not classify Spaniards as “Gypsies/Gitanos” or “Spanish Gypsies/Gitanos”, but rather by nationality and/or political status (rotspaniers).
The Spanish Roma who ended up in Nazi camps were not deported from Spain, as the country was not occupied by Germany. However, because of exile and migration, many Romani families were interned in French camps, such as those at Rivesaltes and Argelès-sur-Mer. From there, many were deported to other camps on German territory. Others managed to flee to Latin America (primarily Mexico and Argentina), which was also a direct result of Nazi repression.
Some Romani-Caló families of Spanish origin who migrated in the late 19th century and during the first third of the 20th century lived in countries such as France, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia, from where they may have been deported.
For all these reasons, the search for Spanish Caló Roma must consider the difficulties and limitations of confirming their roots without a more in-depth historical investigation that allows for the integration of primary sources, oral testimonies, and personal experiences. The hypotheses lead us to believe that the number of Spanish Caló Roma victims likely exceeds one hundred in the total count. This is also due to the increase in the number of Spanish victims (from 5,000 to 7,500), according to the latest published research.
In 2007, a Monument to the Victims of the Holocaust was inaugurated in Madrid's Juan Carlos I Park, explicitly mentioning the Roma. In 2023, also in Madrid, a sculpture group was inaugurated in Plaza del Rollo, in the heart of Madrid de los Austrias, commemorating the Madrid Republicans deported after the Spanish Civil War to Mauthausen and other Nazi concentration camps.
Since 2019, as part of the international Stolpersteine project (which means “Stumbling Stones” in German), several plaques have been installed throughout Madrid to commemorate the city’s Holocaust victims in the neighbourhoods where they lived. However, either because there were none or because none came from that city, no Roma are included in this initiative.
Specialised institution, commission, research centre etc., dealing with this issue
Currently, there is no organization dedicated specifically to the study of Spanish Roma during the Nazi genocide.
In some of these initiatives, Romani victims are beginning to be represented to some extent, but there remains a significant gap in this regard, particularly concerning Spanish Romani-Caló victims. Representation in this area is primarily provided by associations and individual initiatives of researchers through their commemorations and specific research. However, as noted, there are still no institutions or organizations, of any kind, focused specifically on this issue.
Official initiatives (campaigns, actions, projects, commemoration days, museums)
Spain observes 27th January as Día Oficial de la Memoria del Holocausto y la Prevención de los Crímenes contra la Humanidad (“Official Day for Holocaust Remembrance and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity”). The day honours Jewish victims, Roma and Sinti victims and other Spanish people deported to concentration camps. The date was officially established in 2004 by agreement of the Council of Ministers.
The principal commemorative event is held on 27th January in a prestigious hall or auditorium. The event is organised by the Casa Sefarad-Israel on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador at Large for Relations with the Jewish Community and Organisations. The Ambassador at Large co-operates with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, with Roma organisations and with representatives of associations of deported Spanish people. The Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture are also involved. Holocaust survivors from Spain and abroad are invited and honoured officially by the Government. Government participation is at the ministerial level or higher, while from 800 to 1000 invitees also attend the event. From 2006 to 2010, the commemoration was held in the Paraninfo de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, which is a prestigious and historic hall in the old town of Madrid’s city centre. In 2011, the event took place for the first time in the Auditorio Nacional, which is the most distinguished concert hall in Madrid, because the event included a concert. The commemoration was entitled “The Violins of Memory, the Violins of Hope” and featured soloist Shlomo Mintz and violins rescued from the Holocaust and restored by Luthier Amnon Weinstein. Since then, the venue has changed several times. In recent years, the celebration has taken place in the Old Senate Hall of Spain. The Senate has always been involved in publishing information about the event on its official website. In 2026 the event was moved to the Patio de Cristales at the Casa de la Villa, organized by the Sefarad-Israel Centre in coordination with the Madrid City Council and the Jewish Community of Madrid.
In 2020, the Spanish government issued an official declaration designating the 5th May as the date to commemorate the Spanish victims of Nazism.
The commemoration of 5th May has not included official institutional events, but it has involved participation such as that of the King and Queen of Spain at the Mauthausen camp in 2025 and the official statement from the Spanish Embassy in Austria.
For all these reasons, although the main theme of the commemorations varies each year, the ceremonies have traditionally included the following elements: speeches by representatives of the Jewish community, the Roma and Sinti community and deportees; speeches by senior officials, possibly including the King, the President of the Government, ministers, the Vice-President of the Senate, the Vice-President of the Congress, and the President of the European Parliament; official announcements on the websites of various government ministries; musical performances; the lighting of six candles by Holocaust survivors or their relatives, in memory of murdered Jews, children, Spanish victims, Roma and other groups, and recognising the Righteous Among the Nations and survivors who found a new life for themselves in Israel and the diaspora; and a moment of silence.
Teaching about the Roma Genocide
Inclusion of the topic in the school curriculum
The Spanish national curriculum includes teaching about the Holocaust, and the subject is taught at all levels of basic education. The Roma Genocide is treated within the broader subject of history under the Nazi era.
A change introduced by the entry into force of Organic Law 3/2020 of 29th December (Ley Orgánica 3/2020, de 29 de diciembre), which amended Organic Law 2/2006 (Ley Orgánica 2/2006), made it mandatory to include the history of the Romani people in the educational curriculum. Specifically, according to the Forty-first Additional Provision, Article 92 of the consolidated text, it is necessary to “study and respect other cultures, particularly that of the Romani people, contributing to the appreciation of cultural differences, as well as the recognition and dissemination of the history and culture of the ethnic minorities present in our country, to promote understanding and reduce stereotypes”. As a result, a guide titled “La historia y cultura del pueblo gitano en el aula. Breve guía de orientaciones para su inclusión en el marco curricular LOMLOE” was published in 2024 by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Professional Training, and Sports. On page 17, this guide highlights the specific need to address the Romani Holocaust in the educational curriculum, and on subsequent pages provides examples of how to incorporate it into the lesson plans for certain subjects in middle and high school. This has also begun to be reinforced in the design of specific competencies, assessment criteria, and core knowledge for certain grades, such as the 3rd and 4th years of compulsory secondary education (ESO). It is in these grades that the Holocaust is explained, more specifically in the Geography and History course in the 4th year of ESO. The basic knowledge established by law for these grades reflects the need to teach the “history and recognition of the Romani people and other ethnic minorities in our country.” However, it is the responsibility of teachers to include the Romani Genocide in their classroom lessons.
Inclusion of the topic in the school textbooks
At present, there is no evidence that the topic of the Holocaust has been included in school textbooks, although according to the provisions of the legislation, it should be a requirement in educational stages that cover the teaching of the Holocaust. However, as part of government initiatives in this regard in the field of education — primarily through the Ministry of Education and the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training — the following materials have been published and disseminated to serve as a reference for the development of teaching plans in schools and among education professionals:
Buhigas Jiménez, R. La Cañada Real Gitana. Spain: Ministerio de Política Territorial y Memoria Democrática, 2025.
Training of teachers and education professionals
The Asociación Enseñantes con Gitanos was founded in 1979 by a group of education professionals in Spain with the aim of sharing educational experiences with Romani students and addressing shortcomings in this area. For more than twenty years, the organization has organized workshops, developed educational resources, published a journal, and held exhibitions across Spain, incorporating the Romani Holocaust as a central component of the history of the Romani people in all these activities designed to train educators.
The Instituto Romanò was founded in 1988. In recent years, it has developed training courses for educators in the fields of education and social work. These courses always include a keynote lecture on the history of the Romani people in Spain and Europe, with the Romani Holocaust as one of the central topics.
An international seminar “¿El genocidio olvidado del siglo XX?” (“The Forgotten Genocide of the 20th century”) was held on 28th and 29th November 2009 in Madrid, organised by the Ministry of Education. The purpose of the seminar was to open an educational process that accompanies the preparation, over a school year, and memory of a trip to Auschwitz with young Roma and non-Roma.
Particular activities undertaken at the level of education institutions
Holocaust remembrance events take place in many schools around 27th January. Holocaust survivors are sometimes invited to give testimonies to pupils or students. These events are usually supported and co-ordinated by Centro Sefarad-Israel, working on behalf of the Government, with its network of almost 1,000 teachers. Other activities are held with the support of regional governments. In 2014, this included remembrance activities held in Barcelona which were supported by the autonomous local government of Catalonia (Generalitat), and a school activity in the village of Trujillo, in Extremadura, that was supported by the Mayor.
On 22th November 2019, the seminar “Porrajmos: Art and the Romani Holocaust” was held in Madrid, the result of a collaboration between the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Reina Sofía Museum.
From 29 September 2023 to 31 March 2024 the Andalusian Centre for Contemporary Art (Seville, Spain) hosted an exhibition by the Romani artist Malgorzata Mirga-Tas titled “Remembrance and Reinterpretation”. The exhibition featured her masterpiece dedicated to the Romani Holocaust.
Since 2024, the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, in collaboration with the Instituto de Cultura Gitana, has offered three editions of the course “Pasado, Presente y Futuro de la Cultura Gitana”. Currently, the university offers the “Diploma de Experto en Estudios Gitanos en el Contexto Español”, which includes in its curriculum a section on Spanish Caló Roma who were victims of the Nazi Holocaust. These courses and the diploma are designed to educate students, educators, and civil society. In 2023, this same university organized a commemorative concert in the Golden Hall of the Melilla Assembly Palace to perform the songs of the Samudaripen, which were composed or inspired by Romani people in various extermination camps during the Nazi regime.
The interdisciplinary course “Roma in Spain: History and Culture” at the University of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain), addresses the Romani Holocaust as part of its curriculum, examining it within the broader context of the major persecutions endured by the Roma people around the world.
27th January is an opportunity to offer educational activities related to the Holocaust, including the Roma Genocide. This also applies to 5th May as a day to commemorate the Spanish victims of the Holocaust.
Testimonies
There are no testimonies as such, but Antonio Cortés Maya’s story was reconstructed thanks to the efforts of his descendants and oral history research. He was a Romani-Caló man from Granada, Spain, who was deported to Gusen from France and murdered there on 14th January 1942.
Research is currently underway to collect testimonies from survivors and connect their stories, primarily thanks to the studies of Dr. Iván Periáñez-Bolaño, who directs the research line “Critical Romani Studies: Epistemologies of the South and Ecology of Knowledge” at the University of Seville (Spain).
Initiatives of the civil society
Federacio d’Associacions Gitanes de Catalunya (FAGIC) has organized an exhibition called "Porrajmos: el genocidio nazi del pueblo gitano" (“Porrajmos: the Nazi Genocide of the Gypsy people”) which was the first one in Spain. It was inaugurated on the Official Day for Holocaust Remembrance, 27th January 2009, in the Palace of the Generalitat, Barcelona. Since then, the exhibition has travelled throughout Catalonia, in town halls, schools, universities and other cultural centres. The exhibition can be lent to any institution or organisation that requests it.
For more than ten years, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano has been sharing information and publicizing events related to the Nazi Holocaust each year on the Official Day for Holocaust Remembrance.
Instituto de Cultura Gitana, an organization affiliated with Spain’s Ministry of Culture, commemorates the anniversary annually through its usual communication channels and participates in the Official Day for Holocaust Remembrance organized by government institutions. In 2020, it held a Memorial del Samudaripen, in connection with its project “The Time of the Roma, the Roma in Time,” which took place at the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda on July 30th 2020. In 2024 this memorial was once again commemorated in the Ernest Lluch auditorium, located within the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and the 2030 Agenda, whose headquarters are on Paseo del Prado in Madrid.
Asociacion Memoria Genocidio Gitano is an organisation whose aim is to gather data on the Roma Genocide in a blog in order to increase knowledge and visibility of this tragic and forgotten past. They have a YouTube channel which displays videos on the history of the Roma people (but it does not include the Roma Genocide) and broadcasts a conference on the Roma Genocide that was held in January 2014 in Jerez, and featuring Miguel Palacios. Until 2013, the association maintained a blog called Memoria Gitana, documenting all its activities and providing resources on Romani historical memory.
On the blog Porrajmos: Te Bisterdon Tumare Anava (in Spanish), there is information about the Samudaripen in Europe: biographies of the victims, pictures, etc. This page, which was last updated in 2011, documents the work of elementary school teacher Juan Molleja Martínez during those years.
The Federación de Asociaciones de Mujeres Gitanas focuses on the history of the Romani people and, in particular, on raising awareness of Romani women. As a result of their work, they have repeatedly highlighted the role of Romani women during the Holocaust and they have published posts on their communication portal, such as “Samudaripen: The Roma Holocaust” in 2023.
Factsheet on the Roma Genocide in Spain
