Funeral for the late Mr. Karel Holomek will take place on Friday in Brno, Czech Republic

Mr. Holomek, one of the most eminent Roma in the Czech Republic, passed away after a long, serious illness on Sunday, 27 August. Thousands of people are paying their respects to him on social media, and not just Roma from the Czech Republic.

“It is with heavy hearts that we remember Karel Holomek, a remarkable Romani man who fearlessly handled the problems of life under the communist regime. After the Velvet Revolution, he transformed that experience into a powerful force for change, becoming a legislator, an influential activist, and the visionary founder of the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno,” said Michal Miko, director of RomanoNet, an umbrella organization for Romani nonprofits, in a statement sent to Romea.cz.

“Karel’s insistent determination to advocate for the rights of and recognition of the Romani community reshaped the narrative of our history and culture. Through his tireless efforts, he transformed adversity into inspiration, illuminated the struggle that Romani people were living through, and simultaneously supported their sense of unity and resilience,” Miko said.

“He was a great role model for many of us. He did an incredible amount of work for the emancipation of Romani people in Bohemia and Moravia. Sincere condolences to his entire family,” posted Cyril Koky, the Specialist Officer for National Minorities at the Central Bohemian Regional Authority.

“Karel Holomek lived for other people, he worked for them and he aided them. He was larger than life, anywhere he was needed, that’s where he was. His determination and enthusiasm have inspired us to believe it makes sense to fight for what is right, and always will. May the earth lie lightly upon him,” posted the Brno-based musician Gejza Horváth to social media.

“He did not divide people, but brought them together. May we all do the same,” posted Czech Culture Minister Martin Baxa on the death of Mr. Holomek.

“I had the honor to personally get to know Mr. Holomek a couple of years ago as a member of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, when I saw him ardently advocate for human rights and justice. I will remember him as a person who strove for justice, who fought for Romani emancipation, who knew how to conduct a dialogue, and who was unafraid to say what be believed, even to politicians, who knew how to critically and substantively hold the mirror up to them,” historian of Romani origin Michal Mižigár has posted to social media.

The late Mr. Holomek is also being remembered by Roma abroad. Professor Hristo Kyuchukov called him a leading figure in the European Romani movement.

“I met him about 30 years ago in Budapest at a European Roma Rights Centre gathering. He was invited by Andras Biro, who introduced him as one of the most eminent European Romani activists. I was quite young at the time and I was a member of the board of the ERRC together with Nicolae Gheorge and Rudko Kawczinski.

Tehdy jsem byl velmi mladý a byl jsem členem správní rady Evropského centra pro práva Romů spolu s Nicolaem Gheorgem a Rudkem Kawczinski. Later I understood that he had established the first museum about Romani people in Europe and in the world together with Eva Davidová in Brno in the Czech Republic. For many years he was a leading figure of the Romanie movement for the human rights of Roma in Europe. Karel, we thank you! Your work was brilliant! God bless you!” posted Hristo Kyuchukov.

Czech Television will be commemorating the late Mr. Holomek on Wednesday, 29 August 2023, when it will re-broadcast an episode of Czech Television’s “Gallery of the Elite of the Nation” (GEN) program, directed by Břetislav Rychlík, which profiled him. The episode will broadcast on ČT 1 at 17:40 and on the same day on ČT 2 at 18:45.

Karel Holomek, one of the most eminent Romani figures

Mr. Karel Holomek was born in 1937 in Brno, Czechoslovakia. His father, Tomáš Holomek, was the first Romani person to achieve a university education in Czechoslovakia.

The Holomek family was persecuted during the Second World War and a large part of them perished in the concentration camps. Karel and his sister Marcela were also meant to be transported to Auschwitz because they were half-Romani.

Thanks to the bravery of their mother and the aid of a Czech gendarme and their neighbors in Milotice, Nazi officials never discovered Karel and Marcela. Their father went into hiding during the war in Slovakia.

Mr. Holomek graduated from Brno’s Military Academy in mechanical engineering, where he also worked for several years as an assistant. In 1968 he had to leave the academy because of his political position on Czechoslovakia being occupied by Warsaw Pact troops.

In Brno during the 1970s he moved in the circles of dissidents and disseminated samizdat literature. In 1981 he spent a brief time in prison.

Mr. Holomek got involved in politics after the 1989 revolution. From 1990-1992 he was a deputy in the Czech National Council for Civic Form (Občanské fórum) and, after it split up, for the Civic Movement (Občanské hnutí).

He founded the Roma Civic Initiative (Romská občanská iniciativa). He deserves a great deal of credit for establishing the Museum of Romani Culture, the work for which first began in the early 1970s.

The museum was first officially established in 1991 at the initiative of Mr. Holomek and other Romani intellectuals as a non-governmental, nonprofit organization. Since 2005, the museum has been a state-sponsored organization of the Czech Culture Ministry.

The current director of the museum is Mr. Holomek’s daughter, Jana Horváthová. After its founding, he became chair of the Association of Roma in Moravia and honorary chair of the Society of Experts and Friends of the Museum of Romani Culture.

Mr. Holomek was also the director of the International Romani Center of the Helsinki Civil Assembly (Helsinské občanské shromáždění), a member of the Czech Government Council for Human Rights, a member of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, and the editor-in-chief of the magazine Romano hangos.

Mr. Holomek was awarded a Bronze Medal of Merit. He was given that state honor in 2002.