European Roma and Travellers Forum calls for moment of silence, noon, 2 August, International Remembrance Day of the Pharrajimos

The European Roma and Travellers Forum is calling for the observation of a moment of silence at noon on Sunday, 2 August, in memory of the Romani victims who were murdered on the night of 2 August and early morning hours of 3 August 1944 in “Zigeunerlager BIII” at Auschwitz – Birkenau. The Roma Holocaust, or Pharrajimos, is considered the biggest tragedy in the history of the Roma in Europe.

In the Czech Republic a commemorative ceremony will be held at the Lety Cultural Memorial on Monday, 3 August at 11 AM to honor the victims of the Romani Holocaust and recall the opening and closing dates of the "Gypsy camp" at Lety. The camp was established on 1 August 1942 and closed on 8 August 1943.

Those attending the event in the Czech Republic will include Miluše Horská, Vice-Chair of the Czech Senate; Miluše Tvrzská, Deputy Director of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic; Markéta Pánková of the Czech Education Ministry; Blanka Hlavínová, Mayor of Lety; Bishop Filip Michael Štojdl of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church; Jan Munk, director of the Terezín Memorial; Bohumil Řeřicha, chair of the Friends of Czech-German Understanding; Hana Vondráčková of the Department of Museums and Galleries of the Czech Culture Ministry; survivors of the Lidice massacre and other guests. The event is organized by the Lidice Memorial, which manages the Lety Memorial on behalf of the Czech Government.

On 13 May 2015 the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust organized a commemorative ceremony at the memorial as it has for more than a decade. That ceremony, as usual, was also attended by representatives of various governments.