Lackenbach commemorates Roma and Sinti persecuted under Nazi rule

Representatives of Austria’s Roma community and state and federal politicians commemorated Roma and Sinti deported and murdered under Nazi rule at a memorial in Lackenbach on Saturday, ORF reported. Speakers urged people to learn from history and oppose racism and exclusion.

The memorial recalls crimes committed against Roma and Sinti during the Nazi era. In November 1940, a so-called “Gypsy camp” was established at a former estate in Lackenbach. Those held there lived in stables and barns under inhumane conditions and were forced to work. Of about 4,000 prisoners, only 300 to 400 lived to see Soviet troops liberate the camp in April 1945.

Students from Oberpullendorf secondary school took part in Saturday’s ceremony. Emmerich Gärtner-Horvath, chair of the Roma Ethnic Advisory Council, said it could be difficult for young people to engage with the subject, but that doing so was important.

Heinrich Dorner, a regional councillor, and Deputy Governor Anja Haider-Wallner attended on behalf of Governor Hans Peter Doskozil. Dorner said remembrance created a responsibility for today’s generation. Haider-Wallner called on society to learn from history and treat everyone with respect and dignity, regardless of their origin or ethnic group.

Peter Haubner, the Second President of the National Council, and Patrik Fazekas, a regional parliament member and ethnic affairs spokesperson, also attended. Fazekas urged people to carry the stories and remembrance forward as the generation of eyewitnesses has passed away. “Not forgetting does not happen by itself,” he said.