The Council of Europe has for the first time called on its member states to better integrate the history of Roma into curricula.
The recommendation, adopted by the Committee of Ministers, a body representing the foreign ministers of the pan-European organization, "calls on member states for the first time" to integrate Roma's history into programs and educational materials, "the statement said. of the Council, which calls for the fight against "permanent anti-organization" in Europe.
The recommendation "aims to strengthen understanding of the fact that Roma are an integral part of national and European society" and emphasizes "the importance of Holocaust teaching by the Nazis and their allies and other acts against them (across Europe)". .
The text of the resolution calls on states to integrate "commemorative activities" related to the European Day of Commemoration of the Roma Holocaust, scheduled for August 2, or by choosing a "date that best suits the historical context of the country concerned, for example during local commemorations related to the closure or deportation of Roma to concentration camps. "
The Committee of Ministers also considers it important to include "positive stories from the history" of the Roma, such as their "contribution to local, national and European cultural heritage" or their "active role (..) in the anti-Nazi and anti-fascist movements of resistance ”.
In addition to the six million Jews deported by the Nazis during World War II, Hitler's sheikh reserved the same fate for approximately 500,000 members of ethnic communities called Roma, Sinti, or Gypsies. August 2 was declared a day to celebrate their Holocaust. Twenty-three thousand Roma from all over Europe were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau between March 1943 and July 1944. Almost everyone died there.