Respect for Holocaust Victims, Long Overdue

by Michelle . · 2009-08-24 03:07:00 UTC
Topics:

The Czech government is finally working to correct an unfortunate error of history and pay due homage to one of the Holocaust's most overlooked victims.

Two former internment camps, where several thousand of Roma (pejoratively and incorrectly referred to as "Gypsies") were held in transit to extermination camps, are currently being used for less-than-commemorative purposes: One is a recreational facility, the other is a pig farm. Can you imagine a basketball court (or whatever Czechs do for recreation) on a site where 200 people died and over a thousand others spent their last days before heading to Auschwitz? Creepy.

But after facing criticism from the European Parliament and human rights activists, the Czechs are stepping up to do the right thing. The properties are currently under negotiation for purchase, and will be turned into memorial and education centers.

So book your tickets to the Czech Republic for 2010 --- at least one of the memorials should be completed by this time next year.

[Photo: A group of Romani prisoners, awaiting instructions from their German captors, sit in an open area near the fence in the Belzec concentration camp.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Inequity and Inequality Are Bad for the Health of the Rich Too
NEXT STORY:
Campaign about Apple Factories in China Gains Wide and Diverse Support

COMMENTS (1)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.