The study “Local Histories and Remembrance of the Second World War in the Roma Communities of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina” was created as part of the project ” Remember the Holocaust – Fight Antigypsyism”, which is carried out by the Roma Forum of Serbia and the Association Center for Integrative Inclusion of Roma men and woman “Otaharin” ,  Central Council of German Sinti and Roma with the support of the EVZ Foundation from Berlin , with the idea of pointing out the importance of strengthening the memory and knowledge of the Holocaust as a key element in the fight against Antigypsyism. The lack of information about the suffering of the Roma, both among the Roma and among the majority population, emphasizes the urgent need for action, both in the field of data collection, as well as in the domain of advocating the cultivation of the memory of the suffering of Roma in the Second World War as part of the engagement of non-governmental organizations to create conditions for the inclusion of Roma men and women in society under more equal conditions. The study that will be presented is composed of the texts of historians and records of the memories of witnesses of the suffering of Roma in the Second World War and contributes to the enrichment of knowledge within the Roma community and the wider public. Through the approach of gathering the memories of Holocaust witnesses, Roma organizations actively participated in interviewing the Roma, contributing to the “production of knowledge” and the transmission of memories. The work on this study and the activities of non-governmental organizations are based on the strategic framework of the European Union for the inclusion of Roma (2020-2030) and the strategies of social inclusion of Roma and Roma women in the countries of the Western Balkans.

Dejan Marković, president of the Roma Forum of Serbia, will speak about the study, as well as the editors of the publication, philosopher Tanja Jakobi, sociologist Dragan Stanojević and historian Milovan Pisarri.