The Romanian Cultural Institute in London, in partnership with the Embassy of Romania to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, invite you to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a deeply resonant and reflective event dedicated to the memory of the Roma people who suffered during the dark times of the Second World War.
The event features a thought-provoking discussion exploring the deportations of Roma and Jewish people to Transnistria in the company of Professor Marius Turda, Director of the Centre for Medical Humanities, Oxford Brookes University, sociologist and researcher Adrian-Nicolae Furtună, and Roma people's rights activist Virgil Bitu. The conversation will be chaired by UK-based journalist Petru Clej.
Opening remarks by H.E. Laura Popescu, Ambassador of Romania to the UK. The evening will open with remarks by H.E. Laura Popescu, Ambassador of Romania to the UK, Iulian Paraschiv, President of the National Agency for Roma, and Dincer Geafer, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Interethnic Relations, Romanian Government.
This event explores one of the most painful and often overlooked chapters of European history: the deportation of Roma communities to Transnistria during the Second World War. Through historical analysis and personal testimonies collected by Adrian-Nicolae Furtună, the discussion examines the mechanisms of persecution, survival, and loss, while reflecting on how these experiences have shaped collective memory. Particular attention is given to transgenerational trauma—how the violence and displacement endured by Roma families continue to resonate across generations today. By bringing history into dialogue with memory, the event invites a deeper understanding of the Roma Holocaust and its lasting impact on individuals, communities, and the European conscience. Professor Marius Turda will also talk about the massive deportations of the Romanian Jews in Transnistria.
The evening will also feature the presentation of a seminal publication by the Department for Interethnic Relations of the Romanian Government entitled Holocaustul împotriva Romilor. Album de memorie și recunoștință / The Roma Holocaust. An Album of Memory and Gratitude (Monitorul Oficial, 2024).
Event image: drawing by Viorel Curt
