The massacre in Szczurowa was the murder of 93

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

, including children, women and the elderly, by German

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupiers in the Polish village of

Szczurowa Szczurowa is a village in Brzesko County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Szczurowa. It lies approximately north of Brzesko and east of the regional capital Krak ...

on 3 July 1943. Between ten and twenty families of settled Romani had lived in

for generations, alongside ethnic Poles with whom they had friendly and neighborly relations. They were integrated enough into the general community that several mixed marriages existed.

The massacre

On 3 July 1943, German police rounded up almost all the Romani inhabitants of the village and transported them to the local cemetery where they were shot. A list of all the victims has been preserved in the documents of the local church.Bartosz, Adam, ''Nie bój się Cygana/Na Dara Rromesoar"'', Pogranicze, 1994

Commemoration

On 8 May 1956, local inhabitants of the village and members of local veterans' associations erected a memorial stone with a suitable inscription at the site of the mass grave of the victims. This became the first memorial commemorating victims of the

Romani Holocaust The Romani Holocaust was the genocide of European Roma and Sinti people during World War II. Beginning in 1933, Nazi Germany systematically persecuted the European Roma, Sinti and other peoples pejoratively labeled 'Gypsy' through forcible ...

in the world. The memorial is cared for by local schoolchildren, and the memory of the tragedy is part of the local historical consciousness. The memorial refers to the victims as "locals" rather than Romani, which may reflect the integration of the Romani into the larger community. The decision to omit reference to the Romani people on the memorial may also result from political narrative shaping by the

Polish government The government of Poland takes the form of a Unitary state, unitary semi-presidential republic, semi-presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Poland, president is the head of state and t ...

. Since 1960, Romani from

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

have been coming to the region to honor the memory of the victims. Since 1996 the International Romani Caravan of Memory travels around the Tarnów region to commemorate the Nazi mass murder of Romani during World War II. The main stop of the caravan is Szczurowa, where, after a visit to the mass grave, a mass is held at the local church. The Tarnów region was the site of other Nazi crimes against Romani in addition to that at Szczurowa. Most of the victims' identities and their place of burial are unknown. Other mass graves of murdered Romani in the region include those at Bielcza (28 murdered), Borzęcin Dolny (28 murdered) and

Żabno Żabno is a town and municipality on the river Dunajec in southern Poland, north of Tarnów. Since Poland's administrative reorganization in 1999, Żabno has been a part of Tarnów powiat which belongs to Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Before admi ...

(49 murdered). The Romani people, who lived in Europe from the 15th century, were among the groups singled out by the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

regime for persecution and were often murdered along with the Jews. Between 500,000 and 1,500,000 Romani were killed by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

throughout Europe during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

References

External links

* Bartosz, Ada
The Gypsy Caravan of Memory Roma National Identity
* Kraków Post

Oficjalny Portal Gminy Borzecin
* {{Romani topics Antiziganism in Poland Holocaust massacres and pogroms in Poland Nazi massacres of Poles in World War II 1943 murders in Poland Massacres in 1943 General Government July 1943 in Europe Romani Holocaust massacres Brzesko County History of Lesser Poland Voivodeship

The massacre

Commemoration

See also

References

External links