Mirjam-Angela Karoly is a political scientist with extensive experience in the field of human rights and minorities. She has worked to realize human rights for Roma at both the local and international level and is currently employed at the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies. She is a member of the Austrian delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the Advisory Council for Roma in Austria and an honorary member of Romano Centro.
For Mirjam Karoly, education about the genocide of the Roma is necessary for building just and inclusive societies. The IHRA Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Persecution and Genocide of the Roma during the Nazi Era are a step towards cultivating authentic empathy for Roma lives.
Mirjam’s father was born in a concentration camp in Lackenbach, Austria, where the Nazis imprisoned members of the Austrian Roma and Sinti communities. Many were condemned to forced labor, including Mirjam’s paternal grandparents. Of Austria’s pre-war Roma and Sinti population of 11,000, only 10 % survived the Second World War. Mirjam’s father was one of them.
He and his family rarely spoke about their experiences under National Socialism or at Lackenbach. Mirjam’s father grew up in post-war Austria where there was no recognition of the genocide of the Roma. Not only was there no apology but there was a hostile anti-Roma sentiment in society.
“Roma communities endure ongoing discrimination today because post-war European societies failed to delegitimize the racial prejudice and social attitudes that led to the genocide of the Roma. There was no social remorse for the genocide,” Mirjam says.
Despite what her family had lived through, neither Mirjam nor her father learned about the persecution of Roma during their time at school. The Nazi persecution and the genocide of the Roma was not part of official remembrance politics.
Learning about her family’s history and the discrimination faced by Roma, Mirjam became deeply conscious of the injustice done to her community. Growing up, she witnessed the silence about the suffering of Roma under National Socialism which had a negative impact on the survivors and the following generations.
“No one asked Roma survivors about their pain or about how they felt,” she reflects.
Through personal and academic experiences, she learned how the trauma of past atrocities remains unresolved in Roma communities.
No one asked Roma survivors about their pain or about how they felt.
Later, as the Chief of Contact Point for Roma and Sinti issues at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Mirjam encountered the harsh realities of discrimination faced by Roma communities. Deeply entrenched racism in European societies has left many Roma living in severe poverty and excludes them from basic rights and equal opportunities.
Mirjam believes that the racism and discrimination faced by Roma communities is also fueled by the neglect of the persecution of Roma over centuries which culminated in the genocide of the Roma. Mirjam sees this ongoing racism and discrimination against Roma as one of the biggest human rights challenges for European societies today. Lack of awareness allows discrimination to thrive in social and political institutions, normalizing racial prejudice and making it harder to realize equal rights.
Mirjam asks us to study Roma experiences within the context of the long history of Roma persecution in Europe. We cannot secure justice and encourage healing from past tribulations without understanding the deep-rooted racial prejudices against Roma communities.
The IHRA Recommendations: a collaboration between Roma civil society and experts on Holocaust education
“For Roma communities, more awareness, recognition, remembrance, and education about the genocide of the Roma are important steps towards justice”, says Mirjam, who was part of the drafting group for the IHRA Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Persecution and Genocide of the Roma during the Nazi Era. She also emphasized the growing importance of more collaboration between Roma activists and experts on Holocaust education.
“We must recognize that we can all learn a lot from each other. Working together is necessary if we want to encourage inclusivity and foster a collective consciousness that recognizes Roma experiences.”
The Recommendations act as a point of reference for policymakers, Roma civil society, and educators alike and encourage a culture of sharing experiences and insights to create a stronger network around recognizing Roma voices.
Education as a tool to counter long-standing anti-Roma racism/anti-gypsyism
For Mirjam, the IHRA Recommendations are the beginning of a longer journey. Implementing them may not be an easy process, but it promises the start of a transformation in national and local learning environments. They advocate for fact-based accounts of Roma history and the genocide of the Roma to be integrated into national and regional curricula as a fundamental part of history education. The Recommendations also guide us towards prioritizing teacher training programs, developing meaningful educational content, and creating empathetic and inclusive classrooms.
Mirjam envisions an education system where learning about Roma history is not only compulsory but is taught through various engaging and interdisciplinary methods, an approach also outlined in the IHRA Recommendations. Learning Roma history from the perspectives of literature, politics, or through informal education can cultivate a more authentic understanding of Roma experiences and the need for their recognition.
The classroom is a space where we can encourage a culture of listening to Roma voices and support each other to unlearn attitudes that otherize and isolate Roma communities in wider society. Teaching Roma history to children of all communities requires sensitivity but is also key to fostering societal change.
“The classroom empowers new generations of Roma youth to embrace their identity and develop the courage to demand social justice.”
As Mirjam reminds us, it is vital to equip teachers to counter and address discrimination in the classroom so that students can learn to practice critical and reflective thinking and understand the contemporary relevance of the history of Roma persecution.
“Education is the clear pathway to empowerment for Roma voices and social justice in democratic societies. The IHRA Recommendations are an essential contribution,” Mirjam concludes.
Learn more about the IHRA Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Persecution and Genocide of the Roma during the Nazi Era
The IHRA Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Persecution and Genocide of the Roma during the Nazi Era contribute to the IHRA strategic priorities of safeguarding the historical record of the Holocaust and the genocide of the Roma and countering distortion.
We are raising awareness of the genocide of the Roma to help combat antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination.
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