CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2021
| Author | Cernochova, Johana |
|---|---|
| Title | "I have never heard about the Roma Holocaust": Memory Politics around the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in the Czech Republic and the Historical Awareness of the Roma Holocaust among Students |
| Summary | "I have never heard about the Roma Holocaust" was one of the most common responses from students when they were asked what they learned about the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in school. Situated in the field of memory studies, this thesis considers several "vectors of memory" to analyze the politics of memory around the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in the Czech Republic. The thesis brings our attention to the instances of denial and trivialization of the Roma Holocaust that emerged across the political spectrum during the debates about the former concentration camp for Roma and Sinti at Lety u Písku. It further discusses how Romani history and Romani experiences remain largely omitted or marginalized in history teaching. Lastly, it focuses on the historical awareness of the Roma Holocaust among students and analyses how individuals, such as students, relate to this past. It is concluded that the instrumental misuse of history is happening to further marginalize Roma and justify their discrimination. Students have very low historical awareness of the Roma Holocaust even though most of the students participating in the survey would like to learn more. Students often perceived the lack of attention to Romani history in schools as part of the broader prejudice against Roma. Whereas Romani history was unknown to students, they knew very well all kinds of negative prejudices against Roma. The findings show that there is a strong need to reconsider history curricula and move towards a more inclusive, diverse, and critical history education. |
| Supervisor | Fetzer, Thomas |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/cernochova_johana.pdf |
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