In Stockton’s own Holocaust Research Center, I attended a Dialogue which identified the “forgotten Holocaust” of Roma and Sinti peoples post World War II. Like most people, I was relatively unaware of this mass minority population, commonly referred to by the –offensive and inaccurate– term, “gypsy.” The Roma –who live throughout Europe– and Sinti –who live in German and German-speaking countries of Europe– are both without a home country and are therefore minorities wherever they go.

Lacking a national identity, they remain persecuted throughout history and in contemporary European territories such as Poland. The most powerful example of historical disrespect that the guest speaker, Joanna Kwiatkowska, explained was in town, Lety. An area that used to be home to a concentration camp for Roma and Sinti people has not been preserved as a museum or center for remembrance, like many other sites that have seen tragedy. Lety is currently has a pig farm on the land of the camp.

Ms. Kwiatkowska even explained the challenges in her own life and a modern Roma person as she struggled to stay in her Polish school –regardless of academic potential, racial tensions cause most Roma children to be viewed as “incapable” of learning as quickly as the Polish children, causing them to often attend schools for the “slower” and often disabled children. This issue –to which I was previously blind– has opened my eyes to another culture in the world and another example of human injustice. After attending this dialogue, I feel confident in the future of developing awareness for the Roma people to end the hostilities against this minority culture that has already suffered enough.