Moldova's Education Ministry Holds Roundtable on Romani Holocaust Memory

The Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova, together with the Agency for Interethnic Relations, the Association of Romani Ethnography and the Coalition “Voice of Romani”, organized a roundtable titled “Memory of the Romani Holocaust – lessons for the present and future” at the Government House. The event marked the European Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Romani Holocaust and gathered central and local authorities, diplomatic representatives, international organisations, academics, civil‑society actors and members of the Romani community.

Valentina Olaru, state secretary at the ministry, stressed the duty to teach historical truth, fight prejudice and promote respect for human dignity. Participants presented new policies, including an optional school course “Holocaust: history and life lessons”, methodological materials for teachers on the Holocaust in Romania, Bessarabia and Transnistria, and the expansion of the curriculum “History and culture of the Romani in Moldova” for grades 5‑9. Plans were announced for teacher‑training programmes, public lessons, educational activities and a 2027‑2030 action plan that, for the first time, targets anti‑gypsyism.

The commemorations continued at Visterniceni railway station in Chișinău, where a flower‑laying ceremony and the unveiling of a memorial plaque honoured the victims of the Romani Holocaust during World War II.