Offensive pig farm likely to remain on Romany Holocaust memorial site
The UN Human Rights’ Committee has asked the Czech government to close
down a pig farm located on the site of a former Nazi concentration camp for
Romanies. Built in the 1970s, the farm has been a source of embarrassment
to all post-1989 governments, but despite bringing the country
international disgrace, it is still there and likely to remain so.
Built in the 1970s by the communist regime the Lety pig farm in south
Bohemia stands on the site of a former Nazi concentration camp for the
Czech Romany minority which was almost exterminated in the Holocaust. Over
1,300 Romanies were interned there, 300 of them died in the camp and others
were transported to Nazi death camps. Every year members of the Roma
community gather here for a commemorative ceremony in conditions that are
far from dignified. The small stone memorial depicting a broken heart is
only sheltered from the offensive farm by a shrub fence and the smell is
all-pervasive. The government’s Human Rights’ Commissioner Monika
Šimůnková admits it is a major embarrassment.
“I keep saying the farm should not be there. I have attended many
commemorative ceremonies at the Lety memorial and can confirm that the
smell is quite dreadful. It detracts from the dignity of the event and is
really wholly inappropriate.”
The issue of the Lety pig farm first arose soon after the fall of
communism and ex-president Vaclav Havel was one of the strongest advocates
for its removal. However all that was achieved was that in 2009 the
government earmarked 20 million crowns for a dignified memorial for Roma
victims of the Holocaust. The memorial was unveiled a year later and
despite pressure from the Romany minority and international organizations
for the pig farm to be relocated the matter of the Lety farm was shelved
indefinitely. Čeněk Růžička, head of the Committee for Romany
Holocaust Compensation says there is little more he can add in terms of
arguments.
“Pig farms should not be located on the site of concentration camps. And
it makes no difference whether it was a camp for Romanies or anyone else.
Human beings suffered and died here and I think it is obvious that this is
undignified. That should be clear to anyone. We welcome the UN request, but
unless it comes with sanctions attached I do not think the Czech government
is going to make a move.”
Mr. Růžička’s forecast appears to be extremely accurate. The pig farm
is now in private hands and buying and relocating it would cost a lot of
money – money that the government is not prepared to spare. In an
interview for Czech Radio Culture Minister Jiří Balvín made it perfectly
clear that the issue was not a priority.
“Of course it is a big problem and past governments have tried and
failed to address it for over 20 years. If they could not find a solution
in the 1990s at a time of economic growth it would be unrealistic to expect
us to resolve it at a time of deep economic recession. The owner wants 400
million crowns for it and there is no way we can afford that. There is no
point in holding out hope and saying we will consider finding a solution.
400 million crowns is simply an astronomical sum.”
The annual commemorative event at Lety is to take place next Thursday,
August 1st. Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok has promised to attend. In
addition to the bad smell he will most likely have to face the hostile
stares of those who will be there to pay homage to predecessors who died in
the Holocaust.
| 
Built in the 1970s by the communist regime the Lety pig farm in south
Bohemia stands on the site of a former Nazi concentration camp for the
Czech Romany minority which was almost exterminated in the Holocaust. Over
1,300 Romanies were interned there, 300 of them died in the camp and others
were transported to Nazi death camps. Every year members of the Roma
community gather here for a commemorative ceremony in conditions that are
far from dignified. The small stone memorial depicting a broken heart is
only sheltered from the offensive farm by a shrub fence and the smell is
all-pervasive. The government’s Human Rights’ Commissioner Monika
Šimůnková admits it is a major embarrassment.
Related articles
Also in section "News"
Most popular articles