The Holocaust Memorial to the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia at Lety u Písku stands on the authentic site of a former concentration camp that operated between 1942 and 1943. During the Nazi occupation, Roma and Sinti families, including children and the elderly, were imprisoned here under inhumane conditions before being deported to Auschwitz II–Birkenau. According to historical research, at least 1,294 people were registered in the camp, though the true number was higher, and at least 335 of them died here. Many of the victims are buried in an emergency burial ground nearby.
After decades of neglect and the controversial presence of a pig farm built in the 1970s, the area was reclaimed by the state and transformed by the Museum of Romani Culture into a dignified memorial. Opened in 2024, the new memorial serves as both a place of remembrance and education, preserving the memory of the victims and shedding light on the history and consequences of the Nazi genocide of Roma communities in the Czech lands.
Visitors can explore the outdoor campus, which includes the Memory Trail, an eight-stop exhibition, the Commemorative Circle bearing the names of 1,294 registered prisoners, and the Emergency Burial Ground, a national cultural monument. The Visitor Centre hosts the permanent exhibition Memory of a Place, Place of Memory and provides further educational resources.
pamatniklety@rommuz.cz