A Visit to Pécs - by Tereza Auzká

During my stay in Pécs, I visited a very interesting and somewhat unusual exhibition about the Roma Holocaust. It was somewhat unusual because the Roma Holocaust is not a typical topic in the Hungarian public space. I was delighted that this exhibition is located in one of the main streets of Pécs, even if it is not visited very often (according to a short interview with the museum employee). The exhibition was mainly financed by the "CIVIL ALAP-2014" foundation, a foundation of the prime minister’s office. It was built in cooperation with the city of Pécs, the Baranya district government and the Documentation and the cultural centre of German Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg.

The exhibition presents the history and culture of the Hungarian Roma and their fate during the Holocaust. It also focuses on the fate of the German Roma, which, in my opinion, did not properly fit into the limited space of the exhibition. Another problematic point was the explanation of the Holocaust itself. On the panel for the exhibition, it was written, "Germans and Hungarian collaborators started the Roma deportation of Hungary." The involvement of, for example, the local gendarmerie is only reflected in somewhat hidden, printed material containing personal testimonies of the Roma people or the exhibition brochure. There are also objects which would need explanation, such as a Roma modern dance performance played on a TV without any description.

The last shortcoming, especially when it comes to foreign visitors, is that the exhibition is only in Hungarian. What I appreciated was the interactive components of the exhibition, where the visitors can write their opinions or feelings on post-its and stick it on the wall. It was also very enriching to see how the exhibition of Roma art connected to the Holocaust. All in all, I am happy that there is an exhibition reflecting the Roma Holocaust in Hungary, even though it could contain even more information about Hungarian involvement.