JAN. 29 – FEB. 18
The exhibition, Roma Tribulation in World War I, authored by Dragoljub Acković, PhD, is organized by the House of Roma Culture on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of World War I and under the auspices of the Board for Jasenovac and the Serbian Orthodox Church, and with financial support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.
The theme of the exhibition is the fate of the Roma people during the Great War. Several hundred Roma photographs, postcards and documents from the time are on display. This archival material represents crucial evidence when the position of the Roma during the Great War is analyzed.
Thousands of Roma lost their lives, were wounded or otherwise ill-treated by German, Austro-Hungarian and other armies. Some Roma also suffered as soldiers in various armies, a fact that is little known, but Roma predominantly suffered at the hands of soldiers as captives and civilians. It will never be known how many Roma were killed between 1914 and 1918, as there is no precise information on that, Dragoljub Acković stated.
Many scholarly and other gatherings, celebrations and similar events were organized throughout the world to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, but there was almost no mention of the Roma people. This exhibition attempts to rectify this.
The exhibition was first staged at the Gallery of the National Bank of Serbia in December of 2017.
