Essex University to host free Roma and Sinti Holocaust talk by Romani Scholar

The Roma and Sinti Holocaust, 81 Years On: Memory, Representation, and the Struggle for Recognition - by Dr Justyna Matkowska on 29th January

Essex University will be hosting an event to explore the Romani experience in the Holocaust to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day.

The free event will take place on 29th January from 6-7pm at the Colchester campus of Essex University and will also be available for people to attend online.

The main presentation at the event will be given by Dr Justyna Matkowska, University at Albany, State University of New York, a Romani scholar who will focus on the persecution of Roma and Sinti, acts of resistance, memory, Holocaust representation, and the ongoing struggle for recognition.

The event will be co-chaired by Dr Joanna Rzepa from the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies and Sean Smith, a Romani PhD student whose research examines anti-Roma violence and representations of Roma in literature and culture.

To book your place follow this link to the tickets available through Eventbrite: The Roma and Sinti Holocaust, 81 Years On Tickets, Thu, 29 Jan 2026 at 18:00 | Eventbrite

This year’s international Holocaust Memorial Day is due to be marked on January 27th.

TT News

(Photograph: A Romani Holocaust memorial at the University of Essex, courtesy of Sean Smith)