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The Holocaust Memorial to the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia is a place of remembrance and knowledge. We ask visitors to respect the commemorative nature of the site and, especially at the site of the Circle of Remembrance and the makeshift burial ground, to treat with respect those who suffered indescribably and many died in these places. There is a strict prohibition on entering the part of the Circle of Remembrance with the names of those imprisoned. Thank you for your respect for the memory of the victims.
You are in an authentic place where the Protectorate’s concentration camp Lety u Písku operated between 1942 and 1943. This area was used for the forced concentration of mostly Czech Roma and Sinti before their deportation to the Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. A similar camp existed at the same time in Moravia, in Hodonín u Kunštátu. Whole families, including young children and the elderly, were imprisoned in the camp and had to endure inhumane living conditions under the supervision of armed guards. According to the latest historical research, at least 1,294 people were registered in the camp (but more were imprisoned), and at least 335 of them died there. The majority of the victims are buried in an emergency burial ground near the camp.
Since the 1970s, a large-scale pig farm was built on the site of the former camp and operated there for almost 50 years. After it was bought by the state, the Museum of Romani Culture arranged for its demolition and in 2024 built a new Holocaust Memorial to the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia and is currently its administrator.
This Memorial is a place of remembrance and knowledge. Its idea is to honour the memory of those imprisoned directly at the site of their suffering, to inform and educate about what happened before, during and after World War II, as well as about the impact of the Nazi genocide on the Roma communities in the Czech lands.
We ask that you respect the commemorative nature of the site and, especially in the areas of the Commemorative Circle and the Emergency Burial Ground, treat with respect those who suffered indescribably and many died in these places. It is forbidden to enter written information about prisoners in the Circle of Remembrance. Thank you for your respect for the memory of the victims.
You can visit the Memorial’s outdoor campus (the Memory Trail – an outdoor permanent exhibition with 8 stops, the Circle of Reverence with the names of registered prisoners, the emergency burial ground at the Lety Cultural Heritage Monument) and the Visitor Centre building, which houses the permanent exhibition Memory of a Place, Place of Memory.
Visit also Hodonín u Kunštátu. The Holocaust Memorial of the Roma and Sinti in Moravia and the Museum of Roma Culture located in Brno.
Schematic map of the site, which will show you interesting places and help you to find your way around the Memorial.
398 04 Lety
GPS: 49.5083333N, 14.1186111E
Přesnou polohu najdete zde →
During the main visitors’ season, April–October, Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00. The last admittance to the exhibition is at 16:15.
Visits to the Memorial outside visiting days and the main season can be arranged by calling +420 778 483 310 or e-mail pamatniklety@rommuz.cz.
Open all year round*
*provided the Visitor Regulations are observed
head of the memorial Lety u Písku pamatniklety@rommuz.cz
+420 778 483 310
technician, administrator of the Memorial
lety@rommuz.cz
+420 731 848 660
The Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia is a place of remembrance and knowledge. Visitors are asked to respect the commemorative nature of the site and, especially at the Circle of Remembrance and the makeshift burial ground, to treat with respect those who suffered indescribably and many who died at these sites. There is a strict prohibition on entering the part of the Circle of Remembrance with the names of those imprisoned. Thank you for your respect for the memory of the victims.
The Museum of Romani Culture has been the administrator of the Memorial since 2017. The Museum of Romani Culture was founded in 1991 on the initiative of Romani intellectuals as a non-governmental, non-profit organization, and since 2005 it has been a state-funded organization of the Czech Ministry of Culture, where it falls under the Independent Department of Museums. In the European context, it is a unique institution that globally documents the culture of Roma and Sinti, or rather many different Roma sub-ethnic groups and communities. The museum’s collection is registered in the Central Collection Register, contains over 28,000 collection items, is divided into 5 sub-collections and within them into 14 collections.
© 2024 rommuz.cz
Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway • www.fondyehp.cz/kultura
Partners
Authors of the architectural design of the Memorial: Jan Sulzer a TERRA FLORIDA
Authors of the Visitor Centre: stempel&tesar
Author and producer of the indoor and outdoor exhibitions MUZEA SERVIS
