Memorial to the Roma Holocaust in Borzęcin

The Memorial to the Roma Holocaust stands in Borzęcin Dolny, on the northern edge of voivodeship road no. 964. It commemorates Roma shot at this place during the German occupation.

Events of 1942

In the summer of 1942 German gendarmes and Polish police arrested 29 people of Roma origin in the Wał-Ruda area: three men, five women, twenty-one children aged between four and twelve, and an infant. They were taken to the forest in Borzęcin and shot there. One of the men managed to escape.

The monument

The design was made by the Roma artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. The monument was unveiled on 23 July 2011 during the 12th International Roma Memorial Caravan. On a concrete plinth stand wooden sculptures: at the front a falling figure of a woman with a plaque, at the back a kneeling child. Around them are placed 29 granite stones, one for each victim. The plaque bears a fragment of Papusza's poetry in Polish.

In April 2016 the monument was knocked over and the wooden sculptures were hacked with an axe. It was rebuilt by August of the same year.

Practical information

• Location: Borzęcin Dolny, north-eastern part of the village, on voivodeship road no. 964.
• The monument stands in an open space by the road. The place commemorates a crime, so keep a respectful manner.
• In the area there is the Manor House in Dołęga.