The University’s third Remembering the Roma Holocaust event was held last Thursday 5 February at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, as part of the University’s annual Holocaust Memorial programme. The event featured a curated exhibition alongside a deeply moving talk by Janna Eliot, author of ‘Settela’s Last Road’. The novel, often described as a “Gypsy Anne Frank”, provides a powerful lens through which to reflect on the persecution and murder of an estimated 300,000–500,000 Roma, Sinti, and Traveller people during the Holocaust.
Together, the exhibition and author talk served as both remembrance and education, illuminating a history that remains unknown to many. The event also forms part of the University’s wider commitment under The Pledge, which affirms support for students and staff from Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman, and Boater communities.
The event was a collaboration involving colleagues from Widening Participation; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Student Experience Enhancement; and Friends, Families and Travellers. It was well attended with an audience including students, academics, trainee teachers, Local Authority educationalists, and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost Michael Luck (pictured). Feedback highlighted the emotional resonance of hearing the author speak, the dignity of the occasion, and its importance in bringing a neglected history into public awareness.
The exhibition element of this event will now be displayed in Uckfield, Southbourne, Billingshurst, Lewes, Eastbourne, and Hastings Libraries. For further information, please contact Chris Derbyshire: C.J.Derbyshire@sussex.ac.uk.