Prague exhibition honors Roma resistance fighters against Nazi occupation
A new exhibition in Prague highlights the overlooked role of Czech and Slovak Roma who fought against Nazi Germany during World War II. Opened on October 15, 2026, at the Museum of the Romani National Revival, the display presents the stories of resistance fighters from a community often remembered only as victims of the Holocaust. The exhibition focuses on the period of Nazi occupation and the dismantling of Czechoslovakia from 1938 to 1945. It documents how many Roma joined partisan units, the Czechoslovak Underground Army, and other resistance groups. Museum director Emil Scuka said the project marks a turning point in how Roma are viewed during the war. “We were not only victims; we were also heroes,” he told attendees, most of whom were Roma from Czechia and Slovakia.
Uncovering a hidden history
Scuka, a lawyer and prominent Roma activist, noted that even within the Roma community, few are aware of this history. He said organizing the exhibition was a debt his generation owed to these heroes. “Bring your children and grandchildren here so they can see for themselves and realize that the Roma have heroes too!” he urged.
The exhibition features detailed life stories of 100 selected Roma partisans and soldiers. Curator Radoslav Scuka said researchers found over 1,400 Romani fighters in archives. Among them is Anton Facuna, a sergeant in the American Office of Strategic Services who was flown into Slovakia on a secret mission in October 1944. Another is Josef Serinek, known as the “Black Partisan from Vysocina,” who escaped a Nazi concentration camp for Roma and later commanded a large partisan unit.
A marginalized topic in scholarship
Despite these stories, the history of Roma resistance has been largely ignored by Czech and Slovak historians. Prokop Tomek, a historian at the Military History Institute in Prague, said he is not aware of any scholarly work on the subject. He added that the figure of 1,400 Roma fighters corresponds to the proportion of Roma in the population at the time.
The exhibition comes as many Czech and Slovak Roma still do not openly acknowledge their ethnicity, partly due to the trauma of the Holocaust. The Nazis murdered approximately 90% of Czech Roma in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Today, the Czech government estimates 250,000 Roma live in the country, but only 21,000 identified as Roma in the 2021 census.
