15/07/2026
Památníky a muzea, která pečují o místa spojená se zločiny nacismu a fašismu, nesou i dnes důležitou odpovědnost – připomínat minulost, podporovat kritickou reflexi současnosti a aktivně vystupovat proti rasismu, antisemitismu, xenofobii a všem formám nenávisti.
Muzeum romské kultury se prostřednictvím Památníku holokaustu Romů a Sintů na Moravě v Hodoníně u Kunštátu a Památníku holokaustu Romů a Sintů v Čechách v Letech u Písku připojilo ke společnému prohlášení více než třiceti evropských paměťových institucí. Dokument zdůrazňuje význam nezávislosti památníků a muzeí jako míst, která uchovávají historickou paměť a varují před projevy dehumanizace a nenávisti.
V době, kdy přímých svědků tragických událostí ubývá, považujeme ochranu historické pravdy a demokratických hodnot za mimořádně důležitou.
Below we publish the text of a joint declaration signed by 32 European Memorial Sites connected with crimes committed by N**i Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War.
The declaration highlights the responsibility of Memorial Sites to protect historical truth and respond to contemporary manifestations of hatred. It stresses that fulfilling this special mission requires their substantive, organizational and financial independence.
EUROPEAN MEMORIAL SITES: CORE DECLARATION
European Memorial Sites established on the grounds of places connected to the crimes perpetrated by the N**is, Fascists, and their accomplices during World War II constitute a visible legacy of the history that shaped the foundation of post-war Europe.
As our societies undergo significant change, and as the generation of Survivors and direct witnesses gradually disappears, Memorial Sites carry a continuing responsibility: to raise awareness of the past, actively encourage reflection in our contemporary society, and signal and resist dehumanization, racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia wherever they arise.
In fulfilling this responsibility, Memorial Sites occupy a distinct position. Basing on rigorous research and historical evidence, they are detached from private interests, independent, and have a critical voice, including in relation to political developments and all forms of hate speech. This requires that Memorial Sites remain places for difficult questions and that they can offer warnings when this is called for.
This task can only be sustained where Memorial Sites are guaranteed programmatic independence from political authority: local, regional, national, or European. Their intellectual and practical autonomy should not be subject to political or budgetary pressure.
As custodians of a history that affected the whole of Europe, their independence is not solely an internal matter for their respective governing bodies, but a shared interest of Europe as such.
To confront the growing challenges for democracy and peace, we call on all parties involved in public dialogue to respect this principle of autonomy.
15 July 2026
The signatories of the declaration
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, Poland
National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar, Ukraine
Death March Memorial in Below Forest, Germany
Bergen-Belsen Memorial, Germany
Memorial to the Victims of the Euthanasia Murders Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
Brandenburg-Görden Prison Memorial, Germany
Buchenwald Memorial, Germany
Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, Germany
Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial, Germany
Museum of the Martyrdom of the Citizens of Wielkopolska Fort VII, Poland
Fossoli Foundation, Italy
Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoźnica, Poland
Memorial Site Hartheim Castle, Austria
Hodonín u Kunštátu. Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Moravia, Czech Republic
Memorial and Museum Jamlitz in Lieberose, Germany
Kazerne Dossin, Belgium
Museum of the Former German Extermination Camp Kulmhof in Chełmno nad Ner, Poland
Memorial Leistikowstraße Potsdam, Germany
Lety u Písku. The Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia, Czech Republic
Maison d’Izieu, France
Mittelbau-Dora Memorial, Germany
Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial, Germany
KL Plaszow Memorial Museum in Kraków, Poland
Memorial Museum Ravensbrück, Germany
Internment and Deportation Memorial – Royallieu Camp, France
Memorial and Museum Sachsenhausen, Germany
Stutthof Memorial in Sztutowo, Poland
Camp Vught National Memorial, Netherlands
House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Educational Site, Germany
Memorial Center Camp Westerbork, Netherlands
Wolfenbüttel Prison Memorial, Germany
Martyrs' Museum in Żabikowo, Poland
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After the publication of the Declaration, the following institution joined its signatories:
Mauthausen Memorial, Austria
Institutions wishing to join the group of signatories of the Declaration are kindly requested to make direct contact at: [email protected]
