What happens when history is left untaught?
In a conversation for the ROMDIEM project, Milka Kraljević, president of the Association of War Disabled Veterans, speaks about the fragility of memory and how Roma suffering in Serbia has long been overlooked.
Through the story of her husband, Gojko Kraljević — a fighter in the 6th Lika Brigade who took part in the almost forgotten mission to clear Nazi saboteurs from Belgrade’s sewer system — Milka reminds us that countless layers of history remain hidden or erased.
Her most urgent message is about the Roma Holocaust: schools rarely teach it, documentaries and books are scarce, and Roma victims and fighters are often absent from public narratives.
“Roma are invisible, but they should be visible — they gave their lives like others,” she emphasizes.
She warns that young people have almost no way to learn these histories, that eyewitnesses are passing away, and that silence only deepens injustice. For Milka, remembrance must honor all victims — Jews, Roma, Serbs, and others who suffered under fascism.
Milka calls for educational reform, teacher training, historical programming, and visits to sites of memory like Šumarice. Only systemic change can ensure the truth survives.
“If we don’t teach children from an early age, I don’t know how our history has survived until now.”
Her testimony is a powerful reminder: remembering is a responsibility, and forgetting is a choice.
Learn more about the project here: https://romdiem.eu/
