Dedicated to the Roma Victims of the Holocaust
On the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, the Austrian Embassy and the Austrian Cultural Forum are dedicating an evening of remembrance to the Roma victims of the Holocaust.
At the heart of this commemorative evening is the Stojka family. Holocaust survivors Ceija Stojka and her brothers Karl and Johann “Mongo” Stojka are among the most renowned survivor witnesses in Austria, as artists, writers, and cultural figures. The acclaimed guitarist Harri Stojka, son of Johann “Mongo” Stojka, will perform a concert for this occasion.
Programme
Concert by Harri Stojka and Claudius Jelinek
Readings from texts by Ceija Stojka and Johann “Mongo” Stojka
Presentation of works by Ceija Stojka and an overview of activities related to her legacy in 2026
Ceija Stojka
Ceija Stojka was born in Austria in 1933 (died in 2013) into a Roma family of Lovara horse traders. At the age of ten, she was deported together with her mother and other family members. She survived three concentration camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ravensbrück, and Bergen-Belsen.
Forty years later, in 1988, she felt compelled to bear witness to her experiences. She began a profound work of remembrance and, although considered illiterate, wrote several deeply moving books in a poetic and highly personal style. She became the first Roma woman survivor of the death camps to testify in Austria about her experience of the concentration camps, standing against oblivion, denial, and racism.
Her painted and drawn work, on paper, cardboard, and canvas, comprises more than a thousand pieces.
Harri Stojka
Harri Stojka was born in Vienna and achieved his first major success at the Montreux Jazz Festival. His most recent album, Stones Free, was released in 2024. His musical style has been strongly influenced by traditional Lovara music, as well as by rock, bebop, jazz, and gypsy swing.
The Lovara (“horse traders,” from the Hungarian ló, meaning “horse”) are a Roma group living across large parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, France, Poland, and Hungary, as well as beyond.
Practical Information
In cooperation with Galerie Christophe Gaillard and the Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology of Besançon.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Austrian Embassy
6, rue Fabert
75007 Paris
Doors open: 7:00 p.m.
Reservation required: rsvp-paris-kf@bmeia.gv.at
Please note: On 26 January, Harri Stojka and Claudius Jelinek will give a concert at the Goethe-Institut Paris – a cooperation between the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Goethe-Institut:
https://austrocult.fr/evenements/harri-stojka/
