On September 7, 1948, the Extraordinary People’s Court in Prague acquitted the defendant Josef Janovský, the former commander of the so-called Gypsy camp in Lety, of several criminal charges, including the charge that he had caused the death of Romani prisoners in the interests of the German Reich while serving the Nazis. In its decision, the court omitted information about the torture and beating of prisoners from the interrogation of witnesses, and its reasoning also revealed anti-Roma prejudice.
Biased trial
The Roma Holocaust was a sensitive topic for Czech society in the post-war period, which the authorities did not want to deal with more significantly. The trial of Josef Janovský dealt mainly with his relationship with the Nazi occupiers, taking less account of the testimonies about his cruel behavior towards the imprisoned Roma. The case of two camp guards was also heard similarly; only one was found guilty and punished with a reprimand. Even though the position of the camp commander Janovský was not easy, given the high number of prisoners, the court’s decision is still received critically by Roma and human rights activists.
“In its reasoning, the court denied that Janovský had neglected the prisoners’ medical care or their food, but it did not mention the reasons that led to the mass deaths. The beatings and torture of prisoners were not mentioned at all. So what was the general reason for the persecution and the specific cause of the death of hundreds of innocent people, and who was responsible for it? The judges did not discuss at all.“
Czech historian, an expert on Roma Holocaust Jiří Smlsal
Smlsal, Jiří (2018): Holokaust Romů v retribučním soudnictví, Romano džaniben, 93–139, here p. 104
Further Reading / Source
Josef Janovský. In Fingsin, Karola (eds.): Enzyklopädie des NS-Völkermordes an den Sinti und Roma in Europa. Heidelberg: Forschungsstelle Antiziganismus an der Universität Heidelberg.
Beck, Aletta – 2024
A nikdo vám nebude věřit: dokument o koncentračním táborě Lety u Písku. Praha: GG.
Pape., Markus – 1997