Romana Schlesinger was one of the founders of modern queer activism in Slovakia. She joined the movement by chance—and within a few months, she was sitting at the same table with people whose books she had only read years earlier. She then organized Slovakia’s first Pride.
With a Jewish last name. In Slovakia. She herself says it was harakiri—and she’d do it all over again. In this interview, she talks about what it cost her, why every fiber of her being was screaming during the referendum—and yet she remained silent, and how she went from being a naive romantic to an optimistic realist.
A series of interviews captures the experience of five personalities who have significantly shaped modern queer activism in Slovakia since 2008. They talk about the beginnings, turning points, burnout, loss of security, social hatred, but also about solidarity, hope and the need to continue.
The interviews with them were conducted in October 2025 by historian Jana Jablonická Zezulová. Production: Róbert Pakan, Sandra Polovková.
