19.09.2014 The forgotten victims of the Rroma-Holocaust

With a joint letter, several institutions and scientists called attention to the continued ignorance of the Rroma-Holocaust that occurred during the Second World War. The authors call for an explicit focus on and recognition of the genocide of the Rroma by governments, international organisations, museums, scientists, activists, and by the media. The Rroma genocide should not be presented any longer as an event separated from the Holocaust, as it is usually done. This must be presented with a more in-depth research and discussion of the Nazi atrocities done to the Rroma, as well as an adequate representation of Rroma in committees and institutions, such as the council of the American Holocaust Museum: “Removing Roma and Sinti from Holocaust history by creating a separate genocide and by denying their voice in the Holocaust ceremonies signal a disregard for the memory and the dignity of the Romani people. Yet, the United Nations continues to dither about whether Roma and Sinti should be included in their annual Holocaust Remembrance ceremony. Furthermore, being designated as a victim of a separate genocide and not a Holocaust victim is precedent setting. For example, many Romani Holocaust survivors were unable to qualify for any type of compensation for the losses they endured, specifically because the German government failed to recognize them as part of the Holocaust for several decades after the War, long after many survivors had died. This is not an example that current governments and institutions should emulate. Only 10 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars made available by the United Nations for the survivors, and which the U.S. Government was given the responsibility of disbursing, was set aside for non-Jews, and none of that found its way to the Romani survivors. When the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council was established in 1980, no Roma were invited to participate, and as mentioned above, it has no Romani member today. […] Objective and true information about Roma and Sinti can lead to overcoming stigma and embracing Romani people as equal members of society, deserving of dignity and respect” (Raeesi et al 2014). Especially with the last point, the authors of the letter address an important aspect of the historiography of the Rroma: the massive amount of false and inaccurate information that is spread about the ethnic group, which distorts their perception until today. For a long time, it was claimed that there had not been any systematic murder of the Rroma. The Rroma victims were said to be anti-social elements and criminals that were interned for regulatory reasons. Such an inhumane interpretation of history should in fact belong to the past.