25.05.2014 “A People Uncounted” gives Rroma and Holocaust survivors a voice

Various American newspapers report about the new movie by Aaron Yeger, which focuses on the marginalization of the Rroma in Europe. In an interview with NPR (2014), Yeger explores the question of why no exact figures on murdered Rroma exist as well what the marginalization and destruction of the minority meant for the former communities. As for the number of victims, the lack of written documentation by Rroma themselves as well as the absence of official documents is probably the main reason. The film focuses on the aspects of exclusion and persecution that are recapitulated by eyewitnesses. Language and traditions are only briefly touched upon. The New York Times comments: “While travelling to Budapest, Vienna, Montreal, Ukraine, Romania and Germany, the film, the first feature by Aaron Yeger, presents a range of lucid commentators, some of whom touch upon distant Roma history. But the primary focus here is on the disenfranchisement and ruthless persecution the Roma have long suffered in Europe: in Romania in the mid-1400s, by the Habsburgs in 1500, by Henry VIII and again by the Habsburgs in 1721. […] The darkest hour was the Holocaust, in which hundreds of thousands of Roma perished in concentration camps. Much of this movie is composed of survivors who give harrowing accounts of their experiences, and their warnings about rising ethnic hatred in Europe should not be ignored” (Webster 2014). Miller (2014) also points out that the image of the Rroma in the United States is shaped by stupendous reality TV shows such as Gypsy Sisters and My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding. These convey a stereotypical, one-sided picture of the Rroma. “A People Uncounted” tries to live up to the complexity of the fate of the Rroma (compare Broadway World 2014, Documentary Trailers 2011, Scheck 2014).