Category Archives: News Western Europe

Germany News Western Europe

Leni Riefenstahl

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Leni Riefenstahl

Andres Veiel’s rich investigative documentary “Riefenstahl” states the obvious: The infamous German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl was an outright Nazi. But as with any good film, the key isn’t what it’s about but how it’s about it. Given full access to the personal archive of the director who made “Olympia” and “Triumph of the Will,” Veiel builds an overwhelming, indisputable case that not only was Riefenstahl a Nazi, but you also can’t separate the art from this artist’s politics.

Netherlands News Western Europe

Romanistan

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Romanistan

On Sunday, October 19 in Nijmegen the performance Romanistan, accompanied by a fringe program featuring a photo exhibition and podcast series will be held.

“Fear turns people who could also be your friends into enemies,” says Carla Hardy, the project’s director. “I want to make tangible the consequences of stigmatization and polarization. How long will we perpetuate stereotypes instead of truly delving into this history?”

In the performance Romanistan, three young artists explore what it means to be Roma. At the same time, it is a plea to view history not simply as a past, but as a living and contemporary story, residing in the bodies of the new generation who are searching for a right to exist and recognition without having to hide or deny their identity.

Germany News Western Europe

Reimar Gilsenbach

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Reimar Gilsenbach

One of the earliest activists who fought for the recognition of the Genocide of the Roma was born 100 years ago.

In early 1965, the popular Eastern German (GDR) newspaper Wochenpost published a letter from a Sintiza from Leipzig. In it, she described the persecution during the Nazi era, but also the discrimination in the GDR. “They see us as idlers, call us scumbags […] But no one considers that we too suffered bitter hardship, that the earth at Auschwitz and other camps was stained red with our blood. […] I would be grateful for an article.”

The editor who received these letters was Reimar Gilsenbach. He researched, found other Sinti, and wrote an article – which, however, was never published. In it, he mentioned the Marzahn forced labour camp for the first time. In connection with the preparations for the 1936 Olympic Games, police units interned Sinti and Roma there.

Greece News Western Europe

Greece, Crime, and Roma

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Greece, Crime, and Roma

“70%-75% of crime comes from the Roma,” he said in a recent interview (Action 24, July 24, 2025) the Minister of Citizen Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis. “I am not saying this for racist or prejudice reasons. Quite the opposite, I love their children and these people, but the profession they do must be changed: thefts, burglaries, frauds, electricity thefts, etc.,” he added.

In recent months, the Hellenic Police have been intensifying unannounced operations in camps throughout the country. Since the beginning of September, at least seven such operations have been carried out in Attica, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Karditsa and Larissa.

Roma don’t deny that criminality is present in their communities, but  say that causes are deeper: they are linked to the long-standing marginalization of the Roma in Greece, their frequent exclusion from access to housing and work, but also to the poor design of any policies that are implemented. “It is not a question of race or ethnicity, but the result of social and economic conditions that concern the whole of society,” emphasizes George Nikolaou.

Italy News Western Europe

Italy and Roma

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Italy and Roma

Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, Archbishop of Naples, last Saturday morning in a lecture to workers engaged in pastoral care for Roma, Sinti, and Caminanti, gathered in the Campania capital for their annual meeting said that Pastoral care for Roma and Sinti requires “recognizing the dignity of those who live with pauses and restarts, dismantling the prejudice that confuses mobility and suspicion, moving from a ‘integration’ that unifies to an alliance that values ​​languages, crafts, music, and extended family.”

Well, the catholic church doesn’t have a good track record of caring for Roma …

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

As usual, when French news are full of news, there are no news about Roma… Only one article this week, about a camp in Angers that will be closed in December.

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

Not much in the French press this week about Roma. Well, they are all wondering whether the government will fall, so Roma stories are not needed to fill gaps…

The news is mostly out of Angers, in the Loire region. First, a camp being displaced raises fears among residents of the new location. Second, a new administrative procedure for managing the arrival of Roma and travellers. Probably swell for the administrations, not necessarily efficient. Third, a series of burglaries; and a young 16 years old raped by 6 Roma, one of which was her lover for whom she agreed to prostitute herself.

Sad.

Italy News Western Europe

Italy, Roma, and the Genocide

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Italy, Roma, and the Genocide

In Naples, Chi Roma e… chi non guided young Roma and non-Roma people on a journey of education and testimony, culminating in a trip to Auschwitz. There they discovered the story of the Sinti boxer Johann Trollmann, known as Rukeli, a symbol of resistance and identity. The story of Rukeli (which means “tree” in the Sinti language), persecuted by the Nazis, became for the young people involved in the project a symbol of resistance against all forms of discrimination. After their trip to Auschwitz, their daily experiences of anti-Gypsyism intertwined with that of Rukeli, who died in a camp in 1944. The association Chi Rom e… chi no chose to tell his story in an ensemble film, directed by Alessandro Rak. The film, born from artistic workshops with young Roma and Neapolitan students from the Galileo Ferraris Technical Institute in Scampia, denounces marginalization and affirms dignity and memory.

Greece News Western Europe

Really???

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Really???

A 17 year old Greek was arrested after having stealing at least two Romane children and abandoning them in various places. He confessed to the acts, saying he did it because he “can’t stomach gypsies” and because he wanted to “show how useless they are.”

News Western Europe United Kingdom

Birmingham and Travellers

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Birmingham and Travellers

Birmingham Council wants to recruit someone with experience in “dealing with difficult conversations” as it looks to reset its relationship with the travelling community.

Well, the description is not promising…

Germany News Western Europe

German Archive

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German Archive

Archive material on the persecution of Roma, Sinti, Yenish and other people defined as “Gypsies” under National Socialism has been released.

https://www.bundesarchiv.de/themen-entdecken/online-entdecken/geschichtsgalerien/archivgut-zur-verfolgung-von-roma-sinti-jenischen-und-anderen-im-nationalsozialismus-als-zigeuner-definierten-menschen/

Germany News Western Europe

Koblenz: Demo

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Koblenz: Demo

The Grandmas Against the Right in Koblenz and the surrounding area, in coordination with the associations “Culture and Integration Rhineland-Palatinate” and “State Council of German Sinti & Roma Rhineland-Palatinate,” are calling for a vigil in solidarity with Sinti and Roma.

Once again, abhorrent, right-wing extremist, and extremely dehumanizing propaganda against Sinti and Roma has been graffiti-covered on the streets of Koblenz. We will not tolerate this, we cannot remain silent, and we are taking a stand against it.

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

Lots of articles this week in the French press. Many of them about a Roma camp in Nantes, where the city had to abandon the relocation into another place. But amongst those articles, the one about a family whose children integrated well in the region. Against that, the case of a young Rom who stole since age 12… Also a truck providing health care to children in the camps in Nantes.

Finally in Lyon, the expulsion of two Roma camps.

Germany News Western Europe

“Djelem Djelem” Festival

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“Djelem Djelem” Festival

For the twelfth time, the “Djelem Djelem” cultural festival in Dortmund, Germany, invites visitors to numerous events in September. At Germany’s largest Sinti and Roma cultural festival, visitors can immerse themselves in the art, culture, history, and present of the Sinte*zze and Roma.

From September 1st to 15th, the Sintiand Roma cultural festival will focus on themes and events surrounding art, history, and the present that affect the Roma. The festival invites visitors to experience and celebrate these cultures with concerts, exhibitions, films, training courses, and encounters. Most of the events are free of charge. The festival is organized by the City of Dortmund together with numerous partners, including AWO Dortmund, Romano Than e.V., and Keuning.haus.

Czech Republic Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

Conference on Genocide Research

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Conference on Genocide Research

In mid-September, a 3 days Czech-German conference on the current challenges facing genocide research will be held in Lety. Entitled “The legacy of Romani and Sinti survivors across the generations”, the conference will bring together activists, the descendants of such survivors, historians, researchers, and representatives of public institutions to discuss current forms of commemorating this tragedy, the ethical challenges connected to researching the genocide of the Roma and Sinti, the intergenerational transmission of trauma, and memory policy.

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