Tag Archives: Holocaust

Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

01.10.2014 Demagoguery against Rroma in the Internet

Published by:

Meier (2014) reports on open agitation against Rroma in a Facebook group from Duisburg. A user posted a wanted poster with a blurred photo, in which he claimed that two dark-haired, veiled women had tried to abduct a child. The offenders are Rroma, the initiator suggested. However, according to the police, theses accusations are unfounded: “The police sees the story, which reproduces the century-old stereotype of child-abducting “gypsies”, as invented. Nevertheless, the Facebook does not fail its purpose: “to Auschwitz”, “rape them”, “to the gas chamber”, these are comments under the “wanted poster”. It was shared about 6,000 within a few days, spread by other users. A stupid conflagration of hatred, having no consideration for the law, logic or spelling.” Meier sees the many affirmative responses to the inflammatory posting as a symptom of general, increasing xenophobia in Duisburg, that is not directly only towards, but in particular against Rroma. The inflammatory facebook group was in the meantime taken offline and an investigation for demagoguery was started. The accusations were not without impact, as the many supportive comments on the social network show, as well as similar expressions at town hall meetings. They stand in a tradition of negative stereotypes, which have been spread about the Rroma for centuries: already in the Middle-Ages, the minority was accused of abducting and trafficking children. It is thought provoking that these allegations still find so much response. In Germany, according to the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma. The majority are well integrated, work, send their children to school and live in apartments.

Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

01.10.2014 Remembering instead of suppressing: addressing the Rroma Holocaust at German schools

Published by:

Mirwald (2014) reports on the work of Petra Rosenberg, chairman of the national association of German Sinti and Roma in Berlin-Brandenburg, as an expert on thematic days in German schools. Rosenberg continues the work of her father, Otto Rosenberg, which campaigned until his death for the equality of the Rroma and informed about the history of the minority: “the 62-year-old graduate teacher described the terrible experiences that her father documented in the book “The burning glass”. The young audience, who in the classroom is currently learning about the Third Reich, learned that Otto Rosenberg, who was one of the founding fathers of the civil rights movement of the Sinti and Roma in Germany, was able to write down his memories only in old age. Her father was a broken man, who was never able to work again. He woke up at night, cried and asked why he had survived as the only one of eleven siblings. “As a child I didn’t know anything. I only felt the grief, took his hand and cried with him”, Petra Rosenberg described scenes from her childhood. […] It was shocking to hear that doctors and scientists that had questioned and examined Otto Rosenberg in 1936 as race researchers in the camp Berlin-Malzahn, were able to practice after the war in Frankfurt am Main, and that the policeman who sent Otto Rosenberg to Auschwitz, later worked in Ludwigsburg as a detective in a high position.” Even after the war ended, discrimination against Rroma therefore continued, and it took the collective protest of many Holocaust survivors and their descendants, so that the injustices were finally officially recognized. Unfortunately, the prejudices about the minority continue until today, as the debate on the so-called “poverty immigrants” reveals.

Deutschland Ungarn News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

24.09.2014 Vom Odenwald: one-sided praise of Zoltan Balog’s Rroma policy

Published by:

In his article for the Budapester Zeitung, Herrolt vom Odenwald (2014) criticises the Austrian writer Erich Hackl’s questioning analysis of Zoltan Balog’s policy. In his article “How to plough the sea?” Hackl (2014) criticised that Zoltan Balog denied that Rroma from Hungary were deported from Hungary to Germany during the Holocaust. This misinterpretation of history is totally inappropriate, so Hackl, and was criticised by many other newspapers. The Hungarian Rroma press centre reacted immediately with the publication of reports by Holocaust survivors. Rroma were deported with the help of Hungarian authorities to Nazi Germany, this is beyond debate. However, the criticism of Balog’s statement only takes a marginal role in Hackl’s text. The predominant part of the article deals with the struggle of the Rroma writer Marika Schmiedtberger and the Rroma activists Rudolf Sarközi against the oblivion of past atrocities. However, vom Odenwald sees this differently: from his perspective, Hackl’s entire article is a systematic discrediting of Balog, in which all positive achievements of the politician are deliberately hidden. And yet, he himself does exactly what he accuses the Austrian author of doing; he interprets his text in an extremely one-sided way: “the (upper) Austrian writer Erich Hackl just got lost in Hungarian politics, and from much that he believed to have to comment on, he negated reality. This concerns first and foremost the situation of the largest ethnic minority in the country, namely the Gypsies. I prefer this terminology to the consistently used term “Roma and Sinti” by solicitously politically correct (PC) media. […] Hackl however applied total poetic freedom in his article “How to plough the sea?”, for the (more left positioned) weekend supplement “Spectrum” of the “bourgeois” Austrian daily newspaper “Die Presse”, and was not concerned with ethno-linguistic subtleties from comparative linguistics. He and his publishing medium were in fact primarily concerned with denouncing the alleged disgraceful, racist politics of Hungary towards the Gypsies, especially under its Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. And, according to the popular saying “beat the sack, but mean the donkey”, do verbal bashing against Zoltán Balog, the minister largely responsible for integration and the Gypsies.” Odenwald’s statement that the term “Gypsy” is politically unproblematic is wrong. Rather, it would be correct to say that there is no consensus on the context in which the use of the term is appropriate. Many Rroma reject the concept because of its negative connotation. The criticism that Erich Hackl one-sidedly criticises Balog is also wrong. Balog has repeatedly attracted attention for his ill-considered and indiscriminate remarks about Rroma: for instance, in the Hungarian radio station Lánchídrádió he called the Rroma “unworthy poor”, because they actually were healthy and fit for work, but still burden the state as recipients of social benefits (Pusztaranger 2014). ­If one makes incautious remarks, one must be able to tolerate criticism. Odenwald then continues to enumerate extensively what Zoltan Balog has done for the Rroma: thanks to Balog’s effort, the “history and culture of the Roma” is now part of the national curriculum in the upper year education. Moreover, the minister for human resources champions a better economic integration of the minority. Nobody discredits these efforts. However, the extreme sensitivity of supporters of the incumbent Orban government to critique reveals that they want to suppress legitimate criticism themselves. Otherwise, they would not react as fiercely and emotionally to questioning or analysing comments. Pröhles Gergely (2014) response to Erich Hackl’s article also belongs to this category.

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

19.09.2014 The forgotten victims of the Rroma-Holocaust

Published by:

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.

Frankreich News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

13.08.2014 Gilles Bourdouleix sentenced because trivialization of the Holocaust

Published by:

Gilles Bourdouleix, wha was the mayor of Cholet in the department of Maine-et-Loire from 1995 to 2008, was sentenced to a fine of 3000 Euro for his statements trivialising the Holocaust against the Rroma. Therewith, the court of appeal of Angers confirmed the judgment of the criminal court, which had passed the sentence in January of this year, however this time not suspended. The judgment of the court reads: “With the public uttering in sufficiently audible voice to be perceived (…) his regret that the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the German authorities during the Second World War towards the travellers were not committed long enough, the defendant has in fact made ​​such a glorification” (Delève 2014). The prosecutor, who viewed the offense of glorification of crimes against humanity as proven, called for a prison sentence of 6 months on probation. During a confrontation with travellers that camped illegally on a field of his congregation, Bourdouleix announced: “Hitler may not have killed enough of them.” According to his own statement, the travellers had provoked him with the Hitler salute, which is likewise punishable. A journalist of the newspaper “Le Courrier de l’Ouest”, who was present at the incident, wrote an article about the events and published an audio recording of the statement on the newspaper’s website. Bourdouleix denied all allegations and threatened a lawsuit for defamation. The recording was a manipulated montage, he stated. Bourdouleix’ lawyer stated that they will appeal to the court of cassation. Bourdouleix was forced to resign from the UDI party in response to his Holocaust trivialisation. The maximum penalty for the glorification of the Holocaust is five years in prison and a fine of 45,000 Euros. Bourdouleix was additionally sentenced by the court to pay the organisations La Ligue des droits de l’homme (LDH), Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples (Mrap), la Fondation pour la Memoire de la Deportation, la Licra und la Fondation nationale des déportés et internés, who had filed the suit against him, one symbolic euro of compensation. – In most of the cited articles, as well as in the verdict, travellers are used synonymously with Rroma. However, most Rroma are sedentary. There are also other ethnic groups which have a minority of travellers, such as the Yeniche, who have European roots (compare 20 minutes 2014, Le Cain 2014, Libération 2014).

  1. 20 minutes/AFP (2014) Son dérapage sur les Roms lui coûte 3000 euros. In: 20 minutes Suisse online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/faits_divers/story/29343403
  2. Delève, Elise (2014) Propos anti-Roms : Bourdouleix condamné en appel à 3.000 euros. In: France info online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.franceinfo.fr/actu/justice/article/propos-anti-roms-gilles-bourdouleix-condamne-en-appel-une-amende-de-3-000-euros-548821
  3. Le Cain, Blandine (2014) Propos anti-Roms : l’élu Gilles Bourdouleix condamné en appel. In: Le Figaro online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/2014/08/12/01002-20140812ARTFIG00122-propos-anti-roms-l-elu-gilles-bourdouleix-attend-la-decision-en-appel.php
  4. Libération/AFP (2014) Gens du voyage : le maire de Cholet Gilles Bourdouleix condamné à 3 000 euros d’amende. In: Libération online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.liberation.fr/societe/2014/08/12/bourdouleix-condamne-a-3-000-euros-d-amende-en-appel_1079498?xtor=rss-450
Ungarn News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

08.08.2014 Zoltán Balog denies deportation of Hungarian Rroma

Published by:

The Hungarian minister of human resources, Zoltán Balog, made headlines with a controversial statement about the deportation of Hungarian Rroma during National Socialism. On the occasion of the uprising in the Gypsy camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, on August the second, 1944, every year on this day a commemoration of the victims of genocide is held. Balog also recalled the events in an interview on state radio Kossuth, but also used the conversation to make some highly problematic statements: “It is important to know that no deportations of Gypsies from Hungary took place. These were done from Austria, that is, the Hungarian gypsies [sic] were taken away from there, and this is why Hungary is also really affected [from the Roma Holocaust]. The figures, however, vary greatly, some speak of 70,000, another of half a million, so it is important to have a solid documentation and research, where we can confront ourselves with these facts. […] I tell you honestly, that’s why I’m cautious on the issue of the Roma Holocaust, because this is a new discovery. The greatest tragedy of these people is that they have no history (…), and what that means, the Magyars know well, whom one wanted to rob their history, we are for a thousand years in one place, and then they find out (say researchers) that we are not or were not there” (Puszta Ranger 2014) Historical sources as well as eyewitness accounts of Holocaust survivors refute all these statements: there were direct deportations of Hungarian Rroma into the concentration camps. The Hungarian national socialist party Arrow Cross provably deported thousands of Rroma into the concentration camps of the Third Reich. As regards the aspect of history: it is true that the Rroma don’t have an own nation-state, but that does not mean that they do not have a good documented history that is thoroughly reviewed. A transnational ethnic minority can have a collective identity without the need to operate on the same rules as nationalism, as one might interpret Balog’s allusion. Balog’s statement that the Rroma should not rely too heavily on their identity as victims of the Holocaust, also caused great resentment. He stated: “I have witnessed the process through which the Gypsy intelligentsia has begun to say:  ‘pardon me, but we too have a Holocaust, and as such we too are part of this history.’ Yet I would still like to caution my Gypsy friends from concentrating too much on this element of their identity. Because even among the Jewry, many have come to the realisation that if the experience of the Holocaust and the knowledge that ‘we were victims’ are the only (or the most important) aspects of Jewish identity, then this creates internal confusion and schizophrenia. And this does not help these communities look towards the future” (Hungarian Free Press 2014). Although this statement may be well intentioned in terms of the social integration of the Rroma in Hungary, it also demonstrates great disrespect for the actual victims of genocide and their memory. From a minister of human resources more tactfulness in dealing with such an issue can be expected. Critics point out that Balog has made himself indictable by denying of the deportation of Rroma from Hungary, which violates article 333 of the criminal code that punishes the denial or trivialization of the Holocaust with up to three years imprisonment (compare Hirsch 2014, Hungarian Free Press 2014, The Budapest Beacon 2014 I/II).

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

06.08.2014 KZ Lety: demand for an appropriate memorial instead of pig farm

Published by:

During the occupation by the Nazis, there was a concentration camp for Rroma in the South Bohemian town of Lety, which was operated by Czech collaborators. Some 1,300 people were interned there; hundreds of them were murdered. Despite this grim finding, today there still is no memorial at the site of the former labour camp. Instead, there is a pig farm built under communist rule. This irreverent handling of a memorial site was protested against for years. Culture Minister Daniel Herman reaffirmed in a broadcast by the Czech radio the plans to establish a permanent memorial: “I am very pleased that the Prime Minister has asked me and Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier this spring during the commemorations in Lety to find a solution for the pig farm, and if appropriate, to seek its transfer. The aim is to build a memorial at the site of this former concentration camp, since currently, the memorial is located on the former burial ground. […] Of course, we want that there is a solution during the mandate of our government, because we feel responsible that it has not yet happened. It is certainly a disgrace in the accounting of our past. I think it is necessary that one also confronts the painful moments. And it is necessary to remember that this camp was not under the auspices of German Nazis, but was led by their Czech collaborators. The guards were Czechs. And that’s actually our share of the Holocaust against the Roma. We have to face this issue.” The poor handling of the historical heritage of the Rroma Holocaust is emblematic of the insufficient respect for the minority in the present. Segregated schools, discrimination in the labour market and widespread prejudices continue to make the life of the Rroma anything but easy (compare Kraus 2014). – The chairman of the right-wing nationalist Úsvit party, Tomio Okamura, provoked a political outcry on Monday when he announced that no one had died in Lety. The concentration camp of Lety was a myth, he stated. Numerous politicians, including the Czech minister for human rights, Jiří Dienstbier, called for his resignation (Prager Zeitung 2014).

Deutschland Ungarn News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

06.08.2014 Memorial of the Rroma Holocaust

Published by:

Many international newspapers reportes about the mass murder of Rroma on the occasion of the 70th commemoration of the evacuation of the Gypsy camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. On August the second, 1944, the remaining 3000 inmates of the camp were killed. The inmates of the Gypsy camp actively resisted and barricaded themselves in the barracks. After the rebellion was put down, approximately 3000 of the 6000 Rroma were classified as capable of working and taken to other labour camps. The remaining 3000 – mostly children, women and old people – were gassed or shot. Previously, tens of thousands had already been deliberately starved to death or died of plagues and epidemics. The interior minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Reinhold Gall, pointed out in his speech that the Nazi atrocities would not have been possible without the opportune collaboration of the authorities and the police. It is therefore necessary to critically question this passive tolerance but also active support of fascism: “He pointed to the asylum decree of the ministry of the interior of Württemberg in November the 7th, 1938, which made it possible that children could be classified as “Gypsies” and interned into protectorates. “For too long, the authorities have not concerned themselves with their own history”, he said. Also Thomas Schnabel, director of the museum of contemporary history, pointed out the “fatal cooperation between police, interior ministries and the Gestapo.” For example, the police of Karlsruhe had gathered 150 Sinti and Roma in the courtyard of its bureau to bring them to the collection camp Hohenasperg, from where they were deported to Auschwitz” (Schmidt 2014). The chairman of the central council of German Sinti and Rroma, Romani Rose, emphasised in his speech at Auschwitz, under the presence of survivors and politicians, the worrying rise of right-wing nationalist and extreme right-wing parties and groups: “With great concern we see that right-wing extremist and violent parties and organisations in Europe are increasing and find an echo to their slogans into the mainstream of society” (Baltic Rundschau 2014). Roses indication of the missing lessons of history is of particular importance. Only through an insufficient remembrance of past atrocities against minorities such as the Roma can the renewed rise of racism against marginalized groups be explained. These tendencies are reinforced and fuelled by economic and social issues. At the commemoration, young Rroma from 25 European countries were present. The memory of the atrocities committed by the Nazis should not be forgotten and passed on to the younger generation. In his speech to the German Bundestag on January the 27th, 2011, Zoni Weisz called the genocide of the Rroma justifiably the “forgotten Holocaust”. Repression was rarely the right method to sort out a problem. West Germany only recognized the Rroma genocide in 1982,  at which time, many of the survivors had already died. The Holocaust of the Rroma is repeatedly falsely equated with the word Porrajmos, also in some of the articles cited here. The expression, which emanates from the verb porravav and means “to open widely”, is often used in the context of sexual activity and is therefore not appropriate to describe a genocide. Among the Rroma there is no recognized term to describe the Rroma Holocaust (compare ARD Tagesschau 2014, Deutsche Welle 2014, Gribben 2014, Gulyas 2014, Keating 2014, Kushen 2014, Libération 2014, MDR 2014, MiGAZIN 2014, Roth 2014, Die Welt 2014, Weisz 2014, Wetzel 2014).

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Polen

01.08.2014 Holocaust: “the saver in the long skirt”

Published by:

In an impressive article Hreczuk (2014) reports on the fate of the Romni Alfreda Markowska (Noncia) and of more than 50 men and women who owe her their lives. The reason for the article is the 70th day of remembrance of the evacuation of the Gypsy camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The systematic mass murder in the Gypsy camp cost nearly 20,000 people their lives. Markowska, whose entire family was murdered by the Nazis, worked with her husband for the Todt organisation who installed railway tracks in the occupied territories: “When somebody told Noncia about a group of Roma who was killed in a nearby forest, all her terrible memories came back. “When she heard that she went there immediately”, says Parno [one of the rescued]. In the remains of the camp in the woods, Noncia finds a child. It is her first. […] On that day, Noncia decides to rebuild her large family. Within a radius of 100 kilometres, she goes everywhere where the Nazis have murdered. She smuggles children out from the trains. She never gets discovered. “Nationality did not matter to Noncia”, says Parno. Some time later, when Noncia and her husband moved behind the front to the west, as far as Gorzow, they also took lost children from there. German children. […] Noncia is now almost 90 years old and too sick to receive unknown visitors. In 2006, she received the second highest civilian honour of Poland, the Polonia Restituta with a star. But she never received compensation for her persecution. Her little pension is barely enough for life and for pharmaceuticals.” This memorable article shows the importance of civil courage and action against the passive acceptance of prevailing circumstances.

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Polen

30.07.2014 Andrychow: pogroms against Rroma

Published by:

Zurawski (2014) reports on anti-Rroma pogroms in Andrychow, Poland. According to the journalists, last month, right-wing groups have begun with demonstrations propagandising “Cyganies out”  (Gypsies out). Andrychow is just a few kilometres from Auschwitz, where thousands of Rroma were systematically murdered during the Second World War. Roman Kwiatkowski, president of the Polish Rroma Association, called the latest incidents very disturbing. Many Rroma are worried and afraid: “In Andrychow last month, a pregnant Roma woman was attacked as she walked in the street. Soon after, two young ethnic Poles were beaten up in what many residents assumed was a Roma revenge attack. Anger erupted. Supporters of the local football club, Beskid Andrychow, set up a page on Facebook. It published accounts of what it said were violent attacks by Roma, and photographs of ethnic Poles it said had been beaten up. The page has now been “liked” by 14,182 people. One post read: “We’re not going to sit quietly and pretend that everything is OK. We are shouting long and loud: enough of Gypsy impunity!”” Critics see the new right-wing movement in Poland as influenced by the Hungarian Jobbik party. This has made racist comments against Rroma socially acceptable among more and more people. It is very alarming that racist slogans against the minority still find such strong echo. The defamation of a minority does not start when it is physically excluded and ostracized, but already when it is agitated against by demagoguery. This intellectual arson must be stopped. Policy makers from Poland are called upon to stop the spread of anti-Semitic thought (compare Zurawski/Lowe/Goettig 2014).

Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

16.07.2014 “Memories of Holocaust victims are lost with the graves”

Published by:

Stoll (2014) and the SWR (2014) report on the expiry of the concessions of graves of Holocaust survivors. The graves of Rroma who survived the Nazi genocide are more than just resting places to the members of the minority. They are also memorials to the victims of National Socialism and thus have an historical value. Approximately 3,500 tombs are affected. Romani Rose calls for conversion of the tombs of Holocaust survivors to honour-graves with eternal resting right. It is significant that the Jewish cemeteries were granted this status a long time ago, whereas the Rroma have been denied this expression of respect until now: “The chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, has urged the federal and state governments on Monday to do more for the tombs of Sinti and Roma. The graves are also places of memory to the victims of the Holocaust, he said in Heidelberg. […] “If the graves are eliminated, then the families also lose the memory to a part of their biography and to the people who have fallen victim to an unique racist crime”, says Romani Rose […]. He goes even further: he states that the sites are also “learning sites” for the population: through them, one conceive what was once possible in Germany and what appears inconceivable today” (SWR 2014). The Rroma Holocaust was only recognized in 1982 by the chancellor Helmut Schmidt. This only happened after massive protests by Rroma in Germany, who did not want to tolerate the continuing discrimination against them in the post-war period any longer. Rose emphasizes that the survivors’ graves are also places of remembrance for the rest of the family members who did not return from the concentration camps. He appeals to the policymakers that one finally recognises the graves as eternal resting places.

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Polen

11.07.2014 Far-right groups in Poland

Published by:

Zurawski (2014) reports about Polish far-right groups who blame the Rroma-minority for criminal activities. In this dynamics, Rroma are used as scapegoats. Beside actual physical violence against Rroma, shouts such as „Cyganies raus“ (Gypsies or Rroma out) are exceedingly common. Rroma in Poland are increasingly afraid of these developments. Human rights campaigners think that there is a direct link between these groups and the Hungarian extremist Jobbik party. This direct link is denied by a Jobbik activist. Jobbik Politicians were only present to offer to help. The right wing politician Robert Winniki, who said at a rally all Rroma should be driven out, sees in the Jobbik and it’s success as an inspiration for his views.   

Zurawski, Wojciech (2014) Polish far-right groups stir up anti-Roma hatred in the shadow of Auschwitz. In: The Independent the 9.7.2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/polish-farright-groups-stir-up-antiroma-hatred-in-the-shadow-of-auschwitz-9595882.html  

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

18.06.2014 Lety: protest against pig farm at the site of the former concentration camp

Published by:

Several newspapers reported on the protest by activists in several European countries, who objected to the presence of a pig farm at the site of a former concentration camp in Lety, in the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic itself, several representatives of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM) were present. They remembered the approximately 1,300 Rroma women and children who were interned between August 1942 and May 1943 in the concentration camp of Lety. Most of them were then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and gassed there. In Lety itself, around 330 Rroma died, most of them children. They perished of typhoid fever, hunger, or because of the catastrophic conditions in the camp. Under the communist government, an industrial pig farm was built on the site of the former concentration camp. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, members of the Rroma community and human rights activists have called for the demolition of the pig farm and the establishment of a memorial (compare 20 minutes 2014, L’essentiel 2014, The Times of Israël 2014).

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

13.06.2014 Tribute to the victims of the Marzahn labour camp

Published by:

On June 15th, the state association Berlin-Brandenburg of German Sinti and Rroma commemorated the victims of the Marzahn labour camp. In the 1930s, Rroma living in Berlin were brought to Marzahn labour camp after the rise of the Nazis, in order to “clean” the city for the Olympic Games of 1936: “Thousands of Gypsies were here – between the cemetery and the former sewage farms – interned and forced to work in labour camps before they were transported to concentration camps. […] In the “Gypsy camp Marzahn”, from the summer 1936 onward, at least 1,200 people from infants to elderly were held under inhuman conditions. By the spring of 1943, almost all inmates had been deported to Auschwitz. From there, almost no one came back” (Tessman 2014). The chairman of the state association, Petra Rosenberg, will remind with a speech on June the 15th that the persecution and marginalization of the Rroma continued after the end of World War II and the German government recognized these injustices only after long efforts by political activists (Tessman 2014).

Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Rumänien Ukraine

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

Published by:

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 und 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).   

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

21.05.2014 Memory of Rroma revolt in Auschwitz-Birkenau

Published by:

On May 16th 1944, the prisoners of camp sector II B of Auschwitz-Birkenau actively rebelled. Rroma detained there were supposed to be led into the gas chambers by SS: “Armed with stones and tools, they barricaded themselves in the barracks. They managed to escape extermination for the time being. […] The uprising in the camp sector II B of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the “Gypsy camp”, was a highlight of the resistance that Sinti and Roma actively held in many ways against the persecution and extermination by the Nazis. But their resistance was broken: after the selection of all prisoners capable of working, the “Gypsy camp” was dismantled in early August. The remaining 2900 people died in the gas chambers.” In Auschwitz-Birkenau, around 23,000 Rroma were detained, half of them younger than 14 years old. Almost all of them were murdered. On the occasion of the commemoration, Deutschlandradio Kultur spoke with Silvio Peritore, from the Central Council of German Sinti and Rroma. Peritore complains about the lacking reappraisal of the genocide in the post-war period, the detentions were legitimized as “crime prevention” in continuity with the Nazis policies, and the continuing tolerance of racist slogans under the guise of freedom of expression, which reveals ambivalence towards ones own history. The Administrative Court of Kassel decided in September 2013 that the posters of the NPD with the slogan “Money for grandma instead for Sinti and Roma” had to be tolerated under the paragraph on the freedom of expression. The statement of facts didn’t qualify as demagoguery: “How can it be that after a recognition of the genocide – with exhibitions, with monuments, educational events – again today, people continue to be defamed with a similar language. Last year before the federal election campaign, now for the European elections again, these NPD election posters are tolerated under the guise of party protection and freedom of expression. The state or the judiciary does not evaluate this form of misanthropy as demagoguery and regularly slams complaints from citizens, from people affected, and from Sinti and Roma, who don’t want to put with that. On one side one has the historic confrontation in the form of monuments – which are important, which are essential – but on the other side, one has this contradiction that allows populist parties, right-wing extremists, to do their propaganda against minorities, especially against Sinti and Roma.  They use them as scapegoats for perceived or real nuisances, which is very frightening.” On one side, Peritore speaks about a legal loophole, the tolerance of discrimination by the rule of law under the freedom of speech and press, on the other hand, the problem of the social tolerance of these hostilities. It is therefore every single citizen responsibility to work and pursue a just society (compare Barbezat 2014, Deutschlandradio Kultur 2014, Die Presse 2014, Stoll 2014, Von Billerbeck 2014).

Frankreich Griechenland Italien News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Spanien

16.05.2014 Pew-polling institute: Rroma are the most despised minority

Published by:

On the occasion of the upcoming European parliamentary elections, the Pew polling institute examined the opinions of the French, Germans, Greeks, Italians, Poles, Spanish, and English about the European Union, as well as on general social topics. The opinion research institute came, among others, to the finding that Rroma are the most despised minority in Europe, with prejudices in Italy, France and Greece being the greatest: “The most negative views in Europe aren’t directed toward Muslims or Jews. Rather, it’s Roma. [The] chart is really quite remarkable, showing that Spain is the only nation where more people hold positive views of Roma than negative. In Italy, just 10 percent have positive views about Roma, while 85 percent have negative views. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely surprising. Roma, often dismissively referred to as “gypsies” in Europe, have suffered discrimination in Europe for centuries, and some estimates suggest that 70 percent of their European population was killed during the Holocaust.” The study can also be interpreted as meaning that in countries with strong ideological debates about the minority, more people rejecting. Moreover, in the countries with the highest rejection – Italy and France – the media only report about Rroma living in Slums, which promotes a biased view.

Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

09.05.2014 Lawsuits against NPD because of harassment and demagoguery

Published by:

Gensing (2014) reports on a complaint by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma against the right-wing nationalist National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). The occasion is the announcement of a panel discussion of the party, to which it wanted to invite Heinz Buschkowsky, Thilo Sarrazin and Romani Rose to discuss the immigration of “criminal East Europeans”. Rose never agreed to his participation in such discussions and forbids himself any contact with the right-wing party, which is why the Central Council has filed a lawsuit: “The Central Council filed complaint because for harassment to the public prosecutor against the Berlin state chief [of the NPD], Sebastian Schmidtke, who signed the letter. With the public promotion of the alleged discussion, the NPD untruthfully conveyed the impression that there is actually a contact between the Party and the Central Council, the complaint reads. This suggests the assumption that Rose was actually ready to discuss with the NPD on their racist slogans, which is absolutely not the case.” Gensing interprets the action of the party as an attempt to catch media attention, so far without success.

Schmidt (2014) reports a further complaint against the NPD by a German Sintiza. In Würzburg, on numerous locations one could find posters with the slogan “Money for grandma instead of for the Sinti and Roma”. The Sintiza Perla S. filed a complaint on demagoguery. In Würzburg, the posters were then removed, but not because of a verdict of the courts. Several administrative courts on the contrary approved the posters, on the grounds that they do not openly incite discrimination against Sinti and Rroma. Perla S. contradicts this decidedly. The racism against the minority is still widespread: “Perla S. […] knows what discrimination is. “Already in school I was treated with hostility”, she says, “Hitler forgot to gas you, the children said to me.” This hurt the Sintiza. Especially because in her environment “some older people” live “who lived through the Holocaust.””

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

07.05.2014 “Remembrance ceremony at the memorial for the Roma and Sinti in Salzburg”

Published by:

Salzburg 24 (2014) reports on a memorial event at Rroma memorial in Salzburg. The memorial commemorates Rroma deported by the Nazis. In Salzburg, there were 300 of them: “They were rounded up in 1943 on the site of the former trotting course and then deported over the detention camp Maxglan to the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. To this tortured people a memorial is dedicated to in the small park at Ignaz-Riederkai. […] Mayor Heinz Schaden also addressed the current situation in his speech: the guiding principle for dealing with poverty migrants should be the universal human rights. However, the social problems of Roma and Sinti in several Eastern European countries cannot be solved on the streets and squares in the rest of Europe, he states. Rather, it requires a pan-European effort to enable the people in their home countries a decent life.”

Frankreich News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

25.04.2014 Call for a civil rights movement of the Rroma

Published by:

Umberto Guerra (2014), by the French Rroma organization Romeurope, takes stock of the history of France Rroma. He regrets that the Rroma, who have been living in France for centuries, are still not recognized by the public as part of French society. Instead, one discriminates them further. In the French public, the Rroma exist only in the form of visible immigrants from Eastern Europe. The Rroma who have been living integrated in France for generations, are not seen by the media. According to Guerra they are still victims of racism and discrimination: “There are also several hundred thousand Roma who are French citizens. We are the object of racism and discrimination. But our situation is better than that of our immigrant brothers and sisters whom the French state continues to exclude. Racism against Roma is fed by widespread stereotypes. According to the national commission into human rights 85 percent of French people think Roma exploit their children. The idea of French national identity also plays a role. The true French person is supposed to speak French not regional languages, for example, and to be settled rather than travelling. And the economic crisis has seen things get worse. That’s true of racism in general, but particularly anti-Roma racism.” Moreover, Viviane Reding criticized that the Rroma have repeatedly been used as scapegoats for social ills in the French election campaign, when politicians did not want to talk about more relevant topics. Guerra expresses his disappointment about the fact that the political parties and politicians, from the right as well as from the left, were not reliable in respecting the rights of the Rroma and to come to their defence. At the end, he calls for the concentration of the various civil rights movements and a special dedication to the betterment of the situation of the Rroma: “In the last few years new anti-racist movements have developed, including Roma movements. We are working towards a Festival of Gypsy Insurrection to celebrate the revolt of Roma people in the Birkenau Nazi concentration camp on 16 May 1944. People on the receiving end of racism have taken the initiative and created “specialised” movements against Islamophobia, anti-black racism, etc. These movements are at the stage of getting to know one another. To succeed in their just struggle they will need to coordinate. Roma organisations take part in these movements and we attempt to play a role in bringing them together.” By such a movement, it could perhaps at last be made clear to the majority population that the Rroma have been living among them for generations, invisible and integrated and that they should be allowed to display their identity publicly and proudly without being discriminated.

rroma.org
de_DEDE
en_GBEN fr_FRFR de_DEDE