Roma Genocide Remembrance

August 2nd is the Day of Remembrance of the Sinti and Roma Genocide. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the liquidation of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (“Gypsy Family Camp”) of Auschwitz II-Birkenau, during which almost 3,000 Roma children and adults were killed in gas chambers. The liquidation had been planned for May 16th, 1944, but the camp inhabitants rebelled and were able to keep the SS at bay. Very few Roma survived the eventual liquidation, and upon the liberation of Auschwitz, only a small group escaped with their lives.

Sinti and Roma were targeted by the Nazis because they were considered to be racially inferior, but had been targets of persecution long before the Nazis came to power. Since they arrived in Europe in the 1400s, they were largely considered to be outsiders, and were often treated with scorn. Under the Nazi regime, an increasing number of anti-Gypsy laws subjected tens of thousands of Gypsies to sterilization, deportation to camps, forced labor, and mass murder. One of the children we honor, Joseph Muscha Mueller, was pulled out of school and sterilized when he was 12 years old. (read more about Joseph). It is estimated that between 220,000 and 500,000 Gypsies throughout Europe were killed during the Holocaust.Slowly, the genocide of the Roma and Sinti is gaining recognition. West Germany officially recognized the genocide in 1982 and in 2011 August 2nd was declared the Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of the Roma and Sinti. Disgracefully, Roma and Sinti people still face tremendous discrimination today, so it’s important to pay attention to their history past and present.

The subject of this month's Portrait of the Month is Anna Maria Steinbach, a Sinti girl who was killed at Auschwitz along with her family.

Sources:http://www.ushmm.org/learn/students/learning-materials-and-resources/sinti-and-roma-victims-of-the-nazi-erahttp://en.auschwitz.org/m/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1124&Itemid=8http://2august.eu/the-roma-genocide/