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Section: Life before the Holocaust

Pre-war Roma life

Map showing the location of the pre-war population of European Roma.

Map showing the location of the pre-war population of European Roma.

Courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library.
A Roma woman washing clothing in a tub in the 1930s, as a young girl smiles in the background.
A Roma woman washing clothing in a tub in the 1930s, as a young girl smiles in the background.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Kore Yoors.
Three young Roma women walk together along a road in 1930s Europe.
Three young Roma women walk together along a road in 1930s Europe.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Kore Yoors.
Map showing the location of the pre-war population of European Roma.
A Roma woman washing clothing in a tub in the 1930s, as a young girl smiles in the background.
Three young Roma women walk together along a road in 1930s Europe.

Roma (or Romani) are people who left northern India approximately a thousand years ago. They arrived in central Europe and Germany by around the early fifteenth century.

There are various distinct Roma groups, or tribes, including Sinti , who are mainly based in Germany, and Lalleri, from Czech lands. Some itinerant communities in Europe are not Romani, such as Irish Travellers. Roma, Sinti and Traveller communities have historically been referred to as Gypsies in Britain and as Zigeuner in Germany. On this website, Roma is used as a collective term for Roma, Sinti and Traveller communities.

Prior to the Holocaust, around one million Roma were living in Europe. As many as 500,000 were murdered at the hands of the Nazis.

In contrast to the stereotype , in the first half of the twentieth century many Roma and Sinti had stopped travelling continually, and become permanent residents of cities. With permanent residency, many also took up regular day jobs in various professions. In addition to Romani, the traditional language of Roma based on Sanskrit , most Roma spoke the language of the country in which they dwelled.

Roma continue to be persecuted and marginalised today.

Hans Braun

The testimony of Hans Braun, a boy from Germany who would later be persecuted at the hands of the Nazis, describing his childhood.
The testimony of Hans Braun, a boy from Germany who would later be persecuted at the hands of the Nazis, describing his childhood.

Courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library Collections.

Hans Braun was a Sinti born in Hannover in 1923. Over summer, Hans’ family travelled around Germany with a carnival, and in winter were settled in one location.

Above you can read his recollection of his childhood. This recollection is an excerpt from the Donald Kenrick collection in The Wiener Holocaust Library archives. Kenrick undertook a significant research project into the fate of Roma during the Nazi period in the 1960s, and donated his research to The Wiener Holocaust Library.

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Antisemitism

Antisemitism

What happened in December

<p>On 20 December 1924, Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison.</p>

On 20 December 1924, Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison.

<p>On 2 December 1938, the first Kindertransport arrived in the United Kingdom.</p>

On 2 December 1938, the first Kindertransport arrived in the United Kingdom.

<p>On 8 December 1941, the first gas chambers started operating in Chełmno.</p>

On 8 December 1941, the first gas chambers started operating in Chełmno.

<p>On 16 December 1942, a decree was passed stating that all German Roma and Sinti were to be deported to Auschwitz.</p>

On 16 December 1942, a decree was passed stating that all German Roma and Sinti were to be deported to Auschwitz.

<p>On 1 December 1943, Mussolini ordered the arrest and deportation of Italian Jews to concentration camps.</p>

On 1 December 1943, Mussolini ordered the arrest and deportation of Italian Jews to concentration camps.