Persecution of the Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust

By: Nina Weng

“Roma and Sinti: A Portable History” is a mini podcast series that I created in the summer of 2023. I began working on it as a challenge that I made for myself to present research without writing a paper. To my surprise, making a podcast as a one-person team was arduous work. That said, why work on this project at all?
 
As people with a voice, it is our obligation to not only be informed but also inform others of historical and ongoing persecution. While many Jewish Holocaust survivors have bravely shared their stories, the world still knows extraordinarily little of the Roma and Sinti, both as peoples and victims of the Third Reich.
 
The Roma and Sinti are commonly known as the “forgotten victims of the Holocaust.” They are seldom recognized as victims of the Third Reich in public history. Despite being as equally racially persecuted as the Jewish people, their stories are largely uncovered by regular history courses, the media, and even popular culture.
 
This is because of their historical and ongoing persecution by powerful institutions. These include the modern nation-states of Europe and their leaders. Any postwar compensation or recognition of their victimhood is virtually non-existent, and crimes against the Roma and Sinti are still happening to this day.
 
Why do we, as a society, pick and choose which victims of the Holocaust we commemorate? Why do we focus on certain narratives more than others? How come, despite promises of “never again”, far-right movements have only gained more traction since the Second World War?
 
To explore these topics and more, begin by hitting “play” on “Episode One: Pre-1939 Persecution.”
 

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