During the holocaust some estimates say that over 50% of the entire European population of Roma people were murdered.
They were also forced to be identified in camps with the brown upside down triangle
They were considered racially impure, much like the Jews. In many nations they were hunted by their fellow countrymen, who had an existing bias against them that was fuelled by war propaganda. The Einsatzgruppen (basically a moving, mobile killing squad) had Roma as a target. And, yes, there was a "Gypsy Question".
Their population was absolutely decimated. But worse.
August 2 is a date that some acknowledge this genocide. Some other dates....some not any dates at all. This date was chosen because of the huge killings on that night of those in the Zigeunerfamilienlager. Roma families were kept together in a camp in Auschwitz.
The Nazis decided to "clear" most of the camp that night, killing many children and elderly on purpose. There was a lot of fighting, they fought back with improvised weapons. Let no one ever say that they walked wearily to their deaths. They fought for themselves and their families with every ounce of strength they had.
Thousands were killed in gas chambers that night, the women, children, elderly and infirm. The rest were sent to work camps.
Germany only officially acknowledged this aspect of the holocaust in the early 80s. In the Former Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic Roma women were forced into sterilisation through a number of means, in the 70s, the 90s and into the 00's, with some reports that this is still ongoing.
The Roma are not a footnote in history. Their suffering was immeasurable, like so many others. In ways that some places will still not acknowledge or account for.
May the memories of those gone be a blessing, and the future of those that remain be a brighter and more hopeful one.
theartofmadeline
tangentwithtanner
blakekathryn
gummygunk
