Voglauer/Blimlinger call for a national day of remembrance for Roma and Romnja, Sinti and Sintizze who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazi regime

2023-08-01 15:55:04

International Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of Sinti and Roma: Greens for the erection of a central memorial

Vienna (OTS) – During National Socialism around 500,000 Roma and Romnja, Sinti and Sintizze were murdered in the German Reich, including around 10,000 from Austria. Roma and Sinti were persecuted as “gypsies” or “asocial” and systematically murdered. Before 1938 around 11,000 to 12,000 Roma and Romnja, Sinti and Sintizze lived in Austria, most of them in Burgenland. “To this day there is still no national implementation of the European Holocaust Remembrance Day on August 2nd in Austria. National days of remembrance are a dignified and important part of the culture of remembrance. This is accompanied by the recognition and condemnation of the Porajmos. This is not only of great importance for the victims of the Roma genocide and their relatives, but also for Austria’s self-image,” demands the spokeswoman for the Greens, Olga Voglauer.

August 2nd was deliberately chosen as a day of remembrance: in a single night from August 2nd to 3rd, 1944, at least 3000 Roma and Romnja, including Sinti and Sintizze, were murdered as a result of the liquidation of camp section B II e, the so-called “Gypsy camp”. Men, women and children murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Even before 1938, Roma and Sinti, but also Yeniche people, were subjected to massive discrimination in Austria. The Austrian authorities recorded Roma and Romnja, Sinti and Sintizze on a racist basis in an index, the so-called “Gypsy index”, which then formed the basis for the persecution and extermination of the Roma and Romnja, Sinti and Sintizze. In order to make the population more aware of the “Porajmos”, which means “devouring” or “destruction” in Romani, both education and signs in public space are necessary. “To this day, Roma and Sinti are discriminated against and attacked. Roma and Sinti must finally be recognized as an equal part of our society – also here in Austria,” Voglauer sees a current need for action.

Even after 1945 it was difficult for Roma and Romnja, Sinti and Sintizze. For many years, they were refused payments from victim welfare, and compensation was also withheld. In Austria, they were only recognized as victims in 1988 by the Victim Welfare Act and finally in 1995 by the National Fund for Victims of National Socialism. They continued to be discriminated against and harassed by Austrian authorities. Only after the recognition as an ethnic group in 1993 did things become easier and improved. “The history of the Roma and Sinti in Austria is a history of harassment, discrimination, persecution and finally annihilation during National Socialism. The few survivors continued to be discriminated against after 1945 and had to wait a long time before they were recognized as victims. The introduction of the long-demanded national day of remembrance and the erection of a memorial in a central location are therefore urgently needed,” summarizes Eva Blimlinger, spokeswoman for memorial policy for the Greens.

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