The 20th century is sometimes called the “centrury of genocide”. Never before have people been killing each other on such a scale, with so sophisticated methods and techniques, for so many reasons and seemingly without any scrupules or mercy. Untold masses of humans fell victims to these massacres. From South West Africa and Armenia to Cambodia and Rwanda, there were a number of genocides. A number of genocides, but just one Holocaust.
Or, was there just one?
Most of the scholarly attention devoted to the subject of Holocaust has, not surprisingly, been focused on the Jewish experience during the Nazi period. The study of the Gypsy experience during the same period has been largely underrepresented in the historiography discussions. Therefore, in this paper I will concentrate on the Porrajmos. The main aim of this work is to find out if and eventually to what extent the Shoah and the Porrajmos are comparable.
In the first half I deal with the persecution of the Gypsies solely. I describe the main characteristics of the treatment of the Gypsies by the Nazis as well as mention the main laws and decrees that dealt with the issue.
In the second part of this paper my own believes become much more pronounced. I discuss and compare the Nazi treatment of Jews and Gypsies; touch upon the most debated and controversial issues and above all analyze the main differences in the treatment of these two groups.
Based on the facts from the first chapter and deriving from the discussion in the second chapter I shall then try to draw conclusions concerning Yehuda Bauer’s thesis that “It does not do any service to the cause of the Romani people to mix them up in the same analytical framework with the Jews by defining the Holocaust as pertaining to both Gypsies and Jews”.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Persecution of the Gypsies
- Romani before 1933
- The Gypsies under the Nazi Herrschaft
- First discriminatory measures
- The "Gypsy problem" as a racial one
- Zigeunerlager and concentration camps
- "Combating the Gypsy Plague"
- Deportations to the East
- Campaign of annihilation
- The Auschwitz decree
- Gypsy Family Camp at Auschwitz
- The death toll
- The treatment of Gypsies and Jews compared
- Nazi perception of both groups
- Decision making process
- Discrimination because of behaviour or because of race?
- The treatment of Mischlinge
- Migratory and sedentary Gypsies
- Gypsy Family Camp at Auschwitz
- Question of Genocide
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper aims to investigate the persecution of the Roma and Sinti (referred to as "Gypsies" throughout) under Nazi rule, comparing it to the treatment of Jews during the same period. The main objective is to explore the similarities and differences in Nazi policy towards these groups, ultimately addressing Yehuda Bauer's statement that it does not serve the cause of the Romani people to equate their experience with the Jewish Holocaust.
- The persecution of the Gypsies under Nazi rule
- The Nazi "Gypsy problem" as a racial issue
- The treatment of Gypsies and Jews compared
- The question of genocide
- The validity of comparing the Shoah and the Porrajmos
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter provides a detailed account of the persecution of the Gypsies under Nazi rule, beginning with the pre-1933 period and tracing the evolution of discriminatory measures. It highlights the increasing focus on the Gypsies as a racial category and discusses their classification, confinement in Zigeunerlager and concentration camps, and ultimate annihilation. This chapter concludes with an examination of the Nazi campaign of annihilation targeting the Gypsies, emphasizing their treatment in Auschwitz.
The second chapter focuses on the comparison between the Nazi treatment of Jews and Gypsies. It explores the Nazi perceptions of these groups, the decision-making processes involved in their persecution, and the question of whether discrimination was based on behavior or race. This chapter also addresses the treatment of Mischlinge (people of mixed racial backgrounds) within both groups.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Key terms and concepts explored in this work include Roma Holocaust, Porrajmos, Zigeunerlager, concentration camps, Nazi racial policies, anti-Gypsy discrimination, Nazi perception of race, genocide, and comparison of the Holocaust and the Porrajmos.
- Quote paper
- Martin Weiser (Author), 2007, Roma Holocaust. The The nazi treatment of Gypsies and Jews compared, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/90882
