Unveiling the Forgotten Genocide: The Romani Tragedy During Nazi Germany
Discover the harrowing story of the Romani genocide during Nazi Germany. Learn about the Nuremberg Laws, mass arrests, and the tragic loss of 2.5 million Romani lives. Why is their story less known compared to the Jewish Holocaust?
-Kranti Kumar
On November 26, 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were enacted in Nazi Germany.
These laws elevated the Aryan race to a status of superiority, while Jews and Blacks were declared inferior. Among the targeted groups was another community: the nomadic Romani people, who had migrated from India to Europe thousands of years earlier.
In 1940, Nazi army commander Heinrich Himmler issued an order to arrest Romani people and send them to concentration camps to be executed. Romani individuals were rounded up from Nazi-occupied territories, and it is estimated that between 1942 and 1945, 2,500,000 Romani people were killed in gas chambers.
This is one of the largest genocides in history. Have you ever encountered a movie, documentary, or debate about the Romani genocide? Probably not.
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The Jewish community has managed to brand their ethnic genocide by making films, writing books, and creating a significant public outcry. Conversely, the Romani community has struggled to raise their voice due to a lack of resources and systemic support to tell their story.
As a result, the world largely believes that the genocide in Nazi Germany only affected the Jews. The Romani genocide remains a shadowed chapter in the tragic history of the Holocaust, often overlooked and underrepresented in mainstream narratives.
