The history of the gypsies had not had a positive image in terms of what is to be considered socially acceptable. Because of the nomadic way of life. They have been looked down upon as outcast. Gypsies have been labeled as beggars, criminals, thieves and promoting the devils work by fortune telling. Gypsies are accused of being lazy, filthy, asocial, immoral, and lack work ethics. All of this being said in reference to the gypsy population raises a question in regard to the persecution of the gypsy during the holocaust. Was Hitler’s intent racially motivated, or were the gypsies perceived as a danger to society because of their conduct? According to Guenter Lewy, most of the Sinti and Roma were of a darker complexion and have lived in Germany …show more content…
for centuries. Migrating mostly from Balkans, and Hungary is settling in Bavaria. Lack of a work ethic, forced gypsies to seek welfare. Which would be a financial responsibility on the state. Because the gypsies were stereotyped as vagabonds and criminals. It was hard for the gypsy to settle in one known place, because most territories did not accept the gypsy. Gypsy had to have on his or her persons at all times identification documents.
A permit or license was required to sell merchandise. Mandatory gypsy registration of all persons was enforced. Finger prints, photographs, marriage and death certificates were mandatory documents that had to file at the head office of that state. These regulations imposed, also gave police the authorization to cancel all license, and identification documents at will. These restrictions were put in place to maintain order among the gypsy population, protect citizens, and used as a deterrent to stop the flood of the gypsies …show more content…
(Lewy5)”. These restrictions ultimately lead to the 1926 legislation, The Law for Combating of Gypsies, Travelers and the Work-Shy. This legislation entailed specific provisions, (1) Gypsies and persons who roam about in the manner of Gypsies, may only itinerate with wagons and caravans if they have permission from the police authorities responsible. This permission may only be granted for a maximum of one calendar year and is revocable at all times. His license permitting them to do so is to be presented on demand to the police officers responsible. (2) Gypsies and travelers may not with school-age children. Exceptions may be granted by the responsible police authorities, if adequate provision has been made for education of the children (3) Gypsies and traveler can only itinerate with horses, dogs, and animals which serve commercial functions if they possess a license to do so from the responsible police authorities. (4) Gypsies and travelers may not possess firearms or ammunition unless they have been expressly permitted to do so by the responsible police authorities. (5) Gypsies and travelers may not roam about or camp in bands. The association of several single persons, or several families, and the association of single persons with family to which they do not belong, is to be regarded as constituting band. A group of persons living together like a family is also regarded as a band. (6) Gypsies and travelers may only encamp or park their wagons and caravans on open-air sites designated by the local police authorities, and only for a period of time specified by the local police authorities. These laws were imposed to discourage the Gypsies, or person living the lifestyle. (Burleigh, Wippermann pp.114-115).” This legislation that was implemented is unjust, because how could the police actually establish who was a gypsy and who wasn’t. Just because you see a family traveling in a manner of what is perceived as a gypsy lifestyle, does not necessarily imply that they were gypsy. This was a period of migration for people with different customs, cultures and traditions. In search for better economic opportunities. Even though it is not stated, these provision included foreigners, migrating to the German states. When Hitler took office in 1933, the goal was to build a powerful German society by purification of the races. Hitler’s main objective was to create a pure Aryan nation, and those that did not fit into his vision of purification would be deported or eliminated. This included persons with physical and mental disabilities. Gypsies were viewed as a group that had a mental asocial disorder. Gypsy reproduction was a threat to Hitler’s purification process. Sterilization was introduced in 1933 under the Law for Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Defects. According to Guenter Lewy “The German Sterilization Law was decreed as a eugenic measure. The courts accepted asocial behavior as proof of hereditary disease. Asocial behavior was equated with a special form of retardation. Gypsies were sterilized as a precautionary measure of giving birth to children with asocial behavior. So the involuntary sterilization among the gypsies was justified. Most of the procedures conducted were vasectomy, removal of the ovaries, tuba ligation and intravenous treatments (Lewy43).” Records were kept and recorded by Dr.
Robert Ritter, who was the head of the Racial Hygiene Research Center. Based on the data that was collected Ritter developed a theory on the Gypsy. There were full blooded gypsy, and part gypsy. The part gypsy had become asocial, and criminals because he or she was mixed with an inferior race. This was the beginning of the Nazi racial hatred toward the gypsy. The men, and women who were sterilized and diagnosed as asocial with criminal tendencies. They were sent to concentration camps. This process was used as a deterrent to change the behavior of the person believed to be asocial. Hundreds of Gypsies died due to beating by the guards, lack of sanitary conditions, starvation, and insufficient health care. A new course of action must be taken against the gypsy. Gypsy have been label racially inferior. This information places gypsies in the category as the Jews and blacks. Ritter’s research has open the door for new laws addressing the gypsy population. In 1938 Heinrich Himmler, Chief of the Secret Police, and Minister of The Interior enacted a policy “Combating the Gypsy Plague.” This decree was similar to the Bavarian Law of 1926.The law in 1926 did not focus on race as being an issue. This new policy enacted by Himmler make race and issue with
gypsy. Gypsy were classified according to purity. Pure gypsies were deported to farm camps, under the orders of Himmler for experimental purposes. Pure gypsy’s treatment was better, they were freedom to marry, and procreate, and the most essential factor is, the pure gypsy was not transported to Auschwitz.”Gypsies who are exempt from deportation to the camps are the following: Racially pure Sinti Gypsies, Gypsies who are legally married to persons of German blood, socially adjusted Gypsies who had regular jobs, and permanent residence, Gypsies who are assisting in the war (Lewy142)”. One the other hand, non-pure gypsies were sent to concentration camps. The men were shipped to Dauchau, women went to Revenbruck for an indeterminate time. Problems arose during the deportation process. Dr. Ritter was instructions to provide documents, which would provide information as to who was considered a pure gypsy, but these documents were unobtainable at the time. A selection process began bases on criminal history, daily routine, and appearance. Ability to work, citizenship, received welfare, foster children, truancy, and juvenile delinquent. Gypsies had to provide documents proving they were citizens, working, or foster parents. School, and court records were presented in cases of truancy and delinquency. In countless cases paperwork was unavailable. They were deported to the camps. Arriving at Auschwitz was a divesting for the gypsy, because they are free spirited by nature. They were not subjected to the same treatment as the Jews at first. They were housed in quarters designed for cattle. There were no openings to see daylight. The circulation of air was almost non-existing. The quarters were cold, and congested. Disease such as scabies, diarrhea, lice, and typhus became and epidemic due to the unsanitary conditions. Gypsies were branded with letters, and designs to signify who and what they were. One the other hand pregnant women and child were given extra food, the labor wasn’t strenuous, families for the most part were together, and most of the killing took place after a year. Medical experiments were performed on gypsies at the hands of Josef Mengele, who was affiliated with the Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene. Josef Mengele was also the head physician at Auschwitz, were he perform numerous experiments on children.” Mengele showed special interest in Gypsy children, and in the summer of 1943 he ordered kindergarten children below the age of six into rooms painted with bright colors, and fairytales. Outside there were sandboxes, and swing. He let the children play for a period of time. This children were fed milk, cookies, and other treats. From this group of children, Mengele would select his next experimental victim (Lewy 160)”. Gypsies are victims of the gas chamber in 1943. The first to be sent were the weak suffering from disease. New arrivals were not processed, they were sent directly to the chambers. Mengele was part of the selection process. If you were not physically fit for his experiments, you would be sent to the gas chambers. In conclusion, I do not believe that race was a main factor. There appear to be more focus on the Gypsies way of life. They were a burden on society, because of their work ethics. If race was that important, they would have been treated as the Jews were from the beginning.
In every genocide, minorities and those who were seen as "different" or as the "other" were targeted and blamed for massive systemic issues in society. This includes religious minorities, or groups of people with religious beliefs different from the mainstream. In the holocaust, the main group that people think of getting murdered are Jewish people. A lot of Polish people were also killed within the holocaust. This includes ethnic and racial minorities, or groups of people who look and and sometimes dress differently in terms of skin color, and sometimes clothes. It is known that Hitler and the Nazis wanted to promote an “Aryan” race, an all-white all-German society. It is clear that he was willing to commit genocide on the basis of race, as well. In the Armenian genocide, the Ottoman empire killed people on the basis of being Armenian. This also actually includes members of the LGBT+ community. During the holocaust, Hitler and the Nazis also gathered up
According to A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust, the Roma (Gypsies) and African-Germans were attacked because of their ethnicity. These two groups fell into the category of being “asocial” and too undesirable. The gypsies had pre-existing prejudices against them before Hitler’s rise which he just expanded on by creating laws against them. They had their civil rights taken away. Many were deported or sent to forced labor camps, and murdered. In 1933, the "Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Defects," was put into effect which gave doctors and physicians the ability to take away the choice and ability for the Roma and others to reproduce. The Romani and Negroes were considered minorities with “alien blood” so they were no longer allowed to marry those of the Aryan race (“Sinti and Roma”). The Gypsies and African-Germans foreign appearance, and customs were viewed as a threat to the “superior” race. They were under extreme scrutiny and judgment by researchers and scientists. They were measured, tested and became part of experiments to p...
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children" (Nelson Mandela). If this statement is considered true, then it's fair to say that during times of the Holocaust, the German society was at an all time low. Children during the Holocaust did not have a carefree childhood, like they should have, but instead were placed under strenuous conditions. They had to go through being separated from all family and friends, being chosen the first to go to, and in most cases a permanent loss of family members. The Holocaust was undoubtedly a horrific experience for everyone involved but for children it must have been traumatizing.
Prisoners and concentration camps A. The Gestapo and the Thought Police B. Disappearance and re-education of people C. Concentration and extermination camps
The Third Reich sought the removal of the Jews from Germany and eventually from the world. This removal came in two forms, first through emigration, then through extermination. In David Engel’s The Holocaust: The Third Reich and the Jews, he rationalizes that the annihilation of the Jews by the Germans was a result of how Jews were viewed by the leaders of the Third Reich-- as pathogens that threatened to destroy all humanity. By eliminating the existence of the Jews, the Third Reich believed that it would save the entire world from mortal danger. Through documents such as Franzi Epsteins’s, “Inside Auschwitz-A Memoir,” in The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History by Paul Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz, one is able to see the struggle of the Jews from a first-hand account. Also, through Rudolf Hoess’s “Commandant of Auschwitz,” one is able to see the perspective of a commandant in Auschwitz. In Auschwitz: A History, Sybille Steinbacher effectively describes the concentration camp of Auschwitz, while Hermann Langbein’s People in Auschwitz reflects on Rudolf Hoess’s power and control in Auschwitz as commandant. Through these four texts, one is able to see the effects that the Third Reich’s Final Solution had on the Jews and the commandants.
Genocide is the deliberate killing of people who belong to a particular racial, political, or cultural group (Merriam-Webster). This is what Hitler did to the six million Jews during the Holocaust, which led to many Jews fighting back. This paper will talk about how the Holocaust victims fought back against Hitler and his army. The Holocaust was a mass killing of Jews and non-Jews who were viewed as unneeded within the world by Adolf Hitler. Hitler became leader of Germany and tortured and killed many people. With Nazi Germany killing and torturing millions of Jews and non-Jews, victims decided to fight back with armed and spiritual resistance.
The Roma Gypsies, like the Jews, were chosen for complete genocide. Both groups of people were chosen completely based on their respective race. The Roma gypsies were not characterized by religion like the Jews, however, like the Jews; they were not respected throughout history and wer...
Those of half and quarter Jewish descent remain largely forgotten in the history of the Third Reich and genocide of the Holocaust. Known as Mischlinge, persons of deemed “mixed blood” or “hybrid” status faced extensive persecution and alienation within German society and found themselves in the crosshairs of a rampant National Socialist racial ideology. Controversially, these people proved somewhat difficult to define under Nazi law that sought to cleave the Volk from the primarily Jewish “other”, and as the mechanization toward Hitler’s “Final Solution” the Mischlinge faced probable annihilation. The somewhat neglected status of Mischlinge necessitates a refocusing on German racialization as well as reconsideration of the implications wrought by the alienation and ultimate persecution of the thousands of half and quarter Jews subjugated in Nazi Germany.
“One of the most extraordinary aspects of Nazi genocide was the cold deliberate intention to kill children in numbers so great that there is no historical precedent for it.” (Lukas, 13 Kindle) About 1.5 million children were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust—one million being killed because they were Jews (ushmm.org) The Germans had a clearly defined goal of killing the Jewish children so that there would be no remnants of their race to reproduce, resulting in extinction. Not only were the children that were victimized in the Holocaust persecuted and murdered, but they were all stripped of their childhood. Children were not allowed to be children—they had to, for their own survival, be adults. The oppression of children because of race was a direct result of Hitler’s cruel policies and beliefs. In order to stifle the Jewish race from growing, the children were the first to be slaughtered at extermination camps (ushmm.org).
Who survived the holocaust? What are their lives like today? What has been the government's response towards those who survived after World War II? Have the survivors kept their faith? How has the survivors next generation been affected? The survivors of the holocaust were deeply effected by the trauma they encountered. This unforgettable experience influenced their lives, those around them, and even their descendants.
Although the ghettos were not Hitler's master idea, they were one of the steps to the process of control, dehumanization, and the extinction of the Jewish culture. Jewish neighborhoods were changed into prisons. The ghettos were initially for the Jews but Poles were also imprisoned. For the time being, Jews would be placed into ghettos while plans were being formulated. Stories were created and told to the locals that the Jews carried illnesses and were a "plague" and that they should be isolated from the rest of the community. Between 1939 and 1945, a total of 356 ghettos were established in Poland, Soviet Union, Baltic States, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary. Jews saw this as temporary confinement but the Nazis had other plans. On October 8, 1939, the first ghetto was created in Poland in Piotrków Trybunalski. Deportations began in the month of October 1941 to major ghettos.
When people think of gypsies they usually think of how they are portrayed in movies and in the media, which is very negative. People are naïve about the ways and the culture of gypsies because there is not a lot of information on them since most of their tribes live in secrecy and away from the Gaje, or non-gypsies. In his introduction, Yoors wrote “This book is written as a protest against oblivion, as a cry of love for this race of strangers who have lived among us for centuries and remained apart.” (Yoors, The Gypsies, pg.5). People think gypsies are scummy people who are thieves and very violent, aggressive, and criminal thugs. Yoors wrote this ethnography to prove those people wrong.
"Final Solutions: Murderous Racial Hygiene, 1939–1945." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 27 May 2014.
The Bohemian are better known as Gypsies or the Romany only being called Bohemian later on in history by the French. In fact Bohemianism has very few ties to the Gypsies of this area rather than finding happiness in poverty, disregarding money in turn for pursuing the small joys in life such color, music, and emotional connections with others. Surprisingly the Romani Gypsies are nomadic people who have descended from northern parts of western India and experienced a long wandering time period where they were unaccepted by the communities they traveled through until they found themselves in Bohemia. It was here that on April 17, 1423 that the Holy Roman Emperor and Czech King, Zikmund issued a letter stating the privileges of the Romani people allowing the to be treated fairly throughout his region. When the time came for the Romani to travel to France they had brought this letter with them allowing the French to accept them into their community. Since the letter was issued in the Czech lands which to the French was known as "La Boheme" they called the nomadic Romani "Bohemians" (gvshp.org). The French had taken a liking the these so called "Bohemians" creating their own culture based off of the Romani living in poverty by choice enjoying art, color, music, and all around be
Bradford, B (2015) conducted a research on the Gypsy culture as well as where they originated from. In this research Bradford used other sources like the New Your Times to better state the approximation of how many gypsies there are not only in the united states, but also worldwide. Through this source I have gained quite a few regarding the Gypsy culture, I’ve learned that they don’t have an established religion in which they’re all a part of, but instead adopt the religion in which Is being practiced in the location where they currently reside. Although most American Gypsys speak English, they, too, have their own language which is, the Romani language. In the Gypsy culture approximately anywhere from ten to several more extended families,