2024-08-06 22:54:41
80 years ago, the National Socialists murdered the last Sinti and Roma in the Auschwitz extermination camp. Time to remember – and to act today, says the antigypsyism commissioner.
The antigypsyism commissioner Mehmet Daimagüler is calling for concrete improvements for Roma, who as descendants of Nazi victims have only been living in Germany with a tolerated status for decades. “These people must be given the chance to build a life for themselves here in Germany,” explained Daimagüler. The occasion was the 80th anniversary of the murder of the last 4,300 Sinti and Roma in the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz in 1944.
August 2nd is Holocaust Remembrance Day in Europe for the Sinti and Roma murdered by the National Socialists. Daimagüler, the Federal Government Commissioner against Antiziganism and for the Lives of the Sinti and Roma, stressed: “The commemoration must not take place in a political vacuum without consequences for today’s state actions.” The crimes of the past are a warning to take decisive action against right-wing extremism and all forms of racism today.
Violence and discrimination are still part of everyday life for Sinti and Roma in Germany, explained Daimagüler. And state actions must also be questioned. “Thousands of Roma have been living in Germany as tolerated persons, some for decades. They are all descendants of victims of the genocide. Commemorating the
To feel committed to genocide also means to feel committed to these people.”