The Gypsies and World War II

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the mobile lifestyle of the Gypsies, who migrated from southern Asia over one thousand years ago and settled in many areas of Europe, especially Germany, frightened many sedentary town dwellers. Even today, the most common aspect of Gypsy life is to be persecuted. The author points out that the objective of the Nazis was to remove the Gypsies from society by using a three-track program similar to the treatment of Jews: Harassment and anti-Gypsy legislation, incarceration in concentration camps that included experimentation, and finally, extermination. The paper relates that even though thousands of Gypsies died, their case is not as well-known as that of the Jews because the Gypsies were less educated and did not record their experiences in writing as frequently. Also, their beliefs and culture regarding ritual purity and sexual conduct had been violated in the concentration camps, making them reluctant to talk about what had happened.

Table of Contents
Background
What it is like to be a Gypsy?
Before the War
Track Number One
Track Number Two
Track Number Three
During the War
The Nazi Experiments

From the Paper:

"Even before the advent of war, the Gypsies were persecuted and shunned by society. As early as 1929, the city of Frankfurt Germany set up a "concentration camp for Gypsies" outside the city limits because of complaints by citizens. Therefore, the persecution of Gypsies began long before the Nazi regime took power, and in fact, historian Lewy notes, "When the Nazis intensified the harassment and persecution practiced by earlier regimes, most of their neighbors remained superbly indifferent". Adolph Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, and his regime initially had many other people to consider than the Gypsies. There were the Jews, whom Hitler despised and hoped to eradicate from Germany. However, the Gypsies soon became a priority in Hitler's administration for a variety of reasons. The Nazis began to refer to it as the "Gypsy Problem," and gave increasing attention to removing the Gypsies, thereby continuing the "pure" "Aryan" race of white Germany."

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