Porrajmos is the Romany name for Gypsy Holocaust It means the Great Devouring.
There is evidence that draconian measures against Gypsies had started in Germany long before the twentieth century. There were 148 such measures to deal with Gypsies between 1416 and 1774. During this period Gypsy hunts were common sport and huntsmen would return displaying their trophies of severed heads.
The Sinti and Roma (“Gypsies”) between 1933 and 1945 suffered greatly as victims of Nazi persecution genocide. The Nazi regime viewed Gypsies both as “asocials” (outside “normal” society) and as racial “inferiors”, believed to threaten the biological purity and strength of the “superior Aryan” race. The Nazis and their collaborators, killed tens of thousands of Sinti and Roma men, women, and children across German-occupied Europe during World War II.
The following organisations have a wide range of resources and information regarding the persecution of Sinti and Roma Gypsies before and during World War II.
The Wiener Library has an extensive range of books regarding Sinti and Roma Gypsy persecution during the Holocaust.
The Wiener Library is the world’s oldest Holocaust memorial institution. It traces it’s history back to 1933.
On the HMD website there is a feature on GRTHM and information regarding Roma and Sinti Gypsies during the Nazi regime and their experiences in Europe today.
Each year on 27 January the world marks Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD). HMD has been held in the UK since 2001 and the United Nations declared this an International event in November 2005. 27 January was chosen as the date for HMD because it was on this date in 1945 that the largest Nazi killing camp Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated.
The education officers at the HET can offer training and advice to schools regarding Roma and Sinti Gypsies experience during the Holocaust.
The Trust works in schools, universities and in the community to raise awareness and understanding of the Holocaust, providing teacher training, an outreach programme for schools, teaching aids and resource material.