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 Recognition of the Roma Genocide

 Recognition, official texts

The Austrian legal system does not provide legal recognition of historical facts, although the denial of the Holocaust is a criminal offence under the “Law prohibiting the Reactivation of National Socialism”. Although Austria has not officially recognised the Holocaust or the Samudaripen – in Austria referred to as the Holocaust of the Roma – through any legislative act, the Samudaripen or the Holocaust of the Roma is recognised as an integral part of the Holocaust as such. In 2004, the official commemoration organised by the Austrian Parliament on the occasion of the Holocaust, on 5 May – the Austrian Holocaust Day – , was dedicated exclusively to the Roma Genocide.

 Data (camps locations, Remembrance places, measures etc.)

The Camp Lackenbach in Austria (1941-1945) was the largest “Zigeunerlager” (concentration camp for Roma) within the borders of Austria. About 2 000 out of its 4 000 inmates were murdered in Łódź (in German, Litzmannstadt) and Chełmno (in German, Kulmhof) in Poland; another 1,000 in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Smaller “Zigeunerlager” (“Gypsy Camps”) were located in Weyer, Salzburg and Vienna. Out of 12 000 Austrian Roma, between 9000 and 10 000 perished during the Holocaust.

According to Dokumentationsarchiv des Österreichischen Widerstandes (DÖW, Documentation centre of the Austrian Resistance), approximately 9500 Austrian “Gypsies” fell victim to National Socialism. The official data collected on the number of the surviving Gypsies after 1945 are similarly problematic as those of the interwar period because of the arbitrariness of the stigmatisation. In a document from Burgenland dated 7 February 1952 there is a reference that in 1948, under the pretext to register all victims of NS-terror, a census of all Gypsies residing in Burgenland had taken place. The police counted 870 Gypsies of whom 636 had survived various concentration camps. Liberation, however, did not put an end to discrimination and harassment by the authorities for Roma and Sinti. The regional government of Lower Austria, for instance, informed warningly about an imminent new “Gypsy scourge” on 28 June 1945. Also the “Gypsy registration” required since 1888 was continued until the late 1950s. The remark by the Department for Public Security of September 1948 that Gypsies would frequently pretend to have been former concentration camp inmates, denied the survivors the status of victim of National Socialism.

In Lackenbach a memorial was inaugurated by President Dr Rudolf Kirchschläger in 1984 to commemorate the interned and deported Roma and Sinti. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the construction of the camp the first commemoration ceremony was organized in 1990. Since then a commemoration ceremony takes place annually in November.

A memorial was inaugurated in Salzburg in 1995 (Ignaz-Rieder-Kai), with the inscription: "In Salzburg fell more than 300 Gypsies, victims of the Nazi racial policies. Imprisoned from 1940 to 1943 under inhumane conditions in the Gypsy camp of Salzburg, they were deported in the spring of 1943 to the Auschwitz extermination camp. As a reminder and admonition. The township Salzburg - Zoltan Pap ".

Another memorial was built in 2009 in the "Zigeunerlager Maxglan", on the grounds of the former camp at Salzburg.

In Vienna, a central memorial at Aspangbahnhof, the station from which over 47 000 people were deported to concentration camps, was opened in 2017. For Roma the memorial at Aspangbahnhof has a special meaning as nearly all eastern Austrian Roma were deported from here, mostly to the Lager Łódź in Poland.

 Specialised institution, commission, research centre etc., dealing with this issue

The Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW) was founded in 1963 by former members of the Austrian Resistance, victims of NS-persecution, and committed scholars from the sciences and humanities. It collects and archives relevant source materials on the Nazi era and Nazi crimes, and in particular the Holocaust. It holds a permanent exhibition in the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), in Vienna.

The Institute for Holocaust Education of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research, commonly referred to as _erinnern.at_, dedicates itself to the transfer of historical and methodological-didactical knowledge and its today’s reflection.

The Viennese NGO Romano-Centro is the organiser of many commemoration events in Vienna and curated museum exhibitions covering, among others, the Roma Genocide.

The Austrian Service Abroad, an NGO that seconds Holocaust Memorial Servants to Genocide Commemoration sites worldwide, dedicates some of its activities to the Roma Genocide. In 2013, the NGO awarded its annual prize for merits in Holocaust remembrance and research, the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award, to the Bavarian Sinto Hugo Höllenrainer.

 Official initiatives (campaigns, actions, projects, commemoration days, museums)

The Documentation and Information Centre of Austrian Roma (Kulturverein Österreichischer Roma) has a special exhibition on this topic, as does the permanent exhibition of the DöW (Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes - Documentation Centre of the Austrian Resistance) in Vienna. The Mauthausen Memorial has a special monument dedicated to the Roma Victims of the Genocide. There are special monuments in Salzburg, Weyer, and Lackenbach/Burgenland. “The Roma Base Project” at the University of Graz has been a major research centre for Roma history in Austria for many years and was a major contributor to the “Factsheets on Roma History” published by the Council of Europe, which contain a very detailed account of the fate of Europe’s Roma populations between 1938 and 1945. The topic of the Roma Genocide is an integral part of Holocaust commemorative activities in Austria – such as “Letter to the Stars” or the teacher training programs on the topic.

The Ministry of Education (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Frauen - BMBF) is in charge of the teaching of the Roma Genocide. They have set up a project called "Nationalsozialismus und Holocaust: Gedächtnis und Gegenwart" (National Socialism and Holocaust: Memory and Future) which integrates contemporary witnesses in the classroom. This programme is yet not compulsory but is one of the offerings of the the civil education in Austria. This project is led by association Erinnern.at, which is a network emanating from the BMBF. They have developed a pedagogical website dedicated to the Roma Genocide “Das Schicksal der europäischen Roma und Sinti während des Holocaust” (The fate of European Roma and Sinti), together with Anne Frank House (The Netherlands) and Mémorial de la Shoah (France). It is currently available in English, German and French. It brought together professional historians, Roma and Sinti representatives and educators in order to develop a mutually accepted version of instruction and information materials for teachers, students and other interested persons concerning the largely forgotten fate of the European Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust.

In November 2012 and November 2013, Erinnern.at organized, in cooperation with Anne Frank House (The Netherlands) and the Museum of Romani Culture (Czech Republic), the International Conference on teaching material on the Roma Genocide. There were three target groups represented at the meetings: educational experts working at institutes related to the history of the Holocaust and/or the Roma Genocide, teacher trainers that are working at universities or teacher training colleges, and educational authorities. The expertise of these different groups of experts contributed significantly to the development of the teaching material and of the implementation process. The project aimed to create a network of educators and policy makers from across Europe to generally support teaching about the Roma Genocide in the institutions and countries that are part of the project, and in particular to further implement the teaching materials "The Fate of the European Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust".

The NGO Romano Centro organised a temporary multimedia exhibition entitled “Romane Thana” (“Places of the Roma”) in 2015 at Wien Museum and in 2017 at Vorarlberg Museum. “Romane Thana” explores the history of Roma in Austria and offers teaching material on Roma and the Roma Genocide online.

Since 2012, the National Roma Contact Point at the Austrian Federal Ministry organises Dialogue platforms with the Roma civil society on specific subjects. On 2 June 2017 the Dialogue Platform was dedicated entirely to Memorial and Commemoration work.

 Remembrance day

2nd August is not officially recognised as Holocaust Memorial Day in Austria. Since 2015, Roma civil society organisations organise a commemoration ceremony at Ceija-Stojka-Square in Vienna.

Austria commemorates the victims of the Holocaust on 27 January, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and 5 May, the Memorial Day against Violence and Racism and Commemoration Day for the Victims of National Socialism. In 2004, the official commemoration organised by the Austrian Parliament on the occasion 5 May was dedicated exclusively to the Roma Genocide.

 Teaching about the Roma Genocide

 Inclusion of the topic in the school curriculum

Teaching at Austrian schools is based on the principle of competence-based syllabi. The aim is to acquire cognitive abilities, which allow for learning from the time of National Socialism and the Holocaust in order to strengthen individual democratic attitudes of learners.

The curricula of Austrian schools providing general upper secondary education include the issue of the Roma Genocide implicitly both as an inter-disciplinary subject within the subjects geography and economics and German as well as within specific individual teaching modules in the subject “History and Social Studies/Civic Education” from year 7. The issue should be incorporated into teaching in an illustrative manner within all school years, having due regard to age, regional circumstances and opportunities. It is a discretionary matter for the teacher to decide which groups of victims, including amongst others the Roma and Sinti groups, should be specifically discussed within the prescribed competence-based history modules. Each individual module is dedicated to a particular core issue, as is specified for example in module 5 (historical education) “Holocaust/Shoah, Genocide and Human Rights”, which specifically engages with the issue in year 8. The aim of module 6 (historical-political education), “Cultures of History – Cultures of Remembrance – Policies of Remembrance”, is to analyse in particular monuments, memorials and contemporary accounts (video archive).

The Roma genocide is implicitly included as follows within the curricula of vocational schools throughout all subject areas in vocational upper secondary schools (BHS, 5 years) and vocational middle schools (BMS/FS, 3 years): within schools focusing on social occupations and services [Humanberuflichen Schulen] (46 curricula), the genocide is considered illustratively within the subject “History and Civic Education” when studying Persecution and the Holocaust. It is also considered within the curricula of technical, commercial and craft schools (29 curricula for 5-year BHS and 29 curricula for BMS/FS) as part of the subject “Geography, History and Civic Education” when dealing with the historical causes of xenophobia and racism, national and transnational identities and stories of migration. In addition, prejudices and stereotypes as well as the historical and current causes of xenophobia and racism should also be engaged with. The Roma genocide is addressed illustratively within the curricula of commercial schools as part of the subject “Political Education and History (Economic and Social History)” when dealing with fascism, anti-Semitism, National Socialism and the Holocaust (resistance, remembrance and the present day), populism and political extremism. The aim of the subject “Civic Education” in the curricula of vocational schools for apprentices (3-4 years) is to recognise discrimination, to reflect on prejudices and to develop personal strategies in order to avoid them.

Over and above the curricular requirements for individual subjects, the teaching principle of civic education applies throughout the Austrian education system within all Austrian schools – as defined in the 2015 General Edict. As regards the development of the teaching principle of “civic education”, it should be mentioned that it was established in 1978 for all types of schools, at all levels and in all subjects.

The aim of the teaching principle of civic education is inter alia: to recognise democratic principles and basic values such as peace, freedom, equality, justice and solidarity; and to seek in particular to overcome prejudices, stereotypes, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism along with sexism and homophobia.

The teaching principle results from the tasks laid down for Austrian schools in § 2 of the Austrian School Organisation Act [Schulorganisationsgesetz, SchOG] as well as from international recommendations and guidelines, which stress the major significance of civic education and the right of young persons to it. These include in particular the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning establishes a clear link with civic education.

 Inclusion of the topic in the school textbooks

Austrian competence-based school textbooks for History and Social Studies reveal a strong awareness of the long-standing history of antisemitism in Austria, also in relation to the persecution of Jews and as well as to the persecution of Roma and Sinti.

Some illustrative examples:

  • Zeitbilder 7: Geschichte und Sozialkunde/Politische Bildung [History and Social Studies/Civic Education], year 7, “Roma und Sinti – Die Vernichtung einer fast vergessenen Minderheit” [“Roma and Sinti – the destruction of an almost forgotten minority”] (pp. 100, Österreichischer Bundesverlag)
  • Zeitbilder 4: Geschichte und Sozialkunde/Politische Bildung [History and Social Studies/Civic Education], year 4 (Österreichischer Bundesverlag)
  • ganz klar: Geschichte 4, Geschichte und Sozialkunde/Politische Bildung [History 4, History and Social Science/Civic Education], year 4 (Verlag Jugend&Volk, pp. 33–40)
  • Zeitenblicke 4: Geschichte und Sozialkunde/Politische Bildung [History and Social Studies/Civic Education], year 4 (E. Dorner, p. 48)
  • Bausteine 4: Geschichte und Sozialkunde/Politische Bildung [History and Social Studies/Civic Education], year 4 (Ernst Klett, pp. 19, 44)

Also within the subjects Geography and Economics, see Global 6: Geographie und Wirtschaftskunde, Schulbuch für die 6. Klasse [Geography and Economics, year 6 textbook], which contains texts such as “Leben an den Rändern der Gesellschaft – Roma in Europa” [“Life on the Margins of Society – the Roma in Europe”] (p. 38, Österreichischer Bundesverlag).

 Training of teachers and education professionals

Teacher training seminars on the issue of the Roma and Sinti Genocide are regularly held at University colleges of Teacher Education throughout Austria. Individual Austrian colleges consider the issue with a regional focus.

  • Initial training of teachers

Pädagogische Hochschule Burgenland [Burgenland University College of Teacher Education]

Teaching events dealing with the Roma and Sinti Genocide are regularly offered to trainee teachers at the Burgenland University College of Teacher Education in the form of lectures, didactic field trips and selected specialist seminars. Selected chapters on Contemporary History – National Socialism and the Holocaust deal with the Roma and Sinti Genocide with reference to Burgenland between 1900 and 1955. Field trips involve visits to memorial sites (e.g. visit to the Mauthausen concentration camp). A selected specialist seminar is dedicated to the culture of remembrance and memorial sites for the Roma and Sinti Genocide.

Pädagogische Hochschule Steiermark (Styria University College of Teacher Education)

Although not explicitly mentioned in descriptions of teaching events, aspects relating to the Sinti and Roma Genocide are frequently addressed within core history training.

  • Further teacher training

2017 the BMBWF issued an edict to all rectorates of Austrian University College of Teacher Education concerning the Austrian Roma strategy. The edict requests that, when planning further training, a focus be placed on aspects that enable greater engagement with the history and current living conditions of the Roma and Sinti in order to help reduce antigypsy stereotypes.

In 2017 the Pädagogische Hochschule Vorarlberg (Vorarlberg Teacher Training College) arranged an exhibition in the Vorarlberg Museum entitled: “Romane Thana. Orte der Roma und Sinti” (“Romane Thana. Roma and Sinti Locations”), in cooperation with Initiative Minderheiten (Minorities Initiative), the Burgenland State Museum, Romano Centro and the Vienna Museum.

Whoever recounts history decides on its content. Almost all stories of the Roma and Sinti have been told by non-Roma people. Widespread prejudices are still rife: for example, there is still a widely held view that these people do not want to work at all, and rather prefer begging or stealing. In the exhibition “Romane Thana. Roma and Sinti Locations”, Roma and Sinti tell their own stories – at the places where they live and work: at settlements in Burgenland, at workplaces of immigrant Roma, and all over Vorarlberg. But also at sites of persecution and mass extermination during the Second World War. These counter-stories against prevailing stereotypes provide insights into the life situation of Roma and Sinti in Austria.

The Pädagogische Hochschule Wien [Vienna Teacher Training College] and the Arbeiterkammer Oberösterreich (Upper Austria Chamber of Labour) jointly arrange the Hermann Langbein Symposium. The symposium, which takes place each year, is named after the resistance fighter and Auschwitz survivor Prof. Hermann Langbein (1912–1995). The symposium was founded by Langbein himself in 1980.

For 38 years, the seminar on the “Ideologie und Wirklichkeit des National-Sozialismus” (Ideology and Reality of National Socialism”), better known as the “Hermann Langbein Symposium”, has been a significant module within further training with regard to the “Nazi period in Austria” and the “Fate of Austrian Roma and Sinti”. The aim is to shed light on National Socialist crimes and to provide comprehensive knowledge and information for teachers at all types of school. The fact that the seminar is held close to the Mauthausen and Hartheim memorials means that trips can be arranged in order to involve these places of remembrance and their educational value.

The seminar is open to the public and it is possible to attend individual presentations. This seminar is a permanent event within the context of further training for teachers. The current symposium for 2020 is entitled: “Ideology and Reality of National Socialism. Hermann Langbein Symposium

Over the last few years, the association Erinnern.at has held further training events concerning the Roma and Sinti Genocide, in cooperation with teacher training colleges.

In 2019 the seminar for instance was held together with the University College of Teacher Education Burgenland: Vergessene Kosmopoliten: Das Schicksal europäischer Zirkusleute während des Nationalsozialismus [Forgotten Cosmopolitans: the fate of European circus people during National Socialism]. This further training seminar with international experts formed part of the University of Helsinki project entitled Forgotten Cosmopolitans: The Diverging Fates of Europe’s Circus People in the Wake of the Second World War. Based on the results of research already available, the initial aim of the speakers was to provide information concerning the life, persecution, death and survival strategies of circus people in Europe during the National Socialist period. Circus families with a Jewish, Jeni and/or Sinti and Roma background were affected by the persecution. The seminar therefore remembered these forgotten groups of victims of National Socialism and recounted why circus people have as yet hardly been considered as victims of National Socialism. (www.forgottencosmopolitans.eu)

The Central seminars of Erinnern.at are the largest Austrian further training events for educators concerning the issues of the Holocaust, National Socialism and combatting antisemitism and racism as well as antigypsyism and the Roma genocide. The seminar is held each year, rotating between different provinces. The Central seminar always focuses on the actual location of the seminar and presents current teaching materials. When a Central seminar is held at the province of Burgenland, a Roma genocide focus is always foreseen.

Numerous workshops concerning the touring exhibition “talking about it” (with an exhibition display board about the Roma and Sinti Genocide)

Numerous workshops concerning the nonfiction series “National Socialism in the Federal States” (including a chapter on the Roma and Sinti Genocide)

2015 Pestalozzi Seminar in Graz “Genocide of the Roma and Sinti in Europe”

Workshop at the Hartheim Memorial (April 2014) – presentation on the website www.romasintigenocide.eu

 Particular activities undertaken at the level of education institutions

 

Testimonies

Karl and Ceija Stojka are brother and sister who survived the Holocaust and internment at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Their father was sent to the Dachau concentration camp, then to Schloss Hartheim, where he was killed.

After the end of World War II, their family saw the lack of acknowledgement of the Porajmos in Austria, the population’s ignorance concerning this suffering and the continuation of some anti-Romani policies.

The never forgettable experiences become a central and eternal theme of their artistic work. Although both famous in Austria, it was in particular Ceija’s art that evoked international recognition. Ceija's paintings reflect upon the entrenched sorrow in the bodies and spirit of the victims. There are several books, films and artistic works which are capturing her life. Ceija published her first autobiographic book in 1988, "We Live in Seclusion. The Memories of a Romni". Later on in 1992 she published another autobiographical book called: “Reisende auf dieser Welt” /"Travellers on This World". Besides writing, Ceija also sang in Romanes.

Only in 1989, at the age of 56, Ceija Stojka began to paint. Her work has been exhibited in western and eastern Europe as well as in Japan. In 2005 the Jewish Museum of Vienna organized an exhibition entitled „Ceija Stojka, Leben!”. In 2010, her artworks were exhibited for the first time in the U.S. Her ars poetica declared: „I always try to portray my feelings and memories. I want to show my own world to the people. It is important to understand that, we are all human beings and art allows us to live and exist. Art can demonstrate and connect us”. Her artistic account offers stories and visual representation of trauma as a new mean to face the past in order to start a new and meaningful dialogue and challenge the various forms of discrimination and violence in present day Europe. Ceija Stoika was an outstanding Austrian Romani woman, one of the members of The Romani Elders of Europe, and a key figure for the history, art, and literature of Romani culture in Europe. Ceija Stojka is featured in the 2013 US documentary film "Forget Us Not", which follows several non-Jewish survivors of the Holocaust.

Ceija Stojka died on 28 January 2013.

Karl Stojka's story is told in the pedagogical and interactive website RomaSinti.eu, a Dutch initiative Tweedewereldoorlog.nl dedicated to World War II.

 Initiatives of the civil society

The Roma Theater Pralipe played Z 2001. Die Tinte unter meiner Haut (2001) in different countries, for instance Germany (Frankfurt a. M., Heidelberg, Berlin...), Austria (Vienna), the Czech Republic or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The DVD Z 2001. Die Tinte unter meiner Haut (2001), by Valentin Albersmann, shows some images of the play. Theater Pralipe is no longer active.

In 2010 the two actors Simonida and Sandra Selimović founded the first professional feminist Roma Theater association Romano Svato in Vienna. Romano Svato takes up the themes of anti-Romaism, racism and sexism in plays, rap, performances and interventions in public space. In 2018, Romano Svato organised the three day theater and performance festival “E bistarde / Vergiss mein nicht” in Vienna on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the “Anschluss” (accession) of Austria to Nazi-Germany.

 Resources

 Educational material

It should be noted regarding the exemplary examples from Austrian school textbooks referred to above that teachers in Austria have freedom of action not only in terms of method but also in terms of the choice of teaching materials. The Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) therefore supports associations such as the Ministry’s Holocaust Education Institute _erinnern.at_ and the Centre for Civic Education polis, which are charged with developing additional teaching materials in relation to particular issues.

The association _erinnern.at_ (www.erinnern.at) is the Institute for Holocaust Education of the BMBWF. _erinnern.at_ promotes the transfer of historical and methodological didactic knowledge along with reflection on its significance for the present. The work of _erinnern.at_ is structured into the following levels:

  • at local/regional level the local network coordinators of _erinnern.at_ operate within the individual federal states
  • central seminars provide a framework for academic discussions at national level
  • aspects of international discourse become apparent within teacher training seminars held in Israel
  • in addition, _erinnern.at_ is involved in international research cooperation
  • it provides a comprehensive information hub with its website and develops teaching materials

The education centre polis – Politik Lernen in der Schule [Learning Politics in School] (www.politik-lernen.at) is the central organisation dealing with civic education in schools. The principal is the BMBWF, whilst the project sponsor is the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights Polis

  • supports teaching staff, schools and non-school educational institutions in providing civic education in all of its facets
  • operates as an information hub and a source of advice
  • creates new teaching materials
  • contributes to European and Austrian discussions on civic education
  • emphasises the provision or core and further training to teaching staff

Multi-lingual didactic websites concerning the Roma and Sinti Genocide in 11 languages –for pupils and teachers (www.romasintigenocide.eu and www.erinnern.at)

The association _erinnern.at_ has created the didactic website www.romasintigenocide.eu  along with its European partners. The website contains more than 70 worksheets with information concerning the Roma genocide, biographies of victims and death sites. The long European history of persecution of the Roma and Sinti is also considered, showing up racist continuities.

Teaching material on www.romane-thana.at

Through the project www.romane-thana.at the BMBWF, working in conjunction with the association Romano Centro, is providing an important impetus to the Austrian Roma strategy. The project enables Austrian schools to gain a greater insight into the everyday lives of Roma and Sinti and their history and stories. The materials offer numerous suggestions for engaging with the issue within teaching. The aim is to create awareness of the centuries of discrimination against Roma/Romnja and Sinti/Sintize and to help to break down prejudices. The teaching material has been developed for usage in year 5 and above and can be used in many variant forms, in particular in the subjects History and Social Studies/Civic Education, Geography and Economics or German, as well as on an inter-subject basis. The issue of the Roma Genocide is dealt with in particular in the chapters “Persecution and the Holocaust” and “Remembering and Forgetting”.

Exhibition – touring exhibition “darüber sprechen” [“talking about it”] (www.erinnern.at/bundeslaender/oesterreich/lernmaterial-unterricht/ausstellung-darueber-sprechen)

The touring exhibition “talking about it” conceived of by _erinnern.at_ was designed in particular for schools. In 2016 the exhibition was open for visitors at 32 schools, and demand continues to be strong.

“talking about it” is based on interviews with 14 contemporary witnesses as well as expert texts. An exhibition display board is dedicated to the Roma and Sinti Genocide. Particular prominence is given to Auschwitz survivor Franz Rosenbach. A QR code enables a video interview with Franz Rosenbach to be viewed. The back of the board includes a short interview with a Sinti family from Upper Austria.

Youth non-fiction books from the series “Nationalsozialismus in den Bundesländern” [“National Socialism in the Federal States”]

(9 volumes) commissioned by www.erinnern.at (www.erinnern.at/bundeslaender/oesterreich/lernmaterial unterricht/publikationen/nationalsozialismus-in-den-bundeslaendern

 

The nine volumes in the non-fiction series “National Socialism in the Federal States” engage with the most important issues relating to National Socialism within the individual Austrian provinces based on the latest research. Short biographies illustrate people’s behaviour as well as the consequences of National Socialist politics for individual people. The numerous images provide not only illustrations but also complement the text substantively. The books are directed above all at young readers, but also at interested adults: as reference works, but also for use within school teaching and adult learning. The series is published by Dr Horst Schreiber (_erinnern.at_ network coordinator for Tirol) on behalf of _erinnern.at_.

In 2012 the volume “Nationalsozialismus im Burgenland” [“National Socialism in Burgenland”] was published as volume two in the non-fiction series, which contains a chapter on the Roma and Sinti Genocide.

In May 2017 the volume “Nationalsozialismus in Wien” [“National Socialism in Vienna”], the eighth in the non-fiction series, was published. This volume contains a separate chapter on the Roma and Sinti Genocide.

DVD “Das Vermächtnis” [“The Legacy”], interviews with contemporary witnesses (www.erinnern.at/bundeslaender/steiermark/termine/prasentation-der-dvd-201edas-vermachtnis201c-interviews-mit-zeitzeugen)

The DVD “The Legacy” contains stories of survivors collected by the “USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education” in Los Angeles. A working group made up of professional historians, educators and video experts has selected 13 interviews (specific to Austria) and prepared them for usage within school teaching.

Teaching material “… ein Mensch ist ein Mensch – Rassismus, Antisemitismus und sonst noch was …” [“… a man’s a man – racism, antisemitism and whatever else ...”] (www.erinnern.at/bundeslaender/oesterreich/lernmaterial-unterricht/antisemitismus)

Racism and antisemitism involve exclusion. People are disparaged and portrayed as the enemy. There are many forms of exclusion and disparagement; everyone will have experienced this in life. The course booklet and online materials deal with issues and questions that affect everyone. Young persons of various origins and religions have discussed their experiences of antisemitism, racism and homophobia, as well as more generally exclusion and disparagement. Their opinions and insights constitute the core of the course booklet. This booklet was inspired by the didactic materials for combatting antisemitism produced by the Anne Frank House (Amsterdam) and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) working with partners in 13 European countries. As part of this project, each country focused on a specific task. _erinnern.at_ built on these experiences and developed a new concept for Austria on behalf of the BMBWF, working in conjunction with the Anne Frank House and the ODIHR.

The magazine “polis aktuell 2019: Roma in Österreich. Emanzipation einer Volksgruppe” [Roma in Austria. Emancipation of an Ethnic Group] – (www.politik-lernen.at/pa_romainoesterreich)

The current issue of the magazine polis aktuell, which is published by the centre polis, deals with the history and contemporary situation of the Roma and Sinti in Austria. The issue was prepared jointly with representatives of the Roma ethnic group – enabled by financial support from the BMBWF.

 Information material

Austrian survivor Karl Stojka and his paintings about experiences in concentration camps:

About his pictures and his life:

Stojka, K. (1990). Ein Kind in Birkenau. Wien: Karl Stojka.

Stojka, K. (1994). Auf der ganzen Welt zu Hause: das Leben und Wandern des Zigeuners Karl Stojka: mit 35 Abbildungen. Wien: Picus.

Stojka, K. (1996). Gas. Wien: K. Stojka. [Text in English and German. Include pictures of some paintings and a list of exhibitions]

Austrian survivor Ceija Stojka, her paintings, poems and songs about concentration camps:

Stojka, C. (1995). Bilder & Texte 1989-1995. Wien: Patricia Meier-Rogan.

Stojka, C. (2003). Eine Wahl zu schreiben - ich kann es nicht. O fallo de isgiri - me tschichanaf les Gedichte und Bilder. Landeck/Tirol: Emirgân Yayınları Editions.

About her songs:

Me diklem suno - Ich hatte einen Traum. CD, 2000.

About her life:

Stojka, C. (2005). Träme ich, dass ich lebe? Befreit aus Bergen-Belsen. Wien: Picus.

Stojka, C. & Berger, K. (1988). Wir leben im Verborgenen: Erinnerungen einer Rom-Zigeunerin. Wien: Picus.

Stojka, C. & Berger, K. (1992). Reisende auf dieser Welt: Aus dem Leben einer Rom-Zigeunerin. Wien: Picus.

Biographies:

"La Paulakero Phukajipe I / Paulas Lebensgeschichte I", Romani Patrin, 1, 1998, p. 8.

"La Paulakero Phukajipe II / Paulas Lebensgeschichte II", Romani Patrin, 2, 1998, pp. 9-11.

Nikolić, M. (1997). ... und dann zogen wir weiter: Lebenslinien einer Romafamilie. Klagenfurt: Drava.

Nikolić, M. (2000). Landfahrer: auf den Wegen eines Rom. Klagenfurt: Drava.

Novels:

Laher, L. (2001). Herzfleischentartung: Roman. Innsbruck: Haymon. [There are translations into English, French and Spanish]

Hackl, E. (1989). Abschied von Sidonie: Erzählung. Zürich: Diogenes. [There are translations into many languages, including Hebrew]

Fairy tales and songs:

Halwachs, D. W. et al. (eds.)(2000). O Rom taj o beng / Der Rom und der Teufel. Klagenfurt: Drava. [Text in Romani and German] [As a complement, there is a CD: Schun, so me phukavav... / Hör, was ich erzähle... Märchen, Erzählungen und Lieder der Roma aus dem Burgenland, Graz / Vienna: Romani Projekt, 2002]

Some of the songs describe experiences in concentration camps, for instance "Ein trauriger Stern".

Poetry:

Mehr, M. (1998). Nachrichten aus dem Exil / Nevipe andar o exilo. Klagenfurt: DRAVA Verlag. [Text in German and in Romani. There is a translation into Italian]. Listen to a poem.

Anthology:

Gyurkó, A. et al. (eds.)(1999). Das Buch der Ränder: Roma-Lyrik aus Ungarn. Klagenfurt: Wieser. [Text in Romani and German]. Some of the poems.

 Scientific publications

Anthofer, H. et al. (1989). Naziherrschaft und was uns blieb!. Oberwart: Unabhängiges Antifaschistisches Personenkomitee Burgenland.

Bailer-Galanda, B., Wiedergutmachung kein Thema. Österreich und die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus, Wien 1993.

Baumgartner, G., Freund, F., Ein Jahrzehnt Romapolitik in Österreich / A Decade of Roma Politics in Austria, Wien 2001.

Baumgartner, G., Freund, F., Die Burgenland Roma 1945 -2000. "Eine Darstellung der Volksgruppe auf der Basis archivalischer und statistischer Quellen", Eisenstadt 2004.

Baumgartner, G., Freund, F., Der Holocaust an den österreichischen Roma und Sinti, in: Michael Zimmermann (Hg,): Zwischen Erziehung und Vernichtung. Zigeunerpolitik und Zigeunerforschung im Europa des 20. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart 2007, 203-225.

Berger, K. et al. (1987). Ich geb Dir einen Mantel, daβ Du ihn noch in freiheit tragen kannst. Widerstehen im KZ. Österreichische Frauen erzählen. Wien: Ed. Spuren.

Brettl, H., Quellen zur Geschichte der „Zigeunerpolitik“ zwischen 1921 und 1945 im Bezirk Neusiedl am See, Oberwart 2007.

Brettl, H., Nationalsozialismus im Burgenland. Opfer- Täter-Gegener, Wien 2012.

Bruchfeld, S. et al. (2000). Erzählt es euren Kindern: der Holocaust in Europa. München: C. Bertelsmann. [Original in Swedish]

Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes (Hg.), Widerstand und Verfolgung im Burgenland 1934-1945. Eine Dokumentation, 2 Bde., Wien 1979.

Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma and Kulturverein Österreichischer Roma (1998). Mauthausen: Mahnmal für die ermordeten Sinti und Roma. Heidelberg: Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma, Kulturverein Österreichischer Roma.

Freund, F., Zigeunerpolitik in Österreich, Habilitationsschrift, Universität Wien 2003.

Freund, F., Baumgartner, G., Greifeneder, H., Vermögensentzug, Restitution und Entschädigung der Roma und Sinti, Wien u. München 2004.

Friedman, I. R. (1990). “Bubili: A Young Gypsy’s Fight for Survival”. In: The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, pp. 7-24.

Hackl, E., Abschied von Sidonie, Zürich-Salzburg 1989.

Haider, H., Abschied von Helene Weiss – die „Sidonie“ von Klagenfurt, in: Mauthausen und andere Orte. Narben, Wunden Erinnerungen, Schulhefte 121, 2006/1.

Haslinger, M., „Rom“ heißt Mensch. Zur Geschichte des geschichtslosen Zigeunervolkes in der Steiermark. (1850 - 1938), Diss. phil., Graz 1985.

Heinschink, M. F. and Hemetek, U. (eds.) (1994). Roma: das unbekannte Volk: Schicksal und Kultur. Wien: Böhlau Verlag.

Kulturverein Österreichischer Roma (Hg.), Vom Rand in die Mitte. 20 Jahre Kulturverein Österreichischer Roma, Wien 2011.

Laher, L., Herzfleischentartung, Innsbruck 2001.

Mayerhofer, C. (1987). Dorfzigeuner: Kultur und Geschichte der Burgenland-Roma von der Ersten Republik bis zur Gegenwart. Wien: Picus.

Mayr, T. (2017). Antiziganismus in Vorarlberg – Antiziganistische Sinnstrukturen im Diskurs um Notreisende aus Rumänien in Vorarlberg. erinnern.at (research on the representation of Roma in the Austrian media including references to the Roma Genocide)

Nikolić, M. (1997). ... und dann zogen wir weiter: Lebenslinien einer Romafamilie. Klagenfurt: Drava.

Nikolić, M. (2000). Landfahrer: auf den Wegen eines Rom. Klagenfurt: Drava.

Pauser, W., Was heißt „artfremdes Blut“? Identitätsbegriffe in der Geschichte der rechtlichen Verfahren zur „Feststellung von Volkszugehörigkeit“, in: Ulrike Davy (Hg.): Nationalsozialismus und Recht: Rechtssetzung und Rechtswissenschaft in Österreich unter der Herrschaft des Nationalsozialismus, Wien 1990.

Portschy, T. (1938). Die Zigeunerfrage. Denkschrift des Landeshauptmannes für das Burgenland. Eisenstadt.

Rieger, B., Roma und Sinti in Österreich nach 1945. Die Ausgrenzung einer Minderheit als gesellschaftlicher Prozess, Frankfurt am Main 2003.

Romano Centro and Karoly, M. (eds.) (2001). Die bedrohte Lage der Roma heute im Vergleich zur Verfolgung im Nationalsozialismus: Seminar anlässlich des zehnjährigen Jubiläums von Romano Centro in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bruno Kreisky Forum für Internationalen Dialog, April 2001. Wien: Romano Centro.

Roma Service (Hg.), Mri Historija – Lebensgeschichten burgenländischer Roma, Eine Zeitzeugendokumentation des Roma Service, Kleinbachselten 2009.

Roma Service (Hg.), Amari Historija – Burgenländer Erzählen. Eine Zeitzeugendokumentation des Roma Service, Kleinbachselten 2011.

ROMBASE (2005). Curriculum Rombase Pedagogics.

ROMBASE (2005). Handbook.

ROMBASE (2005). Literature, Films, and Links.

Sarközi, R., Roma – Österreichische Volksgruppe. Von der Verfolgung bis zur Anerkennung, Klagenfurt 2008.

Schwarzmayer, E., Die Geschichte der Burgenland-Roma seit 1945, Diplomarbeit, Wien 1992.

Stauber, R. and Vago, R. (2007). The Roma: a minority in Europe: historical, political and social perspectives. Budapest; New York: Central European University Press.

Steinmetz, S., Österreichs Zigeuner im NS-Staat, Wien, Frankfurt am Main u. Zürich 1966.

Steinmetz, S., Zigeuner, in: Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes (Hg.), Widerstand und Verfolgung in Wien 1934-1945, Wien 1984, S. 352–360.

Stojka, C. (1995). Bilder and Texte 1989-1995. Wien: Patricia Meier-Rogan.

Stojka, C. (2003). Eine Wahl zu schreiben - ich kann es nicht. O fallo de isgiri - me tschichanaf les. Gedichte und Bilder. Landeck/Tirol: Emirgân Yayınları Editions.

Stojka, C. (2005). Träume ich, dass ich lebe ? Befreit aus Bergen-Belsen. Wien: Picus.

Stojka, C., Wir leben im Verborgenen, Wien 1988.

Stojka, C. and Berger, K. (1992). Reisende auf dieser Welt: Aus dem Leben einer Rom-Zigeunerin. Wien: Picus.

Stojka, K. (1990). Ein Kind in Birkenau. Wien: Karl Stojka.

Stojka, K. (1992). The Story of Karl Stojka: A Childhood in Birkenau: exhibition at the embassy of Austria, April 30 to May 29, 1992: catalogue. Washington, DC: United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

Stojka, K., Gas. Wien, 1996

Stojka, K. (?). Mein Name im 3. Reich: Z-5742. Wien: Karl Stojka.

Stojka, K., Auf der ganzen Welt zu Hause, Wien 1994.

Stojka, M. (2000). Papierene Kinder: Glück, Zerstörung und Neubeginn einer Roma-Familie in Österreich. Wien: Molden.

Thurner, E. (1983). Nationalsozialismus und Zigeuner in Österreich. Wien: Geyer Edition. [English version in 1998: National Socialism and Gypsies in Austria. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press].

Thurner, E. (1984). Kurzgeschichte des Nationalsozialistischen Zigeunerlagers in Lackenbach (1940 bis 1945). Eisenstadt: Amt der Burgenländischen Landesregierung. Sozialabteilung, Landesfonds für die Opfer des Krieges und Faschismus.

Thurner, E. Zigeuner im Burgenland - Das Lager Lackenbach, in: Bericht über den 17. österreichischen Historikertag in Eisenstadt veranstaltet vom Verband Österreichischer Geschichtsvereine in der Zeit vom 31. August bis 5. September 1987, S. 112-116.

Thurner, E. (1999). “Gypsies in the Austrian Burgenland – the camp at Lackenbach”. In: Kenrick, D. (ed.). The Gypsies During the Second World War. Vol. 2. In the Shadow of the Swastika. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press, pp. 37-58.

Thurner, E., „Ortsfremde, asoziale Gemeinschaftsschädlinge“ - die Konsequenzen des ´’Anschlusses´’ für Sinti und Roma (Zigeuner), in: Ardelt, Rudolf u. Hans Hautmann (Hg.): Arbeiterschaft und Nationalsozialismus in Österreich, Wien u. Zürich 1990, S. 531-552.

Thurner, E., Die Verfolgung der Zigeuner, in: Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes (Hg.): Widerstand und Verfolgung in Salzburg 1934-1945. Eine Dokumentation, Bd. 2, Wien 1991, S. 474–521.

Thurner, E., Nationalsozialismus und Zigeuner in Österreich, Wien u. Salzburg 1983.

Thurner, E., National Socialism and Gypsies in Austria. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998.

“Tragedy of the Gypsies” (1986). In: Information Bulletin, No. 26. Vienna: Dokumentationszentrum des Bundes Jüdische Verfolgte des Naziregimes.

 Multimedia material

Blog:

C. Stojka’s personal profile about art and experiences during Second World War: "Buchautorin & Zeitzeugin Ceija Stojka. Geschichten aus der Zeit der NSDAP - Gedichte Malerei & Romamusik”.

Radio:

On the 19 November 2009, a ORF radio feature was broadcasted on “20 Jahre Roma-Bewegung in Österreich” (20 years of Roma mouvements in Austria).

Interview:

Interview with C. Stojka.

The Verein Roma-Service conducted the project "Mri historija / Meine Geschichte: Lebensgeschichten burgenländischer Roma" (2006-2009) [My story: life stories of Roma from Burgenland], led by Emmerich Gärtner-Horvath. The research group published several DVDs with interviews (including texts and pictures related to the interviewees).
Presentation of the DVD and some images.

Websites

The project “ROMBASE. Didactically edited information on Roma” – which belongs to the University of Graz – has European funds and offers a web database of many aspects related to Roma, for instance Roma history - especially about the Holocaust -, literature, language, personalities etc. It includes pictures, original texts or documents and videos.The text is written in English, German and Czech.
The aim of this project is to contribute to the decrease of prejudice and combat discrimination. It furthermore aims at improving the educational situation of the Roma.
This website offers didactical materials related to the Samudaripen, several bibliographies and a list of films and documentaries.

Erinnern.at, Nationalsozialismus und Holocaust: Gedächtnis und Gegenwart

Filmography

1970: “Att Vara Zigarne” (Be a Roma). Documentary. Sweden. Director: Peter Nestler. 47 min.
Testimonies about the persecution and murder of German and Austrian Roma during the Nazi era, and also the consequences up to the present.

1985: “Ich war im KZ – Teil 5 ‘Rückkehr unerwünscht’ - Die Gaskammer” (I was in a concentration camp. Part 5. ‘Return Undesirable’ – The gas chambers). Documentary. Austria. Director: Karl Brousek. 25 min.
\"Euthanasia\" was the code for the first mass murder campaign against Jewish and Roma people - from Germany and Austria - which used poison gas. Four witnesses report their experiences.

1986: “Minderheiten in Österreich: Zigeuner” (Minorities in Austria: Roma)
Documentary. Austria. Director: Heinz Sturm. 15 min.
About Roma people’s cultural, political and economic problems in Austria, especially in Burgenland, including some historical perspectives.

1989: “The Forgotten Holocaust”. Documentary. United Kingdom. Director: George Case. 50 min.
About the persecution and genocide of the European Roma. Some Roma survivors from Germany, Hungary, Austria, Poland, France and the Netherlands are interviewed about this topic.

1990: “Sidonie”. Feature film. Austria. Director: Karin Brandauer. 87 min.
About the life of a 15 year old Roma girl, Sidonie, who was killed by the Nazis at Auschwitz.

1995: “Amen sam so amen sam – ‘Wir sind, was wir sind’” (We Are What We Are). Docudrama. Austria. Director: Hans Panner. 36 min. Language: Romani.
About the Roma history in Burgerland (Austria) up to the present. The film\'s narrative tells the story of a child who was born in a concentration camp.

1998: “Meine ‘Zigeuner’ mutter” (My Gypsy Mother). Documentary. Austria. Director: Egor Humer. 30 min.
About the relationship between a daughter and her mother, a Roma who was a survivor of different concentration camps. Her life-story influences this relationship.

1999: “Ceija Stojka - Portrait einer Romni” (Ceija Stojka – Portrait of a Roma)
Documentary. Austria. Director: Karin Berger. 85 min.
It is the portrait of the Austrian Ceija Stojka, a 66 year old woman who survived the Nazi concentration camps.

2001: “Eine lästige Gesellschaft” (An annoying society). Documentary. Austria. Director: Marika Schmiedt. 75 min.
The artist Marika Schmiedt went on a search for traces of her family, who were murdered during the Third Reich. Her experiences during this research have been documented on video.

2001: “Herzfleischentartung” (Heart Flesh Degeneration). Documentary. Austria. Director: Ludwig Laher.
About the persecution of Roma people during the Nazi era and the concentration camps.

2005: “Unter den Brettern hellgrünes Gras” (Under the leaves light green grass). Documentary. Austria. Director: Karin Berger. 52 min.
About Ceija Stojka’s life: she was a child in the concentration camps of Auschwitz, Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen, where she - and her mother - were liberated.

2006: “Sinti ob der Enns - Wider die Zigeunerklischees” (Roma people from Enns –against Roma clichés). Documentary. Austria. Director: Ludwig Laher. 20 min.
Some witnesses speak about the Roma people they knew before the Holocaust and about the Roma’s everyday life at that moment.

2006: “Ketani heißt miteinander. Sintiwirklichkeiten statt Zigeunerklischees” (Ketani means together. Sinti Reality versus Gypsy Cliché). Documentary. Austria. Director: Ludwig Laher. 71 min. Languages: German and Romani.
About the history and the present of the Roma people in Austria. Elderly people describe their experiences: some of them report from the dreadful period of persecution during the Nazi regime