Teaching about the Roma Genocide

 Inclusion of the topic in the school curriculum

The 2005 report provides information on the implementation of Holocaust in the school curricula in the 16 Länder. The report has been drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire answered by the Länder referring to the issues: implementation of the topics of Nationalsocialism and Holocaust in the school curricula of the Länder, implementation in teacher training and preparation of the 10th anniversary of the Remembrance Day at schools for the victims of the Holocaust (i.e. 27th of January 2006).

The teaching of the Holocaust includes remembrance of all the victims of the National Socialists’ regime. Special reference is made to persecution and Roma Genocide in the curricula of the "Länder" (counties) of Baden-Württemberg (secondary school: "Gymnasium"), Hamburg (secondary school: "Gymnasium", "Hauptschule" and "Realschule"), Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (lower secondary school and "Gymnasium", "Hauptschule" and "Realschule") and Rheinland-Pfalz (lower and upper secondary school: "Gymnasium", "Hauptschule", "Realschule" and "Regionale Schule"). As far as teacher training is concerned, the Roma Genocide in particular is dealt with in Baden-Württemberg. Since the curricula of the "Länder" are implemented via textbooks, it can be assumed that the description of the Roma Genocide can be found in the textbooks within the topic of Holocaust.

 Inclusion of the topic in the school textbooks

The Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma and the Zentralrat has published a variety of documentation (books, CD-ROMs, DVDs) on the history of Roma that can be found on their website. Their comprehensive catalogue to the permanent exhibition in Auschwitz, “The National Socialists’ Genocide of Sinti and Roma”, represents an important book of reference on this issue.

 Training of teachers and education professionals

The Education Department of the Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Sinti und Roma, which was established in January 2001, focuses on gathering information on state and private education services, designing seminars for teachers and preparing teaching materials dealing with the history of the persecution of the Roma and Sinti minority during the National Socialist era and with civil rights activities in the Federal Republic of Germany. The department also analyses standard schoolbooks and makes recommendations.

The pedagogical website “Lernen aus der Geschichte” (Learning from history) is a portal that provides free educational materials and method proposals for teachers. It provides a catalogue of relevant websites, a bibliography and references.

 Particular activities undertaken at the level of education institutions

Contact people for the topics of Holocaust and National-socialism can be found in the Ministries of Education of each "Land”.