The memory of the Holocaust and its impact on the current generation Rome
Authors: Brunnthaler, Julia
_cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Jovanovic, Vanessa
_cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Micatovich, Matteo
Genocide of Sinti and Roma during the period of the NS
According to the so-called racial hygienists of the 20th century, the Sinti and Roma were a "culturally poor, primitive and ahistorical "race" that "criminally penetrates the healthy body of the people." Arguments like these were used to justify the terrible atrocities that cost the life of some 500,000 Sinti and Roma during the Nazi era.As early as 1876 Cesare Lombroso wrote about the genetic predisposition of Sinti and Roma to commit criminal acts to justify their persecution and murder for the "preventive fight against crime". The number of victims is not equal to the rigor with which other persecuted groups are investigated.
However the Auschwitz decree of 1942 documents the deportation as well as the planned and systematic extermination of Sinti and Roma. More than 20,000 Sinti and Roma were imprisoned in 32 wooden barracks at Auschwitz, each holding 600 people. They were marked with brown or black triangles on their clothing, a Z, which stands for “Zigeuner” (Rome in German, a derogatory term), was tattooed on their forearms with the prisoner number. Auschwitz, as the "Roma camp", had the highest mortality rate. 19,300 people died, 5,600 of them were gassed, 13,700 died of starvation, disease, epidemics or experiments.
Even after the war, prejudice and discrimination against Sinti and Roma continued with little public interest in their fate during the Holocaust. Only in the 1970s did Sinti and Roma organizations manage to establish an awareness of the injustice committed against Sinti and Roma in the population. However, only a small minority of the surviving German and Austrian Sinti and Roma managed to assert their claim for "reparation payments". Until 1963, the deportation of Sinti and Roma was not interpreted by the Federal Court of Justice as a racist crime but as a "preventive fight against crime". Even in the GDR, the People's Police, the "Roma personal archives" created by the Nazis, continued to function.
To this day, the fate of the Sinti and Roma during the 20th century remains in the background, being poorly documented by the Nazis, either as "the others" or not at all, just as today they are pay little attention. They are second class victims.
"Come down, Rome!" The heroic story of Johann “Rukeli” Trollmann
Only a madman like him could do something like that, dance on the ring with traditional movements of his people. Freedom of spirit and courage are needed to silence the Nazi regime. This is the story of Johann Trollmann.
He was born on December 27, 1907 in Hannover, in a family composed of 8 brothers. Popularly known as "Rukeli", which in the Sinti language means "Tree", because of his curly hair and his ability to always stay strong and upright. Johann started boxing at the age of 8 at a community school, and it was already clear that he had talent. He became a member of the BC Heroes of Hannover in 1922, winning many regional championships and taking the title of North German championships.
It was from here that many problems began for Johann Rukeli: in 1928 the exclusion from the selections to the Olympic Games and the defamation of journalists, were facts that did not stop his dream of becoming a professional.
Journalists disparagingly called him Gipsy , and he was not afraid to appropriate this hallmark throughout his sports career.
Respected and loved above all by the female public, Rukeli won 13 consecutive fights until his chase began, the light heavyweight title was taken from him and at this time he began to fight in clandestine matches to survive until one day, in the field from Wittenberge to which he was deported, he was recognized in 1944 by a former German Boxer and kapo, Emil Cornelius, who challenged him and lost to him. For revenge, on March 31 of the same year, Cornelius killed Johann.
Johann represents an important symbol for the identity of the Roma People as a result of the persecutions he suffered in the world of German boxing and that is why he should be recognized as "the man who ridiculed the Third Reich". In 2003 the German Boxing Federation restored Trollman to the title of light heavyweight champion. A commemorative plaque (Berlin, Kreuzberg) and a monument were established in 2010 in Viktoria Park in Berlin.
Rita Trollman
In 1935 Rukeli got married. As a result of this marriage Rita was born, who has been very active in recognizing her father's life. When Rukeli annulled the marriage with Olga (she being German) the family was destroyed for fear of reprisals that might arise and she fled from the SS, leaving only 3-year-old Rita without a father. It was the last time he saw him. The mother married again and never spoke of her father.
In 2011 during the research for the documentary "Gipsy - The story of the boxer Johann Rukeli Trollmann", she was contacted. Since then, he has worked to keep the memory of his father alive in commemorative speeches and memory works, giving voice to witnesses to the events, film events and readings at commemorative events. In an interview he declares: "I will do anything for dad".
transgenerational traumas
Transgenerational trauma is the transmission of traumatic experiences to the next generation. Trauma is defined as a strong emotional disturbance that remains effective in the subconscious for a long time. How people deal with trauma, how they handle it and pass it on to the next generation is of great importance.
The way to deal with a difficult and challenging situation, which is what a traumatic experience is all about, is called "coping". If a person confronts their traumatic experiences with repression, this can be passed on to the next generation.
Second-generation people feel "somewhat strange" or empty, suffer from anxiety or depressed moods, insomnia or lack of energy, unexplained physical ailments, alcohol or drug problems, and much more. It is important to talk about traumatic experiences in the family or seek therapeutic help. Only in this way can inherited wounds be worked on and healed. These steps are essential to save the next generation from suffering the consequences of inherited trauma.
The silence, repression and failure to process the traumatic experiences of Holocaust survivors can have drastic consequences for the next generation. Descendants of Holocaust survivors suffer from certain clinically diagnosed psychological symptoms related to parental traumatization in the Holocaust. According to clinical studies, some offspring have been diagnosed with psychological symptoms. Research shows that 15% of children of Holocaust victims are affected by "second generation syndrome". This is responsible for a variety of psychological complaints due to predisposition:
- Increased risk of personality disorders of various types
- Multiple deficits in professional, social and emotional behavior
- Life in constant tension
The exclusion and collective trauma of National Socialism continue to characterize people today. Roma and Sinti continue to be marginalized, stigmatized and institutionally disadvantaged due to their ethnicity.
In my environment, many people from the Roma and Sinti community speak to me of a sense of duty towards their parents, grandparents and also towards themselves to be politically active. But it is not only the responsibility of the descendants of Roma and Sinti to treat the traumas of their grandparents/parents through therapy, activism and political work, the majority society of the time was responsible for these terrible events. 500 thousand Roma and Sinti were systematically humiliated, persecuted and killed at the hands of the Nazi regime. It is high time majority white society today recognized that the Holocaust still has a negative impact on today's generation.
We always say that history and the cruel events of the past must show us the way forward. There are those who remember, but there are still many who do not know, or what is worse, they forget facts as clear as water.
The fight against denial, hatred and omission never ends. It is a living fire that burns and our goal is to make sure that it never goes out. Why is it important for us to tell the stories? The answer is simple: offer life. Life to those who have lost their lives too early and to those who after us will live without the fear or shame of being what they are.
conclusion
We always say that history and the cruel events of the past must show us the way forward. There are those who remember but there are still many who do not know, or worse, they forget despite clear factors like the sun. The fight against denial, hatred and omission never ends. It is a living fire that burns and our goal is to make sure that it never goes out. Why is storytelling important to us? The answer is easy: offer life. Life to those who too early lost it and those who after us will grow without the fear or shame of being what they are.
Sources:
https://www.mdr.de/zeitreise/sinti-und-roma-wie-die-nazis-zigeuner-vernichtet-haben-100.html
https://rm.coe.int/holocaust-datenblatter-zur-geschichte-der-roma/16808b1ab2
http://www.johann-trollmann.de/tochter-rita.html?fbclid=IwAR1tmif7ciiETsEZApl8meLJasjH21oMJmGflIMns0zvc1hldN1cVTx9JjQ
https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/beitrag/verfolgung-in-der-ns-zeit-vererbtes-trauma
https://www.trauma-und-wuerde.de/transgenerative-traumaweitergabe-coping-weitergabe/
https://www.bundestag.de/resource/blob/501186/5cab3d455ea7c85a1dfbd7ce458d499a/WD-1-040-16-pdf-data.pdf