soledadmiranda:During the WWII, Sinti and Roma fought against the deprivation of their rights and
soledadmiranda: During the WWII, Sinti and Roma fought against the deprivation of their rights and their “racial” registration from the very beginning. They protested against discriminatory regulations and attempted to obtain the release of deported family members through petitions or personal intervention. They worked closely together with resistance groups in the occupied territories. They played an important role in the national liberation movements, especially in eastern and southeastern Europe, and they also cooperated closely with the Résistance movement in France. A large number of Sinti and Roma lost their lives in the armed struggle against National Socialism. Sinti and Roma also offered various forms of resistance in the concentration camps. A highlight was the revolt in camp section B II e of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the “gypsy camp”. On May 16, 1944 men and women of the Auschwitz II Birkenau “Gypsy families’ camp” warned by the internal Resistance Network of the camp, organized in order to fight off SS guards who came the same night to lead them to the gas chambers. The leaders of this insurrection (one of only two known insurrections, with the almost simultaneous revolt of the “Sonderkommandos”) were scattered to be killed on other sites of the Third Reich. Men, women and children that remained in the “Gypsy families’ camp” were exterminated in the end, starting on the eve of August 2, 1944 and continuing through the night to the next day. The internal Resistance netwotk of the camp (gathering jewish prisonners, polish prisoners, and inteligence etc..) finally uprised on October 7th 1944. (x) Romani resistance did not begin or end on the 16 of May, 1944. Nor were the Romani a passive people who did not try to fight back against genocide, against them and others. Today, we venerate Romani resistance throughout WWII. Keep reading -- source link