Review article
https://doi.org/10.17234/RadoviZHP.57.18
Genocide against Roma / Samudaripen in Europe during the Second World War (Summary)
Danijel Vojak
; Institut društvenih znanosti Ivo Pilar
Abstract
The Roma population settled in European lands in a series of migration waves, the most significant of which was that of the 13th century. Shortly after their settlement in most European countries until the 15th century, certain prejudices and stereotypes emerged among the resident European population towards Roma. They were increasingly perceived by authorities and the non-Roma population as idlers, cheats, thieves, spies, etc. In this context, anti-Gypsyism (or anti-Roma racism and discrimination) arose, a concept that seeks to encompass the negative attitude of non-Roma authorities and society towards Roma, and which is often grounded in negative stereotypes and prejudices. The policy of anti-Gypsyism was present in most European countries, especially from 15th century onward, and was often implemented through the expulsion of (foreign) Roma nomadic groups and coercive measures aimed at their permanent settlement; these practices may be regarded as repressive assimilation policies towards the Roma in many European countries. This kind of policy towards the Roma was especially prominent in the newly established German Empire in the second half of the 19th century. Its authorities formulated a special anti-Gypsy policy based on racialist doctrines, racial hygiene (eugenics), and German nationalism. Within this framework, the Roma were regarded as a threat to the development of German society and were therefore subjected to intensified police control. When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, policies towards the Roma intensified, and among the first victims of their racial (genocidal) policy, along with the Jews, were the Roma. In this context, the Nazi model of genocidal extermination of the Roma took shape, including measures such as sterilization, internment in camps and ultimately their extermination. This model was especially present in the countries occupied by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, such as Poland and the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, as well as its allied countries, such as the Independent State of Croatia and Romania. In other countries, the measures against the Roma were not as drastic, but rather amounted to their internment and use for forced labor. The result of this Nazi policy was the genocide of the Roma, with the number of victims most commonly estimated at around half a million Roma. The genocidal suffering of the Roma during the Second World War is today referred to as Samudaripen in most European countries.
Keywords
Roma; Europe; the Second World War; genocide
Hrčak ID:
352386
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2025.
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