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In 2001, an exhibition on the history of the Holocaust against the Sinti and Roma was opened on the grounds of the Auschwitz main camp, which have since been converted into a museum. Since 2010 every year the participants of Dikh He Na Bister visit to learn and remember.
The exhibition is divided into two rooms. At the beginning of the exhibition, the visitor symbolically leaves the historical site of the memorial and enters the core room of the exhibition. Here the life of Sinti and Roma before the persecution by the Nazi-Regime is shown. Sinti and Roma were integrated into social life before 1933 as neighbors or work colleagues. Many had fought as soldiers in the First World War and had been highly decorated. They were citizens of the nations in which they and their ancestors had lived for centuries. The family photos and documents shown in the exhibition underline the normality of every-day life between neighbors in various European states.
The exhibition illustrates how this normality was gradually destroyed by the Nazi regime. On the basis of racial ideology, Sinti and Roma, just like the Jews, were gradually disenfranchised, deprived of their livelihoods and finally deported to the extermination camps. 500,000 Sinti and Roma were murdered in Nazi occupied Europe.
The exhibition could only be realized through the support of numerous survivors of the Holocaust of Sinti and Roma. For this exhibition they entrusted the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma with their private family pictures.
Context of the Block 13 Exhibition on the genocide of Sinti and Roma at Auschwitz-Museum
Learn about the context of the permanent exhibition on the genocide of Sinti and Roma in Nazi occupied Europe, which is based in Block 13 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The video shows how the exhibition highlights – through a unique collection of family photos and documents – a normality of every-day life between neighbours in various European states. The exhibition illustrates how this normality was gradually destroyed by the Nazi regime. On the basis of racial ideology, Sinti and Roma, just like the Jews, were gradually disenfranchised, deprived of their livelihoods and finally deported to the extermination camps. 500,000 Sinti and Roma were murdered in Nazi occupied Europe.
Guided virtual Tour through the Block 13 Exhibition
Take a 5 min virtual guided tour through the permanent exhibition on the genocide of Sinti and Roma in Nazi occupied Europe, which is based in Block 13 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The exhibition contrasts two elements. It shows the history of the persecution and extermination of the Sinti and Roma by the Nazis. On the basis of private documents and family photos, it also shows the normality of Sinti and Roma living together with their neighbours in various European states. In Auschwitz-Birkenau, the last 4,300 Sinti and Roma were murdered on 2 August 1944 in spite of their fierce resistance.
Production and Copyright: The videos were realized by the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma in cooperation with the Association of Roma in Poland, and thanks to the support of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
Learn more about the Block 13 at the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma website.
