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Data on the murder of Sinti and Roma is pooled
Berlin: Memorial for the Sinti and Roma murdered under National Socialism. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
There are numerous studies, numerous data and countless places to commemorate the murder of Sinti and Roma by the National Socialists. Now all of this should be compiled online.
In a large-scale project, researchers want to gain historical knowledge of mass deportations and Bringing together the murder of Sinti and Roma under National Socialism. The first contributions to an encyclopedia are now to be put online: Next Tuesday (March 5th) a new portal will be presented in Berlin. The project is led by the Antigypsy Research Center at Heidelberg University. Despite important special studies, knowledge of the topic is still highly fragmented today, said project leader Karola Fings from the research center. According to them, specialist contributions will be available via the online portal, which will be sorted according to crime scenes and life paths, among other things.
In addition to photographs and a chronology, the digital encyclopedia, which is available in German and English, also offers an interactive map on which all crime scenes across Europe for which information is available are listed. This includes concentration camps as well as places where massacres were committed.
According to Heidelberg University, more than 90 scientists from 25 countries are working on the collection. The project started in summer 2020 and is scheduled to last five years. It is supported by the Federal Foreign Office with funds amounting to 1.6 million euros. The goal is to bring together around 1,000 specialist articles by the end of next year.
The Antigypsy Research Center has been analyzing topics such as the exclusion of Sinti and Roma since the summer of 2017. As the first and only institution of its kind in Germany, it deals with fundamental questions about the causes, forms and consequences of antigypsyism in European societies.