describes her wartime imprisonment and escape: She sang and danced with her family’s group until their passports and instruments were confiscated. She was born in 1922 to a family of musicians. One of the Auschwitz survivors was Philomena Franz. Calculating the total number of Roma killed by the Nazis is difficult but it is estimated that between 25% – 50% of the total European Roma population was killed, and some estimates are much higher. Many of the Sinti were imprisoned in a special camp inside Auschwitz-Birkenau, where on August 2, 1944, 4000 Sinti and other Romani people were murdered in a single night. Romani people were subjected to repressive laws and practices including forced sterilization and deportation as well as murder and imprisonment. The Sintis, as well as other Romani, were targeted for genocide by the Nazi regime. Philomena Franz was a member of a Sinti group which, during Franz’s lifetime, lived in Germany and Northern Italy.
Within this large group there are many sub-groups and of course countless variations in beliefs, customs, and lifestyles. The term Romani (or Romany, or Roma) refers to an Indo-Aryan group of people who traditionally live a nomadic lifestyle. The term Roma is often used to describe this community as a whole.
While Sinti are of Western and Central Europe origin, Roma are those of Eastern and South Eastern Europe origin. Roma and Sinti people, often derogatorily referred to as “gypsies,” are members of an ethnic group with deep roots across Europe. I am not an expert on Romani history and I’ve noticed that even among Romani writers there isn’t always consensus about certain words. The Romani have a complex history and culture. This month in Kickass Women, let’s talk about Philomena Franz, a Romani author and activist.
0 kommentar(er)
