Memorial for Roma victims of Holocaust unveiled
26 Oct 2012 2:34 AM GMT
More than 67 years after the end of World War II, Germany has unveiled its national memorial for an estimated half-a-million Sinti and Roma persecuted and murdered by the Nazis in Europe.
Located near the Reichstag building housing the German parliament in Berlin, the memorial will give the country’s over 70,000 Sinti and Roma population for the first time their own site to mourn and commemorate the victims of the Nazi genocide between 1933 and 1945.
Berlin already hosts two separate memorials for six million Jews and several thousand homosexuals killed during the Holocaust.
Various studies based on genetic and linguistic evidences have concluded that the ancestors of the Romani people in Europe had migrated from India more than 6,00 years ago and the origin of the Romani language spoken by them in different countries can be traced to some Indian languages.
During the World War II, they were subjected to a systematic extermination by the Nazis. They were often tortured, killed on sight and sentenced to forced labour and imprisonment in concentration camps.
 It is also a warning for the future ‘to remain alert, protect the minorities and to take over responsibilities,’ Merkel said.
Israeli artist Dani Karavan has designed the memorial, which is in a dark circular pond with a triangular stone in the centre on which one fresh flower will be placed every day as a sign of grief and remembrance.
Located near the Reichstag building housing the German parliament in Berlin, the memorial will give the country’s over 70,000 Sinti and Roma population for the first time their own site to mourn and commemorate the victims of the Nazi genocide between 1933 and 1945.
Berlin already hosts two separate memorials for six million Jews and several thousand homosexuals killed during the Holocaust.
Various studies based on genetic and linguistic evidences have concluded that the ancestors of the Romani people in Europe had migrated from India more than 6,00 years ago and the origin of the Romani language spoken by them in different countries can be traced to some Indian languages.
During the World War II, they were subjected to a systematic extermination by the Nazis. They were often tortured, killed on sight and sentenced to forced labour and imprisonment in concentration camps.
 It is also a warning for the future ‘to remain alert, protect the minorities and to take over responsibilities,’ Merkel said.
Israeli artist Dani Karavan has designed the memorial, which is in a dark circular pond with a triangular stone in the centre on which one fresh flower will be placed every day as a sign of grief and remembrance.
Next Story
