Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg

(Summary of a lecture by Ilona Lagrene on January 27, 1995, in Heidelberg)

In 1916, 23 Sinti families with 80 members lived in Heidelberg, mostly in the Old Town. The men fought for Germany in World War I, and the children attended school.

Soon after January 30, 1933, however, racial persecution of this minority began.

By 1935, 99 Sinti — all German citizens — were registered in Heidelberg. Their expulsion from the city was systematically and successfully pursued through various forms of harassment, including the withdrawal of peddler's licenses and the termination of rental contracts.

As early as 1936, most Sinti families left Heidelberg, except for 29, mainly older people. In Ludwigshafen, they worked for BASF and armaments factories.

All racial laws affected Jews and Sinti and Roma equally. In addition, so-called "racial assessments" were created for Sinti and Roma, which, among other things, served as the basis for forced sterilizations.

After the start of World War II, Sinti and Roma were no longer allowed to leave their places of residence, making their planned deportation easier to carry out.

In May 1940, 2,800 Sinti and Roma were arrested throughout Germany and subsequently deported, including 19 individuals who had moved from Heidelberg to Ludwigshafen. Many of them perished in the Radom ghetto.

Starting in 1942, Himmler's Auschwitz Decree initiated "the deportation of all Sinti and Roma still living in the Reich to Auschwitz-Birkenau," including former Sinti from Heidelberg.

Helga Knaute