Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Memorial for the Roma and Sinti Victims of the Holocaust
On October 24, 2012 Germany unveiled a new memorial for victims of the Holocaust -- this one, though, was not in honor of the Jews who perished. The memorial is dedicated to the 500,000 'Gypsies' that were slaughtered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. More specifically, the memorial is for the Roma and Sinti that were killed and only recently recognized as victims. These Roma and Sinti were put through many of the same horrible treatments as the Jews; they were subjected to forced sterilization, heavily discriminated against, and sent to labor and death camps. It took until 1982 (30 years after acknowledgement by Germany of its treatment towards the Jews) for Germany to recognize the Nazi party's persecution of the Sinti and Roma.
The memorial is very simple and not too large, but its design and message are still powerful. According to the creators, "Its still water is intended to evoke tears for the dead but also, in reflecting the beholder, inspire new generations to protect minorities from hate." It is situated in the heart of Berlin, near to the parliament building.
While the memorial is a long-needed recognition of the Sinti and Roma persecution in the past, it’s important to note that the current discrimination towards them has yet to be addressed; there are 12 million Roma in Europe today and the majority of them live below the poverty line and experience persecution and heavy discrimination by most European societies and governments. For example, Germany still wont’ grant asylum to refugee Roma from Serbia and Macedonia.
It’s great that there is finally a memorial for those who perished by the Nazis, but the memorial is not going to help the present-day victims. Saying sorry is important, and recognizing genocide is always good, but it doesn’t fix current issues; it’s too little, too late.
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/164898/memorial-to-forgotten-holocaust-opens-in-germany/#ixzz2AnT92kgE
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Ms. Hay writes about a recently-erected Holocaust memorial in honor of the Roma and the Sinti, the gypsy people persecuted under the Nazis. Her belief is the memorial’s recognition of past crimes is “too little, too late” and does not reach to fix the impoverished position most of these people find themselves in. Ms. Hay also points out that while Germany has now made them a monument, the country refuses to accept Roma refugees from Serbia and Macedonia.
ReplyDeleteI would argue that any attempt at atonement for the act genocide is “too little, too late”; I don’t believe it applies to just this situation. While the monument was a nice gesture for a recognized error, attempts at wiping out a race are not easily forgotten. 500,000 Roma and Sinti people died unnatural deaths. Death in that proportion obviously cannot simply be glossed over with a calm, reflective pool. Yet Ukrainians will not forget their history with the USSR, nor will the Armenians forget their treatment under the Turks. I do not believe any monument of reflection could fully fix these situations, they would just come forward as being “too little, too late”.
The question of intent must be analyzed when looking at this memorial critically. It seems to me that this memorial in Berlin does serve some apologetic function, but the intent of the artist seemed to create a reminder of the rights of minorities; "Its still water is intended to evoke tears for the dead but also, in reflecting the beholder, inspire new generations to protect minorities from hate."
Two days before this monument was dedicated, Antoni Dobrowolski died. At 108 years old, he was the oldest surviving member of Auschwitz. I immediately thought of this class when I heard about his death on npr. What were his final thoughts on the genocides that took place during WWII? Had Dobrowolski forgiven his Nazi persecutors? I’m not old enough to speak of the Holocaust as an eye-witness, and I obviously can’t tell you what he was thinking at the end, but since Dobrowolski labeled Auschwitz “worse than Dante’s hell” it is quite possible he might have felt any reparations made by the Germans for the Jews were “too little, too late” as well.