Roma and Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day
August 2nd is the Day of Remembrance of the Extermination of the Roma and Sinti. This day marks the anniversary of the liquidation of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (“Gypsy Family Camp”) of Auschwitz II-Birkenau, during which almost 3,000 Roma children and adults were killed in gas chambers. Sinti and Roma were targeted by the Nazis because they were considered to be racially inferior; under the Nazi regime, an increasing number of anti-Gypsy laws subjected tens of thousands of Gypsies to sterilization, deportation to camps, forced labor, and mass murder. It is estimated that between 220,000 and 500,000 Gypsies throughout Europe were killed during the Holocaust.
In observance of this day, our Portrait of the Month features Anna Maria Steinbach, who was killed along with her family at the Zigeunerfamilienlager. Learn more about Anna here.
