Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma

[1] After several years of extension work collecting stories from the victims, conducting research, and conversion, the building complex was ceremonially opened to the public on 16 March 1997, and was supported by the attendance of many Roma and Sinti survivors.

[2] The documentation Centre has three levels and covers an area of almost 700 square meters, and traces the history and stories of the persecution of the Sinti and Roma under National Socialism.

[4] At the same time, they are related to one another in a way that creates a constant tension, which not only challenges visitors to reflect critically on the documents produced by the perpetrators, but also urges them to show empathetic understanding for the victims.

From the beginning the overriding aim of the civil rights movement of the German Sinti and Roma has been to create a Centre that would look back on and reappraise our history – in particular that of the genocide – and anchor it in the collective memory.

It is essential that the reality of the life of the Sinti and Roma is being separated from the anti-gypsy clichés which have for centuries taken root in the collective consciousness of the majority society and were exploited by the National Socialist propaganda.

The relationship between these two levels – normality and the everyday life of the minority on the one hand, and terror and persecution on the other – reveals at the same time that the abstract documents of the bureaucratically organized extermination stood for countless destroyed lives and human destinies.Alongside its function as a museum for contemporary history and a site for commemorating the past, the centre also provides a setting for encounters and dialogue.

A significant part of its public relations work is devoted to human rights, and making certain that no group or minority is overlooked as the Roma and Sinti were for four decades after the second World War.

In view of the persecution of the Roma and Sinti under National Socialism, the Centre feels an obligation to provide a forum for critical debate on pressing socio-political issues.

[8] Another part of the centre's work is to present the cultural contributions of the Sinti and Roma minority in the fields of literature, the fine arts and music, thus helping to break down stereotypes.

In 1990, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) recognized the vulnerable position of Roma and Sinti with regard to racial and ethnic hatred, xenophobia and discrimination.

[9] For example, four participating States noted that while the Roma and Sinti genocide is not explicitly mentioned in text books, teachers might opt to include such information while teaching about the Second World War, the Holocaust or totalitarianism, though it may not be strictly required.

The prize honours individuals, groups or institutions primarily from the majority, who face up to the historical responsibility and have been exemplary in calling for an improvement in the human rights situation of the Sinti and Roma.