Philomena Franz (née Köhler; 21 July 1922 – 28 December 2022) was a Sinti writer and activist from Germany, who was a survivor of the Romani Holocaust, having been imprisoned in Auschwitz.

One of her surviving brothers did military service in the Wehrmacht, and was shielded from discovery by his commanding officer, due to his skill with horses.

[8][9] After the liberation, she performed again with her future husband and her brother, including in officers' messes of the US armed forces and at events in Ansbach and Tübingen.

[21] In addition to her writings, she spoke regularly to a wide range of audiences, advocating for the recognition of Roma genocide in the Holocaust.

[27][28] Researcher Paola Toninato described how in Zwischen Liebe und Hass, Franz uses her idyllic childhood to spark contrast with the horrors of the concentration camps.

[24] Julia Blandfort emphasized the shared contemporary witness role of Franz, which appealed to the majority of society to recognize the genocide of the European Roma.

[30][31] Franz's childhood experiences with horses and horse-dealing is also recognised as an important cultural memory for Sinti people.

[32] In January 2015, she was one of 19 survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp whose contributions were included in the cover report The Last Witnesses in the weekly magazine Der Spiegel.