Country: Russia
Group: Roma
Date Finalized: 9/26/2022
Team: Nichole Dahlen (lead), Natasha Chandra, Anusha Natarajan, David Hammerle
Content Warning: Nazis, genocide, forced labor, forced relocation
Approximate Time Period: 1940-1945
Within current Russian territory, the Nazis forced the Roma to work in concentration camps. During World War II, the Nazis targeted the Roma, subjecting them to forced labor, forced relocation, and genocide (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2022). Nazis controlled part of modern day Russia where Roma lived (Holler, n.d.). The Nazis forced the “sedentary” Roma into labor and killed the “roaming” Roma (Holler, n.d.).
It is difficult to find information on the Roma in Russia because human rights organizations often overlooked this vulnerable population (Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 2004). For many years after the Holocaust ended, European powers continued to ignore the many atrocities committed against the Roma (United States Holocause Memorial Museum, 2022). Today, the Roma are some of the poorest people in Russia, with high rates of homelessness and illiteracy (UN Refugee Agency, n.d.).
Data Quality: The data quality rating is a ⅓ because we struggled to find quality or detailed information about the forced labor of Roma within current Russian territory.
Sources
- Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. (September 2004). Roma in Russia. Retrieved 7 November 2022 from https://www.csce.gov/international-impact/events/roma-russia.
- Holler, M. (n.d.). Russia. Retrieved 7 November 2022 from https://www.romarchive.eu/en/voices-of-the-victims/russia/.
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (2022). GENOCIDE OF EUROPEAN ROMA (GYPSIES), 1939–1945. Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/genocide-of-european-roma-gypsies-1939-1945
- UN Refugee Agency. (n.d.). Refworld | Assessment for Roma in Russia. Refworld. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f3ac81e.html