Although social and political activism of Roma* and Sinti*[1] living in Germany is no longer a marginal phenomenon, Roma* activism as a whole receives little attention from the media or society. Since the civil rights movement in Germany (Bürgerrechtsbewegung) of the 1970s, Roma* and Sinti* activists have been raising their voices (cf. Gress, 2015; Herold 2009; Klein, 2016; Matras, 1998).
© Neuengamme concentration camp memorial
I decided to focus on individuals’ motivation for activism and the connection between such motivation and the activists’ family history narratives to overcome this specific research desideratum (cf. Fehlberg 2023). In this contribution, I elaborate on my research by referring to ten interviews I conducted with Roma* and Sinti* activists in Germany between 2021 and 2023. From this data I have inferred three types of narration about activism (cf. Kluge 2000). They reveal types of motivation for political activism, the political mission and suggest connections to family histories (Fehlberg 2023; Fehlberg forthcoming). Political and social activism is understood as political struggles for social transformation, which is often caused by the “unfair distribution or misuse of resources that privilege some groups while disadvantaging others” (Müllenmeister/Maersk/Farias 2022, p. 377).
Despite the wide variety of Roma-European histories and heterogeneity of culture (cf. End 2015, p. 202; Jonuz/Weiß 2020, p. 37; Law/Kovats 2018), ongoing discrimination and the aftermaths of the genocide, and societal and economical marginalisation were collective experiences for Roma* and Sinti* communities and reasons to form a collective political identity after 1945 (cf. Fehlberg forthcoming; Hall 1990; Mirga 2015). Many survivors of Nazi persecution suffered from physical and/or psychological damage until the end of their lives. The persecution and murder of Sinti* and Roma* almost destroyed the social life of the affected families (cf. Peritore 2019; Rose 1987). After 1945, Roma* and Sinti* living in Germany were confronted with a state apparatus characterised by continuities in both personnel and ideology. Fighting for recognition of the genocide, the establishment of memorial sites, civil rights, and an end to ongoing discrimination, Sinti* and Roma* have been establishing many organizations and charities since the 1970s and 1980s (Gress 2015, pp. 53–54; Klein 2016). Some of my interviewees work for such organisations, others are active in political parties or welfare organisations.
Methodology
The interview methodology is mainly based on the work of Andreas Witzel and Herwig Reiter (2012, p. 51). In the first phase of the interview, the interviewees should not be influenced by the researcher’s knowledge (cf. Witzel/Reiter 2012, p. 68). During this open phase, I wrote down questions for the second phase of the interview, based on topics that the interviewees brought up. In a third phase, I used my pre-formulated questionnaire. Based on Susann Kluge’s approach (2000) I present my results as ideal types. Activists experience different motivations and I identified and reconstructed three types of motivation (Memory Keepers, Representatives and Hidden Allies) from the material (Fehlberg 2023, pp.17-26). The types of motivation are not necessarily unambiguously reflected in social realities, as there may be several types of motivation in individual cases. The types illustrate central motivational patterns and regularities, which can then be recognised in individual cases (Kuckartz 2010, pp. 555-566).
Memory Keepers, Representatives and Hidden Allies
Memory Keepers grew up with numerous traumatising family narratives from their early childhood on. They are aware of details of the persecution of direct ancestors, more distant relatives or even friends of the family. Knowledge of places of detention, stories of murders, forced sterilisation and torture are part of their everyday lives (cf. Interviews 2021H; 2021I).
“Then you get to see a lot. When we sat at the table and my parents talked to aunts and uncles, how it was back then and when they started crying, when it was about the families, of course, or in the evening, when my parents woke up in their sleep or had bad dreams and then the topic of concentration camps came up again and again […] And that’s what you grew up with”[2] (Interview 2021B).
© Channel Welcome
Memory Keepers follow the political mission to collect and document the stories of persecution in order to preserve them for the future. Their mission is to provide education about the genocide for Roma* or Sinti* communities. Therefore, they actively ask survivors for their stories and support them to speak in public. They are active in the politics of remembrance (cf. Fehlberg/Klein 2021). Memory Keepers often have a strong connection to Roma* culture and traditions and highlight being part of a minority rather than feeling part of a majority society (cf. Interview 2021B). Memory Keepers organise commemorative and educational events. On the one hand, they feel a responsibility to educate the majority society about Nazi crimes and ongoing discrimination. On the other hand, the commemorative events in particular aim to ensure appropriate commemoration within the communities (cf. Interviews 2021B; 2021H; 2021I). Memory Keepers feel a strong sense of duty towards the survivors of Nazi persecution (cf. Interviews 2021A; 2021B; 2021H; 2021I).
The second type that I have worked out from the materials, I refer to as Representative. It is striking that Representatives focus on narratives of resistance from both surviving and murdered relatives. They know stories about partisans and the individual resistance of Roma* and Sinti* (cf. Interviews 2021A; 2021B). Also, they refer to activists from the civil rights movement and to family role models.
Representatives have a different political mission in comparison to Memory Keepers. They aim for visibility of Roma* and Sinti* which contradict the stereotypes of either being uneducated or poor or even worse racist assumptions. Their motivation is fuelled by the fact that people from Sinti* or Roma* communities regularly do not have self-determined visibility in the majority society due to marginalisation (cf. Interviews 2021A; 2021C). “We still have far too few good examples […] from our people. Far too few Roma* or Sinti* politicians, or teachers, or whatever” (Interview 2022A). Representatives act as role models themselves and try to encourage socially disadvantaged members of Roma* communities. Referring to this motivation people often work in education or as advisors for Roma* and Sinti* for example in schools. They also want to be seen by the majority society to prove that the lives of Roma* and Sinti* contradict the stereotypes (cf. Interviews 2021C; 2022A). They can act as a link between majority society and Roma* or Sinti* communities.
I call the third type of narrative of motivation for activism Hidden Allies. Regarding this motivation, people hardly speak about persecution during National Socialism. Their knowledge about the Second World War is acquired through education (cf. Interview 2021C, 2021F, 2021G). It is characteristic for Hidden Allies to refer to the social situation of their parents or to the immigration history of their ancestors when it comes to the transmission of family history. Hidden Allies are involved in established structures of the dominant society, e.g. in welfare associations, non-governmental organisations or political parties. Their commitment aims to improve the living conditions of marginalised Roma* and Sinti*, but with stronger reference to the circumstances of society as a whole (cf. Interview 2021C; Interview 2021G). Hidden Allies describe themselves in many facets as part of the majority society and they are self-confident about their own potential. “And who must reach out first? The stronger one” (Interview 2021F). Their own experiences of discrimination are judged to be rather low (cf. Interview 2021E; 2021F). They tend to connect their motivation to a political identity of being Roma* and not to a cultural heritage. The downside is that they describe a remaining stigma (cf. Goffman 2010, pp. 56–61) handed down not only through the family narrative but also because of everyday life experiences. Therefore, they tend to hide the Roma* or Sinti* part of their identity.
Conclusion
Social commitment and belonging to a marginalised group are part of the identity construction for all three types (further reading Fehlberg 2023; Fehlberg forthcoming). The empirical types of motivation for social or political activism described above can improve understandings of the different motivations of activists who are descendants of those persecuted during National Socialism. The focus on the individual motivations for activism and the connection between motivation and activists’ family history can, for example, provide clues for understanding of the social engagement of people whose ancestors have experienced persecution as Jews or who are descendants of politically persecuted persons.
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[1] Verband Deutscher Sinti und Roma – Landesverband Rheinland Pfalz (No year): Über die Kontroverse zum Gendern der Selbstbezeichnung Sinti und Roma. https://www.vdsr-rlp.de/kontroverse-zum-gendern-der-selbstbezeichnung-sinti-und-roma-einleitung/ (12.12.2023), suggests Sinti* and Roma* as inclusive spelling.
[2] All interviews were conducted in German, for better understanding all quotes were translated to English by the author.
