Kiel / Germany (RNC Agency) 16.06.1997

In memory of the deported Sinti & Roma from Schleswig Holstein to Auschwitz the state association of German Sinty & Roma unveiled a memorial stone in Kiel’s Hiroshima Park in the city-center. On 16th may 1940 the deportation of 2.500 Sinti & Roma from Nort hern Germany had started. The vice-president of the Roma & Sinti association, Gabriele Kötschau ( SPD ) emphasised during the laying of the stone: ’’ We have a particular moral responsibility towards Sinti & Roma ’’.

These crimes against minorities should be warning, ’’ as to where intolerance, hostility against foreigners and racism can lead to.

The Schleswig-Holstein state government in Kiel also supported the action materially.

2. In the Mannheim square of the ’’ Peace angel ’’, the lord mayor Gerhard Widder and Ilona Lagrene ( vice-president of the Sinti & Roma association ) unveiled a memorial plaque for the Sinti & Roma victims during the Nazi dictatorship. Many Sinti & Roma f rom Mannheim had been deported to Auschwitz in March 1943. The memorial plaque was made in the apprentice workshop of Mercedes Benz. AG, Mannheim.