Deportations of Romani people to Transnistria
During the Antonescu regime, in the context of Romani genocide, more than 25,000 Romani people from the Kingdom of Romania were deported to concentration camps in Transnistria Governorate. The regime deemed Romani people "a burden and a danger to public order". In the camps the imprisoned people were used as slave labour, and witnesses describe the conditions as abysmal, with many dying from exposure and starvation. [1]
Preparations
One year after the starting The Holocaust in Romania, Ion Antonescu ordered surveys to asses the Romani population in Romania. The results estimated 208,700 people of Romani ethnicity, out of whom the ones without fixed residence and those deemed "dangerous" - for example those who had previous criminal convictions or even those who were jobless - fell under the criteria for deportation.[2]
References
- ^ Michelle Kelso:"And Roma were victims, too." The Romani Genocide and Holocaust Education in Romania, page 63
- ^ Michelle Kelso & Daina S. Eglitis: Holocaust commemoration in Romania: Roma and the contested politics of memory and memorialization, pages 490-491