Ideologies' impact in accurately historicising the Romani experience amidst anti-Romani sentiments in 20th century Nazi Germany

Abstract

Ideologies such as race-hygiene, eugenics and pseudo-scientific discourse were heavily employed in 20th century Nazi Germany to exacerbate pre-existing socio-cultural anti-Romani sentiments. While Romani history is festered with anecdotes regarding these biased sentiments, it is important to deconstruct whether these experiences were at large accurate in depicting the actual ‘lived’ experiences of Romani individuals. Collective memory suggests how crucial it is to observe these historical narratives to bring attention to the role that ideological elements have in constructing narratives about the Romani identity.

This thesis intends on attempting to deconstruct these narratives by observing various lenses and ideological arguments so as to represent the Roma stories in a more accurately nuanced approach. Despite various convoluted depictions that may at times appear contradictory in nature, the experiences by which the Romani community endured under Nazi rule in Germany should be uncovered from differing perspectives so as to coalesce together historically accurate – or as closely possible – Romani narratives.