Experiences of Sinti and Roma

Stichting Onderzoek Terugkeer en Opvang (SOTO)

NIOD 889, inventory number 46, 48-51

Uitgewerkte interviews over de ervaringen van Sinti en Roma, 1999.

In the summer months of 1945, the Sinti and Roma, who had been able to go into hiding, slowly came to the realisation that most of the deported family members had been murdered in the death camps.
In the years that followed, Sinti and Roma’s trust in the Dutch authorities was again severely damaged. Like Jewish survivors, they were not given back or compensated for their possessions after the war. They could not provide proof of ownership and were therefore not eligible for compensation for the confiscated caravans, horses and possessions. They retreated destitute and traumatised in their own circles. Most kept themselves alive in the first years after the war by eating at soup kitchens, by donations from the Catholic poor and by begging for food, clothes and money. Exceptions were the Sinti in gypsy orchestras, which were popular before the war and enjoyed a heyday in the famous red-plush establishments of the 1950s and 1960s.

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