Forgotten genocide
Approximately 500,000 Roma and Sinti were murdered during the Nazi period, and there is good reason for this sometimes to be referred to as the “forgotten genocide”. The Roma and Sinti now form the largest minority in Europe. They are particularly discriminated against and persecuted in the Central and Eastern European countries and that is why the Requiem for Auschwitz consis
ts of more than the musical performance. It is an elaborate programme which focuses on the genocide of the Roma and Sinti during the Second World War and the growing anti-Roma feeling with, amongst other things, an international conference, exhibitions, a film programme and a debate. Requiem for Auschwitz
for all the victims
The Requiem for Auschwitz The world premiere of the Requiem for Auschwitz took place in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on 3 May. This is a musical work by Roger Moreno Rathgeb, a Dutch Sinto musician. He wrote the Requiem for Auschwitz to commemorate all the victims of the Nazis. The NOS recorded the performance to broadcast it in its entirety on 4 May. which was performed again in Tilburg on 4 May. Performances will follow later this year in different European (capital) cities. Summary of the “Requiem for Auschwitz” programme
Below there is a summary of our activities in the spring of 2012 and the related projects of our partners.
• Performances of Requiem for Auschwitz
“The Sinti and the Roma have given a great deal to humanity, but they have been given little in return.”
- Riccardo M Sahiti, conductor of the Roma und Sinti Philharmoniker
The Requiem for Auschwitz is being performed throughout Europe by the Roma und Sinti Philharmoniker from Frankfurt, the only professional classical Sinti and Roma orchestra in the world. The orchestra is conducted by Riccardo M. Sahiti. A local choir will perform the choral parts in each country. In the Netherlands these are the Amsterdam Students’ Choir and the Opera choir of Souvenir des Montagnards in Tilburg. During the performance images will be displayed of the loved ones of the victims of Auschwitz; photographs which they took on their journey themselves and which were discovered in their suitcases. In between the different parts of the Requiem, stories written for this special occasion will be narrated about sorrow, reconciliation and hope. The narrators include Huub van der Lubbe, Fedja van Huet and Bram van der Vlugt, amongst others. Following the performances in the Netherlands, the Requiem for Auschwitz will also be performed in Cracow (1 August), Bucharest (10 October), Frankfurt (24 October) Prague (4 November) and Budapest (6 November).
• NOS broadcast of the Requiem performance and the documentary
- 4 May, after the Remembrance of the dead
On 3 May the NOS recorded the performance in De Nieuwe Kerk, which was broadcast in its entirety on 4 May. The same evening the NOS also broadcast a documentary that was specially made about the context and background of the Requiem for Auschwitz.
• International Conference: The Roma Between Past and Future
- 6 May 2012 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Eggertzaal in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, to which we are very grateful. The language used in the conference is English. This conference focuses on a comparison between the current situation of the Roma and Sinti in Europe and what happened to them in the 1930s and 1940s. Is it actually possible to make these comparisons? Why and how should this sort of comparison be made to gain an insight into their present situation? Academics from Austria, Hungary and Israel, amongst other countries, are giving lectures. Zoni Weisz, one of the spokespersons of the Roma and Sinti, will be interviewed.
• Digital Exhibition: The forgotten genocide of the Roma and Sinti
- From 3 May online
In close collaboration with the Anne Frank Foundation the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei is making a digital exhibition entitled The forgotten genocide of the Roma and Sinti for the website www.tweedewereldoorlog.nl. Visitors to this exhibition will find out more about the lives of the Roma and Sinti before, during and after the years of Nazi persecution through the life stories of six children from the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, amongst other countries.
• Film and debate in De Balie
- 13 May, afternoon and evening
In the afternoon films will be shown in De Balie about the deprivation of the Roma and Sinti in present-day Europe and about their persecution during the Second World War. In the afternoon there will be a debate about the mechanisms of exclusion, the question why this affects the Roma, and the absence of a strong Roma lobby.
• Cultural evening: The eve of the Requiem, World Podium Tilburg
- 18 April, Factorium, Tilburg
The guest of honour of this evening was Roger Moreno Rathgeb, a multi-instrumentalist and the composer of the Requiem for Auschwitz. He talked about his work as a musician, his life as a Sinti in Vaals in South Limburg, his visit to Auschwitz, the silence amongst the survivors of the camps, and obviously about his Requiem. The backgrounds of the “Requiem” phenomenon are outlined by the music academic and theologian, Willem-Marie Speelman (University of Tilburg) and the historian, Huub van Baar (University of Amsterdam).
• International Gipsy Festival
- 27 and 28 May (Whit weekend), Interpolis garden, Tilburg
The International Gipsy Festival is being organised for the sixteenth time in the garden of Interpolis, this year in the Whit weekend on 27 and 28 May. You can find more information about our festival on www.gipsyfestival.nl. Other initiatives connected with the Requiem for Auschwitz
The Requiem for Auschwitz is closely collaborating with a number of partners who are also focusing their attention this spring on the situation of the Roma and Sinti. A summary of their activities and projects on this theme can be found below.
• Exhibition of photographs, Nieuwe Kerk
- 7 to 31 May
The Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam is presenting an extensive exhibition of the Swedish photographer Joakim Eskildsen about the Roma in Europe. Between 2000 and 2006 the photographer travelled through seven European countries with a writer in order to gain an insight into the life of the Roma and their situation. www.joakimeskilden.com. In addition to this exhibition, the Nieuwe Kerk provides an opportunity to view the NOS broadcast of the Requiem and the digital exhibition, “The forgotten genocide of the Roma and the Sinti”.
• National Remembrance, Nieuwe Kerk
- 4 May, Nieuwe Kerk
During the National Remembrance, which is organised again this year by the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei, the Dutch Children’s Choir sang a number of songs with lyrics written by Dutch Sinti children.
• Liberation festivals
- 5 May, various liberation festivals
Extra attention was devoted to Roma and Sinti music at several liberation festivals. The liberation festival at Café Noorderlicht on the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam was almost entirely devoted to Roma and Sinti music. Further information
This project is organised by the International Gipsy Festival Tilburg
in collaboration with: Nationaal Comité 4 & 5 mei, De Nieuwe Kerk, the NOS, the NIOD, the Anne Frank House and the NISR
With the support of: the Memorial Center Camp Westerbork, the Dutch Auschwitz Committee and under the auspices of Thorbjörn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of Europe
in collaboration with our partners
Nationaal Comité 4&5 mei, De Nieuwe Kerk, the NOS, the NIOD, the Anne Frank House, Dutch Sinti and Roma Institute and the International Gipsy Festival
with the support of
the Memorial Center Camp Westerbork, the Dutch Auschwitz Committee
also made possible thanks to the contributions of
VSBfonds, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, European Commission, EU Department of Education and Culture, Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Task Force Holocaust
Recommended in The Netherlands by: Armando, artist; Mr. Menno ten Brink, rabbi; Mrs. Gardeniers, former minister; Mr. Jacques Grishaver, chairman of the Dutch Auschwitz Committee; Dhr. Wichert ten Have, director of the Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Jeroen Krabbé, actor and artist; Mrs. Leemhuis-Stout, chairperson of the 4 en 5 mei Comité; Mrs. Gerdie Verbeet, chairperson of the Lower House
Internationally recommended by: Václav Havel †, former President of the Czech Republic; László Andor, Member of the European Commission; Valeriu Nicolae, Director of the Policy Center for Roma and Minorities; Ian Hancoc, Romani scholar specialized in Roma history at the University of Texas
Partners Abroad: Poland: Roma People Association; Hungary: Romedia Foundation; Czech Republic: Slovo 21, Khamoro World Roma Festival; Germany: Philharmonischer Verein der Sinti und Roma, Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Dokumentations und Kultur Zentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma Heidelberg; Romania: Romano Kher National Centre for Roma Culture
