Losy Cyganów na ziemi gnieźnieńskiej w XX wieku w świetle dokumentacji władz lokalnych
History of the Roma in the Gniezno Land in the 20th Century in the Light of Documents Produced by Local Authorities

Summary/Abstract: Gniezno and Gniezno County were home to one of the largest Roma populations in Greater Poland, but were not always adequately recognized in the studies on this topic. Little use was likewise made of source materials produced by local branches of national offices and stored in the Gniezno branch of the State Archive in Poznań. The first records mentioning the Roma in Gniezno and the surrounding areas date back to the Prussian period, but the largest group of records were produced in the interwar period as a result of the activities of state authorities. These records track the response of local authorities to the operation of registering and recording the Roma (the so-called operation “C”) imposed by state authorities. Another group of source records was produced during the settlement operation (announced in 1964), which aimed at forcing the Roma to transition from nomadic to stationary lifestyle. Less information is available on the activities of local authorities. Written sources made by Gniezno offices are scarce. However, their content suggests the type of activities undertaken by local officials, as in the rest of Poland, resulted from operations imposed by central authorities, which were often ideologically motivated. The problems that emerged in the course of implementing these operations, attempts to solve them, and their consequences were the same as in other parts of the country. The reactions of those most affected by the authorities’ initiatives, i.e. the Roma, were also similar throughout Poland.

• Details
• Contents