Survival Strategies of the Roma Deportees to Transnistria
Survival Strategies of the Roma Deportees to Transnistria
Author(s): Petre MateiSubject(s): Civil Society, Public Administration, Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, Oral history, Social history, Culture and social structure , Social differentiation, Criminology, Studies in violence and power, Family and social welfare, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), History of the Holocaust, Migration Studies, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Identity of Collectives
Published by: Institutul National pentru Studierea Holocaustului din Romania ELIE WIESEL
Keywords: Roma deportations; categorization; survival strategies; resilience; petitions;
Summary/Abstract: The experiences the Roma underwent during World War II were not only complex, but alsoas diverse as can be. In order to fully grasp this complexity, one must understand thelegislative framework, bureaucratic practices, their impact on the Roma, as well as the waysin which the Roma themselves tried to cope with these measures. Oftentimes, the criteriato identify the “undesirable” Roma were very vague and subjective, leaving a lot of leewayto the local authorities and allowing them to act outside a controllable legal framework.The same formal criteria used by the authorities to deport the Roma were later used by theRoma to prove that their deportations were abusive and that the deportees deserved to berepatriated. Interestingly, those who had the best chances of survival were not, in fact, thosewho only used the legal measures available to them, but rather those who fled Transnistriaillegally. Once they arrived back home, they could use the loopholes of a complicated legaland bureaucratic system to get help and, eventually, to save themselves.
Journal: Holocaust. Studii şi cercetări
- Issue Year: XI/2019
- Issue No: 12
- Page Range: 35-67
- Page Count: 33
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF