On May 16, 1940, at 6:00 a.m. in Hamburg, Roma and Sinti were arrested by the criminal police, and taken to the then Belzec concentration camp in a section marked as Baraka C.
This means that the Holocaust (Poraimos) against the Roma and Sinti began on May 20, 1940 with the first deportation train.
There were two more deportations of Roma and Sinti from Hamburg and nine to Auschwitz. The first on March 11, 1943 and April 26, 1944.
The deportation of Roma and Sinti was also during World War II throughout Germany and many European countries. Of these, over 90% ended up being fatal for Roma and Sinti.
This persecution of Roma and Sinti has not been recognized for a long time. It was not until 1982 that the first persecution in Hamburg was fought over a commemorative event in Hamburg.
Due to the situation with the coronavirus this year at the 80th anniversary of the event, it will not be possible to celebrate the event en masse, but still a small delegation will light a candle and lay wreaths at the Roman cemetery "Dibstaich" in Hamburg.
