Germany
The Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma is one of the Partners in the Roma Routes Project. Our centre will act as an international conference center and further promote the project with our local events showcasing Gypsy and Roma culture.
About the centre:
The centre is the only one of its kind in Europe and was established in Heidelberg in the early 1990s with the support of the City of Heidelberg. It is funded by the German Federal Government and the Land of Baden-Wuerttemberg. After years of conversion and extension work, the building complex was ceremonially opened to the public on 16th March 1997. It is now home to the world's first permanent exhibition on the genocide perpetrated upon the Sinti and Roma by the Nazis.Alongside its function as a museum for contemporary history and a site for commemorating the past, the centre also provides a setting for encounters and dialogue. A significant part of its public relations work is devoted to human rights. As a forum for other minorities, too, the centre seeks to lend its voice to all those who have suffered discrimination and racist violence. In view of the persecution of the Roma and Sinti under National Socialism, the centre feels a special obligation to provide a forum for critical debate on pressing socio-political issues.
As another of the centre's tasks is to document the 600-year-old history of the Sinti and Roma in Germany, its main focus still remains on the genocide by the Nazis which was repressed from public consciousness for several decades. To memorise this terrible event, the centre has focused on documenting the past. By interviewing surviving Holocaust victims and preserving their memories on tape and video. Or by extensive archive research at home and abroad. The centre's staff also systematically gathers personal testimonies from survivors and their relatives. Old family photographs are of particular interest in this respect. By now already our still growing archival collection is unique.
Another vital part of the centre's work is to present the cultural contributions of the Sinti and Roma minority in the fields of literature, fine arts and music, thus helping to break down stereotypes. To this end, the centre arranges conferences and seminars in conjunction with experts from Germany and other countries. Every spring and autumn, it runs an extensive programme of public events that includes lectures, exhibitions, films, concerts and excursions.
Contact:
www.sintiundroma.deMr Armin Ulm
Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma
E: armin.ulm@sintiundroma.de
T: +49 6221 981102
Mr Georg Armbruester
Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma
E: georg.armbruester@sintiundroma.de
T: +49 6221 981102
Ms Adriana Tutura
Central Council of German Sinti and Roma
E: adriana.tutura@sintiundroma.de
T: +49 6221 981101
