Gypsies and Jews Under the Nazis

Abstract

This article compares the fate of the Gypsies under the Third Reich to that of the Jews, arguing that, despite parallels, the treatment each group underwent differed fundamentally. The Nazis never formulated a plan for a "Final Solution" to the Gypsy problem analogous to that for the Jews. Compulsory sterilization affected only a relatively small portion of the Gypsy population, and killings that did take place were carried out to achieve Nazi solutions to specific local situations. Numerous sources, especially recently discovered local police files, show that large numbers of "racially pure" and "socially adjusted" Gypsies were exempted from deportation to the Gypsy family camp in Auschwitz and were allowed to survive the war.