On 15 November 1943, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler made public an order that Roma (also called Romani) people were to be treated the same as Jews and sent to concentration camps. When the Nazi’s came to power in 1933, they focused on German Jews. The Nuremberg Laws of 14 November 1935 did not mention Roma. At the time there were an estimated 26,000 Roma in Germany.

A month later though they were defined as aliens and enemies of the people. The result of this was to put Roma into special camps starting in 1936 and to classify them under Nazi racial policies. Roma fell into two broad categories: inferior and asocial. Some Roma had Aryan blood while others had mixed blood under these doctrines.

Like Jews they were stripped of their citizenship. Until the deportation to concentration camps, they were kept in municipal internment camps usually outside of cities. Disagreement within the Nazi’s on how to deal with Roma was an issue. Some wanted deportation of all Roma to concentration camps. Himmler wanted to keep those with Aryan blood. However he decided in 1943 to begin deportations of Roma to concentration camps like Dachau and Auschwitz where they would be killed.

There are differing numbers on how many Roma were killed by Nazi Germany (and its puppet states or allies). It is believed to be between 220,000-277,000 of the approximate 700,000 Roman in Europe. The US Holocaust Memorial Center believes it between 220,000-500,000. Like the Jews, Roma were subjected to medical experimentation  such as by the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele of Auschwitz. Those experiments included putting people in pressure chambers, freezing them, changing eye color, and other brutal surgeries.

Aftermath

Sadly the persecution of the Roma was not recognized after the war ended. However as it became more widely known, recognition has started being made and comparing the Roma Genocide to the Shoah experienced by the Jews. In 1982 West Germany officially recognized it but prior to that memorial had been erected in the Polish village Szczurowa to commemorating the massacre that took place there. A Gypsy Caravan Memorial also travels between the main remembrance sights in Poland as well. In 2007 Romanian President Traian Basescu publicly apologized for his nations role in the Roma Genocide. He also ordered it be taught in schools as well. Other commemorations have taken place as well.

Sources:
The Persecution of the Romani by the Nazis (Jstor Daily)
Persecution of Roma (Gypsies) in Prewar Germany, 1933–1939 (Holocaust Encyclopedia)
Romani Genocide (Wikipedia)

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