POSTPONED! - Seminar Series in Romani Studies: The Forgotten Crimes and the Mass Crimes against the Roma in the Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945)

EVENT POSTPONED!

Join via Zoom: https://uu-se.zoom.us/j/67591610982

The talk will focus on the persecution of the Roma in the Independent State of Croatia, founded in April 1941 by the pro-fascist and nationalist Ustasha movement, one of the Nazi Germany allies, led by Anto Pavelić. The Ustasha policy towards the Roma was based on similar characteristics as the Nazi policy, i.e. anti-Gypsyism and racism. Roma, together with the Jewish and Serbian population and the anti-fascist (partisan) fighters, were considered the main enemies in the creation of the new (pure racist) Croatian society. Most of the Roma were deported to the Jasenovac concentration and labour camp, where they were tortured and killed. The state and local authorities confiscated Roma’s property, and some of the Romani settlements were burned with the purpose of erasing Roma from the local population’s memory. The Roma were victims of several mass crimes.

Dr. Danijel Vojak is an Academic adviser at the Institute of Social Science "Ivo Pilar" in Zagreb. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Zagreb (Croatia). Dr. Vojak published numerous books and papers on the history of Roma during the First and Second World Wars, focusing on the inter-ethnic relations between the Roma minority and the indigenous (majority) population in former Yugoslavia. Currently, Dr. Vojak is working on several research projects and analyses the persecution of the Roma during the Second World War in the pro-Nazi Independent State of Croatia.

There will be some refreshments after the seminar for those who attend in person.

Welcome!