The Gypsies

Along with the Jews, many other groups were also exterminated during the Holocaust. One such group was the Roma  (also known as Gypsies). Roma refers to any number of sub-groups within populations rather than a specific culture or ethnicity. They are usually drifters who travel from place to place as artisans and workers. The Roma are believed to have originated from the Punjab region in Asia before spreading west to parts of Europe, though a majority live in eastern Europe. The name Gypsy comes from the assumption that the Roma had come from Egypt (similar to how Native Americans are called Indians). By 1939, a million Roma presided in Europe.

Around the 1940's the Nazis began to deport German and Austrian Romas to the General Government. Most of these Gypsies were from the Sinti and the Roma groups who spoke Romani. However, the General Government refused to take them in (likely from overcrowding. Those that were deported were sent to ghettos or death camps alongside the Jews. Others were sent to Zigeunerlager, camps specifically for Gypsies, such as the Marzahn and Lackenbach. The German word for Gypsies translates into "untouchable", suggesting that just like the Jews, the Germans saw the Gypsies as a threat to the vision of Greater Germany. Once Himmler received complaints about these camps, he deported most of those remaining. The 10000 who were spared were those of "pure Gypsy blood" and those who had assimilated into German culture and the military. But as seen with the Jews, this status did not always protect one from the Nazis. The Romas situated in Russia were mostly killed off by the Einsatzgruppen; most western Roma were sent to death and labor camps. Over a hundred thousand Gypsies were killed during the Holocaust.






https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/genocide-of-european-roma-gypsies-1939-1945
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/roma-gypsies-in-prewar-europe?series=19335
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/04/roma-in-europe-11-things-you-always-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask/