Innenstadt I in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany — Central Europe
Frankfurt Romani Memorial
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 22, 2016
1. Frankfurt Romani Memorial Marker
Mehrere hunderttausend europäische Roma und Sinti wurden unter nationalsozialistischer Herrschaft ermordet. An über 20.000 deutschen Roma und Sinti wurden "rassenbiologische" Untersuchungen durchgeführt. Zwangssterilisation, Inhaftierung und Folter waren die Vorstufe des massenhaften Todes in den Konzentrations- und Vernichtungslagern der Nazis.
Von in Frankfurt am Main lebenden Roma und Sinti wurden: 172 Personen in "Zigeunerlagern" in der Diesel- und Kruppstrasse interniert,
8 Personen zwangssterilisiert,
174 Personen nach Auschwitz deportiert und
mindestens 89 Roma und Sinti dort ermordet.
Ab 1947 waren zwei maßgeblich an "rassenbiologischen Untersuchungen" beteiligte Personen, Robert Ritter und Eva Justin, im Stadtgesundheitsamt Frankfurt am Main in leitender Funktion beschäftigt. Sie wurden für ihre Verbrechen nicht zur Rechenschaft gezogen. Die beiden Namen stehen stellvertretend für diejenigen, die unter dem Deckmantel von Wissenschaft und Forschung oder durch Wegsehen und Schweigen den Völkermord an Roma und Sinti ermöglichten.
In Achtung vor den Opfern, als Erinnerung , Mahnung und Verpflichtung.
Several hundred thousand European Roma and Sinti were murdered under National Socialist rule. More than 20,000 German
this page online
Of the Roma and Sinti that were living in Frankfurt am Main, 172 persons were interned in "Gypsy camps" on the Dieselstrasse and Kruppstrasse, 8 persons were involuntarily sterilized, 174 persons were deported to Auschwitz, of which and at least 89 Roma and Sinti were murdered there.
From 1947, two persons involved in "racial biology", Robert Ritter and Eva Justin, were employed in the city health office in Frankfurt am Main. They were not held accountable for their crimes. The two names are representative of those who, under the cover of science and research, or who through averted gaze and silence, allowed the genocide of Roma and Sinti.
With respect for the victims, this is presented as a remembrance,as an admonition, and as an obligation.
Erected 2000.
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the The Holocaust series list.
Location. 50° 6.682′ N, 8° 40.992′ E. Marker is in Innenstadt I, Hessen (Hesse), in Frankfurt am Main. Memorial is on Braubachstrasse
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 22, 2016
2. Frankfurt Romani Memorial Marker - Wide View, Looking West Along Braubachstrasse
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Joachim von Sandrart (1606 - 1688) (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Steinernes Haus (about 90 meters away); Friedrich Stoltze Geburtshaus / Birthplace (about 90 meters away); Römerberg 34: "Haus zum goldenen Rad" / House at the Golden Wheel (about 90 meters away); Nazi Student Book Burning of 1933 (about 150 meters away); Theodor Heuss (about 150 meters away); John F. Kennedy Spoke Here (about 150 meters away); Philipp Jacob Spener (about 150 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Innenstadt I.
More about this memorial. The marker is located on the exterior of the building which formerly housed the Frankfurt health bureau.
Also see . . .
1. Porajmos (Wikipedia). The Romani genocide or Romani Holocaust, also known as the Porajmos...was the planned and attempted effort, often described as a genocide, during World War II by the government of Nazi Germany and its allies to exterminate the Romani (Gypsy) people of Europe. Under the rule of Adolf Hitler, a supplementary decree to the Nuremberg Laws was issued on 26 November 1935, defining Gypsies as "enemies of the race-based state", the same category as Jews. Thus, the fate of Roma in Europe in some ways paralleled that of the Jews. Historians estimate that 220,000 to 500,000 Romani were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators, or more than 25% of the slightly fewer than 1 million Roma in Europe at the time. Ian Hancock puts the death toll as high as 1.5 million. In 1982, West Germany formally recognized that genocide had been committed against the Romani.... (Submitted on December 7, 2016.)
2. Gedenktafeln in Frankfurt am Main (Roma-Union Frankfurt). On a page detailing the Romani memorials in Frankfurt, the Roma-Union Frankfurt had this to say about the marker (in translation, follow the link for the original German): For more than ten years the Roma-Union Frankfurt fought against the resistance of Frankfurt authorities and political institutions for the installation of this marker at the city health office. This collective obstinacy was directed against a memorial plaque in the tourist center of the city: a plaque that would commemorate the victims and name the perpetrators of the National Socialist "gypsy" persecution and the institution where the so-called National Socialist "hereditary archives" were kept. In addition the plaque notes the continuity after 1945: the "racial biology" scientists of the Nazi persecution authorities, Robert Ritter and Eva Justin, found protection and employment at the Frankfurt health authority from 1947; their victims, the surviving Roma and Sinti, were to remain marginalized and subjected to racial scrutiny....Of central importance, this marker points to the other memorial sites of the National Socialist persecution of Romani that are located in the industrial areas on the outskirts of the city. (Submitted on December 7, 2016.)
Credits. This page was last revised on January 28, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 7, 2016, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 272 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 7, 2016, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
