Amsterdam Oud-Zuid , North Holland, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe
Zigeunermonument Hel en vuur / Romani Monument Hell and Fire
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 19, 2023
1. Romani Monument Hell and Fire Memorial - Romani side
(Romani:)
Putrav lesko drom angle leste te na inkrav les mai but palpale mura brigasa
Stel hun weg in het nieuwe leven voor hen open en verlos hen van de banden van het verdriet
Ontleend aan een dodengebed uit de Zigeuner kultuur
Open to them their path in the new life and free them from the bonds of sorrow
Taken from a funeral prayer from Romani culture
Erected 1978 by Stad Amsterdam, Stichting Rom-Augustus.
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. 52° 21.392′ N, 4° 52.883′ E. Marker is in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland (North Holland). It is in Amsterdam Oud-Zuid. Memorial is on Museumplein. The memorial is in the southeast portion of the Museumplein, and is plainly visible from a distance. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland 1071 BK, Netherlands. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Etty Hillesum (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Etty Hillesum (within shouting distance of this marker); Vrouwen van Ravensbrück 1940-1945 / Women of Ravensbrück 1940-1945 Memorial
this page online
Also see . . .
1. Zigeunermonument Hel en vuur (Wikipedia, in Dutch).
Excerpt (in translation): The Romani Monument Hell and Fire on Amsterdam's Museumplein is a bronze statue of a man, woman and two children fleeing from a blazing fire. The statue stands on a brick plinth and is 3.50 m high. The maker is sculptor Heleen Levano (Utrecht, 1941).(Submitted on May 5, 2024.)
The statue is a gift from Heleen Levano to the ROM Foundation (former interest group for the Romani). He then donated it to the municipality of Amsterdam. The monument was unveiled on November 25, 1978 by Roma King Koko Petalo. It was the first monument in the world to the Romani.
2. Romani Holocaust (Wikipedia).
Overview: The Romani Holocaust or the Romani genocide was the planned effort by Nazi Germany and its World War II allies and collaborators to commit ethnic cleansing and eventually genocide against European Roma and Sinti peoples during the Holocaust era.(Submitted on May 5, 2024.)
Under AdolfHitler, a supplementary decree to the Nuremberg Laws was issued on 26 November 1935, classifying the Romani people (or Roma) as "enemies of the race-based state", thereby placing them in the same category as the Jews. Thus, the fate of the Roma in Europe paralleled that of the Jews in the Holocaust.Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 19, 20232. Romani Monument Hell and Fire Memorial - Dutch side
Historians estimate that between 250,000 and 500,000 Romani and Sinti were killed by Nazi Germans and their collaborators—25% to over 50% of the estimate of slightly fewer than 1 million Roma in Europe at the time. Later research cited by Ian Hancock estimated the death toll to be at about 1.5 million out of an estimated 2 million European Roma.
Additional keywords. Holocaust, porajmos, porrajmos
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 19, 2023
3. Romani Monument Hell and Fire Memorial
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 19, 2023
4. Romani Monument Hell and Fire Memorial - detail
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 19, 2023
5. Romani Monument Hell and Fire Memorial - additional side plaque
The additional side plaque indicates that the memorial is in memory of the millions of Roma who lost their lives in WWII, and that it was erected by the City of Amsterdam in 1978 together with the Stichting Rom-Augustus.
Rob Bogaerts/Anefo (courtesy of the Nationaal Archief via Wikimedia Commons), November 24, 1978
6. Dedication of the Romani Monument Hell and Fire Memorial in 1978
Sinti and Roma hold a commemoration ceremony at the monument every year on August 1. On the night of July 31 to August 1, 1944, 5,000 Roma and Sinti (men, women and children) were gassed in Auschwitz. - Wikipedia
Credits. This page was last revised on May 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 5, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 49 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on May 5, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
