Romani History

In this book, written in the traditional Gypsy style of family biography, Yvonne Slee gives us a collection of stories about her ancestors who lived in Germany in the twentieth century. She begins with her great grandfather, called August, "torn away" from his Gypsy relations to be adopted into an uncaring family with a viscious stepfather. Running away at 15, August finds employment and friendship amongst Gypsies who teach him how to survive, and eventually marries a German woman and raises a family, including Elsa,Yvonne's grandmother. They adopt a disabled Gypsy boy called Freddy. As a half-Gypsy, with dark skin and long black hair, Elsa experiences racism at school, where her plait is cut off during a lesson by a spiteful classmate. She finds solace playing with friends in a nearby Gypsy encampment. Conditions in Germany during First World War force Elsa's mother to go to the woods to pick berries and nuts, while August hunts for animals. In the 1930's, Elsa notices ethnic families being taken from their homes to be "rehoused." Each time a truck appears in the street, her mother grabs Freddy and hides at the home of a friend, while August disappears till the danger passes. Eventually, Freddy is snatched away by the authorities and put in a home for the handicapped. The family eventually discover the dreadful truth - he has been sent to a concentration camp and gassed. Elsa marries an anti-Nazi called Willy, who is called up during the Second World War. After he is killed at the front, Elsa is left to bring up their young children alone. Almost arrested for being non-Aryan, she is rescued by an acquaintance, and lives out the rest of the war living on food she gathers from the forest. Surviving bombs, semi-starvation, and the destruction of her home, Elsa lives to the age of 80. Despite its sad theme, the book has many lively incidents. Elsa is almost gored by a bull, narrowly escapes drowning, and uncovers a butcher's pet-stealing scam. Yvonne Slee writes with compassion about a family surviving the Holocaust and war.

Janna Eliot. London, UK (Contact Yvonne Slee at yvonne_slee@hotmail.com to buy the book or go to Ebay

In December 2007, the department of Rromani philology of Paris University (at Inalco) and Rromani baxt, a branch of the IRU, reissued under the title �Un dictionnaire rromani oubli�� (A Forgotten Rromani Dictionary) Ferenc Sztojka�s Hungarian-Rromani Dictionary, first printed in Paks (Hungary, Tolna county) as early as 1890. Professor Marcel Courthiade, head of the above mentioned department, carried out this publication in cooperation with K�ny�di Andr�s, professor in the department of Hungarian philology at the same university. The basic purpose of this book of XLII+200 pages is to circulate and make known as widely as possible this pioneer�s work being the first ever compiled dictionary by a Rromani author.
With its 13,000 or so entries and 25 pages of illustrative texts at the end of the book, Sztojka�s dictionary is one of the most significant milestones in early Rromani lexicography.
This edition was prepared on the basis of one of the scarce still existing copies of this book, belonging to Fr�d�ric Max, a French diplomat and bibliophile, famous also for his long-lasting interest in Rromani matter (he was for example the first person about the genocide of the Rroms in Nazi times).
The extensive introduction starts with a chapter devoted to the friendship between the author Ferenc Sztojka and Archduke Joseph Ludwig Karl von Habsburg and their respective roles in early Hungarian and European Rromology. The second chapter deals with the lexicon itself and especially to some cases of Hungarian loan-translations in Sztojka�s Rromani, brining an attempt of typologization of compound words in his vocabulary, which addresses not only realia of everyday Hungarian villages but also a more sophisticated vocabulary, including various abstract terms as well as names of animals and plants. Several pages are devoted to derivation (with a special attention to causatives and nomina agentis). Morphology, semantics and onomastics as appearing in the dictionary are also treated.
Two pages discuss pronunciation and spelling, with the explanation of the spelling used in the present reissue, where phonemes originally confused under a common letter in the 19^th century issue are distinguished here (notably Hungarian vowels � and e which are often used instead of each other, due to their confusion in dialectal Hungarian). Interestingly enough Sztojka distinguishes sharply between simple and strong r�s, in conformity with today�s still prevailing use in Hungary and abroad. He uses consistently r and rr to render in written these phonemes, except at the beginning of words, due to the strange aspect words beginning with rr- would have presented to 19^th century Austrian reader�s eyes. The conclusion highlights Szojka�s determination to endow his mother tongue (a Rromani variety of mutational E-superdialect, close to Machari, Drizari and Lovari) with complex concepts and raise it to a level standing comparison with languages like Croatian or Slovakian in his time. The very fact that the dictionary has Hungarian as source language and gives attempts of Rromani equivalents evidences this approach, which is in many cases more daring than most present-day dictionaries. Several letters exchanged between Sztojka and Archduke Joseph, initially published in R�zmuves� �Rromani letters� (Budapest, Cig�ny H�z 2003), are reproduced in Rromani original and French translation, as well as Sztojka�s introduction to his dictionary (Hungarian original and French translation). Interesting remarks on the Hungarian part of the dictionary by Professor K�ny�di conclude the introduction.
The whole dictionary has been adapted to present day spelling, meaning for example that distinction in Hungarian between � and u or � and o (missing in the original) has been restored, while Rromani is given in common spelling, allowing readers from whatever dialectal background to use the book. The only interventions by editors have been restoring correct separation between words and correcting gender agreements, which were in very many cases erroneous.
Last but not least, the book presents some 25 pages of Rromani texts, mainly of religious character (prayers, songs, prose and verses), translated into Rromani, and a series of poems authored by Sztojka himself, who results therefore to be the first Rromani poet in the history of our literature. True enough, his inspiration is typically 19^th century village style, consonant with surrounding European literatures of that time and his poems look quite old-fashioned from a modern perspective. In spite of this they present an unquestionable historical value.
Due to the book�s historical and linguistic value (especially in the field of language contacts from a semantic perspective), it would be highly advisable to produce and disseminate a Hungarian version of this early monument in Rromani lexicography, written by a lexicon lover, being himself a member of this people.

Contact Marcel Courthiade at usna2emc@gmail.com for more information.

This is a passionate love story, layered with history, which shows that the effect of Hitler's intense maniacal obsession, still exists. It also shows that Hitler's only logic was hatred.

Reviewed by Carole McDonnell
Gypsy Tears: Loving a Holocaust Survivor
By Cora Schwartz
Hobblebush Books
ISBN 978-0-9760896-9-8, $21.95, Published 2007, 244 pages

On July 14, 1933, Hitler's cabinet passed the Lebensunwertesleben law, a law which called for the annihilation of certain people who led "lives not worthy of life." The law was aimed specifically against Gypsies, and Afro-Germans. The black Germans were primarily children born from sexual union between German women and French Senegalese troops used during the First World War to patrol the Ruhr Valley, as well as people from German ex-colonies in Africa.

Although much is known about The Third Reich's genocide against the Jews, there is not as much literature about the five million Gypsies and black Germans who also lost their lives to further Adolf Hitler's racist aims. On December 8th, 1938, SS chief Heinrich Himmler called for the 'Final 'Solution of the Gypsy Question,' and on December 16th, 1942, began deporting all Gypsies remaining in German-held Europe to Auschwitz.

The Nuremberg Law for the Protection of Blood and Honour was instituted on 15 September 1935, and the Gypsy Law (Reichzigeunergesetz) which was created to track the Romani (Gypsy) population, their sterilization, their movement and means of livelihood, and the expulsion of all foreign-born, stateless Gypsies." (State Secretary of the Interior Hans Pfundtner, March 4th, 1936.) Statements such as that made by in 1939 by Dr. Johannes Behrendt, Office of Racial Hygiene Policy Statement, ''All Gypsies should be treated as hereditarily sick; the only solution is elimination. The aim should, therefore, be the elimination without hesitation of this characteristically defective element in the population." Such historical facts are so odious and unbelievable that they seem too much for the mind to handle...and can only be encountered through the memoirs of survivors.

Cora Schwartz's memoir Gypsy Tears: Loving a holocaust survivor is both autobiography and biography and a tribute to those forgotten Gypsies killed during the days of the Third Reich.

It begins as a love story. When newly-divorced Cora from the Bronx first meets Rudy from Ukraine in the Catskills, the reader thinks he is a bit odd. But as quickly as he meets her he begins telling her about a Gypsy girl, Romania, and the Nazi camp where they were imprisoned.

Like all Holocaust sufferers, Rudy is overwhelmed with grief, survivor's guilt and anger. He is also, like many wounded people, not an easy person to deal with. He drinks too much, has nightmares, and belittles her own pain. But Cora has a kind heart and falls in love with him. Their relationship is an unplanned journey that helps her to understand her own life and brings her to a new understanding of the wide-range of Hitler's plans to "purify Germany" and creates a new vocation in her life: bringing humanitarian aid to the last holocaust survivors in Ukraine. Her other book, a photographic book of Holocaust Survivors, and entitled, The Forgotten Few shows how Rudy's life affected and brought meaning to hers.

This is a passionate love story, layered with history, which shows that the effect of Hitler's intense maniacal obsession, still exists. It also shows that Hitler's only logic was hatred. Many people think the Holocaust against the Jews was a symbol of Hitler's anti-Semitism. But the Gypsies were not primarily Jewish. In addition, Hitler maintained good relations with many Arabs, (who are Semites)and the Grand Mufti, who was the most influential leader of Palestine during the Second World War, was good friends with Hitler who had befriended followers of Islam in Eastern Europe. Although Hitler's book Mein Kampf is considered required reading in many Arab universities, the holocaust was waged against other groups also...not only Jews. In the story, Cora's realization of this truth matches our own realization: Many holocaust sufferers are forgotten and their stories untold.

In 1979, Time Magazine reported, "Although West Germany paid nearly $715 million to Israel and various Jewish organizations, [as of 1979] Gypsies as a group have received nothing." In 1984, Simon Weisenthal stated, "The Gypsies had been murdered in a proportion similar to the Jews: about 80% of them in the area of the countries which were occupied by the Nazis."

A book, and money cannot bring back a lost people but at least their stories are being told.

First Edition
From Palgrave Macmillan http://www.palgrave-usa.com
Pub date: Apr 2008
272 pages

This book traces representations of �Gypsies� that have become prevalent in the European imagination and culture and influenced the perceptions of Roma in Eastern and Western European societies.

Valentina Glajar is Associate Professor of German at Texas State University, San Marcos. Domnica Radulescu is Professor of French and Italian and Chair of the Women�s Studies Program at Washington and Lee University.

Table of contents
Roma in Europe: Gypsy Myth and Romani Reality--New Evidence for Romani History--Ronald Lee * Introduction--Valentina Glajar * Bohemian Philosophers: Nature, Nationalism and �Gypsies� in Nineteenth-Century European Literature--Philip Landon * The Story of Love, Human Conditions, and the Gypsy Lifestyle in J�zef Ignacy Kraszewski�s Chata za Wsia [The Cottage beyond the Village]--Agnieszka Nance * Vsevolod Garshin's �The Bears�: Gypsies and Russian Imperial Boundaries--Marilyn Smith * �Gypsies� and Property in British Literature: Orlando and Wuthering Heights--Abby Bardi * Guilt, Trauma, and Revenge: The Romani Holocaust in Stefan Kanfer�s The Eighth Sin--Valentina Glajar * Unveiling the Origin of the Romani Holocaust: The Anarchist Tradition in Winter Time by Walter Winter--Ferd� Asya * The Deportation to Transdniester and the Exoticization of the Roma in Zaharia Stancu�s Novel The Gypsy Tribe--Lucia Cherciu * The �Gypsy� Stereotype and the Sexualization of Romani Women--Ian Hancock * Performing the Female Gypsy � Commedia dell�arte�s �Tricks� for Finding Freedom--Domnica Radulescu * Theater of the Underworld: Spectacle and Subculture in Hugo�s Notre-Dame de Paris--Aimee Kilbaine * Welcome Pictures, Unwanted Bodies: Gypsy Representations in New Europe�s Cinema--Dina Iordanova

Settela's Last Road by Janna Eliot

Available at Trafford Publishing:
www.trafford.com/07-2561

(This novel is an imaginative interpretation based on historical characters and events. Inspired by the haunting photograph taken by Rudolf Breslauer in 1944, it uses details from SETTELA, a factual account by journalist Aad Wagenaar.)

Settela's Last Road has been written in a compelling, heartfelt and realistic way by Janna Eliot. It is a story of how a nine year old Sinti girl, Settela and her loving Sinti family were decimated by the world's most horrifying event, the Holocaust. Sweet Settela never gives up hope and retains a defiant spirit throughout the book. The book gives a very good insight into what happened to Romanies in the concentration camps and how they were lied to by the German authorities and moved on to selected camps and marked for extermination. It tells how their animals and caravans were taken away, Settela getting separated from her father and uncles and always hoping that when the war is over they could all live life normally and be together again. Settela's dreams, hopes and plans for the future are with her until the horrific end. The story left me feeling deeply touched and lamenting the Romani victims of the Samudaripen (Holocaust). I also felt very saddened and somehow close to Settela. Settela's Last Road brings the young girl's story vividly to life.

Yvonne Slee

Preface

The present linguistic description has been compiled from my notes on Vlax Romani grammar prepared for students who are majoring mainly in Asian Studies, Media, Anthropology, Folklore or Journalism, enrolled in the Romani Language and Culture seminar which has been offered each semester at The University of Texas at Austin since 1978. The variety described here incorporates features from a number of kinds of Vlax and, because of that, is not quite like any single spoken dialect.
As it is spoken in the United States and Canada, Vlax adopts items from English very freely, as well as borrowing constructions and translating idioms from that language; this kind of linguistic interference is a natural characteristic of Romani and other diaspora languages, but in preparing this manual reference to the English element has been intentionally minimized, especially where an original (i.e. pre-North American) form already exists.
Although this description was originally prepared for students who, in the main, have had a minimum of linguistic training, and who have little or no intention of making use of it beyond the requirements of the course, in its present expanded form its wider purpose is to provide the basis for a Vlax dialect which will be maximally functional in international communication.

Ian Hancock

Spokes: Stories from the Romany World by Janna Eliot

Available from Inpressbooks: http://www.inpressbooks.co.uk/spokes_stories_from_the_romany_world_eliot_janna_i019618.aspx

"I was a doctor. I was a poet. I recited my poems at festivals in towns and villages in my country. Some of my poems are in books. I wrote about freedom and hope, about equality for my people. This is my story. They came for us. "Burn the filthy Gypsies!" they screamed. They dragged my husband from bed. They broke his arms and legs. They torched the house. "Run, Roma scum, run!" I took my baby and followed my star. That's why I'm here. That's why I sit behind the border of my counter, safe, invisible."

Spokes is made up of stories from across the world featuring British Gypsies; East European Roma; and people whose Romani background has remained under wraps in the face of a hostile world.

There's an old violinist, a middle-aged mechanic, a young radio presenter, a schoolboy, a retired banker, a tea-lady, and a teacher.

Janna Eliot - under the pen name of Rukshana Smith - is the author of several previous young adult novels including Sumitra�s Story, Salt on the Snow and Rainbows of the Gutter.

She was born in England of Russian, Armenian, and Roma heritage. Her novels tend to deal with displacement and the search for cultural identity. She is a member of the Gypsy Council, the Roma Support Group and plays guitar with the London Gypsy Orchestra.