A documentary and artistic exhibition of the Förderverein Roma e. V. and the artist Bernd Rausch

The exhibition involves the persecution and annihilation of Roma and Sinti during National Socialism and its effects into the present. The focus lies on the liquidation of the so-called Zigeunerlager in Auschwitz-Birkenau on August 2nd 1944, the NS history of the city of Frankfurt and her leading role in persecuting Roma and Sinti. 500,000 Roma and Sinti were murdered by National Socialists.

Frankfurt-Auschwitz

The exhibition is divided into four areas.

1st The documentary part
Photographs of the murdered and the survivors of the NS system of annihilation with their vitae, the mentioning of the NS culprits, their functions and careers after 1945, the claim for a central memorial and the history of the memorial plaque at the former health office of the city of Frankfurt/Main. On the triptych “The camp, the annihilation, the dead” one can watch the history of a German Roma family over a period of 150 years. The documentary part becomes completed by informations about the holder of the exhibition, the Förderverein Roma e. V.

2nd The artistic part
In the centre of the artistic part of the exhibition are the places Frankfurt and Auschwitz-Birkenau, the persecution and annihilation of Roma and Sinti. The pictures are part of a pictorial examination of the German crime on humanity. In the triptych “The camp, the annihilation, the dead” the documentary and artistic part are evolved into a new whole.

3rd Films about Frankfurt-Auschwitz
Different contributions show an interview with the NS physician Eva Justin, her racial biological examinations of Sinti children and a documentation about the deportation of Roma and Sinti from Frankfurt/Main to Auschwitz. Furthermore to be watched is the putting up of the memorial plaque on the former health office of the city of Frankfurt/Main, the work-place of the NS culprit before and after 1945. The whole duration of the media documentation amounts to 30 minutes.

4th Accompanying events
The opening has the intention and development of the exhibition as its topic. The experience of survivors and their children will be discussed with relatives. The persecution and annihilation of Roma and Sinti and its historical effects will be clarified by historians and finally an exhibition and pictorial examination with the KunstGesellschaft e. V. from Frankfurt/Main will interpret the artistic and documentary part.

Furthermore hand-outs are available in the exhibition rooms, deepening – as well as in the catalogue – the contents of the exhibiting by contributions and interviews. History, backgrounds, documentation of the places of exhibiting as well as the current exhibition programme can be seen into in detail in the internet:
http://www.ausstellung-rausch.de
People who are interested in the exhibition may turn to:
Foerderverein.Roma@t-online.de, http://www.foerdervereinroma.de

Our acknowledgements are to
- the families Winter, Rose, Strauss and Böttcher of the providing of pictures of their relatives
- all those organizations, institutions and foundations, which made the exhibition possible with their allowance: Dezernat für Bildung und Frauen Frankfurt am Main (Ffm.), Amt für multikulturelle Angelegenheiten Ffm., Jugend- und Sozialamt Ffm., Kulturamt Ffm., Claudy-Stiftung Ffm., Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Berlin, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Bonn, evz Stiftung Verantwortung und Zukunft, Stiftung Mitarbeit, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Hessische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung, DGB-Region-Frankfurt-Rhein-Main, Glücksspirale
- Hans Brenner of the transference of the names in the family trees of the Roma families from Sütterlin into Latin letters
- the (guest) speakers and organizers: Anna Striethorst, Birgit Daiber, Bruni Freieisen, Dr. Cornelia Ernst, Elisabeth Leuschner, Dr. Harry Hubert, Horst Koch-Panzner, Katharina Rhein, Dr. Kurt Grünberg, Leika Peter Böttcher, Lothar Winter, Lorenzo Horvat, Maria Strauss, Mark Huber, Marlies Hellmann, Dr. Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg, Patrizia Siwak, Dr. Peter Sandner, Prof. Reiner Diederich, Romani Rose, Rüdiger Nieman, Simon Brenner, Sofie Böttcher, Dr. Udo Engbring-Romang, Ursula Rose, Ute Daub, Walter Fries,
Wanja Hargens, Dr. Wolfgang Leuschner, Xenia Bachmann
- the initiative “faites votre jeu” (Ffm.), which enabled the first presentation of the exhibition Frankfurt-Auschwitz in its rooms, the former police custody Klapperfeld

15.3.2011 Joachim Brenner (Förderverein Roma e.V.), Bernd Rausch (artist)
Exit
Invitation to Exhibition Frankfurt-Auschwitz - 27.1.2011 - 23.2.2011 Paulskirche Frankfurt/Main
On the triptych “The camp, the annihilation, the dead” one can watch the history of a German Roma family over a period of 150 years.
Nothing is OK, there must be no staying silent and forgetting - The artistic part of the exhibition
The Nazi racist treatment of Sinti and Roma
Exhibition Frankfurt - Auschwitz - Picture

Frankfurt - Auschwitz - Opening ceremony: 27.1. 2011, 12.00 Uhr, City Councillor and Deputy Mayor for integration with the City of Frankfurt am Main, Dr. Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg
Related Events at Frankfurt Auschwitz - Paulskirche, Frankfurt a. M.:
30.01.2011, 14.00 Uhr, Conversation with the relatives Ursula Rose, Maria Strauss and Lothar Winter
06.02.2011, 14.00 Uhr, Lecture by Dr. Udo Engbring-Romano, historian
20.02.2011, 15.00 Uhr, Exhibition discussion with Prof. Reiner Diederich (KunstGesellschaft e. V.)
Invitation to the picture project "Deutsches Menscheitsverbrechen" (This means: "German Humanity Crime", the term is ambigous, please read the text.) Partners and supporters wanted.