Compensation denied

Many of the Sinti and Roma who survived the concentration and extermination camps were denied compensation for the injustices they had suffered. Their ill health was not seen as a direct consequence of persecution. For those on whom it was inflicted, forced sterilisation meant a lifetime of trauma and yet, in the eyes of the authorities and their medical experts, it was not recognised as warranting compensation.

Whenever claims for compensation were submitted by the Sinti or Roma, former perpetrators from the ranks of the SS and police apparatus would be summoned as experts. It was not uncommon for survivors to then come face to face with those officials who had been instrumental in their persecution and deportation. And in many instances the medical opinions also reflected the racist attitudes and mindsets of the Nazi era.