Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma
The Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma was established in Heidelberg, Germany, in the early 1990s, as a memorial to Sinti and Roma people who were killed by the National Socialists Party. After several years of extension work collecting stories from the victims, conducting research, and conversion, the building complex was ceremonially opened to the public on 16 March 1997, and was supported by the attendance of many Roma and Sinti survivors. It is the world's first permanent exhibition on the genocide perpetrated upon the Sinti and Roma by the Nazis. The documentation Centre has three levels and covers an area of almost 700 square meters, and traces the history and stories of the persecution of the Sinti and Roma under National Socialism. The institution is overseen by Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, supported by the city of Heidelberg, and is the beneficiary of special funds from the German Federal Government and the land of Baden-Württemberg. Description The first level of the exhibition is designed to showcase the everyday lives of the minority on one floor, and on the second floor the persecution apparatus and terror. The centre's East German architect, Dieter Quast, deliberately made this separation both spatially and in the exhibition itself. At the same time, they are related to one another in a way that creates a constant tension, which not only challenges visitors to reflect critically on the documents produced by the perpetrators, but also urges them to show empathetic understanding for the victims. The three sections of the rebuilt historic building at Oberen Fauken Pelz were all constructed around its east-facing courtyard. On the south side a new section was added above the historic cellar vault to serve as a foyer and main entrance to the exhibition. Below this are several presentation and lecture halls. The second is an 18th-century warehouse that was fitted for the documentary exhibition. The warehouse's attic has been retro-fitted to serve as a memorial walkway through the final section of the exhibition. Additionally, the high mansard roof and continuous dust-pan dormers gives the middle section of this former warehouse the centre an air of importance. Lastly, the northern section was originally built around 1900, and was once the "Zum Faulen Pelz" theater and restaurant. It was converted into the administration office of both the Documentation and Cultural Centre and the Zentralrat Deutscher Sinti und Roma. Among these is the office of Romani Rose, chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and director of the centre. Being of the Roma and Sinti minority himself, and as someone who lost 13 family members in concentration camps, he has been very committed to seeing the Centre prosper and accurately relay the stories of those persecuted. His significant successes include the acknowledgement of the German Sinti and Roma as a national minority under the terms of the Framework Agreement on the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe, and being the director of the