Sinti & Roma

Graves of Sinti and Roma Families

Meisel Schmidt died in 1917, during World War I. He was the head of a clan that lived in Lübbecke. The Protestant pastor Güse arranged for Meisel Schmidt to be buried here in the cemetery. Members of his clan are still buried here today.

The graves are all chamber graves. Burials generally take place in wooden coffins lined with zinc. Given the long journeys required by families scattered across Europe, the transport and storage of the bodies are regulated by epidemic control regulations. It takes some time for the families to arrive in Lübbecke and for the gravesites to be prepared. All Sinti and Roma graves in Lübbecke are family or clan graves.

During World War I, they served as soldiers, just as the Jews did. During the Third Reich, they were persecuted just like the Jews. In Lübbecke, their graves were never desecrated during World War II. Sinti and Roma are Catholics.

Sinti and Roma have lived in Germany for more than 600 years. Throughout this time, they have repeatedly faced prejudice, exclusion, and persecution. According to estimates, there are currently about 60,000 German Sinti (of Western and Central European origin) and around 10,000 German Roma (of Eastern and Southern European origin) living in Germany. Outside the German-speaking world, “Roma” is used as the name for the entire minority. In addition to German, they speak the minority language Romanes as a second native language. German Sinti and Roma live throughout Germany.

Lübbecke

Sinti & Roma

Sinti & Roma

Feigeli and Loni Blum: A Declaration of Love for a Dance

Throw away your shoes and dance
Feel the Earth Beneath Your Feet
The Roots of Sound

Throw away your shoes and dance
Feel and hear her drumming
Immerse yourself in the rhythm of life.

Throw away your shoes and dance
Let the music take over your body and your soul
Close your eyes and dream

Dance and dream and dance for love
Dance and dream and dance through life
Dance and dance and dance

(author unknown)