Service for the Victims of O Baro Porrajmos

Service for the Victims of O Baro Porrajmos

by Ciuin Ferrin on Sunday, January 29, 2012

Last night The People's Church in Cedar Rapids held a wonderful candle lighting ceremony for Rromani victims of the Holocaust. I wanted to share with you some of the beauty we shared.

Reverend Tom Capo opened with a call to join us. Here is his text.

"Good evening and welcome to People's Church Unitarian Universalist. I an the Reverend Tom Capo, minister here at People's. Last week I heard about the Romani people. I held certain misconceptions and prejudices that I was not even completely aware of. Much of what I knew of the Romani people was based on movies or television shows- broad strokes about a people I really knew little about. Generalizations that painted a picture of a people who stole and cheated anyone they could and put curses on others. But as we all know, prejudices and oppressions are based on these generalizations. I did not know that the United Nations had excluded the Romani people from the annual Holocaust Memorial services. I did not know how many Romani were killed during the Holocaust. I did not know that the Romani people were being oppressed throughout Europe. I did not know that some Romani in the United States were afraid to embrace and express their Romani heritage because they would be oppressed here or their business would lose customers if they expressed their heritage. I did not know, but now I do. I am awakened to this injustice, and I feel a need to support this community and to open this church to a remembrance for this people. I have learned that there are some Romani people believe that when they die, their soul will remain alive so long as they are remembered. As we worship tonight, let us keep the souls of the Romani people who suffered during the Holocaust and who are suffering throughout the world in our thoughts and prayers. Let us remember them."

This statement from Els de Groen, President of the World Artist Initiative Khetanes, was read aloud.

"Imagine a world with plenty of jobs, proper housing, health care, clean water, and proper nutrition for every human being. It would be a world without discrimination; a world where human diversity would be a source of inspiration for arts and education; a world where mankind would appreciate one another for their beauty and uniqueness as we do flora and fauna of the world. Now, take a look around our world: unemployment, homelessness, disease, and hunger. It's a world of booms and slumps, and of wealth and suffering. In this world, human variety is not perceived as richness but as a threat or potential for corruption.

Seventy years ago, Hitler's racial doctrines convinced people that once Jews and Roma were removed from existence, the Third Reich would be a paradise for the Aryan race. Approximately 6 million Jews and 1-3 million Roma perished in the darkest period in Europe's history. Though over seven decades have passed, survivors of the Holocaust must be shocked at how many of today's social attitudes parallel with those of the 1930s. Once again, in the face of many ills plaguing the world, the human race is resorting to populism, calling for scapegoats. Once more, Europe leads the way in this modern day witch hunt, and once more, the Romani people are being victimized. Fingerprinted and registered like common criminals, murdered in arson attacks, collectively deported, and defamed by the social media, the Romani people once again face the crimes they endured in the Holocaust and the situation worsens with each passing day.

Using our imagination and intellect is not a luxury only to be engaged in during times of prosperity, but more so as an absolute necessity in times of recession. We must use our ability to reason to keep racism from spreading. After all, history does not repeat itself. It is us that repeats history. We are once more allowing the senseless deaths of the Nazi victims, and only the sense to be had is in the words "Never Again". "Never Again" should these crimes be endured by the human race. Use your imagination! Imagine that we are capable of creating a world that exposes the fairy tale lies of racial superiority. This one act of mental power won't alone create the ideal, prosperous world, but it will be a far better one and the best memorial for millions murdered in the Porrajmos and the Shoah."

This was the call to meditation and prayer.

"Let us join together in prayer or meditation.
Spirit of love, God of many names, be with us and honor the Romani people.
A human life is sacred.
It is sacred in its living and it is sacred in its dying. We grieve at the loss of so many Romani people; people who lost their lives for no other reason than the culture they were born in and that they cherished in their hearts. We also grieve for those Romani people who are oppressed; oppressed for no other reason than the culture they were born in and that they cherish in their hearts. We will remember those who have passed on, but we know in our hearts there is more that needs to be done for those alive today. We must reach out with our hands to help those in need, we must let them know that they are not alone, and there are those of us who will walk with them, who see them as people who deserve the universal human rights that all people deserve, who see them not as caricatures or as objects, or as the "Other", but as real people, with feelings of love, and hope, and sorrow, just like we have, with the same human frailties and pain that we all carry. They are no different than us, but they need us because there are some people in this world who treat them as the "Other" - to be shunned and banished and oppressed. Let is remember that nothing can take the place of outstretched hands of human sympathy and understanding, the spoken and silent assurance given by friends - let us remember we have all walked the way of sorrow, of pain, of hopelessness in times past and felt loss. Let us assure them that when they find themselves feeling sorrow or loss, pain or oppression, that they do not walk alone."

And Dr. Ian Hancock sent these words to be read as the votive candles, placed on the circle of our flag, were being lit.

"For us in the United States, the horror of the Holocaust resonates so harshly in our memory because of the enormity of the loss of life it caused, because it occurred in the West and because it happened in living memory. Hitler's attempt to create his Master Race and to dominate all the lands around him, involved both military action and genocide. The two populations targeted for annihilation following the directive of the Final Solution were the Jews and the Roma, both people's losing between a half and three-quarters of their respective populations in Nazi-occupied Europe. We commemorate those tragic losses each year in ceremonies such as the one we are attending today. But we must also be fiercely aware that unless we continue to remember and examine such genocides, history can repeat itself. There have been other genocides since 1945. The Romani people have been subjected to the very same treatment in post Holocaust Europe that Hitler imposed upon them in his Third Reich: there have been forced arrests and incarcerations; there have been sterilizations, there have been neo-Nazi murders, all recorded in this the twenty-first century. We must be ever vigilant, ever alert to the early warning signs of another impending genocide. God bless the memories of those lost in the past, and God protect those who are being targeted in the present time."

O Porrajmos Education Society would like to thank the People's Church for their kindness and generosity in this beautiful ceremony, a ceremony the UN was unwilling to give us.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

In 1935, Hitler issued the Nuremburg Laws, declaring both Jew and Gypsy were ineligible citizens in the Reich because of impure bloodlines. Himmler organized the death camps and killing squads and Jews and Gypsies died side by side in the gas chambers.  6 million Jews and 3 to 5 million Gypsies were murdered due to race. The atrocities the Russians discovered at Auschwitz laid the foundation for the definition of genocide adopted by the UN in 1948.

Since then, Holocaust scholars have forgotten about the Rromanies, known as “Gypsies,” allowing history to repeat itself. European politicians blame them for a poor economy and crime. In the Czech Republic, Rromani children aren’t allowed to attend public schools and over 90,000 Rromani women have been sterilized since 1980. Italy fingerprinted and photographed the Rromani in 2008. Neo-Nazis in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy murder Rromani with near impunity. Germany, France, and Italy deport the Rromani, and England practices illegal evictions.

In October of 2011, Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Right for the Council of Europe declared “The importance of teaching about Roma history cannot be overemphasized. [r]aising awareness of the Roma genocide and building … memorial sites are the least states could do to honor Roma victims.”

The UN declared January 27 ‘International Holocaust Remembrance Day’ to “[c]ondemn ‘without reserve’ all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, whenever they occur." Yet Rromanies will not be allowed to participate in the UN’s ceremony.

Rromanies aren’t usually allowed inside the gates of Auschwitz for their ceremonies either. The Rromani have been told their participation would “dishonor the memory of the true victims.”

The Holocaust didn’t happen in a bubble. Please remember all victims on January 27 and reject intolerance.

Dina Gottliebova Babbitt and the Failure of Auschwitz

The more research I do into the watercolor paintings by Dina Gottliebova Babbitt, the more I am astonished at man's capacity for cruelty, his total disregard for the well-being of his fellow man, and his eagerness to ignore the truth, to remain blind to reality due to bias and race, two useless ideologies.

I wish I were talking about Nazi Germany and the beginnings of Auschwitz when Mengele was free to carry out his pseudoscientific experiments and the gas chambers were functioning , but I am not. I am referring to current events in our time, events occurring daily.

Dinah Gottliebova was a 19 year-old Jewish Czech art student in Prague when she and her mother were arrested and later sent to Auschwitz. Dinah had always been interested in art and while at Auschwitz, she was asked to paint murals on walls to help calm frightened children. She painted characters from the last movie she had seen before her arrest, the figures of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

The mural got the attention of SS Captain Dr. Josef Mengele who needed an artist to help him with his work. He called for Dinah and ordered her to paint portraits of subjects who were to be sent to the gas chambers. He wanted the color of their skin to be represented and he found the new science of color photography lacked the ability to capture the subtle tones. Color film was in its infancy and was very unreliable. The primary colors tended to be too bright, making it impossible to capture true colors and images Dr. Mengele needed for his research.

He ordered Dinah to paint and she agreed if he would spare her and her mother. He agreed and Dinah set up shop. She also painted portraits for other officers, usually from photographs they brought to her. One day she was asked to paint the portraits of seven Roma who were to be sent to gas chambers. Dinah complied.

Auschwitz was liberated and Dinah and her mother went to Paris where she met an American artist, Art Babbitt. Coincidentally, Art had worked on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and the couple fell in love and were married. They lived in California where Dinah Gottliebova, now Dina Babbitt, worked for various art studios with her husband.

In 1973, she was contacted by Auschwitz and told they had found the watercolors of the seven Roma victims. Dina flew to Poland to collect her work, but was told by Auschwitz curators that they believed the art was too important to be separated from the collection and they intended to keep it. Devastated, Dina returned home and began a lawsuit that would go all the way to Congress.

In 2002, Congress declared the watercolors were the rightful property of Dina Babbitt and asked the Secretary of State and the President to work with the Polish government to convince Auschwitz t return the watercolors to Dina. Dina passed away in 2009 and as of this writing, Auschwitz-Birkenau still has the watercolors which are not, to the best of our knowledge, on public display. Dina's heirs continue her fight to have the watercolors returned to her.

Enter the Deniers. These racists follow the same principles as the Nazis and would love to see the Jews, Rromani, and other 'lower forms of life' destroyed, yet they deny the Holocaust ever happened. It was once thought that if Holocaust scholars gave any attention to the Deniers, that their ideas would eventually fall by the wayside. It was also believed that arguing with them gave credence to their arguments, but thank goodness Holocaust institutions no longer believe this is the case. Deniers have increased in number as they spread their hate and stupidity to the younger generations.

The Deniers claim that this case is yet another piece of evidence that the Holocaust never happened. You will need to hold on tight for this leap of logic because it gets very bumpy.

Deniers claim three points against this story. Let's take a closer look at them.

1. Children were not allowed at Auschwitz. Why was the Snow White mural necessary if children were not permitted to live at Auschwitz?

Answer: Children were often used in Mengele's experiments. He often used twins or Rromani children in his experiments. Children were easily managed and placated and were just as easily disposed of. Children as young as 12 and 13 were put to work alongside adults in forced labor brigades as well, sometimes needed because of their small size for tunneling work. Not every child was disposed of the moment they arrived at Auschwitz. Reading Mengele's work proves this. Also, when their was a "Gypsy" family camp at Auschwitz, families were allowed to remain together since the Rromani often fought to keep their children. The SS knew they were outmanned at Auschwitz and could not afford a riot. To keep the peace, they kept Rromani families together.

2. Mengele claimed color photography could not capture the colors he needed. Color photography should have been better than watercolors.

Answer: Color film, even Kodachrome, was not an exact science. Certain colors dominated the resulting picture while other colors were washed out. If Mengele were after specific colors and hues, color film would not have benefited him.

3. If the Holocaust did happen, as Auschwitz supposedly claims, then its survivors should be treated with respect. If Dina Babbitt was the creator of the watercolors, shouldn't Auschwitz show her the respect she deserves and return them to her? How can seven portraits be so important to the collection?

Answer: While I disagree with Auschwitz's claim on the portraits, I can understand their logic. From a historical context, everything at the Museum is critical to represent and educate visitors on the daily life in the camp. Also, the Museum has (I hope) spent a lot of money to ensure the paintings are protected and preserved, money that would be wasted if the paintings were to fall apart at the hands of a lesser experienced institution. I will point out here that it was Dina's wish that the paintings go on display at an American museum, so I would assume such a museum would have the necessary funding and resources to protect and preserve the watercolors. In short, the museum views these as artifacts, needed for educational use. If they were on display, I might have more sympathy for their argument.

While I fully support the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum as an institution for preserving not only the truth and history of the Holocaust, but the memory of those who were murdered there, I feel their handling of this case is sad and unreasonable.

Other Holocaust museums, including the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum, have used replicas and recreations in their collections to maximize the experience and education of every visitor to their museums. Visitors understand that there are few objects remaining from the Holocaust and therefore they would be understanding and mindful if copies were used.

Auschwitz could easily return the paintings to their rightful owner and use replicas in place of the real ones. There is no need to victimize Dina a second time. Auschwitz, above all other institutions, should be more in tune to the needs and emotions of the survivors. I hope that Auschwitz will realize the damage they are doing and allow the paintings to be returned to the Babbitt family.

Dina Babbitt's paintings at Auschwitz

In doing further research into the case of Dina Babbitt, the artist who created the 7 watercolors of Rromani prisoners doomed to the gas chambers, I discovered a bizarre twist to the story. I'm sure others researchers have found this as well, but I was unaware of the attitude this case invoked in Holocaust deniers.

To give some background on the case, Dina Babbitt and her mother were prisoners at Auschwitz. When Mengele discovered she was an artist, he had her paint watercolors of 7 Rromani who were to be sent to the gas chambers. She kept them alive as long as she could, but when their portraits were finished, they were sent to their deaths. In 1973, Dina discovered the paintings still existed and she decided she wanted them back. Auschwitz refused, stating it would give precedent for other survivors to claim their property. A lawsuit began and in 2002 the Congress of the United States declared Dina Babbitt to be the rightful owners and implored the government of Poland to encourage Auschwitz-Birkenau to return the paintings. As of this writing, the paintings remain out of public view at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Dina Babbitt passed away in 2009 and her heirs continue her fight.

The paintings have had an awkward existence in Auschwitz. Many people believe the paintings should be kept at the museum in Jewish section, as the artist was Jewish. Others believe they should be kept in a "Gypsy" section of the museum, since that is the subject of the artwork and there is little surviving materials on the Rromani at Auschwitz.

Add the twist of the Holocaust deniers. They claim that the fact that Dina Babbitt wants her paintings back and Auschwitz's refusal is proof the Holocaust never happened. Their logic, flawed as usual, is still unsettling. They state that if the Holocaust did indeed happen, as Auschwitz claims, then Holocaust survivors should be respected and their wishes granted, since they are the witnesses to such an important event. Auschwitz's denial to hand over the paintings is proof, to them, that Auschwitz doesn't respect survivors, therefore it never happened.

Deniers also claim that Mengele would not have used paints to match a skin tone, he would have used photography. This aspect I can speak to. Mengele wanted the watercolors because he wanted their skin tones matched, something color photography may not have been able to do. A third generation photographer told me that back in the early 40's, certain colors were very difficult to capture. It is possible that Mengele didn't trust photography to get it right. Paints can be adjusted, but film colors couldn't. Sorry, skeptics, but Photoshop didn't exist back then.

This debate has been going on since 1973. A Holocaust survivor continued to be brutalized by Auschwitz long after the Nazis vacated the place. Auschwitz doesn't even have the paintings on display. Duplicates could be hung after the originals were returned to the family. It is high time they did the right thing after so many wrong things happened there and returned the paintings.