ROMA
IN THE WARSAW
GHETTO
dr hab. Katarzyna Person, Warsaw Ghetto Museum
In 1941, the occupation authorities commenced the process of placing Roma individuals into Jewish ghettos established in the General Government. During that stage, these actions were undertaken without a top-down plan. Individual district governors decided to forcibly settle the captured Roma groups in a ghetto within a particular district. Stanislaw Borkowski described one such action: "With the establishment of the Radzymin ghetto in 1941, a plan was put in motion to relocate gypsies into the ghetto, where they would face the same fate as the Jews. These residents lived in the ghetto briefly, as they vanished or escaped within a few days". Similarly, in other locations, the Roma, who were used to living a nomadic lifestyle, frequently left their forced residences and relocated to nearby counties where the order for ghetto settlements had not yet been implemented.
With the onset of the "Aktion Reinhardt" in the spring of 1942, which aimed at the complete extermination of Jews in the General Government, there was also a shift in official views towards the Roma. During this period, the German authorities embarked on a comprehensive ghetto resettlement campaign. Simultaneously, they issued multiple orders that prohibited individuals from remaining outside of these districts, with the threat of fines and incarceration for those who violated the restrictions. In April 1942, Roma communities were forcefully moved to the Warsaw Ghetto. Most of them were referred to the Central Detention Centre at the intersection of Gęsia and Zamenhofa Streets. Although they were not officially charged with any crimes, they were essentially held as detainees. The living conditions of the Roma in the Central Detention Centre were tragic. At the time, the building, originally designed for approximately 300 inmates, housed an overwhelming population of around 1,400 to 1,550 prisoners. The detainees were malnourished, and the overcrowded conditions made it impossible to maintain hygiene, resulting in the outbreak of diseases among them.
The first reference to the arrival of Roma at the Detention Centre is an entry from the diary of the chairman of the Jewish Council, Adam Czerniakow, dated 22 April: “10 Gypsy men and women were transferred to the Jewish prison under the leadership of <<King>> Kwiek”, with a further group to arrive in the following days - a total of 38 Roma were to be housed at the Detention Centre in April. By the way, it must be stated the presence of ‘King Kwiek’ is unverified. As Marta Janczewska wrote: "Janusz Kwiek, Gypsy King from 1937 to 1939, disappeared in the first days of the war and his fate is unknown. His pre-war rival for the throne, Rudolf Kwiek, appointed himself king after the war, in 1946."
Another group of Roma entered the ghetto after 25 May 1942, with the coming into force of an ordinance that forbade them to stay outside the Jewish quarter on pain of incarceration or a fine. Many ignored this recommendation, with German reports stating that “Gypsies caught in Warsaw were placed in the Warsaw Jewish quarter”, suggesting that they were resettled under police coercion. The group in question was small, according to the May report: “A list was sent containing the names of numerous gypsies who are currently in custody”. In June, Roma individuals from different towns in occupied Poland were transferred to the ghetto, notably from Łowicz. The initial estimate was that around 60 people would arrive, but an additional 34 individuals eventually joined them.
With the growing number of Roma in the Central Detention Centre, it became clear that they needed to be relocated elsewhere. Jewish Quarter Commissioner Heinz Auerswald ordered the Roma to be released from detention after being disinfected and sent to a shelter within the ghetto. In May 1942, there were plans to release a group of Romanian Roma who were held in detention. On 16 June, another group was released from custody and sent to a designated residential facility. At the same time, Roma residing in the Warsaw Ghetto were marked with white armbands with the red letter ‘Z’, for the German word Zigeuner - Gypsy.
The then head of the Housing Office, Stanislaw Adler, spoke of the challenges in acquiring premises for accommodation for the displaced persons: “Due to the lack of other space, I requisitioned larger non-residential premises and accommodated foreign arrivals in them”. According to Ringelblum, the Roma were accommodated at 5 Pokorna Street, where 240 families were housed temporarily. The same address was confirmed by an anonymous Jewish Council official, suggesting (as did several other authors) that the Roma were to be sent eventually to some of the poorer streets of the ghetto, specifically Wolynska and Ostrowska. However, this plan was not implemented. Some sources indicate that the Roma were directed to 10 Szczęśliwa Street or Wałowa Street, while another diarist noted, "in the meantime, they live like real Gypsies", i.e., a nomadic life without a permanent address.
Reconstructing the history of the Roma in the Warsaw Ghetto is akin to detective work. This group did not leave behind any written records, and Jewish accounts rarely mention them, and even when they do, it is only in passing and brief remarks. Reconstructing the situation of the Roma minority in the ghetto is challenging due to the numerous assumptions, uncertainties, and lack of specific information. Basic details such as the number of Roma in the ghetto and their arrival and departure dates from the "Jewish quarter" remain unknown.
12