Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

200   SPEECHES | INSTITUTIONS Institutions who until 1945 had held a position in the Reich Security Main Office comparable to that of Adolf Eichmann and had been chiefly responsible for the mass deportation and murder of Sinti and Roma. This local police department – renamed the Landfahrerzentrale in 1953 – played a decisive role in pushing through the Landfahrerverordnung. At the Landfahrerzentrale, the Bavarian criminal police continued to file names, finger- prints and personal data of Sinti and Roma from across West Germany well into the 1970s – sometimes using files originally created during the Nazi era. These records were even used in compensation proceedings to dismiss the claims of Sinti and Roma who had survived the Holocaust. Through their week- long hunger strike, the Sinti sought answers regarding the whereabouts of the files kept by the former Landfahrerzen- trale. As I mentioned earlier, the protest was highly successful. The state government was forced to publicly admit that Sinti and Roma continued to suffer discrimination and that it needed   to be dismantled. The Ministry of the Interior also assured   that the files of the Bavarian Landfahrerzentrale had been destroyed in the early 1970s. But the end of those files did not mean an end to discrimina- tion. The search for the missing Nazi racial reports remains unsuccessful to this day. And despite persistent protests by the Sinti and Roma civil rights movement since the 1980s, special police monitoring has continued. In 1998, our association – together with the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, and two Sinti survivors of Auschwitz – filed both a constitu- tional complaint and a popular action challenging the use of the term“Roma and Sinti” in criminal police questionnaires and records. Even in recent years, new cases of special police registration have repeatedly surfaced: In 2019, our State Association con- sulted with the Bavarian Data Protection Commissioner, Prof. Thomas Petri. He then drew attention to this issue and called for action, initiating a random ad hoc review to identify the contexts in which the term“Sinti” was being used in Bavarian police case management systems. The examination revealed multiple instances in which the term had been used, even though it was neither factually justified nor necessary for police work. The Data Protection Commissioner subsequently informed the Police Inspector of the Bavarian Police, who then issued a circu- lar instructing all police headquarters to refrain entirely from using the term“Sinti” and/or “Roma” in internal investigations, public appeals, warnings or press releases. While discrimination does still persist – both within institu- tions and in everyday life – democratic safeguards and over- sight bodies such as the Data Protection Commissioner are functioning, and it is essential that we support their effective- ness and authority. In light of the horrific historical experiences endured by Sinti and Roma, we now look with great concern at the growing spread of right-wing extremist parties and so-called “move- ments” across Europe. Their slogans are resonating deep into the centre of society. The federal election of 23 February made this all too clear: A party known for its historical revisionism, classified in parts as “confirmed right-wing extremist”, won more than 20% of the vote – and significantly more among younger voters. This is a disaster for the political culture of this country and a serious threat to our liberal democratic order! It is not only we German Sinti and Roma who look to the future with great concern. Thank you!