Sinti

The Sinti (masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintetsa, Sinta'') are a subgroup of the Romani people. They are found mostly in Germany, France, Italy and Central Europe, numbering some 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today only a small percentage of Sinti remain unsettled. In earlier times, they frequently lived on the outskirts of communities.

Within the Sinti Community are various tribes such as the Manouche in France. They speak the Sinti-Manouche variety of Romani, which exhibits strong German influence.

Etymology and origin

The origin of the Sinti people, as with the broader Romani people, lies generally in the Indian subcontinent. While people from the western Indian subcontinent's Sindh region were mentioned in 1100 by Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Maydani, it is unclear whether the Sindhi people were the ancestors of modern Sinti, though it is clear that Sinti and other Romani people originated in the northern Indian subcontinent.

The origin of the name is disputed. Scholar Jan Kochanowski, and many Sinti themselves, believe it derives from '' Sindhi'', the name of the people of Sindh in medieval India (a region now in southeast Pakistan). Romani Historian Ian Hancock states that the connection between ''Sinti'' and ''Sindhi'' is not tenable on linguistic grounds and that in the earliest samples of Sinte Romani, the endonym of ''Kale'' was used instead.

Scholar Yaron Matras argued that ''Sinti'' is a later term in use by the Sinti from only the 18th century on, and is likely a European loanword. This view is shared by Romani linguist Ronald Lee, who stated the name's origin probably lies in the German word ''Reisende'', meaning 'travellers'.

A recent study by Estonian and Indian researchers found genetic similarities between European Romani men and Indian men in their sample.

History

The Sinti arrived in Austria and Germany in the Late Middle Ages as part of the emigration from the Indian Subcontinent, eventually splitting into two groups: ''Eftavagarja'' ("the Seven Caravans") and ''Estraxarja'' ("from Austria"). They arrived in Germany before 1540. The two groups expanded, the Eftavagarja into France and Portugal, where they are called "Manouches", and to the Balkans, where they are called "Ciganos" (from Byzantine Greek "τσιγγάνος" and "Ἀτσίγγανος", deriving from Ancient Greek "ἀθίγγανος", meaning "untouchable"); and the Estraxarja into Italy and Central Europe, mainly what are now Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, eventually adopting various regional names.

From 1926-1973, Pro Juventute, a Swiss children's charity, with the support of Swiss authorities, committed crimes against humanity against the Yenish, Manouche, and Sinti people in Switzerland by forcibly removing children from their families and placing them in foster homes, adoptive families, and correctional institutions through the Kinder der Landstrasse (Children of the Open Road) project. This was part of a wider effort to forcibly assimilate these traditionally nomadic communities into the sedentary Swiss society. In February 2025, the Swiss government formally acknowledged that the forced removals and assimilation efforts constitute a crime against humanity under international law.

The Holocaust

The Sinti migrated to Germany in the early 15th century. Despite their long presence, they were still generally regarded as beggars and thieves, and, by 1899, the police kept a central register on Sinti, Roma, and Yenish peoples. Nazi Germany considered them racially inferior (see Nazism and race), and persecuted them throughout Germany during the Nazi periodthe Nuremberg Laws of 1935 often being interpreted to apply to them as well as the Jews.

Adolf Eichmann recommended that Nazi Germany solve the "Gypsy Question" simultaneously with the Jewish Question, resulting in the deportation of the Sinti to clear room to build homes for ethnic Germans. Some were sent to the territory of Poland, or elsewhere, including some deported to the territory of Yugoslavia by the Hamburg Police in 1939. Others were confined to designated areas, and many were eventually murdered in gas chambers. Many Sinti and Roma were taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they were put in a special section, called the " gypsy camp". Josef Mengele often performed some of his infamous experiments on Sinti and Roma. On 2 August 1944, the "gypsy camp" was closed, and approximately 4,000 Sinti and Roma were gassed during the night of 2–3 August and burnt in the crematoria. The date 2 August is commemorated as Roma and Sinti Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In the concentration camps, the Sinti were forced to wear either a black triangle, indicating their classification as "asocial", or a brown triangle, specifically reserved for Sinti, Roma, and Yenish peoples.

Notable people

* Anita Awosusi (born 1956)writer, musician, activist
* Tayo Awosusi-Onutor (born 1978)singer-songwriter, author, activist
* Ayo (born 1980)singer, songwriter and actress
* Wawau Adler (born 1967)jazz guitarist
* Jakob Bamberger (1913–1989)boxer and activist
* Drafi Deutscher (1946–2006)singer and songwriter
* Lily Franz (1924–2011)writer and Holocaust survivor
* Philomena Franz (1922-2022)writer and Holocaust survivor
* Elisabeth Guttenberger (1926–2024)activist and Holocaust survivor
* Hugo Höllenreiner (1933–2015)Holocaust survivor and public speaker
* Mario Mettbach (1952–2021/22)politician
* Oto Pestner (born 1956)singer, songwriter and politician
* Schnuckenack Reinhardt (1921–2006)jazz musician
* Marianne Rosenberg (born 1955)singer and daughter of Otto Rosenberg
* Otto Rosenberg (1927–2001)writer, activist and holocaust survivor
* Sido (born 1980)rapper
* Chrissy Teigen (b. 1985)model
* Johann Trollmann (1907–1944)boxer and victim of forced sterilisation
* Häns'che Weiss (1951-2016)jazz musician
* Raymond Gurême (1925-2020) - acrobat, activist, and holocaust survivor

See also

* Antiziganism
* History of the Romani people
* Romani people by country
* Romani people in Austria
* Romani people in Germany
* Romani people in the Netherlands
* Romani people in Belgium
* Sindhi diaspora
* Sinte Romani (language)

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Ethnic groups in Austria
Ethnic groups in Belgium
Ethnic groups in Germany
Ethnic groups in Slovenia
Ethnic groups in the Netherlands
Romani groups
Romani in Europe
Romani in Germany