The Gypsies were the second most populous victims--behind the Jews--killed in the Holocaust. When Hitler assumed power in 1933, Germany's Gypsy population constituted a small minority of about 26,000.They were no particular interest to the Nazi leadership, whose racial policies were directed almost exclusively against the Jews.
Yet, this indifference changed during Hitler's 12 years of ruling Germany. From 1943, persecution turned into partial genocide, and a special "gypsy camp" was established at Auschwitz, in which 20,000 gypsies would die.
European Gypsies killed in World War 2 roughly
range from 150,000 to 196,000, out of a prewar population of several million. It is worth noting that the Gypsies were the only other group, beside the Jews, subjected to anything approaching full-scale genocide.
In Romania alone almost 25,000 Gypsies--appoximately 2.5% of the county's Gypsy population-- were deported. All but 1,500 of these died, along with 250,000 Romanian Jews.
