Margarete Kraus (born 1928) was a

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

woman who was persecuted during the

Porajmos The Romani Holocaust or the Romani genocide—also known as the ''Porajmos'' (Romani pronunciation: , meaning "the Devouring"), the ''Pharrajimos'' meaning the hard times ("Cutting up", "Fragmentation", "Destruction"), and the ''Samudaripen'' (" ...

, imprisoned at

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

and Ravensbruck. Her experience was recorded in later life by the photographer Reimar Gilsenbach.

Biography

Whilst little is known about Kraus' early life, what is known is that she was a young woman of Roma origin, who was living in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

with her family prior to their deportation to

in 1943. Roma and Sinti people were persecuted during the Holocaust and Kraus family were part of the 500,000 who were murdered in the

Romani genocide The Romani Holocaust or the Romani genocide—also known as the ''Porajmos'' (Romani pronunciation: , meaning "the Devouring"), the ''Pharrajimos'' meaning the hard times ("Cutting up", "Fragmentation", "Destruction"), and the ''Samudaripen'' (" ...

. Kraus was deported to Auschwitz in 1943, aged 13, alongside her family; they were held in what became known as the Gypsy family camp. She was subjected to medical experimentation during her internment. She suffered extreme abuse and deprivation, and also contracted typhus. Her parents were murdered in Auschwitz, and she was subsequently moved to Ravensbruck where she was used as forced labour. In 1966 Kraus was photographed by journalist Reimar Gilsenbach ( it) in the German Democratic Republic. She posed at the window of her caravan and the

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

she was marked with at Auschwitz is clearly visible on her left arm. She told Gilsenbach that her parents were both murdered in Auschwitz and that she was then transferred to the Ravenbrück camp where she worked as a slave. However she did not mention the medical experimentation she endured.

Legacy

Kraus was featured in the 2019 exhibition ''Forgotten Victims: The Nazi Genocide of the Roma and Sinti'' at the

Wiener Holocaust Library The Wiener Holocaust Library () is the world's oldest institution devoted to the study of the Holocaust, its causes and legacies. Founded in 1933 as an information bureau that informed Jewish communities and governments worldwide about the pe ...

in London. The exhibition highlighted the persecution of Roma and Sinti communities and the murder of 500,000 people, termed ''

'' in Romani''.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraus, Margarete 2005 deaths 1928 births Holocaust survivors Auschwitz concentration camp prisoners Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors Czech people of Romani descent