Book talk by author and Romani (Gypsy) community leader Jud Nirenberg: Johann Trollmann and Romani Resistance to the Nazis
In 1933 Johann Trollmann won Germany's light-heavyweight boxing title. The Nazis would not accept him as the winner because he was Sinto. Many Sinti and Roma (or "Gypsies") had long been involved in the sport, but Nazi ideology demanded that only Aryans excel as fighters. Trollmann used his visibility in the ring for shocking and aggressive protest, turning boxing into politically charged performance art. He fought for his country, and against its prejudice. Roma and Sinti were victims of fascism, but they also were soldiers, activists, and underground resistors. Since World War II, there has been a struggle to obtain greater recognition of this past. From underground fight nights to Madison Square Garden, from secret partisan meetings to concentration camp uprisings, across several continents, this is a hard-hitting look at forgotten history.
Nirenberg will discuss how Roma men and women, including Trollmann stood up to fascism and how they have struggled to have their lost remembered in Holocaust education. Short presentation followed by Q&A and discussion.
