Roma und Sinti#

Roma (and Sinti): In the 15th and 16th centuries the Romany (or Roma and Sinti), a people originating in India came to Europe as musicians, blacksmiths and itinerant peddlers; and settled (not always voluntarily) in parts of Austria, especially in Burgenland (former West-Hungary) and on the outskirts of larger cities. Before 1938 the number of Roman and Sinti amounted to approximately 11,000 (approximately 8,000 lived in Burgenland). Two thirds of them were killed in National-Socialist concentration camps. Four were killed in the most atrocious politically-motivated Assassination of the Second Republic on February 4, 1995 in Oberwart.

In Austria, all groups native to Austria were recognized as an ethnic group in its own right in December 1993 under the name "Roma and Sinti", a new Ethnic Minorities Council (Volksgruppenbeirat) was set up in 1995. The representative organizations of the ethnic groups are the "Verein Roma" (Association of Roma) in Oberwart (publisher of the newspaper "Romani Patrin"), the "Kulturverein oesterreichischer Roma" (Cultural Association of Austrian Roma) in Vienna (publishers of the newspaper "Romano Kipo") and the "Verein Ketani" (Association of Austrian Sinti) in Linz. The Roma of former Yugoslavia are particularly promoted by the association "Romano Centro", publishers of a newspaper of the same name; an increase in the immigration of Roma was observed in Austria as a result of migrant workers coming to Austria in the 1960s. With regard to schooling the Roma were first mentioned in the law on ethnic minorities in Burgenland (Federal Law Gazette 641/1994).

Literature#