Report on 'Textbooks and Antiziganism' now online

The Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research has produced a report on the depiction of Sinti and Roma in German textbooks that was commissioned by the Unabhängige Kommission Antiziganismus (independent Antiziganism commission).

The report (in German) is now available online

In their report, Imke Rath and Riem Spielhaus analyse textbooks for history, political/civic education and geography that were on the curricula for secondary schools in the 16 federal states in Germany in 2019.

The researchers examined the themes recommended by the curricula as well as the context in which Sinti and Roma were mentioned. A particular factor in the qualitative textbook analysis was the focus on the relationship between passive and active portrayals of Sinti and Roma. It also investigated dominant patterns in how they were portrayed, such as their depiction as outsiders or as passive victims without the ability to act or resist persecution. In addition, the analysis also explored how textbooks deal with derogatory terms, including where pejorative designations were explicitly addressed and classified as expressions of dominant and exclusionary practices.

The report documented striking depictions of Sinti and Roma in the textbooks in order to highlight the potential for representations that are sensitive to discrimination or critical of racism.

The review served as a basis for recommendations by the Unabhängigen Kommission Antiziganismus on the development of curricula and textbooks, which were included in a report presented to the German Parliament in June 2021.