Roma in European Textbooks and Curricula

In the textbooks of eastern and south-eastern European countries, Roma are almost exclusively mentioned in lists of ethnic minorities. There is no mention of their diversity as a group, their history in the respective country, in Europe or in the world and generally also no mention of the challenges they currently face as a result of discrimination and social marginalisation.

Stereotypical images of musicians, dancers and unwashed children are persistently used to represent Roma. One Hungarian history textbook proves it is possible to do things differently by not only referring to the extermination of Roma in the Second World War but also including the Romany name by which Roma refer to the genocide: Porajmos. Those textbooks that offer more than a word or two, or a sentence, about the Roma, frequently use passive constructions. Something happens to the Roma, they are rarely portrayed in educational media as active protagonists. An exception to this is the narrative in one German history textbook concerning Johann Wilhelm Trollman, the 1933 German boxing champion, and his passive resistance to his exclusion from the Boxing Federation. After the German Sinto’s boxing style was deemed by the referee to be ‘un-German’ and ‘foreign’ he was to be disqualified. For his last fight ‘Johann Trollmann dyed his hair blond and stood defenceless in the ring. Nobody could have expressed their protest more clearly’.

The textbook describes the life story of the young man, who was expelled from the army in 1942 because he was a ‘Zigeuner’ (gypsy), and died in a satellite camp of Wittenberg concentration camp in 1944. The authors clearly attempt to distance themselves from the derogations aimed at Sinti and Roma while also making pupils aware of the discriminatory terms used. Although content on Roma in the majority of European textbooks included in the study is generally very sparse and stereotypical, there are a number of approaches that stand out.

Between 2016 and 2019 the GEI, in cooperation with the Council of Europe and the Roma Education Fund, systematically researched the representation of Roma in current curricula and textbooks for history, social studies/politics and geography from 22 European countries.

A workshop held in Braunschweig in July 2018 discussed findings and techniques of textbook analysis with early career scholars from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia and guided them in the development of critical discourse analyses on the representation of Roma in the textbooks of various European countries. The young researchers met in November for the second time with representatives from the Council of Europe, the GEI and the Roma Education Fund as well as invited experts. The aim of this event, held in Budapest, was to present the initial findings of the study and to debate strategies for portrayals of social minorities that are sensitive to discrimination. Within the framework of the workshop the early-career scholars presented their findings to the public at an event held at the Central European University in Budapest.