Reinhard Florian, a Sinto from East Prussia, barely survived the Nazi persecution in Mauthausen, Auschwitz and other camps. He lived in southern Germany after the liberation. It was not until the 1980ies, however, that he received compensation and got back the German citizenship. During the last two decades, he tirelessly supported the remembrance of the persecution of Sinti and Roma. He talked about his experiences in the online archive "Forced Labor 1939-1945", on the DVD "Zeitzeugen-Interviews für den Unterricht", in the Visual History Archive of the USC Shoah Foundation and in a book published by the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in 2012.

The clip "Sinti and Roma: Beginning of the persecution" shows an excerpt from his interview for the online archive "Forced Labor 1939-1945":
http://www.zwangsarbeit-archiv.de/zwangsarbeit/ereignisse/sintiundroma/index.html

Some of us met Reinhard Florian in person, others only know his interviews. We were fascinated by his narrative power, aghast about his experiences and impressed by his life story. We will hold him in grateful memory.

Further Links to Reinhard Florian (in German):

• http://www.orte-der-erinnerung.de/de/aktuelles/artikel/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=109&cHash=6c2b5a7ef14025a3bf0c737e52668c69
• http://www.sintiundroma.de/medien/aktuelles/detailansicht/article/trauer-um-reinhard-florian.html
• http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/mahnmal-fuer-sinti-und-roma-wir-haben-jetzt-einen-ort-11937005-b1.html