We, the Competence center against antiziganism at the Lower Saxony Memorials Foundation, wish to endorse the previously issued press release and statement by the Lower Saxony Association of German Sinti e.V. and express our solidarity with the residents of the Ölpersee housing estate.
Background
The Ölpersee housing estate was established before the Second World War on land allocated to the Sinti* of that time. Even then, a historical practice of deliberate exclusion was in place, stemming from antiziganism that had developed over centuries. Under the Nazi regime, Sinti* and Roma* were systematically subjected to racist persecution and were systemically murdered.
After the end of the Second World War and the Allies’ victory over the Nazi regime, Sinti* Holocaust survivors returned to the Ölpersee housing estate in search of protection and community. This was because the discrimination continued (also known as ‘second persecution’). No compensation, no protection from the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany. Worse even: in the 1960s and 1970s, Sinti* and Roma* were, amongst other things, still barred from entering shops, from setting up home and from living in certain areas. Germany did not recognise the genocide against Sinti* and Roma* until 1982.
Antigypsyism and housing today
Today, antigypsyism and exclusion continue to threaten all areas of life for Sinti* and Roma*, particularly in the fields of education, housing and employment. Last year alone, for instance, there were 903 reported cases of antigypsyism in the housing sector across Germany (MIA Report 2026 ‘Antiziganism and Housing’). It is therefore certainly not an isolated case that Sinti* and Roma* are forced into precarious housing situations by structural discrimination, and then made homeless on the grounds of building regulations or fire safety risks, as situations in other German cities such as Duisburg and Dortmund demonstrate (see MIA Report 2026 ‘Antiziganism and Housing’). In order to preserve the housing in the Ölpersee estate for future generations, the residents of the Ölpersee estate are therefore now calling on the City of Braunschweig to grant a property-specific tolerance order. This would mean that people could continue to use their homes in future and pass them on to subsequent generations. At present, the residents live in constant fear of further action by the city. There are no financial resources available for legal representation to defend the housing estate’s residents.
This fear, which stems from centuries of structural discrimination, is unacceptable. The Sinti* families in the housing estate had to rebuild their lives after the Second World War and the genocide, and continue to suffer to this day from ongoing antigypsyism in Germany. The housing estate at the Ölpersee is therefore not just a place to live, but also a safe haven and a place of remembrance. This safe haven and place of remembrance must be preserved!
We therefore call on you to sign the following petition, launched by local resident Andrea Holub.
Particularly given the current political situation in Germany, where minorities are coming under increasing pressure and losing their safe havens, the future of the Ölpersee estate must be secured!