"The office is being abolished after just one term of office. And this despite the fact that Dr Mehmet Daimagüler [Federal Commissioner against Antiziganism from 2021 to April 2025] has achieved a great deal, including the establishment of a federal-state commission," says Bernd Grafe-Ulke, project manager of the Competence center against antiziganism. Daimagüler is also largely responsible for the resolution passed by the German Bundestag in 2023, which was of great importance for Sinti* and Roma* in Germany. This resolution included a comprehensive recognition of the National Socialist genocide against the Sinti* and Roma* - the genocide of Sinti* and Roma* in the Nazi regime was only recognised at all in 1982 - and emphasised Germany's resulting special responsibility towards the Sinti* and Roma*.
"This decision by the Federal Government not to fill the position signals that the concerns of the Sinti* and Roma* are not important enough. In times of a frightening shift to the right in society, it is also a decision with devastating consequences for society as a whole. Antiziganism is not just a problem for the minority, but for all of us, because it prevents us from living together as a society on an equal footing," Bernd Grafe-Ulke continues. "It is simply incomprehensible that the federal government believes it can do without such important institutions with an extreme right-wing party as the second strongest force. Critical civil society will be crucial in the coming years and structures such as the Office of the Federal Commissioner are enormously important for their support. For the self-organisations of Sinti* and Roma*, this is a serious loss, as a federal commissioner acts as a bridge between associations and self-organisations and the federal government," explains Grafe-Ulke.
The Competence center against antiziganism (KogA) has been offering further training and awareness-raising on antiziganism for various professional groups for ten years and is part of the nationwide cooperation network against antiziganism. The Lower Saxony Memorials Foundation supports the project and enables KogA to carry out antigypsyism-critical education work in the context of Nazi memorial sites such as the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and the former Wolfenbüttel Prison, which are also part of the foundation.