It all started with a temporary work of art on Sinti-Roma-Platz near the Bavariapark. 16 concrete pillars, arranged in a circle in 2007, commemorated the deportation of the Sinti and Roma during the Nazi era. Since then, such a monument has been on the wish list of the Greens in particular.
And it is now about to make a breakthrough: "It happens late, but it seems to be going in the right direction," said Florian Roth, the leader of the Greens in the town hall. The City Council's Culture Committee is due to launch a competition this Thursday. It is a "participatory work of art on the history and present of the Sinti and Roma" in a central location in the city.
The Sinti-Roma-Platz on Schwanthalerhöhe is therefore not automatically set. According to Roth, however, he remains in the race. The Greens politician is also called the most promising alternative for good: Ettstrasse in the old town. There, at the police headquarters, the first "Intelligence Service for Security Police Regarding Gypsies" was founded in 1899.
And from there, Sinti and Roma were deported to concentration camps; In 1943 there were at least 141 of them. The city council faction of Greens and Rosa Liste had already requested several times to commemorate this murderous part of history and to set up a cultural meeting place for Sinti and Roma in Munich in addition to an artwork. The initiative came primarily from the Schwanthalerhöhe district committee.