In 1937 Janusz was elected king of the Roma in Poland and in a stadium filled with people he declared: 'I will send a delegate to Mussolini to ask him to give us a piece of land in Abyssinia for the settlement of the Roma people. Our people have had enough of wandering through the centuries and it is time for our nomadic life to end. Soon our representative will be in the League of Nations"
This was part of the effort to create a homeland for the Roma people in the early 20th century, similar to (S)Zionism. Both groups were persecuted in their homeland, organized international conferences to unite their people and sought foreign support. Also, in the early 20th century there was a debate about where the homeland should be. In the case of (S)Zionism, some Christian leaders wanted to create a Jewish state in Madagascar, British Guiana or even Uganda. The same was the case with the Roma who hoped to have a homeland, but where that homeland would be was open to debate. It could have been Abyssinia, and some believed they were originally from India, so somewhere on the Ganges would be best. Then, South Africa and even Egypt became popular choices. In Abyssinia, Mussolini also thought about creating a Jewish state, so these two groups often intertwined.
However, in the 20th century, the First World War caused major changes in Roma politics. Newly formed or rebuilt nations, such as Poland and Romania, annexed territories and took control of the Roma. When Romania annexed Transylvania, tens of thousands of Roma from Austro-Hungarian control crossed over to the Romanian state and almost immediately organized large Roma rallies. That was the time when George Lazurica appeared, who became the leader of Roma politics through the General Union of Romanian Roma. Through his writing and a bit of political sabotage, he became a leader in uniting the Roma population into a stable community. With his efforts, the International Congress for all Roma was held, the goal of which was to organize a united and stable Roma people.
