One Blood, One Flame - The Oral Histories of the Yugoslav Gypsies before, During and After WWII, Part 2

Although most Gypsy communities in Yugoslav survived WWII, many suffered horrible tragedies. In Volume I, we saw what happened to the Roma in Nish, where the German army established their first concentration camp in the Balkans. In Volume II, the Roma tell their stories for the rest of Serbia. Many different kinds of Gypsies lived in Serbia before WWII. Most had never been nomadic in the sense that they lived fulltime in wagons. Yet many made their living as touring musicians, playing with Gypsy bands in fashionable hotels and resorts. Others took their wares (reed baskets, bridles, ropes, horseshoes, wooden troughs, second-hand clothes, and charcoal) to sell in village markets. Almost all had a permanent home they returned to after conducting their "summer" business. According to many of their oral histories, this is what saved them. They were not nomadic. They had homes; they had jobs. Many of their gadjo neighbors respected them. In fact, some Serbian authorities intervened on behalf of the Gypsies, telling the German commanders what good workers Gypsies were, how honest they were.