On Friday, Germany's upper parliamentary chamber, the Bundesrat, observed a minute of silence in memory of Sinti, Roma, and Yenish individuals who were killed under National Socialist rule.
Bundesrat President Andreas Bovenschulte opened the session by noting that approximately half a million people from these communities lost their lives due to the Nazis' racial ideology.
"Their cultural heritage was largely destroyed," he stated.
These three groups, historically nomadic, faced severe persecution during World War II.
Bovenschulte remarked that Germany's process of confronting these atrocities has been lengthy.
As leader of Bremen's state government, he urged strong opposition to authoritarian and far-right political figures who undermine democratic principles like human dignity.
"Wherever inhumane ideologies - whether anti-Roma racism, anti-Semitism or anti-Muslim racism - are propagated, we must take a clear stance and raise our voice for a free, democratic and solidarity-based society," he emphasized.
