As a result of a cabinet decision, the Federal Republic of Germany is the first nation state to adopt the International Alliance for Holocaust Remembrance’s working definition of antigypsyism. From now on, the definition will be the basis for political decision and within the German administrations.

According to Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD), the genocide of Sinti and Roma during the Nazi era had been forgotten for far too long. In addition, there is still antigypsy discrimination “persistent in our societies”. According to the International Alliance for Holocaust Remembrance, there is a case of antigypsyism when Sinti and Roma are portrayed in a distorted way or when their persecution during the Nazi era is denied.