The AAssimilation Policies of 1950s Czechoslovakia Towards Itinerant Groups as Viewed by Romani Witnesses: the Case of Žatec and Louny
2019
Abstract
The paper focuses on assimilation policies of Czechoslovakia in post-war period, mainly in 1950's, on "travelling Gypsies" in order to get control over the movement of the itinerant groups, especially of Vlach Roms. These policies of the Communist party led to the law on the permanent settlement of travelling individuals (No. 74/1958).
Using a combination of methods of oral history among Vlach Roms eye-witnesses, and of archival research, I will reconstruct a local case studie of Vlach Roms, who were forced to settled down in late 1950's in Louny and Žatec and try to clarify the migration trajectories and life of itinerant groups in 1950's and the process of forced settlement.