The justice system of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Nazi persecution of the Gypsies

One of the long unresolved issues of the Holocaust has been the recognition of Gypsies as victims of Nazi "racial" persecution, a step necessary to make them eligible for compensation. In this article, Gilad Margalit analyzes the judicial inquiries into this matter held in the Federal Republic of Germany from the late 1940s through the mid-1960s. The author argues that a perpetuation of prewar racial biases compromised the findings in the Gypsy case and led to the exoneration of racial "scientists" such as Robert Ritter, whose activities were instrumental in the persecution of Gypsies. Margalit concludes, moreover, that the attitude of the judicial system with regard to the Gypsies has been reflected in its dealings with other persecuted groups, including European Jews.