They did live carelessly until December 1939 when Germany brought legal provision “against Gypsy danger”. Provisions of this law from 1939 were not used only by German political authorities but also by police of the occupied countries and ally states of The Third Reich, which means also Independent State of Croatia. On 30 April 1941 a legal Provision on Racial Belonging and Provision on Protection of Aryan Blood and Honour of Croatian People was brought (Croatian State Archive, fond NDH). These had to be unavoidably respected.
The ways in which the Roma were tortured and killed are not imaginable to healthy human mind and are not healthy to even be discussed, especially for the sake of keeping memories on all concentration-camp prisoners and dignity of Roma who used to live and are killed only because they were “Christian Gypsies”.
The data on scientific Nazi experiments were found after the war and show that medically and anthropologically the Roma are racially close to Nordic Aryan race. This brings to a conclusion that the advocator of a clean and pedantic race “firer” could not bare the fact that there are similarities with at that time “stinky” Gypsy race which was also more numerous. Therefore, he committed genocide on them. The massacre lasted until the end of 1942. This is shown by report of military intelligence officer of the German embassy in Zagreb from 18 October 1942: “Among the gypsies only Bosnian Muslims are left alive while the others no mater if they were catholic and voters of Mr. Macek are killed… With this starts and soon finishes “final solution of gypsy issues in Independent State of Croatia” (Narcisa Lengel-Krizman, Genocide on Roma 2003, page 41) in which 22000-28000 Roma were executed.
Thanks to good neighbourly relations, non Roma managed to save some of “their Gypsies” with whom they lived for years in friendship, marriage. Also thanks to bribes, buying freedom from Domobrans and local Ustasha as well as man joining Partisans and Domobran, a few Roma stayed alive and this is mostly in the area of Bilogora and Podravina region. The first census after the war on 31.march 1948 shows this. At that time 405 Gypsies, mostly Lovari Roma were recorded.
Later, other Roma are migrating to Croatia: Khanjari (Poulterers, the remaining nomads), from Serbia and Montenegro of orthodox religion (1969); Ludari (closest to Bayash – Trough-makers) from Serbia of orthodox religion (1960-1965); Xoraxai from Bosnia, Macedonia and Kosovo all of Muslim religion (Arlije, Askalije, Gopti, Blacksmiths, Bear bater 1965, 1970, 1980, 1988, 1993, 1994) and Sinti (circus performers, amusement park 1975.) from Austria and Italy of catholic religion like Lovari- autochthonous Croatian Roma. Today, Roma new comers along with formerly present Roma Bayash (trough-makers, are coming from Romania across Hungary; 1909-1915); Roma Kalderash (copper-smith, Kaldari-Romanian/copper) and Sijake (broom-makers from Hungary, Serbia and Romania; 1892-1914) and autochthonous Lovari Roma (which are today minority) make up 8 Roma groups in Croatia. Total number of Croatian Roma population according to 2001 census is 9463 Roma.
