Rudko Kawczynski

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Rudko Kawczynski (born November 26, 1954 in Krakow ) is a civil rights activist and a leading member of several Roma organizations . From 2005 to 2014 he was "interim president" of the European Roma and Travelers Forum (ERTF), which was affiliated to the Council of Europe on the initiative of the Finnish President Tarja Halonen and the French President Jacques Chirac , and "Board Member" of the Roma National Congress (RNC), an umbrella organization of civil and human rights movements of the Roma, chairman of the board of the Rome and Cinti Union , member of the integration advisory board in Hamburg for Europe and member of the Hamburg foundation "Help for victims of Nazi persecution".

Life

Kawczynski was born in Poland . In 1956 his family emigrated first to Austria and then to Germany , where the family applied for asylum .

Musical work with Duo Z

At a rally in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp , Kawczynski met the musician Tornado Rosenberg . Both appeared together as Duo Z since the early 1980s . In terms of style, Duo Z is a typical songwriter duo for the 60s and 70s . The texts describe affairs and discrimination against the Roma and Sinti in a committed and cynical way - from their extermination in Auschwitz to everyday racism. The record "very different" , published in 1981 by pläne under the number 88257, comprised 13 songs with titles such as "Das Ordnungsamt", "Kind im Getto" or "Lustig would be the gypsy life" and received favorable reviews in the cultural section of the press. Despite his success, he gave up his musical engagement in favor of political activities. Kawczynski justified it in Spiegel as follows: "I was recognized on stage, but afterwards in the pub I was the gypsy again."

Political commitment

In 1975 he and other activists founded the Rome and Cinti Union eV based in Hamburg . He has been elected chairman of this organization several times.

From 1989–1991, Kawczynski played a key role in protests by Roma asylum seekers in Germany against the imminent deportations to Yugoslavia . These protests included strikes, marches, occupations of institutions, blockades of roads and border crossings up to the hunger strike in Neuengamme concentration camp . Kawczynski, who is experienced in civil rights battles, played the role of translator and speaker. The documentary Gelem Gelem documents these struggles and Kawczynski's activities.

After various hunger strikes to enforce the disclosure of Nazi files, Kawczynski began dealing with the Holocaust against the Roma in 1993. He was also the initiator or contributor to many Roma projects, such as the Roma Network Program or the Roma Education Fund.

Kawczynski also acted as an expert on refugee and immigration matters for German organizations such as Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen . From 1982 to 1988 he was involved in the SPD , then with the Greens, who wanted to "set an example against xenophobia and gypsy discrimination" with the then still stateless top candidate for the European elections on June 18, 1989 despite the lack of active and passive voting rights.

Movie

Rudko Kawczynski can be seen in the 1991 feature film Gelem Gelem - We Go a Long Way from rhizomfilm , which documents the struggle of a group of around 400 Roma for the right to stay by means of a hunger strike in Neuengamme concentration camp and a march in 1989/90.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Short biography on the ERTF homepage (as of September 14, 2015)
  2. ↑ Members of the RNC (as of June 1, 2012) ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / romanationalcongress.webs.com
  3. ↑ Contact details of the Integration Advisory Board for the 20th legislative period (as of July 2012) (PDF; 426 kB)
  4. ↑ Manfred Sack: The new record. In: Die Zeit, July 24, 1981
  5. ↑ Duo Z: The gypsy life would be funny. in: RoterSternMH's YouTube channel, uploaded on August 3, 2011
  6. ↑ Details DuoZ plate (as of November 9, 2011)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.meinesammlung.com  
  7. ↑ Time July 24, 1981 _ No. 31
  8. ↑ a b Spiegel No. 23/1989
  9. ↑ Gaston Kirsche: Start of imprisonment in Neuengamme. The chairman of the Roma National Congress faces jail. In: trend online newspaper, No. 11/01
  10. ↑ Monika Hielscher, Matthias Heeder (director): Gelem Gelem - We go a long way. In: rhizomfilm's YouTube channel, uploaded on September 4, 2012
  11. ↑ Gelem Gelem - We have come a long way. In: Youtube, channel of rhizomfilm, upload from September 4, 2012

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kawczynski, Rudko
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician and Roma civil rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Krakow