The free-spirited lifestyle
of the Gypsy people,
or Roma of Europe,
was brought to a screeching halt
not long after Adolf Hitler
rose to power
in Germany...
rose to power
in Germany...
"Gypsy Camp"
Ceija Stokja
"Wintertime"
Ceija Stojka
Ceija Stojka
1933-2013
Survivor of the Holocaust
The Porajmos
which literally means,
"the devouring"
in some Romany dialects,
was a time of great
suffering and persecution
for the Gypsy population
of Europe,
when the government
of Nazi Germany
tried to exterminate them.
Thousands of
Gypsy men, women, and children,
perished in the Hitler's death camps.
which literally means,
"the devouring"
in some Romany dialects,
was a time of great
suffering and persecution
for the Gypsy population
of Europe,
when the government
of Nazi Germany
tried to exterminate them.
Thousands of
Gypsy men, women, and children,
perished in the Hitler's death camps.
Awaiting deportation.
Thousands of Europe's Gypsies perished in
Nazi death camps during WWII.
Austrian-born
writer and artist
Ceija Stojka
was a survivor of both
Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen
concentration camps.
Before her death in 2013,
she spent many years
bringing awareness
to the terrible tragedy
of the nomadic Romani,
the Gypsy people of Europe
during WWII,
first by speaking out
to her fellow Austrians,
many of whom had no idea
of their government's complicity
in covering up Nazi war crimes,
writer and artist
Ceija Stojka
was a survivor of both
Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen
concentration camps.
Before her death in 2013,
she spent many years
bringing awareness
to the terrible tragedy
of the nomadic Romani,
the Gypsy people of Europe
during WWII,
first by speaking out
to her fellow Austrians,
many of whom had no idea
of their government's complicity
in covering up Nazi war crimes,
and later,
through her vivid art work...
through her vivid art work...
"Mama Holding Ceija"
Ceija Stokja
Ceija was the fifth of six children
born into a Catholic Roma family.
born into a Catholic Roma family.
She and her mother
and four of her siblings
survived the horror
of the death camps,
however, her father
and brother perished.
Ceija was twelve years old
when she was liberated
from Bergen-Belsen,
yet, for many years,
she could not speak
about the gruesome memories
and terrible nightmares
that tormented her sleep.
It was only after reaching
her fifth decade of life
that she was finally able
to open up to people
about her experiences
during WWII.
and four of her siblings
survived the horror
of the death camps,
however, her father
and brother perished.
Ceija was twelve years old
when she was liberated
from Bergen-Belsen,
yet, for many years,
she could not speak
about the gruesome memories
and terrible nightmares
that tormented her sleep.
It was only after reaching
her fifth decade of life
that she was finally able
to open up to people
about her experiences
during WWII.
In 1988,
Ceija published
an account
of her life as
a Holocaust survivor,
in a book called,
"We Live In Seclusion"
Ceija published
an account
of her life as
a Holocaust survivor,
in a book called,
"We Live In Seclusion"
Ceija Stokja
""If I could write down
all my thoughts,
they would surely be
an endless book of suffering,"
Ceija said during an interview
before writing her autobiography.
"But my thoughts race
more quickly than my hands
are able to put everything to paper."
In 2013,
Ceija was featured
in the film,
"Forget Us Not"
a documentary about the lives
of several non-Jewish survivors
of the Holocaust.
Ceija was featured
in the film,
"Forget Us Not"
a documentary about the lives
of several non-Jewish survivors
of the Holocaust.
A clip from the documentary,
"Forget Us Not"
(2013)
"Forget Us Not"
(2013)
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