The Rights of the Roma

Donert, Celia

doi:10.1017/9781316811641

Cited by 33 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Novel policies in the postwar period that provided state-controlled means for the promotion of the fertility of 'deserving' mothers while limiting that of others, were historically linked to eugenics. Although ethnicity was not explicitly mentioned in state socialist policy texts, the cases of forced sterilization in Czechoslovakia show that the terms 'undeserving' and 'degenerate' often referred to Romani families (Sokolová, 2008;Donert, 2017). Another, often overlooked manifestation of 'new eugenics' was the presentation of abortion as a 'benefit,' ensuring that only those children, who would be properly cared for were born.…”

Section: 'New Eugenics:' Continuities and Changes In Eugenic Thought mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through the association of these categories of people with Roma specific eugenic regulations, such as the sterilization law introduced in Czechoslovakia in the 1970s allowed for race/ethnicity-based discriminatory practices. The forced sterilization of Romani women in Czechoslovakia between the 1970s and the 1990s (Donert, 2017;Kuře, 2018;Sokolová, 2008) is among the best-known cases of the intersection of 'new eugenics' with racial prejudices in Eastern Europe. Similar practices have also been identified around abortion in the 1960s in Hungary (Varsa, 2017).…”

Section: 'New Eugenics:' Continuities and Changes In Eugenic Thought mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taking into consideration constructions of both gender and racial/ethnic difference has directed attention to previously overlooked aspects of postwar European history (Sokolová, 2008;Varsa, 2018). In combination with researching continuities in eugenic thought, intersectional research has drawn attention to racial differentiation in relation to Roma that resurfaced in several countries after World War II (Shmidt, 2019;Sokolová, 2008;Donert, 2017;Szamosi, 2018;Varsa, 2017, forthcoming). Accounting for the ways legal abortion was used to hinder Romani women's fertility alters the meaning of the liberalization of abortion in state socialist countries.…”

Section: Gendered and Intersectional Perspectives On Reproductive Polmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘New eugenics,’ gender and sexuality: a global perspective on reproductive politics and sex education in Cold War Europe

Varsa

Szikra

2020

The History of the Family

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The article addresses reproductive politics and sex education in Cold War Europe in light of novel historical research. Integrating sex education into reproductive politics it delineates four hitherto little discussed conceptual and topical areas in the field, and points to possibilities for further research. Most importantly, the article places the globalized character of post-World War II reproductive politics at the center of historical investigation. It sheds light on the position of (state socialist) Europe in the global processes that shaped fertility-and sexuality-related discourses, policies and practices during the Cold War, and the role of transnational agencies. Secondly, the article highlights the postwar persistence of eugenic thought in reproductive politics, still largely missing especially from the historiography of state socialist countries. It points to the ways in which "new eugenics" is related to its earlier manifestations in Europe as well as how it adapted to state socialist contexts. Third, the article discusses the important contribution of gender and intersectional scholarship on the history of sex education and reproductive politics in Europe to the social and welfare history of the region. Finally, the article pays specific attention to the role of the Catholic Church in the former "Eastern bloc." It underlines how reproductive issues enabled the Church to affect politics and engage with the state in heterogeneous ways beyond opposition. The article suggests that further historical analysis could importantly contribute to a better understanding of the present rise of populist right-wing discussion focused on the demise of the traditional family and the fall of birth rates.

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Section: 'New Eugenics:' Continuities and Changes In Eugenic Thought mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 'New Eugenics:' Continuities and Changes In Eugenic Thought mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gendered and Intersectional Perspectives On Reproductive Polmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘New eugenics,’ gender and sexuality: a global perspective on reproductive politics and sex education in Cold War Europe

Varsa

Szikra

2020

The History of the Family

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“…There is a growing number of studies analysing state policies towards Roma in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union during the socialist period (Lemon, 2000;Stewart, 2001;Donert, 2017;O'Keeffe, 2013), and collections of archival documents (Nagy, 2015;Nagy, 2017) that complement the scarcity of ethnographic approaches available from that period (for important exceptions see: Kaminski, 1980;Stewart, 1997). Socialist Romania's policy toward its Romani citizens is a lesser explored terrain.…”

Section: State Policies Toward Romamentioning

confidence: 99%

Was There a ‘Gypsy Problem’ in Socialist Romania? From Suppressing ‘Nationalism’ to Recognition of a National Minority

Fosztó

2018

Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Sociologia

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After the fall of the socialist bloc some authors celebrated the advent of Romani nationalism, emphasising its Eastern European roots and its potential force to foster emancipation among an ethnic minority oppressed for so long. There is another perspective on the community organisation among the Roma from actors who had much less sympathy towards collective claims on behalf of the ‘Gypsies’. Recently published documents from the archive of the secret police testify that Gypsy nationalism (“naționalism țigănesc”) was systematically denounced in Romania. Roma leaders suspected of being its proponents were persecuted during the late period of the Ceaușescu era. This article is an attempt to interpret a contested category in the context of late socialist Romania.

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