December 16
Hanukkah
Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days and nights, starting on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar (which is November-December on the Gregorian calendar). In Hebrew, the word “Hanukkah” means “dedication.”
1942
Gestapo head Heinrich Himmler ordered that Gypsy candidates for extermination should be deported to Auschwitz.
Himmler was determined to prosecute Nazi racial policies, which dictated the elimination from Germany and German-controlled territories of all races deemed “inferior,” as well as “asocial” types, such as hardcore criminals. Gypsies fell into both categories according to Nazi ideologues.
The Porajmos – literally The Devouring – is a term coined by the Gypsy people to describe attempts by the Nazi regime to exterminate European Gypsies.
Among other victims: Jews, homosexuals, Communists, Slavs, and Catholic priests.
Gypsy arrivals to the Belzec death camp.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 