In November 2024, Josephine Lena Winterwerb, a Master’s student from the University of Münster, joined the RomMig Project as a student assistant, working with archival materials from the Polish State Archives. In this invited blogpost, she shares insights from her work with these documents. Josie also draws a comparison with her own Bachelor’s thesis on bureaucratic discrimination in the German Kaiserreich, reflecting on key differences in archival material, methodology, and the forms of violence documented.
I joined the German RomMig Team as a student assistant working closely with Felix Brahm and Volha Bartash. Volha’s extensive research in the regional branches of the Polish State Archives in Koszalin, Szczecin and Poznań provided hundreds of scans of archival files. These files mainly contain governmental decrees and lists of Sinti and Roma persons, produced by the police. The latter include their biographical information, descriptions of physical attributes, validity and status of their documents and occasionally details about the group they were accompanied by.
I started work on the archival files by reviewing every document and recording all mentions of Sinti or Roma persons. So far, the list of names runs to 76 pages. Alongside this, I worked with a previously researched list of individuals that possibly made the 1906 journey to Britain and are thus of relevance to the project. For these people, I have recorded all available information from the documents. From the archival material and comparison with the previously researched list, I have been able to identify 13 new locations connected to the persons who potentially undertook the journey to Britain and back. These span a time period from 1899 to 1914.
By working with the Polish archival material, we can add valuable details to the map, discover new information about individuals, and trace networks and ties between groups. This ultimately further enriches our understanding of Romani migration between Britain and Germany from the 1880s to 1914.
The work I have had the opportunity to undertake for the RomMig Project aligns closely with my personal interests as well as the research for my Bachelor’s degree. Alongside my position as a student assistant, I completed my Bachelor’s thesis this year titled “Agency in the face of bureaucratic power: Appeals against the denial of itinerant trade licenses in the province of Westphalia between 1912 and 1914 and the discrimination against Sinti* and Roma* in the German Kaiserreich”.
For the thesis, I conducted my own archival research at the State Archive of North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster and chose four case studies on which to focus. These consisted of appeals submitted by itinerant businesspeople to high-ranking administrative bodies in the province of Westphalia, as well as the internal communication between different government departments and their responses to the appellants.
When comparing the archival research for my Bachelor’s thesis with my work for RomMig, I noticed several significant differences and have gained valuable new insights. My Bachelor’s research followed a qualitative and detailed approach whereas the work with the Polish archives relies more on quantitative methods, complemented by only a few specific case studies. Another distinction lies in the content of the documents and the type of analysis they allow. For my Bachelor’s thesis, I examined the mechanisms of state administration and the non-physical violence that bureaucratic processes exert. The Polish archival files, however, often contained less abstract and more direct, interpersonal forms of violence, for example mentions of relentless police supervision or forced displacement and deportation. This closer examination of police files has allowed me to gain deeper insights into the police persecution of Sinti and Romani people.
The body of documents I analysed for my thesis consisted mainly of personal appeals written by Sinti and Roma individuals alongside documents created by state authorities. The Polish archival files, on the other hand, almost exclusively reflect the perspective of the state. This contrast gave me the opportunity to further investigate the mechanisms of administrative bodies in the Kaiserreich and their role in the discrimination against Sinti and Romani people. This led me to further reflect on how to approach the bias of such archival material.
Being involved with RomMig and engaging with the associated archival materials has made me especially curious about several important points. I am particularly interested in how the project can rework insights from racist archival materials into a meaningful outcome that supports understanding of Sinti and Roma history while being respectful of and accountable to the community. I am intrigued by how the broader picture the archival research data creates can be interwoven with the personal stories which emerge. Perhaps most exciting for me is the emphasis on community involvement – I am looking forward to future collaboration and opportunities for open dialogue.