Decree on “Combating the Gypsy Plague”

This order directed authorities in Nazi Germany to enforce existing anti-Romani laws and to deport non-German Roma and Sinti. It also called for regular police raids on Romani communities and roundups of Roma and Sinti. Under this order, the authorities also rounded up non-Romani people living in a supposedly “Gypsy-like manner.” The decree targeted people according to perceptions of their behaviors and lifestyles. It also reflected Nazi racial ideology. Officials used this decree as the legal basis for opening the camps where Roma and Sinti were confined.