Silence, Distortion, or Discrimination? Roma Memories and Norwegian Memory Politics of WWII

The Nazi genocide had devastating consequences for Norwegian Jews and Romas. However, their experiences and memories have been treated very differently in Norway with respect to official recognition and public attention. This article investigates the mnemonic marginalization of the Roma and the persistent gap between the historical recognition of Roma persecution and its representational absence in national narratives of war and victimhood. It suggests that continued exclusion of the small Roma minority from national identity narratives in Norway results not only from temporal, topographical and narrative characteristics of their memories, but also from discursive connections of negative stereotypes that discredits them as blameworthy victims and results in testimonial injustice. Moreover, it explores the challenges of representing Roma memories without reproducing stigmatizing cultural tropes. The article suggests empathic mnemonic counter-narratives as a strategy for countering dominant framings of the Roma as “the others” and for promoting a more inclusive and self-reflexive politics of remembrance.