On 10 July 2022, historical witness Zilli Schmidt celebrates her 98th birthday.
Born in Thuringia in 1924, Sintesa Zilli Schmidt spent the first years of her life happily with her family. After being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1943, she was sent to Ravensbrück on 2 August 1944. That same night, many of her relatives were murdered in the »gypsy camp« in Auschwitz, including her four-year-old daughter Gretel, her parents and her sister and her sister’s children. Zilli managed to escape from Ravensbrück and hide until the end of the war. She has been involved as a historical witness for several years and spoke for the first time in 2018 at the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe murdered under National Socialism.
On 2 August, we will once again commemorate the murder of the last Sinti and Roma in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944. The commemorative event will take place at 8.30 p.m. at the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe murdered under National Socialism. Unfortunately, Zilli Schmidt will not be able to travel to the memorial service this year.
We wish her all the best for her birthday!
