‘Gypsies’ - Sinti and Roma under the swastika

PANKOVKA - Now aged 83, Oswald Van Ooteghem has lived many lives. When he was 16, he volunteered to join the Flemish Legion and fight alongside the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front in Russia.

BRUSSELS - In spite of the efforts made by NGOs and the distribution of EU funds, Europe’s main minority is no better off than it was 10 years ago. Anno 2012 the significant proportion of Europe’s 12 million Roma live in deplorable conditions. Ethnic tensions are on the rise. Dutch journalist Hellen Kooijman reconstructed more than ten years of failed European policy. A lack of appropriate supervision in Brussels, the corruption of local leaders and the indifference of national governments are at the root of the problem.

BRUSSELS - In the Netherlands, it has been possible for years: a visit to the Nationaal Archief (National Archive) to find out what your grandfather or grandmother's wartime past was. In Belgium, however, these archives remain closed, for fear that 'certain passions' will flare up. Anoek Nuyens and Lynn Berger on the struggle of historians and archivists for more openness.