"Racism did not simply disappear from people’s minds. The suffering of the Sinti and Roma was not recognized after the war. Courts denied survivors compensation. Worse still, they blamed the victims themselves for their persecution. The genocide of the Sinti and Roma was kept secret and denied. Hardly any perpetrators were brought to justice. On the contrary: in offices and authorities, the survivors encountered their former persecutors. The discrimination continued. It is a bitter realization: even in democracy, injustice was long kept quiet and repressed. But in a democracy it was possible to fight against the suppression and silence of crimes. The Sinti and Roma survivors, their children and grandchildren have taken up this fight. They broke the silence and confronted Germany with its crimes. And they insisted on equal rights."