Three questions for... Radoslav Ganev, Romanity e.V.

The project Unbroken – The Song of Survivors tells the story of the persecution and resistance of Sinti/Sintize and Roma/Romnja during and after National Socialism in a unique form as an anime musical. 

1. How did the idea for your project come about, and why did you choose this innovative approach in particular? 
We were thinking about how we could draw young people’s attention to lesser-known stories that have tended to be overlooked. That’s when we realized that we needed to make history more dynamic, engaging and relatable for younger audiences. Anime is widely popular so it can serve as a medium to reach large numbers of people. 

2. In what ways do members of the Sinti and Roma community contribute to the project?
Sinti and Roma have been studied and written about for centuries, but they’ve rarely been involved in the process. Participation and empowerment were essential to us from the very outset, so we’re really proud to have created a community-based project. The idea for this initiative came from our team, and the majority of the actors involved are from the Sinti/Sintize and Roma/Romnja community itself, as are the musicians and many of the project staff. We’re in constant dialog: our aim is to demonstrate the vast potential within the community. 

3. What strategies do you use to raise awareness among young people and combat antigypsyism?
We’re looking to engage young people by producing a historical film in a way that has never been done before. As we see it, critical engagement with historical events – including those that occurred after 1945 such as the “second persecution” – is often presented in a very sober and detached manner, making it difficult for young people to grasp or find appealing. We wanted to do something different here, while at the same time drawing attention to a specific form of exclusion that is not necessarily covered in school curricula.