Martin Reinhardt

Martin Reinhardt was born on November 21, 1928 in Karlsruhe. He had five siblings: Siegfried, Herbrecht Josef, Margarete, Rigo, and Adolf. His father Rudolf Reinhardt was a bandleader, his mother Anna accompanied him with the children on concert tours. A family friend has told of the great musical talent of all the family members and their harmonious life together. Because they were Sinti, Martin Reinhardt and his family were subjected to ever-increasing restrictions in the Nazi period. In 1940 the family moved from Fürstenfeldbruck to Munich. Their last address was Perlacher Straße 100 (today Sintpertstraße 9-15), in a garden allotment settlement. The Reinhardt family was split up in 1942. The criminal police deported Martin’s father Rudolf Reinhardt to Flossenbürg concentration camp in summer 1942; the SS then murdered him just a few months later. In the same year, Martin, together with his elder brother Herbrecht, was committed to the Piusheim Catholic reformatory near Glonn. Categorized as “racially inferior”, they were subjected to brutal beatings and detention. On March 8, 1943 the reformatory handed over the brothers to the Munich criminal police. Together with their mother Anna Reinhardt and siblings Margarete, Rigo, and Adolf, they were deported five days later to the “gypsy compound” at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. In November 1943, the bacteriologist Professor Eugen Haagen demanded prisoners be made available for medical experiments with a typhus vaccine. As part of the contingent, Martin Reinhardt was transferred to Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. Haagen complained however about the “prisoner material” that arrived: “From the 100 prisoners ... 18 have already died on the transport. There are only 12 in a condition that seems suitable for the experiments, assuming that they can first regain enough strength.” Less than one month later, Martin Reinhardt was transported back to Auschwitz concentration camp, a journey of more than 1,000 kilometers. In spring 1944 the SS murdered the 15-year-old. His mother and siblings also perished during the genocide committed against Sinti and Roma. (text Sarah Grandke, editor C. Fritsche, translation P. Bowman)