Gypsies in Germany and Italy, 1861-1914: Lives Outside the Law

By the early 20th century, Gypsies in Germany and Italy were pushed outside the national community and subjected to the arbitrary whims of executive authorities. This book offers an account of these exclusionary policies and their links to the rise of nationalism, liberalism, and the modern bureaucratic state. By the early 20th century, Gypsies in Germany and Italy were pushed outside the national community and subjected to the arbitrary whims of executive authorities. This book offers an account of these exclusionary policies and their links to the rise of nationalism, liberalism, and the modern bureaucratic state. Using detailed archival research, Illuzzi offers a new framework for addressing the pressing contemporary question of Roma discrimination, rooting it not in the exception of fascism, but liberal notions of equality before the law. By the eve of the First World War, being a \u27German\u27 or \u27Italian\u27 Gypsy was impossible. Being a Gypsy meant being outside the state and outside the la