“Katiņ, šodien šaus čigānus, mūc!” Nevardarbīgā pretošanās, rīcībspēja un vieta romu genocīda laikā Latvijā
‘Katiņa, they will shoot the gypsies today, run!’ Non-Violent Resistance, Agency, and Place During the Roma Genocide in Latvia

Summary/Abstract: The studies on the Roma genocide in Latvia allow us to make assumptions that in some places, the fate of Roma in Latvia was often at the mercy of local authorities and the blind obedience of some local police representatives to superior orders. In contrast, in other cases, there were efforts to avert the execution of such orders. To understand why in one case, we can talk about collaboration, but in another – about resistance to the Nazi occupation power, we use the critical realism approach. Based on written and oral history sources, the article explains the structural circumstances that influenced decision-making (local relations/subordination to the Nazi occupation power, resources, and mood) and the role of individuals in decision-making. In turn, the biographical approach, despite the assumptions about Roma’s passive role during the Genocide, reveals that the agency can be observed in some instances, including the framework of non-violent resistance. It is also concluded that agency is often closely related to the surrounding environment – the rescue and resistance could occur if Roma had place attachment and felt belonging to the local community.

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