A “gypsy syndrome”? Extralegal purges and so-called “nomads” in Lozere
Un « syndrome gitan » ? L’épuration extrajudiciaire et les « Nomades » en Lozère
Résumé
This article focuses on a neglected phenomenon: the extralegal purges during the Liberation in Lozère, where numerous Sinti, Gypsies, and Travellers were killed. Assigned to fixed places of residence in this department since April 1940, people belonging to the French administrative category of “Nomad” were victims of various exactions by Resistance fighters between July and September 1944. After tracing the events that led to arrests and executions, the article attempts to understand why such hatred fell upon on this category of the French population at that time.