For peace, freedom, and security Dr. Karl A. Lamers Peace Foundation Prize awarded to Verena Meier for her dissertation
December 12, 2025
This year, the Dr. Karl A. Lamers Peace Foundation honored the dissertation of our colleague Verena Meier. The award ceremony took place on December 10 during a festive event in the auditorium of the Old University. Verena Meier's study, entitled “Criminal Police and Genocide. The National Socialist Persecution of Sinti and Roma in Magdeburg and its Reappraisal by the Allies and in the GDR” was awarded summa cum laude in October 2024 and impressed the jury with its scientific excellence, innovative approach, and high social relevance.
Meier reconstructs the genocide of the Sinti and Roma using Magdeburg as an example, focusing on the role of the local criminal investigation department. Based on files from over 30 German and international archives, she succeeds for the first time in meticulously tracing police persecution practices and revealing individual responsibilities. The integrated approach of the study is particularly noteworthy: Meier systematically incorporates the personal accounts of those persecuted, thus revealing the scope for action, survival strategies, and the diverse experiences of those affected. A gender-historical perspective also helps to highlight plurality and diversity within society and to consistently consider gender as a category of oppression.
In the second part, the dissertation focuses on the criminal prosecution of perpetrators and the recognition of survivors in the Soviet Occupation Zone/GDR. Meier shows that both criminal prosecution and recognition as “victims of fascism” were significantly influenced by political interests and were instrumentalized for the establishment and maintenance of the rule of the Soviet occupiers and the SED regime. Despite personnel changes, the conviction of those involved in crimes against Sinti and Roma remained the exception. At the same time, recognition as a “victim of fascism” became an instrument of political standardization in the SED dictatorship, which was evident in both recognition and revocation.
The dissertation thus reveals long-term continuities of antigypsyist patterns of thought across different political systems. It is of supraregional relevance and opens up new perspectives for research. Its findings are not only significant for historical research on perpetrators and the history of the GDR, but also for current debates on anti-discrimination measures and the promotion of social cohesion. The jury emphasizes that Meier's work is particularly in line with the award's mission statement: critical engagement with this history is a fundamental prerequisite for peace, freedom, and security in a democratic society.
With this award, the Dr. Karl A. Lamers Peace Foundation honors an outstanding scientific contribution of high socio-political relevance, which strengthens the voices of a long-marginalized minority for “retroactive justice” and reveals the deeply entrenched police routines that reproduced antiziganism across eras and systems.
The dissertation will be published in mid-2026 in open access format and in print as volume 9 of the series “Antiziganismusforschung interdisziplinär” (Interdisciplinary Studies in Antigypsyism) by Heidelberg University Publishing (HeiUp).