ABSTRACT
This chapter reconstructs the historical roots of contemporary manifestations of poverty among the Roma from a long dureé perspective. It covers several centuries, combined with a territorial view on Roma impoverishment in Romanian countries and Transylvania before the First World War and in the new Romanian nation-state during the interwar period. The author shows how the period of slavery created the economic and social conditions for the Roma people's extreme poverty and how its legacy continued to influence their destinies in the first half of the 20th century. Low levels of education, limited professional training, and restricted access to resources due to practicing unqualified or seasonal work contributed even more to the impoverishment of at least a part of the Roma population. Additionally, while the emergence of the national industry in the mid-19th century presented employment prospects for some Roma as laborers, it stripped away their primary income source: traditional craftsmanship. Furthermore, Roma people's poverty gained a racial meaning during the interwar period. Romanian eugenicists reported that the Romani people were “born” criminals who needed to be removed and separated from the rest of society. This task was accomplished during World War II when the nomad Roma were deported to Transnistria.
