Black people in Nazi Germany - Lionel Romney's survival in a concentration camp | DW Documentary

Afro-Caribbean sailor Lionel Romney survived eleven months in a concentration camp. His story illustrates how Black people were systematically persecuted under the Nazi regime.

Lionel Romney was born in Santo Domingo in 1912 and raised on Sint Maarten. As a young man, he signed on to a cargo ship to see the world. But his longing for freedom turned into a tragic odyssey. Caught up in the turmoil of World War II, his ship came under fire and sunk. The crew survived. But Lionel was taken prisoner by the Italians. After years in various camps, he was eventually deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp. He survived there for eleven months, before American troops liberated the camp.
Decades after the war, Lionel Romney entrusted his memories to his daughter, Mary. Her journey from the Caribbean through Italy to Austria forms the framework of the film, which shines a light on a chapter of European history that has been suppressed to this day: the reality of life for Black people under National Socialism. This reality was marked by colonial continuities, racism, forced labor, and political arbitrariness. Lionel Romney was one of many who were exploited for propaganda purposes or subjected to persecution.
Experts such as Clarence Lusane, Katharina Oguntoye, Walter Sauer, and Serge Bilé discuss historical perspectives. Archival footage and artistic reenactments weave together, in a rich visual narrative.

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