1995: The Attack of February 4

On the night of February 4 to 5, 1995, four Roma people attempted to remove a plaque bearing the inscription “Roma, go back to India” near the Oberwart Romani settlement where a bomb had exploded and killed everyone. This was “the most serious politically-motivated attack in Austria since 1945” (Helmut Samer). In the centuries-old tradition of discrimination against the Roma population, police first suspected the victims for having committed the crime. In fact though, the attack was one in a series of attacks perpetrated by the “Bajuwar Liberation Organisation”, led by Franz Fuchs. In 1999 he was sentenced to life in prison as a result.

The attack was followed by extensive media coverage. Suddenly, Roma people were being noticed by society at large, and their history and lives were being described in detail. Politicians condemned the attack, seeing it as an attack against the state itself. But the self-confidence of the Roma people, which had been on the rise as a result of various initiatives since the 1980s, suffered a setback; there was some controversy within the community as to whether the opening of the ethnic group to the outside world was a mistake or not.

The racist murder represented a turning point in the public’s perception of the Roma people; since then, the pejorative term “Zigeuner” (“Gypsy”) has been frowned upon, and support measures have been taken for the sustainable improvement of the life situation of the Roma population.