In the 20th century, children from itinerant Yenish families in Switzerland were systematically taken from their parents and placed in institutions – part of a state-backed effort to destroy their way of life. Similar practices existed in Norway and Scotland, where for decades, authorities and charity organisations targeted people with itinerant lifestyles. Between 1926 and 1973, Swiss authorities and charity organisations forcibly took Yenish children away from their families. At the end of February 2025, the Swiss government formally recognised these actions as crimes against humanity. Switzerland was not the only country in 20th-century Europe trying to erase nomadic cultures. Antigypsyism – a specific form of racism toward these groups – was widespread across Europe, and systematic abuses were committed in many places. Yet the practices in Scotland, Norway and Switzerland were notably similar. For decades, aid organisations in these three countries sought to eradicate nomadic ...
