Life under canvas
Until the end of the 1960s many Swedish Roma still lived in tents, caravans or in camps scattered across the country. They supported themselves by handicrafts, trading, and by entertaining. They were frequently driven off after a few weeks and thereby forced to live outside society. Romani children were not entitled to school education. Certain sources quote 1959 as the year when compulsory school attendance first was to embrace Romani children as well.
A Romani home in Gothenburg in the 1950s.
Source: Gothenburg City Museum archives.


