On April 28, 2021, German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel was awarded the European Civil Rights Prize of the Sinti and Roma. Due to the Corona pandemic, the prize was only presented virtually for the time being. On Tuesday, August 17, the chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, and the chairman of the Regional Council of Roma and Sinti Berlin-Brandenburg, Dotschy Reinhardt, were finally able to personally present the prize to Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
The Civil Rights Prize, endowed by Manfred Lautenschläger, was awarded for the seventh time in 2021. The most recent laureate was the former President of Slovakia Andrej Kiska.
Under the chancellorship and with the personal support of Dr. Angela Merkel, important milestones in the civil rights work of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma could be realized. The inauguration of the national memorial to the Sinti and Roma murdered under National Socialism in 2012 in Berlin by Chancellor Merkel was an important political signal. An agreement signed in December 2018 by the federal and state governments to preserve the graves of the Sinti and Roma persecuted by the Nazis also came about thanks to her tremendous support.