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The long-awaited memorial for hundreds of thousands of gypsies persecuted by the Nazi government in the 1930s and -40s has been opened in Berlin. The inauguration ceremony was attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as Roma and Sinti gypsy representatives, some of whom were themselves Holocaust survivors.

Travelling communities were targeted from the earliest days of the Nazi regime. Round-ups were already taking place prior to the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin and a special branch of the SS paramilitary organization was created specifically for persecuting Gypsies a few years later.

Merkel gave her support to gypsy rights activists, but warned that travelling communities across Europe still face discrimination.

Designed by Israeli artist Dani Karavan, the memorial features a water-filled basin with a triangle-shaped column at its centre that will be topped by a fresh flower every day.