Ceija Stojka is a famous Austrian writer, artist, singer, activist, and survivor of the National Socialist concentration camps of Auschwitz, Ravensbrück, and Bergen-Belsen. She was born on May 23, 1933 in Kraubath an der Mur in the province of Styria (Austria). After the war, she was a marketer by trade. At the end of the 1980s she became engaged in the Austrian Romani movement and later on especially in Holocaust education initiatives. Her first autobiography, [Wir leben im Verborgenen: Erinnerungen einer Rom-Zigeunerin (1988), became the first writing by a Romani person in Austria to relate the horrific torture under National Socialism.
Ceija Stojka’s writings reveal information about her life, her family, and Lovara culture. They depict poignant human emotions and narratives about life and death, survival and destruction, happiness and sorrow, and hope and despair. Her stories defy stereotypes of “Gypsies,” on the one hand, as carefree, happy-go-lucky travelers and, on the other hand, as marauding, peripatetic bands. Traveling was not always exotic and blithe, as the family faced inclement weather, humiliating interrogation by officials, and discriminating remarks by compatriots. Acts of kindness and the family’s resourcefulness saved them.
Ceija Stojka’s autobiographies grew out of memories that she had been prolifically writing down in notebooks using a style reminiscent of oral storytelling. Upon reading these texts, Karin Berger encouraged her to publish them.
Ceija also wrote a book of poems and prefaces to catalogues of her artworks. In an oral recording (‘Why I went public’) she talks about needing to tell her story publicly to prevent future persecution and to ensure that future generations know about their history. She is featured in the films Ceija Stojka and Unter den Brettern hellgrünes Gras.
As a writer and artist, Ceija Stojka was awarded several medals of honor in Austria and received the honorary title of Professor from the Austrian Minister for Education, Arts, and Culture in October 2009. She died on January 28, 2013 in Vienna, Austria.
Selected Bibliography, Discography, Films
Stojka, Ceija. 1988. Wir leben im Verborgenen: Erinnerungen einer Rom-Zigeunerin. Erstausgabe. Wien: Picus.
Stojka, Ceija. 1992. [Reisende auf dieser Welt: Aus dem Leben einer Rom-Zigeunerin. Wien: Picus.
Meier-Rogan, Patricia (Hg.). 1995. Ceija Stojka: Bilder & Texte 1989–1995. Vienna: Otto Sares.
»Ceija Stojka«. Österreich, 1999. Film directed by Karin Berger. Navigator Film.
Stojka, Ceija. 2000. Me Dikhlem Suno. CD with booklet. Co-Production with Navigator Film. Non food factory nff 2303 (distributed by Hoanzl).
Stojka, Ceija. 2001. Amari odjori sas nasvali – Unsere Seele war krank. In: Cech,
Petra et al. (Hg.). Fern von uns im Traum: Märchen, Erzählungen und Lieder der Lovara – Te
na dikhas sunende: Lovarenge paramiči, tertenetura taj gjila. Klagenfurt: Drava Verlag, 2001, 308–317.
Stojka, Ceija. 2001. Trajij mure mulenca – Ich lebe mit meinen Verstorbenen. In: Cech, Petra et al. (Hg.). Fern von uns im Traum: Märchen, Erzählungen und Lieder der Lovara – Te na dikhas sunende: Lovarenge paramiči, tertenetura taj gjila. Klagenfurt: Drava Verlag, 2001, 303–307.
Stojka, Ceija. 2003. Meine Wahl zu schreiben – Ich kann es nicht: Gedichte und Bilder. O fallo de isgiri – me tschischanaf les: Gedichte (Romanes, deutsch) und Bilder. Landeck: EYE Literaturverlag.
Stojka, Ceija. 2003. Wir leben im Verborgenen: Erinnerungen einer Rom-Zigeunerin. Wien: Picus, 4. Auflage.
Stojka, Ceija. 2005. Träume ich, dass ich lebe? Befreit aus Bergen-Belsen. Wien: Picus.
»Unter den Brettern hellgrünes Gras«. Österreich, 2005. Film directed by Karin Berger. Navigator Film.
Stojka, Ceija. 2009. Auschwitz ist mein Mantel: Bilder und Texte. Ed. Christa Stippinger. Vienna: edition exil.
Stojka, Ceija. 2013. Wir leben im Verborgenen. Aufzeichnungen einer Romni zwischen den Welten. Herausgegeben und mit einem Essay von Karin Berger. Wien: Picus. (Both books Wir leben im Verborgenen und Reisende auf dieser Welt in one volume / Beide Bücher »Wir leben im Verborgenen« und »Reisende auf dieser Welt« in einem Band / E duj kenjvi »Wir leben im Verborgenen« und »Reisende auf dieser Welt« ande jek kenjva.)
Selected Exhibitions
1991
Bilder aus dem Leben einer Romni – Amerlinghaus, Vienna
1993
Reisende auf dieser Welt – Amerlinghaus, Vienna
1996 / 97
Bilder und Texte – Ravensbrück Women’s Concentration Camp Memorial Site / Stiftung Brandenburgische Gedenkstätten, Fürstenberg
2001
Ich habe Angst, Auschwitz könnte nur schlafen – Stadtgalerie Kiel
2004
ceija stojka. leben –Jewish Museum, Vienna
2008
Me Dikhlem Suno – Ich hatte einen Traum – Lange Nacht der Kirchen, Vienna
2009/10
LIVE – DANCE – PAINT: Works by Romani Artist Ceija Stojka – Sonoma State University, California | Pacific University, Oregon | West Branch Gallery & Sculpture Park, Stowe, Vermont
2011
Reconsidering Roma – Kunstquartier Kreuzberg, Berlin
2012
Wind. Erinnerungen – Kai Dikhas Gallery, Berlin
KZ-ALPTRÄUME – Schneidertempel, Istanbul
Stopping Places – Kai Dikhas Gallery, Berlin
2013
ein romaleben in bildern – Amerlinghaus, Vienna
Auschwitz-Requiem – French Institute, Budapest
2014
Ceija Stojka. »… ich habe dir 1000 Bilder gemalt …« – Bezirksmuseum Neubau, Vienna
Die hellen Bilder – Kai Dikhas Gallery, Berlin
Wir Leben im Verborgenen – Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg
Wir Schämten Uns – Gallery 8, Budapest
Ceija Stojka (1933–2013) Sogar der Tod hat Angst vor Auschwitz [Even Death is Terrified of Auschwitz] – Kunstverein Tiergarten, Galerie Nord, Berlin | Galerie Schwartzsche Villa, Kulturamt Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Berlin | Ravensbrück Women’s Concentration Camp Memorial Site, Fürstenberg / Havel
Source
http://www.kaidikhas.com/de/artist/ceija_stojka/biography; »Ceija Stojka (1933–2013) Sogar der Tod hat Angst vor Auschwitz« catalogue, 2014 (Ed. Lith Bahlmann and Matthias Reichelt)