. While the law did not directly mention them in it, it was "directed at persons who wander from village to village avoiding honest work and living in a disgraceful manner, even when they have permits to reside (Crowe and Kolsti 98)." The main goal of the socialist government in regard to the Gypsy population was supported by their main philosophy of the socialist state. Under Socialism the government wanted to create an environment where everybody was working for the good of the state. "Although there were significant variations in the East European communist states' approaches to the Roma, the goal was everywhere to transform them into useful members of those societies (Barany 326)." While the goals of the government was to raise the economic, social, and cultural levels of the Gypsies, the steps taken in 1958 failed miserably. Local governments did not regularly keep track of the movements of the Gypsies, or enforce penalties of those that did travel. Another problem was arising for the government with regard to the Gypsy population and that was the formation of Gypsy settlements outside cities. When Gypsies returned from Czech lands with savings, they built houses (without first obtaining permits) in settlements which usually lacked electricity, adequate, sanitation, and sometimes even potable water. Thus many new houses and shanties, despite official prohibitions against them, were added to settlements already designated for demolition ( Crowe and Kolsti 99).It is apparent that the policies implemented by the communist led government did not sufficiently eliminate the Gypsy population in Czechoslovakia, and in many ways these policies made the problem worse. In 1965, the government created the National Council for Questions of the Gypsy Population. This council was designed to create and enforce full employment of Gypsies, destroy their settlements, and resettle them in different areas. During this time the council was able to cre...
