Was there a Nazi Genocide of German Gypsies?

In this essay I explore the evolution of the concept of genocide from its inception and how it has been applied by thinkers from various disciplines in attempts to understand mass killings. I provide a critique of Güenter Lewy’s argument in The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies that the plight of the Gypsies in Germany during the Nazi regime was not genocide instead arguing that indeed it was genocide, of a secondary intent within a larger genocidal framework, by using the historical evidence found in his work and applying insights from genocide scholars and social and political theorists.