LGBTQ+ History Month: gay victims and survivors of the Holot are often fotten – we need to tell their stori

Contents:

• LGBT HISTORY MONTH: A TIME TO REMEMBER NAZI PERSECUTN OF GAY PEOPLE
• GAY PEOPLE
• THE PK TRIANGLE: FROM NAZI LABEL TO SYMBOL OF GAY PRI
• HOLOT MEMORIAL DAY: THE NAZI BID TO EXTERMATE GAY PEOPLE

LGBT HISTORY MONTH: A TIME TO REMEMBER NAZI PERSECUTN OF GAY PEOPLE

Each year, Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr (LGBT) History Month is marked Febary as a time to celebrate and remember the muny’s past as a means to unrstand the prent and work towards a better future. ‘If I fally speak, ’s for people to know what we homosexuals had to endure Hler’s days… shouldn’t happen aga, ’ said Rudolf Brazda, the last known livg homosexual survivor of the Nazi ncentratn mps, who died Augt 2011.

Whout a doubt, one of the darkt perds of LGBT history was durg the Send World War when gay people across Nazi-occupied terrory were subjected to persecutn simply bee of their sexual orientatn. Given the social stigma of homosexualy at this time, the badge marked the prisoners out for particularly cel treatment not jt om the mp guards, but also their fellow mat. Many were beaten to ath, while others were the subjects of vile experiments as Nazi scientists attempted to solve the ‘problem’ of homosexualy orr to achieve the genics-based dream of a te Aryan society.

One study om Ruediger Ltmann found that this harsh treatment of gay men ncentratn mps meant that they experienced a higher rate of ath when pared to other imprisoned groups. Those homosexual prisoners who ped immediate tentn by their liberators had to fall silent about their ncentratn mp experienc and stead vise new stori to expla their rceratn to avoid beg taken to ctody. Although the horrors of the Third Reich’s persecutn of gay men are now wily known, the social and legal circumstanc post-1945 meant that their plight was largely fotten and left unregnised the war’s immediate aftermath.

GAY PEOPLE

The reparatns and state pensns ma available to other survivors of the Holot and Nazi persecutn of other groups were nied to homosexuals, and nor uld they expect the same support works to be there for them. It would not be until 1968 East Germany and 1969 Wt Germany when homosexuals uld be safe om prosecutn and beg to talk of their experienc to ensure their stori would bee a val chapter LGBT history.

The pk triangle ed to shame homosexuals and mark them for discrimatn the ncentratn mps was appropriated by the LGBT muny, verted to pot upwards and ed as a symbol for this new movement. Neverthels, the experienc of LGBT muni around the globe rema turbulent, and many gay people still have to live wh the realy of persecutn. It has been reported that vlent homophobia is on the rise Rsia, and there has been a huge furore surroundg the Sochi 2014 Wter Olympics and the host natn’s recent anti-homosexual legislatn.

THE PK TRIANGLE: FROM NAZI LABEL TO SYMBOL OF GAY PRI

The anti-gay fervour is far om wang too, wh Nigeria and Uganda both rampg up their legislatn by outlawg gay rights advocy and signs of affectn between same-sex upl. While there is growg equaly for homosexuals Europe and the Ameris, rearch om Stonewall has found that one six people Bra who are gay, lbian or bisexual have experienced a hate crime or cint the last three years.

This year LGBT groups have regnised the importance of the experience of homosexuals unr Nazi persecutn through holdg activi to mark Holot Memorial Day (HMD). You n read about the journeys of Gad Beck, Pierre Seel, Rudolf Brazda and Albrecht Becker, while the movg documentary Paragraph 175 chronicl the liv of several gay men imprisoned by the Third Reich.

Berl particular was one of the most liberal ci Europe wh a number of lbian, gay and trans anisatns, fés, bars, publitns and cultural events takg place. Magn Hirschfeld’s Instute for Sexual Science led the world s scientific approach to sexual diversy and acted as an important public centre for Berl lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr life.

HOLOT MEMORIAL DAY: THE NAZI BID TO EXTERMATE GAY PEOPLE

Unknown numbers of German gay men, lbians and trans people fled abroad, and others entered to marriag orr to appear to nform to Nazi iologil norms, experiencg severe psychologil trma. This part of the penal , which enabled persecutn of gay and lbian muni, was not amend durg the Anschls (the annexatn of Atria to greater Germany unr the Nazi regime) between 1938 and 1945. Neher they, nor the new German stat, nor Atria would regnise homosexual prisoners as victims of the Nazis – a stat sential to qualify for reparatns.

People who had been persecuted by the Nazis for homosexualy had a hard choice: eher to bury their experience and pretend never happened, wh all the personal nsequenc of such an actn, or to try to mpaign for regnn an environment where the same neighbours, the same law, same police and same judg prevailed. Twice imprisoned for homosexualy, he was ported to Buchenwald ncentratn mp 1942 where he was subject to forced labour for 32 months. (Gay) Mm - If you are ever Berl, one of the world’s largt and most signifint stutns for archivg, rearchg and munitg the history and culture of LGBTIQ muni n be found at the Schwul mm.

Due to limed rearch fundg, the high ath rate of gay men the mps, and the stigma attached to homosexualy, the victims are often fotten by the world.

This clud more than 100 gay and lbian bars and f, songs and films, and Magn Hirschfeld’s Instut für Sexualwissenschaft (the Instute for Sexual Science), which ntaed thoands of books and journals on sexualy and genr. Dpe Paragraph 175, which crimalised male homosexualy the German crimal , LGBTQ+ people tend to be observed and monored rather than persecuted. Some Nazis believed that the majory of, if not all, homosexuals were Jewish bee many of the proment advot of gay rights and equaly were (cludg Hirschfeld as well as progrsive psychiatrists, physicians, lawyers and jurists).

More than 100, 000 men intified as homosexual were arrted and many sent to ncentratn mps at Buchenwald, Dach, Sachsenhsen, Mthsen and Achwz, where between 5, 000 and 15, 000 of them died. They were, acrdg to ttimoni by straight and gay survivors, treated worse than other groups (except Jews) bee they were nsired viant.

Ttimony om Hez Heger, a gay Atrian ncentratn mp survivor (whose real name was Josef Kohout), provis sights to homosexual experienc the mps. Heger relled that gay men had to sleep wh their hands above their blankets, and if they didn’t they were taken outsi and had buckets of water thrown at them.

Homosexualy was not crimalised Germany until 1967 East Germany and 1969 Wt Germany, and so a number of survivors end up back prison.

While Jews, children, and polil prisoners uld apply for fancial and moral support om the new German ernments, homosexual men uld not.

Though the opprsn of gay men durg the Holot may have fad om public memory, hate crim agast LGBTQ+ people around the world are still rife. Imprisoned gay men were murred, strated, or ed horrendo medil experiments ncentratn the mps, thoands of lbians, transgenr people, and sex workers were taed unr btal ndns and brand “generat. 1674813763Bee German thori rarely enforced laws surroundg homosexualy before the rise of the Nazis, LGBTQ+ muni thrived plac like Berl and other German ci where sex between men had been outlawed sce 1871.