A memorial Berl, Germany was recently unveiled memory of gay victims of the Holot. Volker Beck, a member of the German parliament and supporter of the memorial, explas what the memorial symboliz for members of the gay holot survivors and their fai.
Contents:
- THREE GAY HOLOT SURVIVORS REMEMBER
- THE BARELY REMEMBERED GAY VICTIMS OF THE NAZI CONCENTRATN CAMPS
- GAY HOLOT MEMORIAL HONORS PA, SACRIFICE
THREE GAY HOLOT SURVIVORS REMEMBER
Tens of thoands of gay men and lbians were persecuted by the Nazis but stigma and a lack of rearch fundg has kept their history hidn. * gay victims of the holocaust *
” Wh the words his 1994 memoir, Pierre Seel—one of the few gay Holot survivors to publicly share his experience—scribed his arrival at the Schirmeck-Vorbrück ncentratn mp on May 13, 1941.
Havg been arrted on acunt of his homosexualy Nazi-occupied France, Seel was terrogated, tortured and forced to watch his lover beg mled by a pack of dogs—all before he’d even turned 18.
Wh the Natnal Socialist visn, homosexualy reprented an sid “threat” to the “Aryan” race’s survival that need to be stamped out. Although male homosexual activy had been technilly illegal Germany sce the 19th century, was generally tolerated and even celebrated wh certa urban circl prr to Adolf Hler’s ascensn to power 1933.
THE BARELY REMEMBERED GAY VICTIMS OF THE NAZI CONCENTRATN CAMPS
Weimar-era Berl me to be labeled as the “gay pal of the world, ” a cy where a boomg queer nightlife scene was wedd wh the buddg dissematn of new amic ias llg for greater acceptance of homosexualy and genr non-nformy.
Realizg the power the movements held, the Nazis began their anti-gay purg by immediately targetg the very hubs of queer cultural productn and kship, namely clubs, societi and Magn Hirschfield’s renowned sexology rearch stute.
GAY HOLOT MEMORIAL HONORS PA, SACRIFICE
The Nazi-era modifitns would amount to a ath sentence for gay men, and hnt them for years to e.
Unr Paragraph 175’s aegis, police forc arrted approximately 100, 000 gay men before the war me to an end, of whom around 10-15, 000 were sent to ncentratn mps. Overall prospects for gay prisoners were poor: an timated 65% died, and an unknown, albe likely disproportnate, number mted suici. But, tragilly, gay Holot survivors did not leave their mps as regnized victims.