| November 24, 2002 |
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Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945
This  special feature from the U.S. Holocaust Museum sheds light on a lesser-publicized aspect of the Holocaust: the Nazi regime's persecution of homosexuals. As soon as Hitler took power in 1933, he shut down all gay and lesbian gathering places, organizations, and publications. Nazi propaganda painted homosexuality as an "infection" and a threat to family values. In 1935, the Nazis reinforced the infamous Paragraph 175, a law that criminalized many homosexual activities and allowed the vicious Gestapo to punish transgressors. Some 100,000 men were arrested for violations of Paragraph 175, and many were sent to hard labor camps and concentration camps. Like the Jews who wore the yellow star badge, gays had to wear a sign of their "crime" -- a pink triangle, which has since become a symbol of gay and lesbian civil rights. This online companion to the museum exhibit stands as a harrowing exploration of a tragedy that, like the rest of the Holocaust, must never be forgotten. (in Society & Culture) |
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