Dates to Remember

February: LGBT History Month

February is LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) History Month which celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community. LGBT History Month is committed to celebrate the diversity of the LGBT community and that of society as a whole. It encourages everyone to see diversity and cultural pluralism as the positive forces that they are and endeavour to reflect this in all that we do.

You can use LGBT History Month as a time to learn about those who were persecuted under the Nazi regime of hatred. The Nazi regime targeted Gay men and Lesbians for persecution, using the pre-existing legislation known as Paragraph 175 which criminalised homosexual acts. Within days of Hitler becoming Chancellor LGBT people began experiencing discrimination. Many Gay men and Lesbians fled abroad, entered into heterosexual marriages or conformed to Nazi ideals – Germany’s thriving Gay culture was destroyed.

Significant numbers of Gay men were arrested, of whom an estimated 50,000 received severe jail sentences in brutal conditions. Most were not sent to concentration camps but were instead exposed to inhumane treatment in police prisons. They were subjected to hard labour and torture, or executed or experimented upon. Some 10-15,000 people were deported to concentration camps. Many, but not all, were assigned pink triangles. Most died in the camps often from exhaustion. Many were castrated and some subjected to other gruesome medical experiments.

After the war, the Allies chose not to remove the Nazi-amended Paragraph 175. Neither they, nor the new German states, nor Austria would recognise homosexual prisoners as victims of the Nazis – a status essential to qualify for reparations. Indeed, many Gay men continued to serve their prison sentences.

You can use HMDT resources to learn more about:

Victims of Nazi hatred

Nazi persecution of Gay men and Lesbians

The story of Albrecht Becker, a Gay man imprisoned by the Nazis.