The fate and suffering of homosexuals, as a relatively small group of victims of persecution between 1933 and 1945, went unrecognised for a long time. Like others, they were also victims of the Nazi regime; at the time, they were marked with the pink triangle in concentration camps and were only recognised publicly as victims of National Socialism at a very late stage.
In the form of the historian Dr Burkhard Jellonnek, who completed his doctoral thesis on the subject of ‘The Persecution of Homosexuals in the Third Reich’ at the University of Münster and is a co-founder of the ‘Neue Bremm’ memorial, we were able to secure a recognised expert for this themed evening.
The event, to be chaired by Dieter Burgard – former Commissioner for Jewish Life and Anti-Semitism Issues in Rhineland-Palatinate and Chair of the Friends of the Hinzert Concentration Camp Memorial – is intended to provide participants with ample opportunity to exchange information and views.
Against the backdrop of harrowing experiences in Germany and the Saar region, the aim is to draw explicit parallels with current issues relating to the discrimination and persecution of gay, lesbian and queer people, and to discuss strategies for tackling homophobia (including within far-right circles).
Admission is free.
The event is funded by the federal programme “Demokratie Leben!”, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, and the Saarpfalz District’s “Partnership for Democracy”. The themed evening is supported in kind by the LSVD – Association for Queer Diversity.