New Gay Monument Unveiled In Berlin

International News, By Cheetah77, 31st May, 2008

A new monument was recently opened in Berlin, remembering those persecuted for homosexuality under the Nazi regime during World War II.

Located close to the Brandenburg Gate and across the road from the existing memorial to the thousands of Jewish people murdered, the Memorial To The Homosexuals Persecuted Under The Socialist Regime features a plaque describing the need for this memorial, as well as a modern art installation featuring live media. On a video screen inside the four metre high monument, two young men kiss on an endless loop as a plaque nearby reads:

“In Nazi Germany, homosexuality was persecuted to a degree unprecedented in history. In 1035, the National Socialists issued an order making all male homosexuality a crime; the provisions governing homosexual behaviour in Section 175 of the Criminal Code were significantly expanded and made stricter. A kiss was enough reason to persecute. There were more than 50,000 convictions under Section 175 the punishment was imprisonment, in some cases convicted offenders were castrated. Thousands of men were sent to concentration camps for being gay; many of them died there. They died of hunger, disease and abuse or were the victims of targeted killings.

“The National Socialists destroyed the communities of gay men and women. Female homosexuality was not prosecuted, except in annexed Austria; as the National Socialists did not find it as threatening as male homosexuality. However, lesbians who came into conflict with the regime were also subject to repressive measures. Under the Nazi regime, gay men and women lived in fear and constant pressure to hide their sexuality.

“For many years, the homosexual victims of National Socialism were not included in public commemorations – neither in the Federal Republic of Germany nor in the German Democratic Republic. In both East and West Germany, homosexuality continued to be persecuted for many years. In the Federal Republic, Section 175 remained in force without amendment until 1069.

“Because of its history, Germany has a special responsibility to actively oppose the violation of gay men’s and lesbians’ human rights. In many parts of the world, people continue to be persecuted for their sexuality, homosexual love remains illegal and a kiss can be dangerous.

“With this memorial, the Federal Republic of Germany intends to honour the victims of persecution and murder; to keep alive the memory of this injustice, and to create a lasting symbol of opposition to enmity, intolerance and the exclusion of gay men and women.”

The memorial was inaugurated by Berlin’s gay mayor, Klaus Wowereit, and Germany’s Culture Minister, Bernd Neumann.

Mr Wowereit said it was typical of post-war Germany that the victims had not been honoured until now.

“This is symptomatic for a society… that did not abolish unjust verdicts, but partially continued to implement them; a society which did not acknowledge a group of people as victims, only because they chose another way of life,” he said.

Photo 1: courtesy of Rawstory.com, 2. courtesy of dw-world.de, showing the creators with the monument.

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