← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · M1488D
Thread ID: 7650 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2003-06-27
2003-06-27 03:51 | User Profile
**gay.com headlines America unveils gay holocaust memorial Gay.com UK 24 June, 2003
The first ever memorial to gay men and lesbians who were murdered by the Nazis was unveiled yesterday in San Francisco.
The memorial, Pink Triangle Park and Memorial, can be found in the city's gay Castro district and is comprised of 15 triangular granite pylons, each marked with a pink triangle, to commemorate the tens of thousands of gays and lesbians who perished under the Nazi's murderous regime.
Although most were not sent to the extermination camps, many were subjected to hard labour, which in itself was a death sentence.
It is estimated that approximately 200,000 died as a result of being executed or worked to death.
The Nazi 'doctors' were particularly keen on experimenting on gays, to see if they could discover, then eradicate whatever made them gay.
The persecution didn't end with the liberation of Europe however, as paragraph 175 of the German penal code, which band gay relationships, remained on the Statute Book in West Germany until the early 70s.
The gay victims of the Third Reich are largely forgotten ââ¬â to admit that that it was wrong to eradicate an entire group of people because of their sexuality leads to having to admit that gays should be treated exactly the same as straights, and not all politicians want to do that.
Funds raised by the Eureka Valley Promotion Association paid for the memorial in San Francisco and was dedicated by Mayor Willie Brown.
Gustavo Serina, president of the Association reminded everyone that the memorial has been erected so that these sorts of crimes never happen again.
"People must realise that if you marginalize one group or one individual based on inherent characteristics, you run the risk of marginalizing everyone," he said.
Perhaps right-wing Jews should really think about what they're doing by torching gay pride flags in Jerusalem.
A competition was held to find a suitable design for the memorial.
Visit this article online at [url=http://uk.gay.com/headlines/4555]http://uk.gay.com/headlines/4555[/url] **
2003-06-27 14:34 | User Profile
With all of the people those darn Nazis killed, it's amazing there's anyone left alive in Europe at all!