Memorial to gay and lesbian victims of National Socialism
Encyclopedia
The Cologne
memorial dedicated to Den schwulen und lesbischen Opfern des Nationalsozialismus (To gay and lesbian victims of National Socialism) is a monument dedicated to homosexuals, persecuted in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. The monument was inaugurated on June 24, 1995. At that time, it became the second monument of its kind in Germany (after the Frankfurter Engel
), and third in Europe (after the Amsterdam Homomonument
). It is noteworthy to state, that the 1990 initiator of the memorial was the German trade union
of Gewerkschaft öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr (ÖTV).
The monument stands on a prominent location at Rheingarten Embankment, between the Cathedral
, Museum Ludwig
and the Hohenzollern Bridge.
The design was subject to a competition, in which Achim Zinkann's design was selected to be realised. The memorial is made of pink and gray granite and has a height of 120 cm and a length of 69 cm. The memorial's form renders a pink triangle
, a symbol of the LGBT movement as used by the Nazis to refer to male inmates of concentration camps, who were persecuted because of their homosexuality. The memorial also bears the inscription: Totgeschlagen - Totgeschwiegen (a German language word play in regards to "death", meaning: swat to death - hushed up [to death], making an accusation of the continuous neglect of the victims until 1994, when paragraph 175
, which had made sex between males a crime, was abolished.
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
memorial dedicated to Den schwulen und lesbischen Opfern des Nationalsozialismus (To gay and lesbian victims of National Socialism) is a monument dedicated to homosexuals, persecuted in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. The monument was inaugurated on June 24, 1995. At that time, it became the second monument of its kind in Germany (after the Frankfurter Engel
Frankfurter Engel
Frankfurter Engel is a memorial in the city of Frankfurt am Main in southwestern Germany, dedicated to homosexual people persecuted under Nazi rule, and section 175, the latter during 1950s and 1960s.-Design:...
), and third in Europe (after the Amsterdam Homomonument
Homomonument
The Homomonument is a memorial in the centre of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It commemorates all gay men and lesbians who have been subjected to persecution because of their homosexuality...
). It is noteworthy to state, that the 1990 initiator of the memorial was the German trade union
Trade unions in Germany
Trade unions have a long history in Germany, reaching back to the German revolution in 1848, and still play an important role in German economy and society...
of Gewerkschaft öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr (ÖTV).
The monument stands on a prominent location at Rheingarten Embankment, between the Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...
, Museum Ludwig
Museum Ludwig
Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from PopArt, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It also features many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein....
and the Hohenzollern Bridge.
The design was subject to a competition, in which Achim Zinkann's design was selected to be realised. The memorial is made of pink and gray granite and has a height of 120 cm and a length of 69 cm. The memorial's form renders a pink triangle
Pink triangle
The pink triangle was one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, used to identify male prisoners who were sent there because of their homosexuality. Every prisoner had to wear a downward-pointing triangle on his or her jacket, the colour of which was to categorise him or her by "kind"...
, a symbol of the LGBT movement as used by the Nazis to refer to male inmates of concentration camps, who were persecuted because of their homosexuality. The memorial also bears the inscription: Totgeschlagen - Totgeschwiegen (a German language word play in regards to "death", meaning: swat to death - hushed up [to death], making an accusation of the continuous neglect of the victims until 1994, when paragraph 175
Paragraph 175
Paragraph 175 was a provision of the German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It made homosexual acts between males a crime, and in early revisions the provision also criminalized bestiality. All in all, around 140,000 men were convicted under the law.The statute was amended several...
, which had made sex between males a crime, was abolished.
See also
Literature
- Limpricht/Müller/Oxenius. Verführte Männer — Das Leben der Kölner Homosexuellen im Dritten Reich, Köln 1991
- Centrum Schwule GeschichteCentrum Schwule GeschichteCentrum Schwule Geschichte e. V. , abbreviated CSG, is a German LGBT organization based in Cologne ....
Köln. «Das sind Volksfeinde» — Die Verfolgung von Homosexuellen an Rhein und Ruhr 1933-45, Köln 1998 - Jürgen Müller. Ausgrenzung der Homosexuellen aus der «Volksgemeinschaft» — Die Verfolgung von Homosexuellen in Köln 1933—1945, Köln 2003
- Claudia Schoppmann. Verbotene Verhältnisse — Frauenliebe 1938—1945, Berlin 1999
- Burkhard Jellonnek, Rüdiger Lautmann. Nationalsozialistischer Terror gegen Homosexuelle — Verdrängt und ungesühnt, Paderborn 2002
- Pierre SeelPierre SeelPierre Seel was a gay Holocaust survivor and the only French person to have testified openly about his experience of deportation during World War II due to his homosexuality.-Biography:...
. Ich, Pierre Seel, deportiert und vergessen, Köln 1996 - Stümke-Winkler. Rosa Winkel, Rosa Listen, Hamburg 1981
- Frank Sparing. «Wegen Vergehen nach § 175 verhaftet» — Die Verfolgung der Düsseldorfer Homosexuellen, Düsseldorf 1997