Holocaust

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The Hidden Holocaust : Gay and Lesbian Persecution in Germany 1933-45 by Gunter Grau (Editor), Claudia Shoppmann (Editor)

The persecution of lesbians and gay men by the Nazis is a subject that has been constantly debated during the last decade, providing a theme for books, articles, and plays. Until recently the discussion has remained speculative: most of the relevant documents were stored in closed East German archives, and access was denied to scholars and researchers.

As a result of the unification of East and West Germany, these archives are now open. Hidden Holocaust?, by the German scholars Günter Grau and Claudia Shoppmann of Humboldt University in Berlin, is a compilation (with commentary) of these formerly unseen/unpublished documents and is organized as a year-by-year record of the Nazi terror under which gay minorities were forced to live during 1933-1945 and thereafter: the anti-gay discrimination act under which the Nazis operated was not repealed until 1994, and the Bonn government refused to recognize lesbians and gay men as victims of the Holocaust until the late 1980s.

Grau and Shoppmann demonstrate that the eradication of homosexuals was a declared goal of the Nazis even before they took power in 1933, and provide proof of systematic anti-gay campaigns, expose the methods used to justify discrimination, and detail the incarceration, mutilation, and murder of gay men and women in Nazi concentration camps. A chilling but ground-breaking work in gay and lesbian studies.

"This is an excellent text for the casual and serious reader interested in primary source material related to homosexuals in Nazi Germany and those concerned about Holocaust studies. Recommended." -- Academic Library Book Review

Some Important Texts:

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust:  Homosexuals

Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida © 1997-2001

Excerpt:

Between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested, and of these, some 50,000 officially-defined homosexuals were sentenced. Most of these men spent time in regular prisons, and an estimated 5,000 to 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. Those defined as homosexuals were designated by a pink triangle. We do not know how many of these men died in the camps. (Jews who were homosexuals were killed because they were Jews...) 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:  Homosexuals 

As part of the Nazis' attempt to purify German society and propagate an "Aryan master race," they condemned homosexuals as "socially aberrant." Soon after taking office on January 30, 1933, Hitler banned all homosexual and lesbian organizations. Brownshirted storm troopers raided the institutions and gathering places of homosexuals. Greatly weakened and driven underground, this subculture had flourished in the relative freedom of the 1920s, in the pubs and cafes of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Bremen, and other cities...

The Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals

An Annotated Bibliography of Nonfiction Sources in English

By Gerard Koskovich

Gerard Koskovich is an editor; historian; and queer antiquarian book dealer, scout and collector. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society of Northern California in San Francisco.

Koskovich has presented public talks on the Nazi persecution of homosexuals for community groups, at the University of California (Berkeley and Santa Barbara) and at Mills College in Oakland, Calif.

Gay and Lesbian Children of Holocaust Survivors

Website for the International Association of Lesbian and Gay Children of Holocaust Survivors, with over 150 members in eleven countries world-wide. Site includes:  Newsletters, articles, bibliographies, book reviews, answers to frequently asked questions and links to other holocaust and gay/lesbian websites.

Homosexuals and the Holocaust

By Ben S. Austin

Introduction:

With the coming of the Christian era in the first century A.D., homo- sexuality was defined as an unnatural act and a violation of God's law. This represented a significant departure from the status of homosexuality in ancient times and in the classical Greek and Roman era. In their survey of the literature on 76 preliterate societies, Ford and Beach, Patterns of Sexual Behavior, found homosexuality accepted in about half the societies studied. The one remarkable exception was in Hebrew culture; homosexuality was expressly prohibited in the Law of Moses. The Mosaic prohibitions were retained by the New Testament writers. Throughout the Medieval and early modern periods, these definitions were retained and punishments for violators became increasingly harsh, including the death penalty...

Triangles and Tribulations:  The Politics of Nazi Symbols

By R. Amy Elman, PhD, Journal of Homosexuality, Volume 30, No. 3, 1-11 

This article explores the politics of "reclamation." Its focus is on pink and black triangles, currently used as symbols for gay and lesbian pride and liberation. Previously, these same identifiers were worn by those destined for annihilation during the Holocaust. I suggest that, in [re]claiming these markers, activists, however well intentioned, run a path dangerously close to historical denial.

Names Index:
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| Authors Index | Scholars Index |