Pink Legacies Lecture Discusses Gay Rights Activism During The Holocaust

Jake Newsome talks about the persecution of members in the gay community during the Holocaust. Photo courtesy of Anni Lupu.

Nayeli Lomeli/Staff Writer

More than 75 years ago, homosexuals in Germany were persecuted because their sexuality was viewed as a crime against German culture and values. 

In the lecture, “Pink Triangle Legacies: Gay Rights in the Shadow of the Holocaust,” Jake Newsome addressed the power of memory and the need to remember the past. 

Newsome is the Manager of Civic Learning for Campus Communities at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C.

“Remembering must have consequences. We are responsible for how we act on those legacies,” Newsome said. 

The lecture is part of FIU’s fourth annual Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week, which runs from Jan. 27 to Jan 31. It is presented by Hillel at FIU and the FIU Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program. 

According to Newsome, the Holocaust happened because of people’s willingness to turn a blind eye. 

“The Holocaust did not start with actions, it began with words,” he said. “The Nazi didn’t need everyone to be wholehearted supporters, they just needed most people to look the other way.”

Under Adolf Hitler’s “Third Reich,” gay men were deemed sick and it was believed that after being “cured” they could be reintegrated into society as productive men. 

Newsome told the story of Richard Grune who was arrested in 1934 after his neighbor denuniciated him for being gay. According to Newsome’s research, one-third of the cases were by denunciation made by civilians.  

Grune stood trial for violating Paragraph 175, a German critical code that was enacted in 1871 and revised in 1935, and was sentenced to one year and three months in prison.

The new law emphasized the criminality between both men involved in what was called “indecency.” Under the revision more than 100,000 gay men were arrested, more than 53,000 convicted and between 5,000-15,000 sent to concentration camps. 

Both “simple looking” and “simple touching” were seen as sexual intent and justified arrest. 

This revised law did not apply to homosexual women. Women were excluded from having any impact outside of the household so they were not seen as being a direct threat to society. 

Similar to the yellow Star of David Jews wore and the green inverted triangles criminals wore, gay men were forced to wear a pink triangle on their clothing. It was worn as a badge of shame and as an indicator of a man’s crime.

The pink triangle was later used by men to out themselves and the movement for gay rights, as it was a reminder of the past and ongoing persecution the LGBTQA still faces today. It has then been used by organizations such as the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP), becoming the main symbol for the AIDS advocacy movement.

“Symbols aren’t just pictures or graphics, they carry a lot of power,” said Newsome.

The rainbow flag has now become the main symbol of gay rights because it represents diversity, as the pink triangle was seen to focus only on white, gay men. Although it has lost some of its meaning and origins because people have forgotten what it means, said Newsome, the pink triangle is still a mark of pride and carries a lot of emotional power. 

Newsome said the victims and survivors of the Holocaust should be honored, but urges people not to forget about the ones who made it happen. 

“I’m not only talking about the active perpetrators,” he said. “I am talking about the nuisance of ordinary people like me and like yourself who went about their daily lives and justified their inaction as they watched the government systematically stipulate the rights of their neighbors.” 

According to the USHMM, Germany abolished Paragraph 175 in 1994 and in 2002 the German Parliament pardoned the gay men who were convicted by the Nazis under this law. 

Malekeh Alladin, a junior enrolled in the women and gender studies course, said the lecture made her think about how she can be more inclusive toward the LGBTQ community.

“It made me think about how to be more vocal in protecting them, because the LGBTQ community is still not fully accepted in society today,” she said.  

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