HOMOSEXUALS DURING WWII

HOW IT STARTED

• On May 10th 1933, Naizs burned books for the "Institute for Sexual Science"
• Three decades of reform laws for homosexuality was started
• A special Secret State Police division was set up for homosexuals in 1934
• When Paragraph 175 was revised, the number of prosecutions increased sharply

WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM

• Over 100,000 men were arrested for being homosexual and 50,000 were officially defined as homosexuals. 5,000 to 15,000 were sentenced to concentration camps
• These prisoners wore a pink triangular patch to defined them

IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS

• Many died from diseases, starvation, exhaustion, and brutal treatment
• They were treated horribly by the guards and other inmates because of the widespread biases
• Homosexuals were also victims of cruel medical experiments to convert them to heterosexuality

WHO WERE THEY

• Most of them were men
• Most of them were Germans and Austrians
• Few women were believed to be arrested because Paragraph 175 didn't mention female homosexuality

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE WWII

• They were not acknowledged to be victims of the concentration camps
• Most were afraid or ashamed to tell their stories of what happened to them