Every concentration camp has a different armband system. At the end of the war, the use of armbands gradually decreased in some concentration camps, but suddenly increased in some concentration camps. The following description is based on the armband system of Dachau concentration camp from pre-war to early war, and Dachau adopted one of the more complicated identification systems. After World War I, during the Weimar Republic of Germany, homosexuals enjoyed a freer and more acceptable life in Germany, especially in Berlin, than anywhere else in the world. However, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, banning homosexuality became one of the goals of Nazi political parties and was finally included in the list of massacres.
From 65438 to 0933, gay organizations were banned, academic works on homosexuality and sexology were banned, and homosexuals in Nazi were killed. It is estimated that in 1928, there were about10.2 million openly gay people in Germany. Between 1933 -45, about10.8 million men were registered as homosexuals by the police, and about 50,000 of them were convicted. Most of them are held in ordinary prisons, while it is estimated that 5,000 to 65,438+05,000 people are held in Nazi concentration camps. There is no clear data showing the death toll, but Ruediger Lautman, a famous scholar, estimates that the death rate of homosexuals in concentration camps is as high as 60%. Homosexuals in prisons will be brutally treated by their captors and persecuted by other prisoners. This is one of the reasons why the death rate of homosexuals is higher than that of other "anti-social groups".
After the war, many countries did not recognize the treatment of homosexuals in concentration camps. Even some people who escaped were arrested and sentenced according to the evidence obtained during the Nazi period. It was not until the 1980 s that the government began to recognize this history, and it was not until 2002 that the German government apologized to the gay community for this. Although this history is still controversial, the European Parliament adopted the solution to the gay massacre in 2005.
The rise of the Nazi party
Before Nazi Germany, Berlin was a free city with many gay bars, clubs and hotels. There are even many transvestite bars that provide cross-dressing performances for homosexuals. From the end of 19 to the turn of the 20th century, there were many gay rights movements here.
To some extent, Nazi's attitude towards homosexuality seems contradictory. Although there is some evidence that Adolf Hitler himself is gay, homosexuality is incompatible with national socialism in Nazi ideology, because homosexuality cannot reproduce, thus making the superior nation immortal. Although their propaganda of homosexuality was incompatible with their ideal Aryans, Ernst Julius Rohm, the chief of staff of Nazi German stormtroopers at that time, was gay.
great purge
1933, 10 In May, the Nazis burned books by Jewish authors, the library of the Institute of Sexology and other works considered "non-Germans" in Berlin, Germany.
When Hitler decided to disband the stormtroopers, he executed Roma, several other stormtroopers and hundreds of others. This cleaning campaign is the famous Long Dao Night. The execution of the Roma was obviously politically motivated, not because of his sexual orientation, but sexual orientation was used as a reason for his execution.
In the same year, shortly after the purge movement, a special organization of the Gestapo was established to use the list of famous homosexuals in Luo Zhi. 1936, the leader of the SS, heinrich himmler, established the German Central Office to fight against homosexuality and abortion.
Himmler was a supporter of the Roma, and he believed that the cleansing of the Roma was artificially created by all Jews. But after the purge, Himmler became an activist to suppress homosexuality. He claimed: "We must completely eliminate these people ... Homosexuality must be eliminated."
concentration camp
There are many different estimates of the number of homosexuals who died in the Holocaust, ranging from the lowest 10000 to the highest 600000. One reason why the statistics are so different is whether the researchers count gay Jews. See Nazi concentration camps, pink triangles and black triangles.
When studying the status of homosexuals in concentration camps, it is very important to understand the role of Nazi German concentration camps: it is a tool for fascist countries to unify society. For homosexuals, the concentration camp is the re-education center for Aryans who deviate from the national social norms. This view holds that it is necessary for homosexuals to be held in concentration camps to "correct" homosexual tendencies, and at least in theory, they can be released and reintegrated into society.
On the other hand, Hitler also believed that homosexual tendencies were indelible for individuals, so re-education was replaced by repression. In other words, homosexuals are kept in concentration camps and receive extreme forms of "aversion therapy". Nazi theory further distinguishes "stubborn" homosexuals from those who only engage in homosexual sex occasionally. Although for "stubborn" homosexuals, castration may be the way to get the expected results.
However, this theory cannot explain the inhuman treatment suffered by homosexuals in concentration camps-even worse than the cruel treatment suffered by Jehovah's Witnesses, criminals and political prisoners. This may be due to the attitude of the SS towards homosexuality and the low status of homosexuality in Nazi society. German society that ignores homosexuality is embodied in concentration camps: they are despised by other prisoners, so homosexuals try their best to hide their identity. We can explain that in concentration camps, homosexuals should even be careful about their words and deeds, because this may cause suspicion and disgust among guards and other prisoners.
This can explain that the death rate of homosexuals in concentration camps is higher than that of other "anti-social groups". A study conducted by Ruedigger Lautmann shows that the death rate of homosexuals in concentration camps is 60%, while that of political prisoners is 465,438+0% and that of Jehovah's Witnesses is 35%. This study also shows that the survival rate of homosexuals in the upper and middle classes, as well as homosexuals who get married and have children, is slightly higher than that of prisoners of war.
Women were not formally included in Nazi anti-gay laws. However, lesbians are regarded as a threat to family values and labeled as "antisocial".
Post-war period
Gay prisoners in concentration camps are not recognized by the government. Compensation for other groups and state pensions are denied to homosexuals because they are still considered criminals. Nazi anti-gay law was not abolished until 1994.
Gay survivors of the Holocaust may be detained here for "recidivism" and listed as "sex offenders". During the German coalition government, some homosexuals were asked to serve their sentences again, no matter how long they were held in concentration camps.
Nazi's anti-gay policy and their persecution of the early gay movement were considered as inappropriate research topics by historians and educators at that time. It was not until 1970s and 1980s that the mainstream media began to discuss this topic because of survivors' memoirs.
In 2005, when commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, the European Parliament adopted a resolution, which included the following contents:
"... June 27th, 2005, 65438+, is the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp in Nazi Germany. This is the place where 6.5438+0.5 million Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Russians, people from other countries and homosexuals were killed. But this is not only an important moment for European citizens to remember and condemn this extremely horrible period and the tragedy of the Holocaust, but also to highlight the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and relearn a broader lesson-the danger of persecuting others according to race, nationality, religion, social classification, politics or sexual orientation ... "