The Pink Triangle

The sheer number of victims of Hitler's Nazi Holocaust during the Third Reich is so numbing that piling on more numbers may not even register. But the numbers are higher than the 6 million usually given and almost always in reference to the Jewish victims. Some estimates are up to double that number when other categories of what Hitler decried as "degenerates" are added, and this book calls attention to one such group, either forgotten or ignored by history, but present nonetheless. "Men With the Pink Triangle ..." chronicles one survivor's eyewitness account of a then-young Viennese student remanded to an East German concentration camp and branded with a pink triangle, the sign of its bearers as homosexuals. Writer Heinz Heger miraculously survived six years (1939-'45) of concentration camp horrors: the ever-present smell of death, the sound of war, the filth, and the inhumanity from which more died than survived. Herger's first-hand account is chilling but embarrassing because it wasn't until the 1970's, when gay liberation gained a foothold in social rights movements, that Nazi persecution of gay people was even acknowledged. That vital component in probably the darkest chapter in human history coincidentally now, in 2003, is being threatened by a state legislator in Minnesota. Republican Arlon Lidner claims that no such persecution of gays in Nazi Europe ever occurred and is somehow tying that argument to his proposal to repeal his state's human rights amendment that protects gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons from discrimination. Lidner's proposing further legislation to remove sexual orientation as a protected class in the state of Minnesota's hate crimes laws. How he justifies his homophobic crusade based on his argument that gays weren't gassed by their Nazi captors is unclear. But this publication may well be more relevant now than ever because a crucial part of history may be fully discarded, and by ignoring it risks it happening again. More broadly, though, Heger's memories are less about his persecution because of his sexual orientation and more a shattering testament to the horror that was the Holocaust and to the evil that man can do. With the generation of Holocaust survivors steadily being silenced to death, the cries from the written accounts like Heger's and others should not and cannot cannot be denied.

Plant gives incredible detail into the lives of those in charge of the persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis in World War II. In addition to a behind the scenes look into Nazi operations, including biographies of SS Himmler and Roehm, Hitler's top officials, Plant puts it all in the context of what gay Berlin/Germany was like at the time and leading up to WWII. Overall, this book is quite informative and eye opening, but a little dry. I expected to see shocking photos and gut wrenching first hand accounts of tragedy, etc but simply found a historical account that would be helpful as a textbook. I would recommend this for anyone interested in the subject matter, but not necessarily as free reading.

This work is a great eye opener for those wishing to discover much of what I have come to call the 'silent holocaust'. The treatment of homosexuals by the Nazi army was harsh and cruel yet the names of the dead resound silent throughout much of history. Through this silence we can see how our society has not changed in it's compassion and cultural 'taboos' even when bigotry reaches into mass-killing of innocent peoples. Today the murder of innocent men and women for their sexuality continues as the mentality of ethnic (and thus "moral") superiority.This book should be read by anyone who desires to learn about this 'silent holocaust' and how to prevent history for repeating itself.Namaste and Peace to all!

Unlike so many gay books which are just superficial or stupid, this one is real history and well written. This is harrowing reading. Plant has done us all a great service in bringing this complete account to life. Details the Nazi campaign against gay people. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Don't miss it!