Long before the rainbow flag rallied LGBT people around the cause of equality, the pink triangle was already the symbol of the struggle. Worn on Nazi concentration camp uniforms, the insignia identified interned homosexuals. Of the thousands who wore that badge, 60% are estimated to have perished. Some were subjected to medical experiments, most to hard labor. Some avoided incarceration by accepting castration as an alternative. Like the extermination of the Jews intended to purify the German race, the idea was to rid it of the societal sickness, homosexuality.
Today the pink triangle remains a symbol and clarion of LGBT identity and equality. It’s incorporated in the logos of several local organizations like the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, GAMMA and, formally, the Triangle Bar. When designing the PrideFest Medal, I used a pink triangle as its centerpiece. Presented each year at PrideFest’s opening ceremony, it serves not only as an award for the services and achievements of the recipient but also as a reminder of our historic mission of social justice.
International Holocaust Memorial Day is Wednesday, Jan. 27. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), I’ve found no announcements of events or displays, no speeches or memorials to commemorate the end of the Nazi Holocaust in 1945. Thousands of gay men and lesbians perished in concentration camps along with six million Jews, millions of gypsies, the handicapped and others deemed inferior. Tens of millions died in the war fought to defeat Nazism and its system of oppression. So it seems inconceivable to me that our community is so oblivious to our past.
We often wonder why young LGBTs are not engaged in our community organizations. Some see it as a sign of the times, reflecting the positive developments in our social and political fortunes. After all, nowadays, LGBT teens have accepting parents and a Gay-Straight Alliance support group in high school. Once in college, they have LGBT Resources Centers and Studies Programs (the UW system has both on some campuses) and, given the ever-increasing acceptance among the population at large, they’ll graduate into an embracing world where they can go to any bar or restaurant they choose and get a job or living space without fear of being fired or denied housing for being gay. Well, not quite. For many, even if they’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed all those amenities, the fiction of universal LGBT acceptance often fades in the face of hard and harsh reality once they enter the real world. Ignorance is bliss, they say.
The Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., offers a special traveling exhibit dedicated to the gay holocaust, The Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945. It came to Madison some years ago but, as far as I’m aware, has never been shown in Milwaukee. It should be. Hosting the exhibit does require a fee and display criteria, like a certain square-footage (1,000-1,500) to accommodate the numerous kiosks that comprise it. Then there are the security and access requirements. But, surely, somewhere, there must be available funding and an available space. I might suggest the UW-Milwaukee Student Union lobby.
