The Holocaust
The Holocaust was the genocide of 11 million people under the power of Adolf Hitler. 6 million of these people were Jews and within the other five million included homosexuals. Hitler wanted to create a "master race "and get rid of everyone who did not meet the standards for being in this ideal race. The first victims to get persecuted included political opponents such as Communists, Social Democrats, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Next came groups such as homosexuals and disabled. Gay men were the main target out of the homosexuals. The Nazis saw them as weak people and people who weren't fit as soldiers. Another factor that the Nazis saw was that gay men were unlikely to have children, and in order to create the "master race" there was a need for human beings who could reproduce. Nazis figured that there was no need for anyone who couldn't reproduce.
According to survivor counts, homosexuals were one of the most abused groups during the Holocaust, especially while in concentration camps. It is estimated that approxiamtely 100,000 gay men were arrested during the Holocaust with atleast half of them getting sentenced to prison for violating Paragraph 175. Paragraph 175 of the criminal code stated that it was illegal in the country of Germany to be a gay man. The gay men who were not put in prison either went into hiding, praying to not get caught or went to concentration camps. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 15,000 homosexual men were sent to camps. While at the camps, everyone was marked with a badge on their shirt. There was a different colored badge for each group that was at the camp. Some colors varied from camp to camp, but the gays were marked with a pink triangle pointing downwards. This badge was look upon as a badge of shame. Hitler thought theat there was a "cure" for gay men adn that it was just a sickness. He preformed several scientific studies on the homosexuals at the camps. Little did he know that homosexuality WAS NOT a sickness. The scientific studies only led to illness, mutilation, and death. There was an unknown number of homosexuals at this time placed in mental hospitals, still having the thought that it was all in their heads.
Although gay men were looked upon as a huge threat, lesbians on the other hand did not seem to cause that big of a problem for the Nazis. Lesbians were not looked at as a threat to Hitler for one reason. They could still reproduce and take part in expanding the "master race". Unfortuntely, there were persecutions of lesbians, but to a lesser scale than gay men. Some lebians, like gay men, tried to hide from the Nazis. One way they did this was by marrying their gay friends so that it was a win-win situation, and the Nazis would never know the truth...
According to survivor counts, homosexuals were one of the most abused groups during the Holocaust, especially while in concentration camps. It is estimated that approxiamtely 100,000 gay men were arrested during the Holocaust with atleast half of them getting sentenced to prison for violating Paragraph 175. Paragraph 175 of the criminal code stated that it was illegal in the country of Germany to be a gay man. The gay men who were not put in prison either went into hiding, praying to not get caught or went to concentration camps. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 15,000 homosexual men were sent to camps. While at the camps, everyone was marked with a badge on their shirt. There was a different colored badge for each group that was at the camp. Some colors varied from camp to camp, but the gays were marked with a pink triangle pointing downwards. This badge was look upon as a badge of shame. Hitler thought theat there was a "cure" for gay men adn that it was just a sickness. He preformed several scientific studies on the homosexuals at the camps. Little did he know that homosexuality WAS NOT a sickness. The scientific studies only led to illness, mutilation, and death. There was an unknown number of homosexuals at this time placed in mental hospitals, still having the thought that it was all in their heads.
Although gay men were looked upon as a huge threat, lesbians on the other hand did not seem to cause that big of a problem for the Nazis. Lesbians were not looked at as a threat to Hitler for one reason. They could still reproduce and take part in expanding the "master race". Unfortuntely, there were persecutions of lesbians, but to a lesser scale than gay men. Some lebians, like gay men, tried to hide from the Nazis. One way they did this was by marrying their gay friends so that it was a win-win situation, and the Nazis would never know the truth...