In post-World War I Germany, the law that prohibited sex between men (Paragraph 175 enacted in 1871) was not often enforced. As a result, the country saw a thriving gay culture flourish with Berlin as its center. There were entire areas of towns that had restaurants, clubs, bars, theaters, and other businesses where LGBT people felt free to be themselves. Movies were made about gay men, publications were written for and by homosexuals discussing topics that were relevant to them. In 1919, the groundbreaking Institute for Sexual Research was founded by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, boasting an extensive library and producing new insights in sexology and related subjects. Life was not all progressive however. Germany was still reeling from the effects of WW1 with many of the country unemployed, living in poverty, fighting inflation, and desperate for a more secure and safer life. This opened the way for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party to bring promises of a united, stronger Germany. The party presented policies under “law and order” doctrine, traditional values, and (most notably) racial purity within the nation. Placing much of the blame for Germany’s defeat during WWI on Jews, the doctrine of racial purity called for the elimination of those who weren’t true Germans in the eyes of the party. This included Jews, Romani, Black people, Slavs, people with disabilities, nonconformists, political activists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexual men, and many other groups.

In July of 1932, the Nazi Party gained a large number of seats in the German parliament and by 1933 Hitler had gathered enough support to become Chancellor of Germany. Almost immediately, homosexual rights organizations were banned, gay lesbian bars were closed, and all publications for homosexuals were banned. Dr. Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Research was attacked with the burning of its library’s over 12,000 books. The government began enforcing Paragraph 175 with more and more severe punishments. Thousands of gay men suddenly found themselves arrested and imprisoned under the suspicion they were gay (regardless of whether it could be proven). Heterosexual men were even arrested under Paragraph 175 if they were targeted by the Nazis or falsely reported by their enemies. Since 1900, the police had compiled “pink lists” that showed the names of men around the country convicted of being a homosexual even if sentences had not been doled out. These lists were used by the Nazis to round up suspected homosexuals and incarcerate them. By 1935 gay men were being held in concentration camps after time in prison and Paragraph 175 was amended to make it easier to incarcerate without proof. By 1938, the laws had been amended to such a degree that a man convicted of gross indecency could be transferred directly to a concentration camp instead of going to prison. By 1940, nearly 100,000 men had been arrested for homosexuality with a third being convicted. After 1940, the Nazis began focusing more on persecuting Jews and so the incarceration rates of gay men steadily reduced. 

Life in the concentration camps was tortuous for all who were captives of the Nazis. Millions of Jews and hundreds of thousands of Roma were sent to the gas chambers after walking through these gates, but because the men arrested under Paragraph 175 were German Christians, they were spared that fate. Under the branding system used by the camps, Homosexuals wore a pink inverted equilateral triangle on their uniform to signify them to the others in the camp. If they were a gay Jew, they would wear the Star of David with the inverted portion being pink. Homosexual prisoners were assigned to grueling and dangerous work in the stone quarry. In many camps homosexuals were housed apart because the Nazis believed that homosexuality was a disease and there was fear of the rest of the workforce becoming gay. In addition to the common terrors of the camps, prisoners labeled with the pink triangle had to sleep with the lights on and their hands on top of their sheets at all times during sleep. If found disobeying they would be brutally punished outside in the cold. Often, a particularly painful punishment was being suspended by the wrists on posts, with the arms tied behind the back. Because their sexuality was on display, gay prisoners were often sexually abused by others and Nazi guards. This position in the camp could sometimes produce advantages when a kapo, a prisoner given guard duties, might help a young gay prisoner in exchange for sexual favors often being referred to as a “dolly boy.” Homosexuals were also used in disproportionately large numbers for so-called scientific procedures and experiments within the camps. One common goal of the experiments was to discover the cause and a cure for homosexuality. Overall the death rate in the concentration camps for homosexual prisoners has been estimated to be as high as sixty percent - among the highest of non-Jewish prisoners.

In 1945, most of the concentration camps were liberated by the Allied powers, bringing an end to the horrible existence within them. Except, for gay men, the shadow of the pink triangle and Paragraph 175 would continue to hang over their heads. As Germany was rebuilt and re-established, many of the Nazi era laws were rescinded by the newly established Federal Republic of Germany. However, because the Allied Powers considered Homosexuality illegal within their own nations, they left Paragraph 175 intact and maintained the criminal status of convicted homosexuals. This resulted in many men becoming re-incarcerated after being liberated to finish their sentences. This also resulted in survivors of the camps not being treated as a Holocaust survivor in the same manner as others. There were no memorials, no recognition, and no apologies. Because they were still criminals, those labeled with the pink triangle felt they could not tell their story of their experiences under the Nazis. Additionally, Nazi era rumors of numerous SS agents being homosexuals continued to circulate adding fuel to the stigma. It wasn’t until 1957 for East Germany and 1969 for West Germany that Paragraph 175 was removed from law. Between 1949 and 1969 more than 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality in West Germany. 

While Germany was rescinding anti-gay laws in 1969, the centuries old LGBT rights movement gained a catalyzing event in the form of the Stonewall Riots in New York City. A group of LGBT activists at the Stonewall Inn protested against a police raid. The series of violent confrontations resulted in many LGBT members of the community becoming more active in their dissent against the laws and customs against being gay. In 1972, a book by a concentration camp survivor Heinz Heger was publishing his experience as a captive imprisoned for being a homosexual. This book and few other works of media that would slowly emerge gave greater publicity of the atrocities specific to gay men during the holocaust and this symbol they were labeled with. During the 70’s and 80’s, as gay rights groups grew louder and louder, the pink triangle began to be utilized as a way to memorialize those who suffered during the Holocaust. Over time, the symbols common usage within LGBT spaces and movement led to its wider adoption in representing all LGBT+ people. One notable usage of the symbol was by the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP). They flipped the triangle and set it on a black background along with the words “Silence=Death” in white to call out the government’s lack of movement and conversation in addressing the AIDS epidemic as it ravaged the LGBT community. 

In 2002, Germany recognized homosexuals as victims of the Nazi regime, annulling Paragraph 175 convictions, and then in 2016 convictions since WWII were overturned as well. Today, the pink triangle sits as one of the cornerstone symbols for the LGBT+ Pride movement. Though not as popular as the rainbow pride flag, the pink triangle’s relationship with the LGBT community is deeply intertwined. There are voices in the community today that question its usage. While it has been reclaimed as a symbol for LGBT Pride, it still has its origins as a Nazi symbol and we likely will never know the full terrors it caused because so few of its victims had the chance to share their story. It is important that the pink triangle’s full relationship with the gay community is known and understood, so that we can fully understand the weight it bears. What started as a tool to shame gay men now stands as a symbol of pride.