THE PINK TRIANGLE

When the Nazis began forcing groups deemed “undesirable” into concentration camps in March 1933, gay people were among those rounded up and murdered. Gay people were forced to wear a pink triangle to identify them in the camps, but that sign formerly used to shame has now been repurposed as a symbol of pride for gay people everywhere. Next week, the gay advocacy group Equality Illinois is hosting a ceremony in Chicago to honor gay victims of Nazi concentration camps. Holocaust survivors like Magda Brown, who was imprisoned at both Auschwitz and Buchenwald, will speak at the event, and Dr. Danny Cohen, a Northwestern University specialist on Holocaust education, will discuss why Nazi persecution of homosexuals is often overlooked. “Ongoing government-led persecution of LGBT people around the world, as well as enduring homophobia in society, prevented thousands of gay survivors of the Nazi regime from telling their stories,” Cohen said. The event, titled “Remembering the Pink Triangle,” will be held June 3 in Chicago. For more information, visit www.eqil.org.