What does the pink triangle symbol represent? As always, <strong><em><a href=”https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_triangle”>Wikipedia</a></em></strong> is the fount of all knowlege:
“The pink triangle is one of the two big symbols of the LGBT community. The other is the rainbow flag. The pink triangle was first used in Nazi Germany to mark homosexual prisoners. There was also a black triangle that marked anti-social women. Many but not all of these women were lesbians. Jews wore the famous yellow star of David. If a prisoner was both Jewish and gay, he would wear a yellow triangle overlapped by a pink triangle, creating a star of David.
“Homosexuality was illegal in Nazi Germany under a law called Paragraph 175, which made it a felony (a “very serious” crime). About 100,000 people were arrested, with about 50,000 sent to prison. Some were sent to mental hospitals. Some were castrated (had their testicles removed). Some homosexual men were also sent to concentration camps, especially Jewish homosexuals. Between 15,000 and 600,000 homosexual men were sent to concentration camps. Most of them died there. We are not sure of the real number. Prisoners who were Jewish and homosexual may not have been counted as homosexual.
“Homosexual prisoners were treated worse than other prisoners. Their death rates were higher than other anti-social groups. One story by a gay man who lived in a concentration camp shows how it was. Pierre Seel was sent to the Schirmeck concentration camp. The Nazis said a public execution would happen. A man was brought out. Seel saw that the man was his 18 year old lover. The Nazis took all the clothes of Seel’s lover and put a bucket over his head. Then Seel had to watch as the Nazis let German Shepherds (dogs) maul his lover to death.
“After World War II, homosexual men were still not treated well in Germany. The law continued. It was used to hurt homosexuals and to put them in prison. Many spent years in prison.
“The pink triangle observes the memory of the homosexual people who died in the Holocaust. It is important not to ignore these deaths. The killing of homosexuals both during WWII and after WWII ended is the secret story of the Holocaust. Using the pink triangle symbol puts these victims in the public view. It is in respect for those who died.”
—Wikipedia
So why do we still struggle to keep the pink triangle as a symbol?
An article by German and American LGBTQ+ history scholar Dr. W. Jake Newsome offers a clear history of the pink triangle and why it’s so important to our fight: <a href=”https://nursingclio.org/2022/08/16/why-we-need-the-pink-triangle-in-the-era-of-dont-say-gay/”><strong><em>Why We Need the Pink Triangle in the Era of “Don’t Say Gay”</em></strong></a>:
“Before the rainbow flag became synonymous with the LGBTQ+ community, the emblem of queer activism was the pink triangle, a symbol that originated as a Nazi concentration camp badge. How did this repressive symbol become a liberating emblem of queer identity? The history of this transformation offers both a warning and inspiration in the face of Republicans’ attack on LGBTQ+ rights today.
“In the era of “Don’t Say Gay,” we need the pink triangle more than ever. It’s time we revive it as an intersectional proclamation that queer people have the right to be represented, including in curriculum and all the ways we talk about the world. We have every right to be here, and we need to fight like hell for it. The pink triangle warns us what happens if we don’t.”
—Nursing Clio
It CAN happen again.