LGBT activists reclaim the Pink Triangle with moving tribute to those killed in World War II
Vangardist Magazine teamed up with the Mauthausen Memorial
By Steve Brown
To mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Vangardist Magazine has teamed up with Mauthausen Memorial and Serviceplan Group to pay a moving tribute to the gay men sent to the Nazi concentration camp.
Mauthausen was specifically built to imprison and murder anyone the Nazis deemed undesirable, including homosexual men, who were tortured simply because of their sexuality.
The Austrian camp was liberated by American troops in 1945 but only a small handful of people know about the torture that took place in the concentration camps.
Now, 80 years since the construction of the camp, Vangardist Magazine has called for an alliance against contemporary violations of the LGBT+ community around the world.
The publication aims to reclaim the Pink Triangle – a symbol used to identify homosexuals in concentration camps – and launched a petition, asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to add the rights of LGBT+ persons to Article 2 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
May 17 marks the International Day Against Homophobia and Editor-in-Chief of Vangardist Julian Wiehl has released a special issue of the magazine.
Wiehl said: “We remember the homosexual victims of Mauthausen. As a sign of respect of their unnecessary death, we call for a broad alliance against homophobia today. Because homophobia belongs to the past but not to our future.”
Dr Barbara Gluck, the director of Mauthausen Memorial, added: “The fight for the rights of homosexuals in Europe and around the world is important in our time.
“It’s not just about a fight for human rights, but also about a historical responsibility that we have to fulfil.
“Although the persecution of homosexuals in Europe culminated in National Socialism, their roots are much deeper.
“In many parts of the world, it still exists today. Although the recognition as a group of victims of the Nazis in Austria happened too late, it was nevertheless an important step to account for the persecution of homosexuals in the past, and working towards their social equality.”
Last month, 80 people from 10 countries travelled to the concentration camp and donated their time to take part in the creation of a photographic artwork representing The Pink Triangle Issue.
Watch the moving video below: