Back Opening of the “Berlin – Yogyakarta” Exhibition

Strasbourg , 

Dear Ambassador,
Dear Parliamentarians,
Dear General Rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

In August 2011, the last known survivor amongst the thousands of men sent to Nazi concentration camps for being homosexual passed away in Mulhouse, not far from Strasbourg.

Mr Brazda was 98 years old and lived with his partner for over 50 years in the Alsatian town. He was the living memory of the persecution, legal proceedings and murders that thousands of homosexuals suffered during the Nazi period.  

Most survivors were afraid or ashamed to tell their stories. Long after the Nazi era, homosexuality continued to be considered an illness — and in some countries a crime.  Mr Brazda needed courage to break his silence and publish his and his friend's story, paying tribute to the "forgotten victims" of Nazi Aryan policy which regarded homosexuality as a "degenerate form of behaviour" which threatened the nation's "disciplined masculinity".

From 1933 to 1945, an estimated 100.000 men from all over Europe — Austria, France, the Netherlands, Poland and what was then Czechoslovakia — were arrested, just because they were homosexuals.

Some 50,000 officially defined homosexuals were sentenced by the courts. Most of these men spent time in regular prisons. An estimated 5.000 to 15.000 of those sentenced were incarcerated in concentration camps, where like other inmates they had to wear uniforms with various identifying marks. These marks were either a large black dot and a large "175" — the number of the paragraph of the German Penal Code prohibiting homosexual acts — drawn on the back of the jacket; or later a pink triangular patch.

Although homosexuals constituted one of the smallest categories in the camps, they were often treated with exceptional brutality. They were subjected to beatings and became the victims of "extermination through labour", castration and medical experiments to make them "normal". Often they also suffered the homophobia of fellow inmates.

After the Second World War, recognition as "Victim of Nazism" was denied to these men and women because society considered their lifestyle shameful. It is only in recent years, not least thanks to the tireless efforts and the hard work of LGBT human rights defenders, that the suffering of gay, lesbian and bisexual victims of Nazism was gradually recognised.

The Berlin-Yogyakarta exhibition introduces us to the less known history of the victims of the Nazi regime. It reminds us that the LGBT communities in Europe and around the world are still the subject of daily discrimination, prejudice and violence.

Progress has been achieved in our continent, in particular through the de-criminalization of homosexual acts. However, we have still a long way to go before we can claim to guarantee universal human rights to all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Much still needs to be done before we can claim that they enjoy equal dignity and equal rights, without any discrimination.

As Europe's leading human rights organisation, the Council of Europe will continue to support member States to combat the discrimination and challenges faced by LGBT people.

We will work in close co-operation and co-ordination with our member States, with regional and international partners to make sure we live up to the Yogykarta Principles:

"Each human being, whatever his or her sexual orientation and gender identity, has the right to live a dignified life; should not fear for his or her safety; and has the right to found a family and to participate in public life."

Thank you for your attention.