Links to online references

Dachau Concentration Camp

Persecution of Homosexuals in the Third Reich

Classification System in Nazi Concentration Camps

Detailed history

1871 - King Wilhelm established the Second Reich and adopted the Bavarian code. A section of this code stated that "lewd and unnatural behavior" would be outlawed and sentences of one day to five years would be imposed.

In 1925, we saw the formation of the first SS Units. Ernest Rohm, one of Hitler's chief advisors and known homosexual, pressed charges against a seventeen year old boy who had robbed him the morning after their encounter.

In 1929, the stock market crashed and the Nazi leadership came to power.

In 1930, Rohm was made head of the Storm Troopers.

So you understand the general historical background. Over the years, the Nazi leadership passed laws condoning the sterilization of homosexuals as well as other groups of people that were considered lessor beings. However, unlike the schizophrenics and the blind, homosexuals were usually castrated as punishment instead of the typical sterilization.
The homosexuals were identified in the concentration camps by the pink triangles, which alienated them from others and was an invitation for special torture from the Nazi leaders. It continues to be the most widely-recognized symbols of the gay community.

On the first anniversary of Rohm's leadership, paragraph 175 was revised and more punishable acts were included to the list of offenses such as kissing, embracing, and homosexual fantasies. How they determined who was having homosexual fantasies is beyond me.

According to historical facts, it is estimated that a quarter and a half million homosexuals were killed in concentration camps. Paragraph 175a was ultimately abolished in 1969.

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