19331933–1945 · Schöneberg and Tiergarten, Berlin
Schöneberg's queer scene and the Nazi persecution of gay men
In the 1920s the streets around Nollendorfplatz in Schöneberg held dozens of bars and clubs for gay men, lesbians and trans people. The Nazis closed them in 1933 and in 1935 widened Paragraph 175, the law against sex between men. About 50,000 men were convicted, and thousands were sent to concentration camps marked with a pink triangle, where many died. West Germany kept the harsher law until 1969.
Sites
- Site 1: Pink triangle plaque, Nollendorfplatz stationGranite triangle of 1989 on the station wall: 'beaten to death, silenced to death'.Map ↗
- Site 2: Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted under Nazism, TiergartenConcrete block with a window onto a film of same-sex couples kissing, opened in 2008.Map ↗
- Site 3: Sachsenhausen Memorial, OranienburgFormer camp where many pink-triangle prisoners were killed in the brickworks in 1942.Map ↗
Guides who take you there
History-only · order never for saleWe haven't found an independent history guide for this yet. Guide here? Tell us about your tours.
Also in Berlin
More from the Second World War
Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.