It may not be large, or groomed, and sits right next to a busy road, and many seem not to be aware of it as they focus their attention on the bars, restaurants, cafés and stores, but it's a good reminder of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go in the pursuit of freedom and equality for LGBT people.
I don't think I could say it better than the Pink Triangle Park's own website, so - with apologies - I'll just paste the text from their website:
This is a civil rights park.
The 15 granite pylons rise before you in remembrance of the estimate 15,000 gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders who were persecuted imprisoned and killed during and after the Nazi regime.
Throughout history, there are times when prejudice overwhelms all reason and humanity. Such was the case under the Nazis. But even after the Nazis' defeat, the discrimination against the LGBT community continued, using Paragraph 175 of the penal code. Briefly freed from concentration camps by Allied troops, those prisoners wearing the pink triangle were returned to finish their sentences. Those who survived two imprisonments emerged as second-class citizens even under democratically elected governments.
Pink Triangle Park and Memorial is a place of remembrance, reflection and education - a physical reminder of how persecution of any individual or single group of people inevitably damages all humanity.
Here are a few photos from my visit earlier this evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment