The pink triangle evolved from a symbol of Nazi persecution to an emblem of queer liberation and activism. This episode traces its journey from concentration camps through the AIDS crisis to modern Pride celebrations, revealing how it was reclaimed by the queer community as a powerful symbol of resistance.
• Nazi Germany used color-coded triangle badges to identify prisoner groups in concentration camps, with gay men forced to wear pink triangles
• An estimated 65% of gay men in concentration camps died, and survivors were often transferred to prison after "liberation" as homosexuality remained illegal
• Allied forces deliberately left anti-gay Nazi laws intact when denazifying Germany
• Germany didn't fully repeal its anti-homosexuality laws until 1994
• Joseph Kohut's memoir "The Men with the Pink Triangle" (1972) was one of the first accounts from an LGBTQ+ concentration camp survivor
• Germany's first gay rights organization reclaimed the pink triangle in 1973 as a symbol of liberation
• The Silence = Death poster adopted the pink triangle a year before ACT UP was formed
• The symbol now appears in memorials and Pride events worldwide
Join us next episode as we explore monuments and memorials that use the pink triangle in their design, honoring victims of both the Holocaust and the AIDS crisis.
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