Book Review

Book Review: The Pin Trian e, by
Richard Plant, Henry Holt & Company, New
York 1986

The Pink Trian le is a comprehensive
account of the fate of homosexuals in Nazis
Germany. It is remarkable in that little
information on the subject is available in
English. This book presents the history of
events leading up to the Third Reich and
the effects on homosexuals of that time.

Plant’s chronicle begins at the turn of
the century and describes how widespread
anti-gay prejudice was increasingly challenged
be the homosexual emancipation movement.
The relative freedom gays encountered in
the larger German cities during this brief
period was quickly quenched by the Nazi
movement beginning in the 1920's, which
signalled the beginning of a period of
virulent homophobia.

This period began with street brutality
by Nazi thugs and enforcement of the
infamous Paragraph 175. This law which
was first enacted by Kaiser Wilhem I in
1871 pertains only to "criminally ‘Indecent
activities" between males or males with
animals and does not include women.
Paragraph 175 meant imprisonment of many
homosexuals and was also used to detain
aquaintances of gay males and also any male
with any "suspicion" of being gay.
Eventually when the concentration camps
and death camps were set up, homosexuals
were interred along with Jews, Jehovah's
Witnesses, political prisoners, etc.

In the concentration camps,
homosexuals were designated by pink
triangles and were considered the lowest
rung in camp heirarchy. Often, pink
triangles were sent to the cement works
which meant almost certain death.
"Medical" experiments such as castration
followed by testosterone treatment were
often performed on those wearing pink
triangles.

Liberation at the end of the war in
many cases did not end the horror for "pink
triangles". Quite often they were treated
like dirt by the liberators and many were
abandoned by friends and relatives.

The Pink Triangle is important if only
for the fact that it is an attempt, however
small, to fill in the gap of written history of
the Holocaust. The author does mention
the difficulties encountered in researching
the subject, such as destroyed records and
the reluctance of many former "pink
triangles" to come forward and speak about
their experiences. The book is somewhat
unemotional considering the tremendous
horror of the Third Reich. In a time when
the plight of the Jewish people during the
Holocaust is being examined in a highly
emotional manner (for example, the film
"Shoah" and the writings of Eli Wiesel), the
story of The Pink Triangle is only beginning
to come out. Considering the age of most
of the people who have survived the camps,
it seems more imperative than ever that their
experiences be recorded.

 

 

r

O

0.

 

Open 7 Days a Week
Mon.— Fri. Open at 5pm
Sat. + Sun. Open at 8pm

C) Downstairs ls Open Tues., Thurs., Fri., and Sat.

May 1987, Page 5

OI

Tues. Ed's $1 Bud Night
Wed. Ladies Night
Thurs. Boys Night Out

       

Womyn’s Dance,
Friday, May 1st & Friday, June 5th,
5-9 p.m.

O

O

135 Pearl Street Burlington, VT 802 863-2343

 
    
 

Out in the Mountains wants you

You can have a future in the exciting world of
lesbian/gay journalism as an Out in the Mountains
staffer! '-

Learn all there is to know about the print
media as you have a lot of fun trying to
_publish the monthly issue of Out in the

,0. ._ Mountains.
, Intrigued?
% Find out more by writing to:

Out in the Mountains
PO Box 438
Hinesburg, VT 05461