Memorial to homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism in Lübeck
Coordinates: 53 ° 51 ′ 42 " N , 10 ° 41 ′ 5.7" E
The memorial for homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism is a supplement to the central memorial for the victims of the National Socialist tyranny at the parade between the Zeughaus and the House of Cultures in Lübeck . The cast iron memorial plaque was unveiled on January 23, 2016 and comes from the Lübeck artist Erich Lethgau. The monument is the 8th of its kind worldwide in an inner-city area after z. B. Berlin , Cologne , Frankfurt , Amsterdam or Tel Aviv. There are more memorial plaques in concentration camp memorials, e.g. B. Mauthausen , Neuengamme , Dachau or Sachsenhausen .
Historical background
The National Socialists considered homosexuality to be an “unnatural predisposition”, an “epidemic” which was harmful to the so-called “national body” and which had to be “eradicated”. Shortly after Hitler came to power in March 1933, bars that were frequented by lesbians or gays were closed. The complete infrastructure of the first German homosexual movement, bars, clubs, publishers and magazines, was dissolved, banned, smashed and destroyed. In the fall of 1934, the systematic persecution of homosexual men began. Over 100,000 have been recorded by the police and around half have been convicted under Section 175 of the Criminal Law . Around 10,000 to 15,000 gay men were sent to concentration camps. More than half did not survive.
The gay men in the Hanseatic city were also persecuted. Friedrich-Paul von Großheim , born in Lübeck in 1906, describes one of the largest mass arrests of homosexuals during the Nazi era. On January 23, 1937, 230 men, including those from Großheim, were arrested and initially brought to the former armory at the cathedral, which served as Gestapo headquarters. The inmates were interrogated and tortured to denounce one another. The fates of those affected varied in the coming months: there were charges of violating §175, there were trials, convictions, and prison sentences, and some men were taken to the concentration camp.
A more detailed historical analysis of individual fates is still pending.
History of the monument
The memorial for the victims of the National Socialist tyranny has been commemorating Lübeck citizens who became victims of the National Socialists because of politics, religion or race.
The inscription reads:
"In memory of the citizens of Lübeck who were victims of National Socialist tyranny for political, religious and racial reasons between 1933 and 1945. In many cases, their ordeal began here, in the cells of the Secret State Police in the basement of the former armory . "
While the memory of the deportation of patients from the Strecknitz sanatorium and the Vorwerker homes, the executed Lübeck clergy or the victims of the death march from the Fürstengrube concentration camp has been added to the city area in recent years, the people who have been ignored because of their sexual identity were pursued by the Nazis.
During the wreath-laying ceremony, which has been taking place on January 23rd every year since 2013 and initiated by the Lübeck CSD eV association, the desire arose to add to the memorial and thus also to commemorate the persecuted homosexuals in the future. In September 2014, the association started its initiative “A monument that does not remember everyone” and quickly found support from representatives of local politics.
On November 10, 2014, the committee for culture and monument preservation of the Lübeck citizenship dealt with the expansion of the memorial at the request of the members of Bündnis90 / DIE GRÜNEN . The Lübeck CSD eV declares its willingness to participate in the financing. The decision was postponed in the committee and a formulating and reviewing order was sent to the administration.
On March 9, 2015, the Committee for Culture and the Preservation of Monuments again dealt with the memorial for homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism in Lübeck. Erich Lethgau, the artist who already created the existing memorial for the victims of National Socialism, was commissioned to create a separate memorial for the extension. The inscription was discussed and determined. The Lübeck CSD eV agreed to contribute part (4,000 €) of the financing (12,000 €) through donations.
On November 2, 2015, the artist Erich Lethgau gave an insight into his workshop, the design of the memorial and the typography of the interior font. Work on the plaster model began.
The plaster model of the monument was ready on December 21, 2015 and was completed as gray cast iron on January 14, 2016 in the iron foundry and machine factory Gustav Buchholz GmbH in Vienenburg near Goslar.
The assembly took place on January 22, 2016 one day before the unveiling at the armory.
The creation of the monument was photographed and video-documented by the Lübeck CSD eV and summarized online in a memorial diary.
inscription
"In memory
of the people
who were persecuted and murdered
under National Socialism
because of their
homosexual identity "
Location
The memorial was integrated into the central memorial for the victims of the National Socialist tyranny at the parade between the armory and the House of Cultures and is anchored at an angle of 90 degrees to the two existing memorial plaques on the wall of the armory.
Artist
Erich Lethgau , born in Gdansk in 1940 , studied from 1962 to 1965 in Hamburg at the University and the College of Fine Arts. From 1966 he initially worked as a teacher until he turned entirely to art in 1977 and has since worked as a freelance artist. Until 1970 he also worked with the sculptor Georg Weiland from Reinfeld , from 1971 there was a temporary working group with the Lübeck artist Gerhard Backschat . Erich Lethgau's complete oeuvre includes paintings , collages , screen prints , Plexiglas objects , reliefs and numerous building-related works.
layout
The memorial plaque is made of gray cast iron (gray cast iron) and is 160 cm wide, 60 cm high and 4 cm thick. In addition to the font, the shape also adapts to the existing monument. Erich Lethgau takes up the form of the breakthrough again. The font size corresponds to 2/3 of the font size of the two existing tables. The inside writing in capital letters is left-aligned over 6 lines.
revelation
The memorial for homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism in Lübeck was unveiled on January 23, 2016. About 200 representatives from federal, state and local politics as well as from the Evangelical Lutheran Lutheran Lutheran Lutheran Church met for the ceremonial handover to the public. Lübeck-Lauenburg church district, associations and organizations as well as many supporters and guests.
The song “Savior” by the Israeli artist Noa was chosen as a musical introduction in a duet with Peter Maffay , and this built a bridge to the memorial for homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism, which was inaugurated on January 10, 2014 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Speaker:
- Mayor Gabriele Schopenhauer , welcome
- Martin Sölle, CSG - Center for Gay History eV, Cologne
- Christian Till, chairman of the Lübeck CSD eV
On the same day there was a film about the unveiling in the NDR Schleswig-Holstein magazine . Reports also followed in the various daily newspapers and in the gay and lesbian media in Germany.
Web links
- Memorial for the victims of National Socialism in Lübeck (Lübeck art in public space)
- Erich Lethgau (Lübeck art in public space)
- Memorial to homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism in Israel (Federal Foreign Office, January 10, 2014)
- Lübeck gets memorial for homosexuals (LN online, November 11, 2014)
- Memorial plaque for persecuted homosexuals (LN online, January 19, 2016)
- Memorial plaque for persecuted homosexuals unveiled (LN online, January 23, 2016)
- Memorial diary of the Lübeck CSD eV
literature
Günter Grau , Rüdiger Lautmann : Lexicon on the persecution of homosexuals 1933–1945 : Institutions-Competencies-Areas of Activity ISBN 978-3-8258-9785-7