In the coming year, the German Bundestag will for the first time commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime who were persecuted and killed because of their sexual or gender identity, said the Bundestag spokeswoman on Friday.
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On January 27, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, German parliamentarians will “put these victims at the center of the commemoration,” Bärbel Bas told the Tagesspiegel.
Germany has celebrated Holocaust Remembrance Day every January 27 since 1996 with a ceremony in the Bundestag, a speech by a survivor and commemorations across the country.
“Unfortunately, there are no more survivors” for the memorial to LGBT victims, Mr Bas said, adding that the parliamentary authorities are in close contact with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Germany (LSVD).
For years, activists have been campaigning for a parliamentary memorial for victims who were persecuted by the National Socialists because of their sexual or gender identity. In support of this motion, a petition was filed in 2018, signed by victim organizations, academics and other civil society figures.
While former Federal President Roman Herzog named homosexuals among the victims of National Socialism at the first event in 1996, “these victims do not yet have their own memorial,” says Henny Engels, member of the LSVD board.
The parliamentary group “welcomed” the decision of the President of the Bundestag. “In order to draw the right lessons from all its facets, history must be kept alive in a comprehensive way,” said Henny Engels.