It’s January 27, 2025. But 80 years ago today this date had much greater meaning. The Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz was liberated. By January 27, 1945 more than half a million jews and gay people had perished at Auschwitz. It was a death camp. After 10 years, It was Hitlers final solution to what he called “the homosexual problem”. Trains came to Poland’s camp 24 hours a day and the gas chambers and furnaces were in continual use. An estimated 10% of those taken to the camp were used for slave labor. Another 10% were utilized for human experimentation and the balance were murdered and cremated to hide evidence of the holocaust. More than 100,000 homosexuals were arrested during the war and an estimated 15,000 perished in camps. Approximately 1000 survivors still are living today including nearly 70 from the LGBTQ community. 80 years later Auschwitz is a living museum that is a memorial to the darkest moments in the history of the world. At Auschwitz you can see pile after pile of shoes and glasses that were removed before the furnaces. You can see piles of human hair that was used for textiles. The Jewish star was used on the trains to Auschwitz. The Pink triangle was used to identify queer community. 80 years today… that nightmare ended. It’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. At Queer News Tonight we ask for a moment of silence to remember our brothers and sisters in humanity that were lost to hate.
