Disorder at Rostock memorial event for queer Nazi victims

Disorder at Rostock memorial event for queer Nazi victims

Rostocker Rosengarten, Rostock, Deutschland - on July 18, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., a memorial event took place in the Rostock Rosengarten under the motto "Memory of the queer victims of the Nazi regime". Ten people took part in this important meeting, which was dedicated to the memory of the persecuted National Socialism. Unfortunately, the ceremony was interrupted by two alcoholic interferers, a 62-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman, who drew attention to herself with threatening and insulting interjections. Police officers were quickly on hand to determine the personal details of the interferers and gave two dismissal. In addition, a criminal complaint was filed for threats and insults, while the criminal police started the investigation to thoroughly examine the incident. This reports Cityreport .

commemorating the queer victims of National Socialism has increasingly become aware of the public in recent years. Particularly noteworthy is the central commemoration, which took place on June 28, 2025 in Düsseldorf. This event, organized by the LSBTIQ+ Forum Düsseldorf and the Düsseldorf Mind and Memorial, presented the first day of commemoration for queer Nazi victims. Representatives of the city and the forum jointly set up wreaths on the memorial on the Apolloviese. Afterwards there was a scenic reading in the Beatrice-Strauss Center entitled "In the Rosa Winkel", which was presented by the theater collective Düsseldrama. This reading addressed life and persecution of queer during the Nazi dictatorship and the continued oppression after the war. Entry to the reading was free and the event was supported by various institutions, including the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf and the Düsseldorf City Archives. You can learn more about this at düsseldorf queer .

historical context

In order to understand the relevance of such memorial events, it is important to take a look at the story. With the seizure of power of the National Socialists in 1933, measures against homosexuals were increasingly strict. From the end of February 1933, the civil rights movement and the press organs of the homosexuals were banned. In addition, the paragraph 175, which criminalized homosexual acts, was tightened on June 28, 1935. In Düsseldorf, for example, mass arrests were supposed to have gay men, which made the city to the region with most arrests according to paragraph 175 in West Germany. A total of around 100,000 investigations against homosexual men were initiated by the National Socialist dictatorship in the twelve years, and an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 men were deported to concentration camps under the pretext of the "protective custody". The then valid Nazi ideology considered homosexuals as not "full" men and evaluated them because they did not contribute to the 'Aryan' offspring. mdr offers detailed information.

The persecution was cruel: Homosexual men often had to live with the pink angle in the concentration camps as a license plate, which they put to the bottom in the hierarchical order of the camp. The overwhelming part of these prisoners did not survive the camps; It is estimated that around 50 to 60 percent of them died. The suffering and the suppression of these victims must not be forgotten, which is why memorial events are not only historically necessary, but also an important sign against the recurring discrimination and prejudices in today's time.