Germany recalls overlooked LGBT victims of Nazi persecution

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has commemorated the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp by focusing on people who were incarcerated and killed during the Nazi era because of their sexual orientations and gender identifies. Thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people were arrested and thrown into camps during Adolf Hitler’s 1933-1945 dictatorship under anti-homosexuality laws that preceded and outlasted the Nazi era. The Nazis broadened the German penal code to criminalize kisses and even glances between people of the same sex, leading to accusations against tens of thousands of men. About half were convicted and sent to camps. Women persecuted for “asocial behavior” had a similar fate. Friday was the 78th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation.