Homosexuals

   Despite the presence of homosexuals in the National Socialist movement, the Nazis persecuted them both in Germany and in Austria. The Nazis viewed homosexuality as a danger to the future of Germany, as well as a threat to public morality. In 1935, the government rewrote the 1871 law that made it a crime to engage in a homosexual act, and those convicted of the offense were sent to concentration camps. Oddly, lesbians were not considered a danger to the nation and, therefore, few were arrested. The Nazis also ignored the presence of homosexuals in German-occupied countries. Between 1933 and 1945, approximately 100,000 homosexuals were arrested under the 1935 law, with the courts convicting about half of the defendants. About 15,000 were sent to the concentration camps, where they were subjected to brutal conditions. In addition, they were required to wear a pink triangle patch on their clothing as a means of identification. Approximately 60 percent died in the camps from severe privations and abuse. Homosexuals, however, were not targets for annihilation as were the Jews and the Gypsies.