Liverpool remembers gay Holocaust victims
Pink and black triangle wreaths were laid in Liverpool this weekend to remember gay victims of the Holocaust.
More than 60,000 gay people in Europe were thought to have been persecuted, murdered or interned between 1933 and 1945, during the Nazi reign.
Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations are held yearly on January 27th and a short ceremony was held on Saturday to coincide with the start of LGBT History Month.
The wrests were laid at the Peace Memorial, in St John’s Gardens, by Lord Mayor Cllr Hazel Williams and representatives from Homotopia, Armistead, GYRO (Gay Youth R Out), Michael Causer Foundation, LGBT Network, Merseyside Police and Mersey Fire & Rescue Service.
A two-minute silence followed.
Homotopia director Gary Everett, who organised the event, said: “The Holocaust was one of the most horrific and inhuman chapters in modern history. It is important that we remember the persecution of homosexuals then and now and pay our respect to all lives lost.
“We must always be vigilant especially with the current abhorrent discrimination so prevalent in countries like Malawi, Uganda and Iran.”
Ms Williams said: “Holocaust Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to remember those groups who were persecuted during the Holocaust.
“It’s important that we continue to educate people, young and old, about the atrocities experienced during this horrendous period, and remember that Jews, homosexuals, Roma gypsies and disabled people were all targeted.
“Events such as the laying of the pink and black wreath play a pivotal role in this education and I’m honoured to be part of the event.”
