January 27th marks Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK. The systematic destruction of those deemed ‘undesirable’ by the Nazis and their allies across Europe was a catastrophic waste of life and was carried out in some of the most inhumane, brutal and unforgivable ways imaginable.
The Rainbow Project would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to remember those that lost their lives under the jackboot of Nazi oppression because of their religion, ethnicity, political belief, sexual orientation, physical ability or gender identity. We must not forget the many thousands of LGB&T people that were driven from their jobs, their homes, exiled or murdered by the Nazis and their allies in the extermination camps of Auschwitz, Treblinka, Chelmno and many others.
Speaking on the remembrance of the event The Rainbow Project Advocacy Officer Dan Peters said “We are reminded each year of the horrors of the Holocaust as well as its impact on the LGB&T community. It is estimated that around one hundred thousand gay or bisexual men were arrested by the Nazi regime and their puppet states across Europe during the Holocaust and of those around fifty thousand were worked to death in the concentration camps or executed. Forced to wear pink triangles to further dehumanise them, those LGB&T people who dared to exist in such a time must never be forgotten. We must also continue to fight for LGB&T people under oppressive regimes across the world so that this is never allowed to happen again.”
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust have released a video to commemorate those murdered under the Nazi regime and their allies. This year’s theme is “How Can Life Go On?”