Bundestag commemorates victims who were attacked by the Nazis for their sexuality

German politicians celebrated International Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Bundestag on Friday, on the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp.

The former camp is located in the town of Oswiecim in southern Poland, which was occupied by German troops during World War II and became a place where Jews, Roma, members of the LGBTI+ community, communists and anti-fascists were systematically murdered. and others aimed at elimination by Adolf Hitler and his accomplices.

In all, about 1.1 million people were killed in the sprawling complex before it was liberated by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945.

In the Bundestag, this year’s memorial event was dedicated to those who were persecuted by the Nazis for their sexual orientation.

Thousands of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals were imprisoned and murdered by the Nazis. Their fate was not publicly acknowledged until decades after the end of World War II.

“What I had to learn as a small child, many members of sexual and gender minorities had to learn before and unfortunately also after 1945,” Holocaust survivor Rozette Kats said in a speech to the Bundestag.

“Because it makes people sick when they have to hide and deny.”

For more information, watch Euronews’ report in the video above.