Düsseldorf honors LGBTQ+ victims of Nazi rule
In Düsseldorf, a city in western Germany, the LSBTIQ+ Forum Düsseldorf and the Memorial and Remembrance Site Düsseldorf invited people to lay wreaths at a monument on a significant remembrance day. This day, commemorated annually on June 28th, honours the queer victims of National Socialism, paying tribute to those persecuted under Nazi rule for their sexual orientation.
This date holds symbolic significance, as it coincides with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. The choice of this date serves to mark the removal of homosexuality from the list of mental disorders by the World Health Organization.
On this occasion, cultural performances such as dance and music events have been organised in Düsseldorf to raise awareness and memorialize the suffering and resilience of LGBTQ+ individuals under Nazi persecution. In June 2025, a remembrance event in Düsseldorf included artistic performances specifically dedicated to queer victims of National Socialism.
The terror against homosexuals intensified in Düsseldorf during the summer of 1937. The mass arrests of alleged homosexual men began on June 28th, with the arrest of Karl Carduck and his friends. Approximately 400 men were arrested in Düsseldorf for "homosexual acts", making it the city with the most arrests under Paragraph 175 in West Germany.
The scenic reading titled "Allein im Rosa Winkel" was staged following the wreath-laying ceremony at the Beatrice-Strauss-Zentrum. This reading, a collaboration between DüsselDrama, the Memorial and Remembrance Site, the Queer History(Düsseldorf) Association, the Theater Museum, the Office for Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination, the City Archives, and the Lesbian and Gay Library (LuSBD), explored the destruction of the queer subculture in Düsseldorf from June 1937 to August 1938.
Mona Neubaur, a prominent figure in the LSBTIQ+ community, thanked the civil society for representing the interests of the queer community and striving for solutions. She emphasised the significance of the LSBTIQ+ community in Europe, Germany, and Düsseldorf, and the symbolism of the CSD in Budapest. Neubaur also highlighted the rights of the queer community as part of the DNA of Europe, Germany, and Düsseldorf.
In response to the President of the Bundestag, Julia Klöckner, prohibiting the participation of Bundestag employees in the Berlin CSD and preventing the hoisting of the rainbow flag, Neubaur criticised this decision. She emphasised that the rights of the queer community are integral to the fabric of society.
In the face of historical erasure, Düsseldorf has designated a remembrance day for the queer victims of National Socialism. The city was particularly zealous in closing down well-known homosexual locations before an order was issued. The monument "A strangely classical monument" was installed on the Apollo meadow in Düsseldorf in autumn 2021, serving as a physical reminder of the atrocities committed against sexual minorities during the Nazi regime.
The remembrance day and events like the scenic reading contribute to recognising the often overlooked atrocities committed against sexual minorities during the Nazi regime, fostering an inclusive memory culture and countering historical erasure.
- The remembance day in Düsseldorf, honoring queer victims of National Socialism, also coincides with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
- In an effort to shape a more inclusive memory culture, various cultural performances and events in Düsseldorf, such as the scenic reading "Allein im Rosa Winkel", aim to raise awareness about the persecution and resilience of LSBTIQ+ individuals during Nazi rule.
