Nick Clegg calls for gay Holocaust victims to be remembered

Nick Clegg has backed a call for gay victims of the Holocaust to be remembered on a national memorial.

The Deputy Prime Minister told PinkNews he felt Holocaust memorials should include non-Jewish victims of the persecution, which included up to 15,000 homosexuals forced to wear a “pink triangle” and live in concentration camps.

Several monuments across the world already commemorate the gay and lesbian victims, including in Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Berlin and San Francisco.

The Liberal Democrat leader said: “Today we remember the millions of innocent people who lost their lives in the Holocaust, one of the worst genocides known to man. Their crimes – nothing more than the way they were born.

“As we pay tribute to them, we must never forget the tens of thousands of gay people who were so brutally persecuted and executed at the hands of the Nazis, simply because of their sexuality.

“The symbol of the pink triangle, once intended as a badge of shame, today stands as an international symbol of freedom and pride. From the dark shadow of history rises a neon emblem of diversity and hope.

“Any memorial remembering the Holocaust should recognise the persecution of non-Jewish victims whilst maintaining the centrality of the six million murdered Jews.”

Benjamin Cohen, chief executive of PinkNews will say in an article to be published alongside Mr Clegg’s: “Last year, the Government announced the formation of the Holocaust Commission with a mission to create a permanent memorial to the Holocaust in Britain and increase the level of awareness of this important part of modern history.

“It’s incumbent for the commission to ensure that the persecution of gay people is included in the memorial, perhaps with the inclusion of the pink triangle.”