On June 28, 1934, Germany's anti-gay holocaust began with the rounding up and execution of 200 'homosexual pigs who besmirch the honour of the party.'(Hitler) An estimated 220,000 gays and lesbians died along with Jews, gypsies, and members of the Nazi resistance from the beginnings of the rise of Nazi power, in the concentration camps of Hitler's Germany.The pink triangle appeared in 1937. Concentration Camp prisoners were identified by a set of coloured triangles.Gay men in nazi death camps were required to wear Pink Triangles,(with one tip pointed down), on their uniforms to identify them for special abuse.Their triangles were also larger than other prisoner's. (These included the yellow 'Star of David'-Jewish, purple for Jehovah's Witnesses, red for political prisoners and green for criminals.) The Pink Triangle is now used as a gay identification symbol as well as a reminder of oppression.

The pink triangle is a symbol of the phrase 'NEVER FORGET,NEVER AGAIN.'The pink triangle, inverted, was also adopted by ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) as their symbol for "an active fight back, rather than a passive resignation to fate." The black triangle was designated for Asocials, Romas(Gypsies) and for 'women who were socially unacceptable', which included lesbians. A collective lesbian life-style and identity, which had begun to take shape since the turn of the century and especially in the years of the Weimar Republic, was destroyed when the Nazi's came to power.Other cases are known in which lesbians were punished as 'subversive of the military potential.'And, where a so-called relation of dependence existed between a superior and a subordinate or between a teacher and a school girl, the penal code would apply.

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The LAMBDA as a symbol of gay/lesbian rights...

'The Encyclopedia of Homosexuality' Has the following entry: In the early 1970s, in the wake of the Stonewall Rebellion, NYC's Gay Activist's Alliance selected the Greek letter lambda,(looks like an inverted letter 'Y') which member Tom Doerr suggested from its scientific use to designate kinetic potential, as its emblem.Because of its militant associations, the lambda symbol has spread throughout the world. It sometimes appears in the form of an amulet hung around the neck as a subtle sign of recognition which can pass among unknowing heterosexuals as a mere ornament. Such emblems may reflect a tendency among gays towards 'tribalization' as a distinct segment of society, one conceived as a quasi-ethnic group.

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In 'More Man Than You'll Ever Be' by Joseph P. Goodwin, he writes:The lowercase Greek letter lambda carries several meanings> First of all, it represents scales, and thus balance.The Greeks considered balance to be the constant adjustment necessary to keep opposing forces from overcoming each other. The hook at the bottom of the right leg of the lambda represents the action required to reach and maintain a balance. To the Spartans, the lambda meant unity. They felt that society should never infringe on anyone's individuality and freedom. The Romans adopted the letter to represent 'the light of knowledge shed into the darkness of ignorance.' Finally, in physics the symbol designates and energy change. Thus the lambda, with all its meanings, is an especially apt symbol for the gay liberation movement, which energeticall seeks a balance in society and which strives through enlightenment to secure equal rights for gay people.

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Terry Goodwin

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