In a Pink News exclusive, Nick Clegg has called for gay victims of the Nazis to be included in the planned national Holocaust memorial – the “first senior politician” to do so.
Clegg:
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.
Read the full piece here.
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21 Comments
I wonder how many of the “gay” victims were in fact Trans? I suspect a significant proportion but we were not really recognised as a separate group then, or now by the look of it
“Their crimes, nothing more than the way they were born”
Ignoring, if we can, Nick Clegg’s scientific ignorance about homosexuality, this statement rather sidelines those slaughtered by the Nazis because of the way they thought – e.g. left-wingers, Catholic priests, intellectuals, etc. They were just as ‘innocent’ as the Jewish and homosexual victims of the holocaust. We should of course remember all that perished, including the few thousand gay victims, but is Clegg campaigning for all victims to be remembered? – e.g. the 1.5 million Roma? The gay victims represent roughly 0.2% of the non-Jewish victims.
I’m staggered that it would ever have been considered doing this without including them.
This is one of those subjects about which convention prevents rational discussion. Unless one gives a parrot fashion repeat of the ‘acceptable version’ of events there is a danger that a storm of criticism is whipped up.
The very use of the word “Holocaust” is relatively recent. It was not in use at all when I was at school and studying these events in history. The appallingly inhuman Nazi death camps are still difficult to think about because of the enormity of the crime and the industrial scale of the slaughter of innocent civilians.
The Hollywood version of the 1940s would have us believe that this was all about religion. So those victims who ended up in death camps because of their sexuality, their political or trade union background, or because of their disability fade into the background.
Victims of slave labour camps operated by the Japanese during the 1930s when Korean and Chinese victims suffered and died terribly and in the 1940s in Burma and the rest of South East Asia also are relegated to a secondary status. Similarly victims of Stalin’s regime have to a great extent been written out of the history of the 1940s.
Mention the words Armenian and genocide in the same sentence and you risk starting an international incident with the Turkish Government. Similarly a mention of what happened to the original population of Tasmania does not often figure in the UK media.
Victims of subsequent genocides such as Pol Pot in Cambodia and more recently the genocide in Rwanda also disappear into the background as the focus is solely on Aushwitz amd the Nazis (although not those industrialists who made profits from the slave labour provided in the camps — perhaps because some of those industrial concerns are still in business today).
I make this observation because I have always thought the Orwellian warning about “He who controls the past …” is one that we should heed. We should get our history straight, objective amd accurate. We should not allow it to be re-written by one group or another who are seeking present day or future advantage by “controlling the past”.
As we move towards the time when no one will have first hand memories to pass on, Clegg is absolutely correct to call for the broadest possible recognition in a Holocaust Memorial. The Nazi holocaust against the Jews must never be forgotten but neither should the murder of gays, nor the mentally and physically disabled, nor the approximately 220,000 Roma murdered (about 25% of the European Roma population).
Of course we should remember all who died but without counting numbers (Steve) and without care as to whether they were born that way (Roma, Jews, Gay, Those disabled in any way), became that way or out of choice
@Hywel
“I’m staggered that it would ever have been considered doing this without including them.”
It hasn’t. This is a complete non-story, because what Clegg is “calling for” has already been promised.
From “The Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission Report”, published today :-
Recommendation 1: A striking and prominent new National Memorial
The evidence is clear that there should be a striking new Memorial to serve as the focal point for national commemoration of the Holocaust…
In considering the design of the new Memorial, the Commission debated at length the important question of whether and how to represent the fate of other victims of Nazi persecution. The Commission resolved that, at its heart, the Memorial must represent the experience of the Jewish victims… However, it would be an injustice to the memory of those other victims not to reflect upon their tragic experiences too. Amongst these victims were members of the Roma community, Jehovah’s Witnesses, political dissidents, homosexuals and people with mental and physical
disabilities. Furthermore, the Commission profoundly believes that understanding of the Holocaust can be strengthened further by learning about the fate of other victims of Nazi persecution.
The Jewish community also fundamentally believes in the need to show solidarity with the victims of other genocides, both by the Nazis and subsequently.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398645/Holocaust_Commission_Report_Britains_promise_to_remember.pdf
From http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-2927722/Thousands-remember-Holocaust-dead.html :-
Events will also commemorate victims of genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. 2015 also marks the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre when Bosnian Serb troops murdered thousands of Muslim men and boys in the worst atrocity in Europe since the Second World War.
Six candles designed by sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor will be lit by five Holocaust survivors and a survivor from the Bosnian war as part of the central London memorial service.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is of especial significance – marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It’s a day to honour the Holocaust survivors who are still with us, and to remember the six million Jewish people who were murdered. It’s a time to reflect on the horrors of Nazi persecution, and the genocides which have taken place since then.”
Neither the organisers of Holocaust Memorial Day nor those who have devised the all-inclusive Holocaust Memorial are guilty of forgetting about other atrocities. I’m not sure why this non-argument comes up year after year on LDV. If people want to do something more edifying to mark HMD, they could do a lot worse than spend an hour listening to Freddie Knoller’s remarkable story :-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b050cvdd/surviving-the-holocaust-freddie-knollers-war
I have just been watching the programme. I simply do not understand the present level of hatred at those who wish to attend a synagogue.
I think one comment you could make is, antisemitic behavior has become an issue, that is what this is all about, how do we improve the situation?
I think that all measures being taken are brave, and I am sure there many Jews who will be grateful to David Cameron on this support for a better future.
I personally will never understand, how such dislike can be voiced at someone you don’t even know.
Stuart 27th Jan ’15 – 7:03pm
“..,.Neither the organisers of Holocaust Memorial Day nor those who have devised the all-inclusive Holocaust Memorial are guilty of forgetting about other atrocities. I’m not sure why this non-argument comes up year after year on LDV. ”
Stuart — have you considered that it may be something to do with balance ? It appears to me that every year since National Holocaust Day was invented underTony Blair’s Government – that it has concentrated very much on one aspect of the subject.
I was not aware that this was something that has been mentioned in LDV every year but I have only been reading LDV for the last 18 months.
Most of The TV and Radio coverage that I have witnessed today has made very little reference to the seven million deaths in Stalin’s 1930’s Soviet Union. I did not see anything from China, or Cambodia, or Bosnia, or Rwanda. Perhaps I just missed the broadcasts from those parts of the world.
Perhaps next year when it is not a particular anniversary all the emphasis will be on Rwanda ?
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/index.html.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1992-1995 – 200,000 Deaths
Rwanda: 1994 – 800,000 Deaths
Pol Pot in Cambodia: 1975-1979 – 2,000,000 Deaths
Nazi Holocaust: 1938-1945 – 6,000,000 Deaths
Rape of Nanking: 1937-1938 – 300,000 Deaths
Stalin’s Forced Famine: 1932-1933 – 7,000,000 Deaths
Armenians in Turkey: 1915-1918 – 1,500,000 Deaths
@John
For once I can’t see where you are coming from here. This is not “Genocide Memorial Day”; it is “Holocaust Memorial Day”. The Holocaust was a specific historical event. Complaining that not enough “balance” is given to other genocides is like complaining that last year’s Hillsborough 25th anniversary memorial event did not pay enough attention to the Hampden Park disaster.
As it happens, and as I’ve already demonstrated, the organisers of HMD do in fact give attention to other genocides and atrocities. It is good that they do so. But frankly, even if they didn’t, I’m at a loss as to why anybody would think that the Holocaust was not a terrible enough event to warrant a memorial of its own. I would say the same about all the other atrocities on your list.
I invite you to go take a look at the HMD website and note the main menu items on the left hand side of the page, many of which refer to atrocities in your little list above :-
http://hmd.org.uk/
There are two things I find curious about all this. One, why do so many people claim that HMD ignores other atrocities when that is clearly not true? And two, if people are so outraged at the lack of attention given to those other atrocities, why don’t they talk about it more during the 364 days of each year that are not Holocaust Memorial Day?
I just want to back Lauren’s recent calls to focus more on trans rights and separate it from gay rights. Reddit Suicide Watch is full of trans people and the evidence seems to back up this anecdotal evidence.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/19/young-transgender-suicide-attempts-survey
Good call from Clegg with the gay remembrance for holocaust victims.
By constantly concentrating only on the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi extermination and concentration camps we risk re-writing the history of the Holocaust. Historians generally calculate the total number of deaths at around eleven million which would include religious minorities such as Jehovah’s Witness’s, gay people, gypsies, Poles, trade unionists and various other groups and individuals who found themselves on the wrong side of Adolf Hitler
I agree with Stuart. I can’t believe this is even an issue. Six million Jews died in the Shoah – the number is staggering. But on Holocaust memorial day all victims are remembered. More attention is given to Jewish victims because of the sheer scale of loss.
Nick Clegg seems hell-bent on driving this party into the niche of identity politics. It didn’t work for Labour in the 1980s – it won’t work now.
I think as the situation is at present with the rise in antisemitism, it is important we stop and control this hatred. We Jews want to remember those who lost their lives in such awful circumstances.
The shock that rocked Paris so recently, and the lack of respect for Jews is not acceptable.
I am following the 70 for 70, Rabbi Sacks office has sent me details.
Helen,
I don’t think much love has been shown for Palestinians in recent months. Is it surprising that groups sympathetic to them may return the compliment?
@ Helen Tadcastle
“Nick Clegg seems hell-bent on driving this party into the niche of identity politics. It didn’t work for Labour in the 1980s – it won’t work now.”
Wow- where did that come from?
Stuart and Helen Tedcastle
I find myself in the unusual position of supporting Clegg on something. 🙂
The comment from Robert 28th Jan ’15 – 9:03am neatly sums up my position —
“…By constantly concentrating only on the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi extermination and concentration camps we risk re-writing the history …”
I was already aware that other genocides and atrocities are referenced in official versions of HMD etc.
A reasonable interpretation of this is that one community is “co-opting” the experiences and history of others.
The reality of yesterday’s events and the media coverage is that it was dominated by one community.
If we lived in a country where that community was the majority of the population or even a significant minority it would be understandable.
I Iive in England where the Jewish population is less than 300,000 which accounts for 0.4% of the total population.
Compare those numbers to for example the number of paid up trade unionists in this country.
There is an official government sponsored annual event to “remember” the sufferings of one community and token references are made to some of the other communities along the way.
It is a re-writing of history. The second world war was not a rescue mission for people in the death camps. At the time official UK government recognition of the very existence of the camps has been described as “muted”.
The Hollywood version of events in the 1930s and 1940s is not history.
http://www.rabbisacks.org/70-days-70-years-unique-project-holocaust-remembrance-education/
Tsar Nicholas, my comments are simply that what is happening with antisemitism is not acceptable. I make no reference to anything else.
I have great sympathy for all those who have been effected by the lack of human rights in our world. I am taught to respect others.
I have great respect for the former Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks.
I also write frequently on the subject of human rights failures, I believe human rights to be the foundation of justice.
I feel my comments are wasted, but I exercise my right to have those comments.
It is obvious I waste my time here. How I remained a member for so many years remains a mystery, or were things different then?