Just before the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936, Nazi Germany set up camps for Roma people as a cleaning programme. But quickly these became an extension of Hitler's hatred toward this minority and an incursion upon people's rights.
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Homosexual relationships between men had already been illegal in Germany prior to 1933 under Paragraph 175, but Nazi authorities further criminalized such conduct, closing gay bars and clubs and dispatching stormtroopers to search homes for "lewd" books.
Homosexuals
Homosexuals were one of the initial groups sent into concentration camps alongside political prisoners in 1933, subjected to ridicule and hard labor within camp systems. Similar to Roma men, homosexual men were subject to brutal medical experiments such as castration.
On June 28, 1935, Nazis revised Paragraph 175, a section of German Penal Code which prohibited homosexual contact between men. Under their revision, "kisses, touches and glances" were criminalized and police could arrest men suspected of engaging in homosexual acts with little or no evidence against them; consequently tens of thousands were arrested by police over time; denunciations calls from the public could also be used against suspects; this often involved intimate relationships being reported from neighbors, acquaintances, family members or coworkers who knew suspects well enough that these tips or accusations included details that would later prove crucial when police could arrest suspects for them with no recourse to prosecution.
The Nazis attempted to eliminate homosexuality entirely and even eugenicists acknowledged its link with criminal tendencies, yet this proved more challenging than anticipated. To combat it, they sent men who had committed sexual offenses into concentration camps filled with Jewish or Roma prostitutes from nearby women's camps for treatment purposes - some men even left having overcome their homosexuality altogether but still carried the stigma attached with being gay despite these efforts at eradication.
Himmler decreed in 1943 that homosexuals who underwent castration and displayed good behavior could be released from concentration camps if assigned to the Dirlewanger division, an army prison unit formed specifically for fighting Russian partisans on the eastern front. Unfortunately, these men would suffer torture, death and disease while serving their time fighting Russian partisans.
Few scholars have studied the Nazi persecution of homosexuals, with numerous books available on this topic. Readings to consider for those interested in this subject:
Roma - Gypsies
Since their identity as "wanderers" was given meaning by European societies over two centuries ago, Roma (which means "wanderer") have been despised by European societies. Commonly labeled tsiganes, gypsies or zinti by outsiders and romani or gypsy by themselves respectively by outsiders or by themselves; derided as criminals and antisocial individuals through assimilation or expulsion policies of various regimes (Nazis in particular). Their targeted by Nazi genocidal policies resulted not only in mass deaths as a group but also in destruction of many communities and families whom they belonged.
As the fall of communism opened up new avenues for Roma to establish social and political movements, they still face oppression and discrimination. Anti-Rom sentiment, often driven by racism, creates animus that fuels tracking their members as criminal suspects. Their South Asian physical features and dark skin color makes them easy to recognize as threats to national or racial "purity", making them easy targets of anti-Rom sentiment from some nationalist groups in eastern Europe who use anti-Rom stereotypes to justify anti-Rom actions taken against them.
Roma communities experience discrimination on numerous fronts: public transportation, stores, restaurants and hotels are subject to bias; housing in apartments or public buildings is denied; employment and educational opportunities are denied them; their children cannot attend schools and do not receive equal care and attention as other children; sexual assault, murders and other forms of violence occur on an almost regular basis against Roma peoples.
Anti-Rom hatred, commonly referred to as antiziganism, has its roots in centuries of prejudice. While antisemitism targets Jews specifically, antiziganism often targets historically iterant groups like Gypsies or Irish and Scottish Travellers; nonetheless it adheres to similar principles and leads to hate crimes and persecution including internment camps during World War II. AntiRom prejudice remains a significant problem today that must be met head on using similar approaches as other types of bigotry.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
One can find Anne Frank's diary or memoir from someone who survived the Holocaust more readily on any bookshelf in any country; finding stories from other groups who suffered under Hitler's regime such as homosexuals, Roma (Gypsies), and Jehovah's Witnesses is much harder.
Soon after Hitler won his election in 1933, Nazi leaders implemented measures to restrict Jehovah's Witnesses freedom of expression and assembly. Meetings were banned and literature confiscated - though underground meetings continued taking place. Nazi forces eventually banned Jehovah's Witnesses across most of Germany while conducting raids of homes, offices, and printing plants where their beliefs were being published clandestinely.
Homosexual men were among the first sent to concentration camps along with political prisoners and Roma and Jewish refugees, experiencing harsh living conditions similar to Roma and Jews in this brutal environment. They endured ridicule, hard labor and being made to wear pink triangles as an indication that they were homosexuals - many even endured medical experiments such as castration.
The Nazis believed that homosexuality was an innate trait exclusive to members of 'lower races' and linked with mental and physical illnesses. Their views were informed by Francis Galton's work as a eugenicist; who suggested certain traits could be passed along through parentage, with undesirable characteristics being passed on through breeding programs - thus justifying sterilization for individuals exhibiting them.
Many gay and lesbian men were imprisoned by Nazi concentration camps during WWII, leading to hundreds being executed due to persecution. Homosexuals were labeled 'antisocial elements' and subject to severe physical, sexual, and medical abuse including assault, hard labour and medical experimentation such as castration. Many homosexual groups have since come forward to acknowledge their persecution during WWII with monuments dedicated specifically for this group such as Arcigay who placed plaques bearing pink triangles outside institutions in cities like Bologna and Trieste to remember them during WWII.
Black people
Nazi persecution was not limited to targeting Jews; other groups also endured harsh treatment at its hands, such as black people, Roma and Sinti communities, male homosexuals, physically disabled individuals and Jehovah's Witnesses were victims of Nazi racism as well as generalised hate towards non-Aryans.
Nazi fears of racial pollution justified killing between 250,000 and 500,000 Roma and Sinti people commonly known as Gypsies indiscriminately. They believed Roma bred criminal genes that threatened Aryan purity; Roma were subjected to forced sterilizationss as well. Robert Ritter's research reinforced their beliefs that Roma were genetically criminal and antisocial.
Prior to Nazi rule, Germany was an accommodating society regarding gay relationships between men. But under Nazi control, this drastically changed; initially homosexuals were prosecuted under Paragraph 175 of the German Civil Code before this law was gradually replaced with Nuremberg Laws that codified Nazi ideas about race into law. By 1930s gay bars, clubs, newspapers were closed down and men arrested on charges of homosexuality were sent directly to concentration camps where they would often be tortured and subject to medical experiments.
Under Nazi rule, Black Germans were subject to harassment, mistreatment and even physical violence at the hands of police officers. Education opportunities were denied them while work that they completed was often considered nonproductive - they were even seen as parasites who drained away economic vitality of their country! Many black Germans also faced discrimination when applying for employment and housing markets as the Nazis believed that black Germans corrupted society, caused social disruptions, promoted "black culture", considered degenerate by them.
Recently, multiple initiatives in Germany have sought to commemorate Black Germany during Nazi times. A series of memorial plaques known as Stolpersteine - placed across Berlin to remember victims of Nazi persecution - is currently in place - one at Max-Beer Strasse 24 commemorating Mahjub bin Adam Mohamed Husen who was imprisoned and murdered at Sachsenhausen; two more on Marburgerstrasse 9 remember South African Hagar Martin Brown who perished at Auschwitz prison camp.
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