Gays and lesbians in the Holocaust

The presentation of a plaque at the Laxton Holocaust Centre in September 2005 had a follow up on April 6th 2006

Holocaust survivors form a small and, inevitably, decreasing number. Janni Kowalski is over 80. An audience at the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre in Laxton heard Janni talk about his life during World War II. We heard how a head injury, caused by being trapped under a collapsed building, completely wiped out his memory and how he was rescued by a Jewish family which then became his own family. His story moved on to harrowing experiences in the Warsaw ghetto and later in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. While at that time being gay led to many people being persecuted and killed, Janni frankly admits that he survived because he was gay and became the lover of a senior German officer. Janni’s story is told in his book “Liebe Macht Frei”. Janni Kowalski
JanniK

To read more about gays in the Holocaust and see pictures of memorials to the gay Holocaust, click HERE

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