|
|
|
5/26/2004
|
| |
|
Exhibit to Open at Holocaust Museum Houston Examining the Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals
|
| |
HOUSTON, TX – “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals
1933-1945” will be on exhibit at Holocaust Museum Houston from June 11
through September 19, 2004. On the evening of June 9 at 6:00p.m.,
Houston Mayor Bill White will be in attendance for a private
pre-opening event at the museum sponsored by the Greater Houston Gay
Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Chamber of Commerce.
Between the years of 1933 and 1945, Nazi leaders waged a
ruthless campaign against people deemed enemies of the state. Hitler’s
regime, driven by a racist ideology, carried out the mass destruction
of millions of innocent people during the Holocaust including lesser
known victims, homosexuals. This exhibition examines the campaign that
left thousands dead and shattered the lives of many more.
“Homosexuals have long been targets of systematic hatred and
discrimination. These images and the stories they tell document a
horrible time in the history of mankind and remind us that prejudice
still exists in both subtle and overt ways even today,” reflects Coy
Tow, executive director of the Greater Houston Gay Lesbian Bisexual and
Transgender Chamber of Commerce.
The Nazi regime sought to eradicate homosexuality. They
accused Germany’s homosexual community of carrying a “contagious
degeneracy” that threatened the nation. The regime attempted to
terrorize homosexuals into social conformity by arresting, convicting
and incarcerating tens of thousands of men in prisons and concentration
camps. In some of these camps, homosexuals were subject to medical
experimentation to rid them of their “degenerate” sex drive.
Even post war, continued legal and social prohibitions against
homosexuality in Germany hindered official recognition that homosexuals
were victims of Nazi persecution. Not until 1995, some 40 years after
the end of World War II in Europe, did homosexuals murdered by the
Nazis receive the first public commemoration. Finally, in May of 2002,
the German parliament passed legislation pardoning all homosexuals
convicted during the Nazi era.
“Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945” is generously
underwritten by Houston Endowment Inc., Dr. Michael and Linda Eisemann,
and Nina and Michael Zilkha with special thanks to Gulf Coast Archives
and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History, Inc. and
Continental Airlines. The exhibit is organized and circulated by the
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Holocaust Museum Houston promotes awareness and educates the
public of the dangers of prejudice, hatred and violence against the
backdrop of the Holocaust by fostering remembrance, understanding and
education. The museum is free and open to the public and is located in
Houston’s Museum District at 5401 Caroline Street, Houston, TX 77004.
Its Internet address is http://www.hmh.org.
|
| |
|
|
| | For media inquiries,
please contact:
Ira D. Perry
Director, Marketing & Public Relations
Tel: (713) 942-8000, ext. 103
Mobile: (832) 277-5693
E-mail: news@hmh.org
| Our Public Relations team is eager to assist you in coverage of activities at Holocaust Museum Houston.
All requests for interviews or on-site photography or videography by members of the media must be coordinated in advance through our Public Relations office by calling 713-942-8000, ext. 103 or e-mailing news@hmh.org.
|
|
|
|
| | The Museum is open to the public seven days a week.
General admission is free.
Monday to Friday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday,
Noon to 5 p.m.
First Thursday of each month, 5 to 8 p.m.
| The Laurie and Milton Boniuk Resource Center and Library is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Library is closed Saturdays and Sundays.
The Museum is closed for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. For other holiday hours, visit the "Events" tab on the Museum’s Web site at www.hmh.org.
|
|
|
|
|