Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945
Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools is proud to host the exhibition, Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945, from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The General Library System at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is co-sponsoring the traveling exhibition, coming to Wisconsin for the first time!

The exhibition is made up of more than 200 reproductions of photographs, documents, and artwork that examine the Nazi regime’s efforts to eradicate homosexuality and the devastating effects the regime had on the gay community. The exhibition includes the Nazi racial and social ideals that were the basis for the persecution.

Presented at UW Memorial Library at 728 State Street. in Madison from October 10th to December 10th (Grand Opening on October 18th). The exhibition is free to the public during library hours (bring driver’s license or other photo ID).

Docents Available for Tours
From Monday, November 10th through Monday, December 8th we will have docents on hand at the exhibition during the following regular hours:

Mondays 5:30 - 7:30PM
Wednesdays 5:30 - 7:30PM
Thursdays 5:30 - 7:30PM

Docents are also available to schedule at other hours. Contact Tim or Brian at 608-661-4141.

Presentations and Films are free and open to the General Public

Saturday, November 15, 4:00 p.m., Memorial Library (UW-Madison), Room 126,
Presentation: They Wore the Pink Triangle
Historian Andreas Pretzel (Berlin) will speak about the biographies of a few individual prisoners, based on his research in the police and court archives, and the memorialization of gay victims that has been carried out in Germany in the past decade.

Sunday, November 16, 9:15-10:15, Lakeview Lutheran Church 4001 Mandrake Rd. (corner of Northport Dr. and Mandrake just west of Warner Park)
Presentation: Who stood up for homosexual prisoners?
Historian Andreas Pretzel will discuss a Lutheran pastor who attempted to assist gay prisoners when almost no one else would, and the first church in Germany to memorialize homosexual men persecuted by Nazis.

Films:
Download a flier for the film series.

…But I Was A Girl: The Story of Frieda Belinfante (1999, 69 min) Tuesday, November 11th, 7:00 p.m. UW Memorial Union Play Circle (800 Langdon Dr), 2nd Floor (discussion to follow)
Frieda Belinfante was half Jewish, a lesbian, a WWII resistance fighter and the first female conductor to have her own symphony orchestra. This movie chronicles the life span of an amazing woman, born in Holland, who eventually made her way to California and finally to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her message, "One cannot be neutral. Neutrality does not exist. Doing nothing is acceptance," speaks to us today in this present time and place. Her end-of-life insights are profound. This film is appropriate for middle and high school audiences.

Out of the Past (1998, 97 min) Friday, November 14th, (location and time TBA) Part of Fall GSA Student Leadership Conference
Out of the Past is the inspiring and moving story of Kelli Peterson’s efforts to create a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at her Utah high school. Interwoven through Peterson’s story are short profiles that document some of the origins, events, and personalities (Bayard Rustin, Barbara Gittings, etc.) that built the US gay rights movement. This film is appropriate for middle and high school audiences.

Love Story: Berlin 1942 (1997, 47 min) Tuesday, November 18th, 7:00 pm, Edgewood College Predolin Humanities Center (1000 Edgewood College Dr), Anderson Auditorium (discussion to follow)
This is the unlikely story of two women -- one a Nazi mother of four with a husband in the military and the other a Jewish resistance fighter -- and their powerful love that overcame the daily challenges of living in Nazi Germany. We also meet some of the members of the community that gathered around the two lovers to offer them protection. Their story served as inspiration for the movie Aimee and Jaguar. This film is appropriate for middle and high school audiences.

Bent (1997, 105 min) Thursday, December 4th, 7:00 p.m. Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (227 State St), Lecture Hall (discussion to follow)
In this drama based on the play by Martin Sherman (who also wrote the screenplay), a Berlin homosexual (played by Clive Owen) is caught up in the Nazi hysteria during World War II. After being forced to kill his lover, he's placed in a concentration camp and lies to get himself classified as Jewish rather than gay. Bent chronicles the inner journey of Owen’s character and, finally, his own redemption. This film is intended for adult audiences. Parental guidance strongly recommended for youth 17 and under.

Busing for Middle and High School Students
Busing to the exhibition will be made available to middle and high school students throughout the state. Information about the exhibition will be sent to groups before they view the exhibition. Groups being bused will also receive packets from our history project. Download the form and return 4 weeks prior to travel. Call the GSAFE office to learn more: 608-661-4141.

This exhibition has been made possible in part by support from The Duane Rath Endowment Fund and The Foundation for Civil Rights.

Thank you to our generous sponsors: By Youth for Youth, Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission, Madison Arts Commission, New Harvest Foundation, Purple Moon Foundation, Philanthrofund Foundation, Alliant Energy Foundation, Mosse Fund for LGBT History and William Wartmann.