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"Then the loudspeakers broadcast some noisy classical music while the SS stripped him naked and shoved a tin pail over his head. Next they sicced their ferocious German Shephards on him; the guard dogs first bit into his groin and thighs, then devoured him right in front of us. His shrieks of pain were distorted and amplified by the pail in which his head was trapped." Pierre Seel
"The windows had a centimetre of ice on them. Anyone found with his underclothes on in bed, or his hand under his blanket -- there were checks almost every night -- was taken outside and had serveral bowls of water poured over him before being left standing outside for a good hour. Only a few people survived this treatment. The least result was bronchitis, and it was rare for any gay person taken into the sick-bay to come out alive. We who wore the pink triangle were prioritised for medical experiments, and these generally ended in death. For my part, therefore, I took every care I could not to offend against the regulations. " Heinz Heger
The
pink triangle has become one of the symbols of the modern gay rights
movement, but it originated in Nazi concentration camps during World War
II. In many camps, prisoners wore badges.
These badges were colored based upon the reason for imprisonment. In one
common system, men convicted for sexual deviance,
including homosexuality wore a pink triangle. The icon has been
reclaimed by many in the post-Stonewall gay rights movement as a symbol of
empowerment, and, by some, a symbol of rememberance to the suffering of
others during a tragic time in history.