The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals [Paperback]

Richard Plant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1988

This is the first comprehensive book in English on the fate of the homosexuals in Nazi Germany. The author, a German refugee, examines the climate and conditions that gave rise to a vicious campaign against Germany’s gays, as directed by Himmler and his SS--persecution that resulted in tens of thousands of arrests and thousands of deaths.

In this Nazi crusade, homosexual prisoners were confined to death camps where, forced to wear pink triangles, they constituted the lowest rung in the camp hierarchy. The horror of camp life is described through diaries, previously untranslated documents, and interviews with and letters from survivors, revealing how the anti-homosexual campaign was conducted, the crackpot homophobic fantasies that fueled it, the men who made it possible, and those who were its victims, this chilling book sheds light on a corner of twentieth-century history that has been hidden in the shadows much too long.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A powerful and painful account.”—Martin Gilbert, author of The Holocaust

“A valuable contribution . . . the lesson that The Pink Triangle elicits from the Holocaust is the realization that we are still haunted by the specters of the Third Reich.”—San Francisco Chronicle

"A strong book, not easy to put down . . . Mr. Plant writes convincingly, keeps clear of sentiment, and lays bare a particularly fearful corner of mid-twentieth century inhumanity."—The Economist

About the Author

Richard Plant was born in Frankfurt and was a graduate of the University of Basel, where he earned his Ph.D. Since emigrating to the United States in 1938, he has contributed numerous articles to many publications, and teaches at the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1 edition (February 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805006001
• ISBN-13: 978-0805006001
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Complete Account, March 5, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Glens Falls, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals (Paperback)

It's obvious that Richard Plant did his research before writing this book, there's a severe lack of information on this particular topic floating around out there. As I did a report entitled "Homosexuals in the Holocaust: The Forgotten Victims of the Third Reich," I found this to be the most complete book on the obscure topic. It may make for dull Sunday afternoon reading, but for all my intents and purposes, it was excellently detailed and precise.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative but a Little Dry, November 5, 2001

By 

Lauren Williams (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals (Hardcover)

Plant gives incredible detail into the lives of those in charge of the persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis in World War II. In addition to a behind the scenes look into Nazi operations, including biographies of SS Himmler and Roehm, Hitler's top officials, Plant puts it all in the context of what gay Berlin/Germany was like at the time and leading up to WWII. Overall, this book is quite informative and eye opening, but a little dry. I expected to see shocking photos and gut wrenching first hand accounts of tragedy, etc but simply found a historical account that would be helpful as a textbook. I would recommend this for anyone interested in the subject matter, but not necessarily as free reading.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start learning an important part of queer history, June 28, 2008

By 

J.M. Snyder "J.M. Snyder" (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals (Paperback)

Under the Nazi regime, homosexual men were confined to death camps where they were forced to wear pink triangles as a symbol of their crime. They were at the bottom of the camp hierarchy, brutalized and abused past the point of human endurance. In this book, the horror of life in the Nazi's concentration camps is revealed through diaries, interviews with, and letters from survivors.

Every school child learns that the Nazis tried to exterminate the Jews. Few are told of the other segments of "undesirables" who were forced into the same fate. The Roma (Gypsies), political prisoners, and homosexual men were among those also targeted for extinction.

So many young gay people today don't realize the important significance of the pink triangle ~ they think it just another symbol of pride, and don't realize that it has been reclaimed from a horrific history in which many men died for their sexuality. This book helps the common reader understand why Hitler began his hateful anti-homosexual campaign.

Through the survivor's stories, it paints a vivid portrait not only of the despicable depths of hatred to which men can sink, but it also shows us the undefeatable spirit of the human race to withstand and move on from such adversity. I cannot recommend this book enough ~ it is only through realizing what we have been through that we learn what we will be able to overcome.