Berliner Innenstadt in Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Germany — Northeast German Plain (The European Plain)
Totgeschlagen, Totgeschwiegen
⎯⎯⎯
Struck Dead, Deadly Silence
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, September 4, 2025
1. Totgeschlagen, Totgeschwiegen, / Struck Dead, Deadly Silence Marker
Although entered as a single piece, the memorial actually consists of two pieces. The upper triangle was installed in 1989, while the lower plaque was installed in 1993. The upper triangle was the first public memorial in Germany to memorialize the homosexual victims of Nazi Germany.
Totgeschwiegen
den homosexuellen Opfern des Nationalsozialismus
Der “Rosa Winkel” war das Zeichen, mit dem die Nationalsozialisten Homosexuelle in den Konzentrationslagern in diffamierender Weise kennzeichneten.
Ab januar 1933 wurden fast alle rund um den Nollendorfplatz verteilten homosexuellen Lokale von den Nationalsozialisten geschlossen oder zur Anlegung von “rosa Listen” (Homosexuellen- Karteien) durch Razzien missbraucht.
Struck dead
Deadly Silence
In honor of the homosexual victims of Nazism
The "Pink Triangle" was the symbol the Nazis used to defame homosexuals in concentration camps.
From January 1933 onward, almost all the gay bars located around Nollendorfplatz were closed by the Nazis or raided to create "pink lists" (homosexual files).
Erected 1989 by Allgemeinen Homosexuellen Arbeitsgemeinschaft, Ökumenischen Arbeitsgruppe Homosexuelle und Kirche.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Events
this page online
Location. 52° 29.968′ N, 13° 21.209′ E. Marker is in Berlin, in Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is in Berliner Innenstadt. It is on Nollendorfplatz, on the left when traveling east. The marker is on the exterior of the Nollendorfplatz U-Bahn station, near the Motzstraße exit. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Nollendorfpl 1, Berlin 10777, Germany. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is in Europe, the European Union, Atlantic Europe, Central Europe, the Schengen Area, Western Europe, and the Western World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire and specifically also the Holy Roman Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Erwin Piscator (within shouting distance of this marker); Else Lasker-Schüler (about 150 meters away, measured in a direct line); Christopher Isherwood (about 240 meters away); Hilde Radusch (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Kurt Hiller (approx. 1.1 kilometers away); David Bowie (approx. 1.2 kilometers away); Die erste neue Straße / The First New Street (approx. 1.7 kilometers away); Hildegard Knef (approx. 1.9 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Berlin.
Also see . . . Homosexual Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (Gedenktafeln in Berlin, in German). Excerpt (in translation):
The triangular red granite plaque (in the shape of the concentration camp prisoner's badge) was unveiled on June 24, 1989, and the bronze plaque below it on November 10, 1993. The location of the plaque was explained, wrote Der Tagesspiegel on(Submitted on September 13, 2025.)June 20, 1989, by the fact that the area around Nollendorfplatz was a center of the homosexual scene, particularly during the Weimar era, with numerous gay bars. It continued: "Such a memorial had been called for for several years by the Ecumenical Working Group on Homosexuals and the Church."Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, September 4, 20252. Struck Dead, Deadly Silence Marker - wide viewThe marker is visible here mounted to the exterior of the Nollendorfplatz U-Bahn station.
During the Nazi era, homosexual men were persecuted under Section 175, which criminalized sexual acts between men. This section had existed since the entry into force of the Reich Criminal Code on January 1, 1872, and was tightened in 1935 to the extent that even glances and gestures were now considered punishable. This tightening of the law opened the door to arbitrary terror. In the nationalist ideology of the Nazi state, homosexuality was no longer considered "merely" a criminal offense and "moral offense," but also an existential and immediate threat to the National Socialist "national community." The persecution of homosexuals was therefore no longer solely about alleged "crime prevention," but rather about the extermination of so-called "enemies of the people." This "predation" was carried out not only by Nazi institutions like the SS, but above all by the police, who registered gay men on so-called "pink lists," which had already been used as a tool of persecution in the German Empire. In total, the police registered around 100,000 men; over 50,000 were convicted under Section 175, and around 10,000 men were deported to concentration camps, where the SS marked them with a pink triangle. Some were forcibly castrated in prison on charges of "degenerate sexual desire," and over 50 percent were murdered. The majority of society actively participated in the persecution and imprisonment of men persecuted for being homosexual: In Berlin, around 50% of the proceedings under Section 175 were based on complaints from civil society.
Additional keywords. LGBT, LGBTQ
Credits. This page was last revised on October 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 13, 2025, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 82 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 13, 2025, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
