Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism in Berlin Monument

Address: Towards Tiergarten, near Lützowplatz, Berlin, Germany (Gay Museum vicinity)

Website: https://www.stadtmuseum.de/denkmal-fuer-die-unter-den-nazis-verfolgten-homosexuellen

Hours: Open 24 hours (outdoor public memorial)

Admission: Free (outdoor memorial)

The Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism is a public memorial in Berlin dedicated to gay men and other homosexuals who were persecuted under Nazi rule. It was designed by artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset and opened in 2008.

The work takes the form of a solid concrete block with a small viewing window through which a short film is shown, and a stone plaque bearing a pink triangle and explanatory inscription. The memorial is intentionally modest in scale and uses a media element to present human faces affected by persecution.

Commissioned by the city of Berlin and placed within the Tiergarten area, the memorial forms part of the city’s network of remembrance sites addressing different victim groups of National Socialism. It is located close to other central memorials and government buildings in central Berlin.

• Scale: Small and easily overlooked; the memorial’s compact scale and location close to other large memorials mean visits are often brief.

The memorial is located near the Tiergarten, close to Lützowplatz and not far from Nollendorfplatz. By public transport, the U-Bahn S-Bahn station Nollendorfplatz (U1, U2, U3, U4) or the S-Bahn at Potsdamer Platz are convenient; several bus lines also serve the area.

• Notice the pink triangle motif in the memorial's design - historically used to identify homosexual prisoners in Nazi camps.
• Visit early morning to avoid midday tourist groups and to have the quiet the space demands.
• Read the small inscriptions at the memorial base; they list broad categories of persecution that are often missed in quick visits.