June 24


USA//CALIFORNIA:

America unveils gay holocaust memorial


The first ever memorial to gay men and lesbians who were murdered by the
Nazis was unveiled yesterday in San Francisco.

The memorial, Pink Triangle Park and Memorial, can be found in the city's
gay Castro district and is comprised of 15 triangular granite pylons, each
marked with a pink triangle, to commemorate the tens of thousands of gays
and lesbians who perished under the Nazi's murderous regime.

Although most were not sent to the extermination camps, many were
subjected to hard labour, which in itself was a death sentence.

It is estimated that approximately 200,000 died as a result of being
executed or worked to death.

The Nazi 'doctors' were particularly keen on experimenting on gays, to see
if they could discover, then eradicate whatever made them gay.

The persecution didn't end with the liberation of Europe however, as
paragraph 175 of the German penal code, which band gay relationships,
remained on the Statute Book in West Germany until the early 70s.

The gay victims of the Third Reich are largely forgotten to admit that
that it was wrong to eradicate an entire group of people because of their
sexuality leads to having to admit that gays should be treated exactly the
same as straights, and not all politicians want to do that.

Funds raised by the Eureka Valley Promotion Association paid for the
memorial in San Francisco and was dedicated by Mayor Willie Brown.

Gustavo Serina, president of the Association reminded everyone that the
memorial has been erected so that these sorts of crimes never happen
again.

"People must realise that if you marginalize one group or one individual
based on inherent characteristics, you run the risk of marginalizing
everyone," he said.

Perhaps right-wing Jews should really think about what they're doing by
torching gay pride flags in Jerusalem.

A competition was held to find a suitable design for the memorial.

(source: Gay.com)





ENGLAND:

Schiele Art Looted by Nazis Fetches Record at Auction, AFP Says


A painting by the Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele that was looted by
the Nazis in 1938 fetched 12.66 million pounds ($21 million) at auction
in London, Agence France-Presse reported.

The landscape becomes the most valuable looted painting to be restored to
its original owners. The proceeds will be split between the heirs, AFP
said.

"Krumauer Landschaft" was sold by Sotheby's auction house in London
yesterday to an anonymous collector bidding by telephone. The landscape, a
view of the town of Krumau on the banks of the Moldau in Bohemia, was
painted in 1916, two years before the artist fell victim to an influenza
epidemic at the age of 28, AFP said.

Wilhelm Hellmann, a textile manufacturer, and his wife, Daisy, who were
Jewish, bought the painting directly from Schiele, a friend, soon after it
was finished. It hung in their Vienna apartment until it was seized by the
Nazis, AFP reported.

(source: Agence France-Presse)


**********

Nazi-looted painting sells for 12.6m


A major landscape painting looted by the Nazis fetched a record-breaking
12 million pounds at a London.

The work, by Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele, went under the hammer at
Sotheby's as part of the Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale.

It was bought for 12,661,600, including buyer's premium, by an anonymous
bidder - a record sale for the artist at an auction and the most expensive
restituted impressionist work ever sold at an auction.

Painted in 1916, Krumauer Landschaft (Stadt und Fluss) or Landscape at
Krumau, is a vibrant depiction of the small town of Krumau on the banks of
the Moldau river in Bohemia, which was Schiele's mother's birthplace.

The painting was seized by the Nazis from the Viennese home of Wilhelm and
Daisy Hellmann in 1938. They had bought it directly from Schiele, who was
a personal friend.

The work was put up for sale in Vienna in 1942 and bought by Wolfgang
Gurlitt who sold it to the Neue Galerie in Linz in January, 1953, where it
has been on public display until its restitution earlier this year to the
heirs of the original Viennese collectors, Mr and Mrs Hellmann.

Erika Jakubovits, executive director of the presidency of the Jewish
community in Vienna, said: "Sixty years on, it is important to recognise
the enduring rights of victims and their heirs.

"We would like to thank the mayor of the city of Linz and all others who
have been involved for their recognition of the moral obligation to return
this painting.

"We believe it will aid us in our efforts to help other Austrian holocaust
victims in gaining restitution of works of art."

(source: Ananova)