A new exhibit opens on the persecution of homosexuals by Nazis

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Minnesotans are getting a rare opportunity to see an exhibit that examines the ways Nazis persecuted homosexuals during the time period between 1933 and 1945. The display at the Y-W-C-A in downtown Minneapolis contains 250 reproductions of historic photographs and documents of the era. The materials come from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum based in Washington, D-C. The exhibit looks at the German law that allowed the Nazis to prosecute gays and other individuals deemed to be engaging in indecent behavior. The law stated that certain people should be penalized because their "vices" would lead to the downfall of the German nation. I toured the exhibit this morning with Linnea Stenson, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for G-L-B-T Studies. Stenson says most people know of the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust. But she says not everyone is aware that other groups were also targeted by the Nazis -- including gypsies, people with mental or physical handicaps, and homosexuals

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Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.

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