Homomonument Amsterdam

The Homomonument is a memorial monument in the center of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It commemorates all (gay) men and (lesbians) women who have been victims of persecution because of their homosexuality.

Inaugurated on the 5^th of September 1987, it takes the form of three large pink granite triangles, inserted into the ground to form a larger triangle. It is placed on the Bank of the Keizersgracht canal, near the Westerkerk.

The Homomonument was made to "inspire and support lesbians and gays in their struggle against Holocaust denial, oppression and discrimination".

Origin

Members of the COC Nederland in 1961 discussed the possibility to erect a memorial gay monument, but no concrete measures were taken at that time. The memory of the second world war was then in the sixties and seventies very present in society by Loe de Jong books, but no attention was paid to the fate suffered by homosexuals in this conflict.

The idea of a permanent memorial for gay victims and lesbian persecution dates back to 1970, when two members of the "Amsterdamse Jongeren Aktiegroepen Homoseksualiteit" (AJAH) were arrested on the 4^th of May for trying to lay a wreath of lavender at the War Memorial in the Canada (Netherlands) on the Dam square in the center of Amsterdam at the ceremony of remembrance of the dead. The Crown was removed by the police. The action was seen as an outrage by some and this rejection is denounced as a disgrace by others.

After the general Remembrance Day in 1979 Bob van Schijndel, a member of the PSP gay group, not understanding why the Jews and, since 1978, Gypsies had their dedicated monuments and not the gay men, he wrote a letter proposing the creation of a monument for gays: "last night I got an idea: we should write an open letter to the Mayor of Amsterdam. Mr. Polak, asking him to erect a memorial for the homosexual victims, either on the Leidseplein in the Vondelpark. The idea would be to model the memorial inaugurated last year in memory of the victims of Nazism Gypsies. »

This appeal has received broad support from the public, and so it was created a few months later the Memorial Foundation Gay. The number of victims has not been easy to establish, especially with initially a lack of scientific research. Today, a consensus on the number of victims is 10,000 murdered homosexuals, including some Dutch.

After the appeal to Van Schijndel, City Council, in the summer 1979, pointed to the location of the Western market for the construction and the creation of a jury.

The current construction of the monument began in May 1979 at the initiative of the Dutch gay and lesbian rights movement, with the support of groups in other countries. It took eight years to increase the €180,000 (400 000 florins) needed to build the Homomonument. Most of those donations came from individuals and organizations. The Dutch Parliament donated €50,000, and the city of Amsterdam and the province of North Holland also contributed.

In 1980, the artists were invited to present projects to a jury of experts in the areas of art and design. The jury chose the design of Karin Daan, based on the pink triangle.

The inauguration of the monument took place on the 5^th of September 1987, exactly one hundred months after Bob van Schijndel made his call. The unveiling was done by the Minister Elco Brinkman.

With the triangle on the water as its central point, Daan has expanded the design to make its work as monumental as possible without disturbing the environment.

A slab with a brief explanation of the monument in Dutch, English and French were unveiled on the 21^st of June 1988 by the work of Hedy d'Ancona. Currently the information is in twelve different languages.

"Commemorates all women and all men who have never been tyrannized and persecuted because of their homosexuality. Supports the lesbian and homosexual movement in the struggle against the contempt, discrimination and Persecution. Shows that you're not alone (e). Call for a permanent vigilance. »

It was found that the original pink granite slabs were too thin and crumble. A complete restoration of the gay monument took place in the year 2003. The cost of EUR 800 000 was paid in full by the municipality.

On the 4^th of May 2012, the 25^th anniversary of the monument took place in the presence of an official representative of the Dutch Government, namely the Minister Marja van Bijsterveldt.

A monument in the memory of the LGBT victims of repression and persecution was dedicated in Barcelona, Spain in the year 2011. it was inspired by the Homomonument.

Symbolic

The monument is composed of three isosceles triangles each measuring 10 meters (30 feet) on each side. These together form a larger triangle connected on each side by a thin row of pink granite bricks. This large isosceles triangle measures 36 meters wide.

The pink triangle theme is based on the fact that men who, because of their homosexual orientation, imprisoned in the concentration camps of the Nazi Germany wore a pink triangle, the equivalent of the yellow star imposed on Jews. All prisoners had a triangle with a specific color, which depends on the reason for which they were imprisoned. At the end of the sixties the pink triangle was adopted as a symbolic badge by the movement for equal rights for homosexuals.

The individual triangles represent a warning of the past, he present confrontation and a source of inspiration for the future:

• The triangle whose half is at the water level represents the present and serves as a memorial. It has steps down to the level of the water. On this platform crowns of flowers are frequently laid. Within the framework of the great triangle, it points to the National Monument on the Dam square, which commemorates the victims of the German occupation.
• The triangle at street level represents the past. On it is engraved a line of poetry by Dutch Jewish gay poet Jacob Israel de Haan (1881-1924): Naar een Vriendschap Zulk Mateloos Verlangen ("inhabited of a disproportionate desire for friendship"). The text is based on his poem "a young fisherman". As part of the big triangle pointing to the House of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who was deported and killed by the nazis, behind Prinsengracht.
• Triangle 60 cm above the street level plans for the future and serves as a podium for meetings. As part of the big triangle between them pointing to the headquarters of the defense of gay rights COC in Rozenstraat, the Dutch gay rights group founded in 1946, making it the oldest gay and lesbian organization still operating in the world.

The Use of the monument

• Every year on the 4^th of May on the national day Dodenherdenking, there are speeches and on the half located in the triangle of water were placed crowns of flowers.
• Throughout the year, flowers are often laid, not only to commemorate the victims of war, but also for victims of AIDS.
• During the Gay Pride week in Amsterdam, various festive activities take place on the site of the gay monument. These are called Roze Wester Days organized by the Gay Monument Foundation, among others, in collaboration with the Gala Amsterdam Foundation.
• Right next to the Gay Monument is the Gay Games in the year 1998, a kiosk known as the Pink Point to obtain or get information and memories.
• The Gay Monument has been used to protest against the anti-homowet in Russia in  the year 2014.

Source: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homomonument