Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

216   SPEECHES | INSTITUTIONS Institutions – poignantly captures how homosexual victims were treated, right up to the present day. This became clear to me only recently during Stolperstein ceremonies, when I witnessed the reactions of relatives. This helps to explain why remembrance of the victims of Section 175 was neglected for so long. This makes Nuremberg’s queer community all the more grateful for the smooth cooper- ation with the Bavarian Memorial Foundation, the Foundation Council and the Academic Advisory Board of the Flossenbürg Memorial. The time has come to create a dignified place of remembrance for these men. When I first visited this memorial site to search for an appro- priate area and envision the project, I became acutely aware of the hostile and deadly environment in which the prisoners at Flossenbürg were forced to work – especially in winter, with inadequate clothing. For many reasons, I chose not to use the hard granite from the Flossenbürg camp quarry. I found it important to select a stone with a warm hue, one that could be shaped delicately with a vibrant texture and a clear inscription – but one that could also withstand Flossenbürg’s harsh climate. I ultimately choseWachenheim dolomite – a stone whose calm patterning and distinctive pores give it an individuality reminiscent of each of the victims the stone is meant to   commemorate. I wanted the memorial stone to have a presence of its own, with an inscription that only reveals itself clearly when viewed up close, so as not to dominate the monument.With its simple design in the stone’s natural colours, the inscription is visible yet gently encourages visitors to come closer to pause and reflect. The design was guided by two ideas: First, its delicate shape is meant to reflect the vulnerability of these prisoners and their low status within the camp hierarchy; amidst the surround- ing memorial stones, it appears fragile and exposed, yet still upright and resolute. Second, the triangle symbol was important to me; here in Flossenbürg, it was only used in pink for a short time – unlike in other concentration camps. For this reason, I opted against using a pink-coloured stone. The memorial draws its form from the pink triangle – an inverted equilateral triangle – as used by the Nazis to mark and categorise their victims. This symbol is rich in meaning, because what was once a mark of shame became an emblem of defiance. Until it was replaced by the rainbow in the 1990s, the pink tri- angle represented the gay rights movement and various other campaigns, including AIDS activism, and ultimately symbolised liberation from state persecution and humiliation. The immense effort, energy and resolve behind the resistance of the gay movement are meant to remind us – through the form of this memorial stone – of the dark times endured by LGBTIQ* people. I would like to thank everyone involved for helping us create   a worthy remembrance for these individuals after decades   of silence – and I am personally grateful for the opportunity   to take part.