The Pink Swastika

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The Pink Swastika is a highly controversial book by Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams. The authors argue that the homosexuality found in the Nazi Party contributed to the extreme militarism of Nazi Germany. The title of the book, as well as the book itself, is a spin-off from a book by Richard Plant called The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals, a book detailing facts about homophobia in the Nazi party and what the Nazis did to them. Lively and Abrams also take up the subject of Nazism in America and discuss how the Boy Scouts have been treated. The links between certain Muslims and Nazi Germany are also investigated. The book claims that many leaders in the German Nazi regime, including Adolf Hitler himself, were homosexual and claims eight of the top ten serial killers in the US were homosexuals.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Allegations of selective information

Many historians[who?] who read this book have argued that it leaves out crucial information in order to support what many considered to be a homophobic agenda. Lively and Abrams state that because sodomy was illegal during this time, that it was perfectly acceptable that homosexuals would be thrown in concentration camps.

Another point made[who?] was that the authors had left out historical facts that evidence homophobia in the Nazi party and by Hitler. The authors claim that any homosexual laws were selectively implied or covered for other purposes. Some of these facts not included in the book are:

  • 1928: the Nazi party publishes a pamphlet containing its response to the idea of repealing the anti-homosexual law known as Paragraph 175, "Anyone who thinks of homosexual love is our enemy"
  • Feb. 23, 1933: 24 days after being appointed Chancellor, Hitler bans all gay rights groups
  • October 24, 1934: the Gestapo secretly orders local police to collect names of all homosexuals in Germany
  • June 28, 1935: Paragraph 175 is amended with broader language, so that a mere touch between men can be interpreted as an arrestable offense
  • October 26, 1936: the Reich's "Central Office to Combat Homosexuality and Abortion" is established

Also noted by many critics of this book[who?] is that while a few Nazi higher-ups, such as Ernst Röhm, were most likely gay, that alone did not invalidate Nazi homophobia, just as Joseph Goebbles' clubfoot did not make him a candidate for being euthanized for being a "cripple".

[edit] Issues of perception of homosexuality

Critics of this book, particularly gay rights activists,[who?] argue that Lively and Abrams do not have an understanding as to what homosexuality really is. According to critics, the authors seem to make no distinction between sadistic prison camp guards who sometimes raped male prisoners, and men who are sexually oriented towards other men. Many have said that the authors have also lumped pedophiles into the mix, thus comparing homosexuality with child molestation. The authors also claim that there is less homosexuality in the Boy Scouts than there was in the Nazi party due to the Boy Scouts' "Judeo-Christian" underpinnings.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "People & Events", Mennonite Brethren Herald, 1999-11-05. Retrieved on 2007-06-14. "In their controversial book, The Pink Swastika, Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams assert that many leading members of the Nazi party in Germany were homosexuals. They also claim that eight of the top ten serial killers in the US were homosexuals, including Donald Garvey, John Wayne Gacy, Patrick Wayne Kearney, Bruce Davis and Jeffrey Dahmer. The Apr. 22 Globe and Mail reported that the Columbine high school killers 'professed to be bisexuals'. – RTV Bulletin, Western Report" 
  2. ^ Religious Right Groups Involved in Antigay Incidents. People For the American Way. Retrieved on 2007-06-14. “the controversial book, The Pink Swastika,”

[edit] External links

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