india headed with is the moment to unleash on violet bars. gandhi's legacy starts january 28th on d. w. ah ah, welcome to our special coverage of the ceremony of remembrance for the victims of national socialism being held in the german bundis hog in berlin. i'm terry martin with me in the studio is political correspondent, thomas sparrow. the focus of this years ceremony is on those who were persecuted by

the nazis as result of their sexual orientation or their gender identity will be hearing from a number of speakers today, including one from one a, a holocaust survivor. and will here be hearing testimonies from others who suffered at the hands of the nazi regime. we're now looking at live pictures from the buddhist dog. we see this number of speakers dignitaries entering there. i believe there's pipe auto shy and mild at the center of your, of your vision they're, they're about to take their seats. this is a very somber affair, of course, taking place in the german capital, the sporting thomas. what can we expect? this is not only a 10 dates by german, m, p, 's, but by members of other constitutional organs, conditional bodies. here in germany, we're seeing that, as you mentioned, german president found like a fine mike with a german head of state. the german chancellor was the head of government upshaw's within all those members of parliament attending what is

a very important annual event here in germany that day of remembrance of the victims of national socialists. so we had the president of par, let babel bus approaching the podium. let's listen, let's listen. it zagging out. i have wounded president, regen, mrs. boot and bender to have one discount chancellor. they're going to have one to speak of the federal counselor, president of the federal constitutional courts. your excellency's leave when as their fellow m. p. 's, ladies and gentlemen, their guests, both men of him over the whole or whatever 1 may say, right? or say about the holocaust, it has no liberating effect. this sentence comes from the memoirs of seaman. they. the 1st president of the european parliament leisure taxi. as a teenager, she, i survived owlishly as one of but

a few lessons and scholar at least 1300000 people were deported to al shreds by the national socialist. among them were 1000000 shoes and glacier. the vast majority a mod were murdered immediately after their arrival. ashes is the seen and symbol of the genocide of european jews to follow the epitome of the holocaust, a crime, fish to them, and that is all without parallel in the history of humankind. for which feet we germans bear responsibility. these seem on v further wrote the show while remains only present, none of it will ever be raised. nothing can get nothing must be forgotten and of clothing why to the offer than to day. we commemorate the victims of the nancy crimes the murdered jews of europe and the daughter of that, the victim self. the german occupation and extermination policy,

especially in central and eastern europe. the off of the century and rome are the victims of the so called euthanasia, or leadership of the people persecuted because of their political convictions or their christian faith. the anger jehovah witnesses, members of sexual minorities, those defamed as anti social performer. we also remember prisoners of war and forced laborers in and dearly, we remember those who resisted and were executed for that. digging along. we remember all those who were a persecuted, robbed danish ameliorated a marginalized invitation, disenfranchising tortured and murdered by the national socialist. many of the victims of the german war of extermination in the east were ukrainians . that's all believed caused. i am horrified that even holocaust survivors

were killed by the current russian attacks against ukraine. it is a dreadful way of mocking the victims of national socialism to see the russian war of aggression as comparable to what nazi germany did. many holocaust survivors in ukraine were forced to flee. and i am touched by the fact that many of them found refuge and germany in many cases they did. so with the help of the jewish games conference in toronto, and some of them are with us today with dr. i would particularly like to welcome dr. maurice barker, who survived the show law, the chairman of the all ukrainian association of juice.

oh, this one is woman having come from odessa. we have withers. i lived bullish man man like boris tobacco. he also survived the showa as a child image by to verbally in the business. again, i am very pleased to be able to welcome other survivors in particular, margaret returned our shannon to colonel bluff and addressed rhyming bothered him with me. i would also like to welcome guests from the queer community, alida mccauley from afghanistan, and edward me. tabby from uganda. in

yes, i meant one artist in the home country city. they risk high, endured punishment for homosexuality, so they found refuge and protection in germany. dear guess i would like to thank you all for being with us to day and the german understand you making a good english made an obligation with our of remembrance focuses on a group of victims mesh which had to fight for a long time to achieve recognition people who were persecuted by the national socialist because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity, the section 175 of the german pina kirk had made sexual intercourse between men punishable by imprisonment since the german empire and chris. this section was

nightly, further by the national socialist kisses. touching even glances became punishable by lou. tens of thousands were accused of homosexuality. this alone was often enough to ruin their social life and existence. in more than half of these men were convicted usually to serve long prison sentences or forced labor. in some cases, men were falster undergoes their relation. many were driven to suicide in their park. even though section 175, only applied to men of lesbian women, were by no means safely to fusion, really meant neither where people or the other could are there. she could not or did not want to live the gender society demanded of them, nor managed those who did not conform to national social is norms. lived in fear and mistrust. told all men at the, of the, of the hardest hit where the many thousands of women and men who were at liberty,

deported to concentration camps because of their sexuality. usually under a pretext they were often right on the lowest rung. can hire a key and were exposed to the omni present violence without any protection. many were abused for medical experiments, most or perished after only a short time or they were murdered for this young woman. 70 years ago to day our shreds was liberated, he being of a thick facility in half a tip. also those in prison for sexuality were freed from the camps. but for them, the end of national socialism did not bring about an end or state persecution. in both parts of germany, section of 175, the build code by continued to apply after 1945 in the fed republic of germany. it even remained in the nancy version until 1969 to law from today's perceptive, it sounds incredible. it was,

it took until 1994 for section 175 to be struck in its entirety in. it took many more years again until all the sentences based on it were repealed until our democracy found the strength to admit these sentences constituted an injustice offered enough to live in varden and amend our sexual minorities. also waited for a long time in vain to be recognized as victims of national socialism. in the 19th eighty's in several society initiative and both east and west germany began to publicly remember their history of their persecution yamashita. and repeatedly they met with, with resistance to them. and it's important to me that to day we remember the people who were persecuted because of their sexual orientation and gender identity does believe part of the commemoration of the victims is that survivors can raise their voices here in parliament and tell us about their lives and suffering,

the last survivors of this group of victims have passed away without being heard. and their stories must be told by others employment, mar, and cry. man, leon, nick sherman. you too, will take on this task and reside to ask the victim biographies of mary pony and car go right. looks fun day. the historian, lots vandyke has written the text that you will read. lima can see it. deacon us. i'm in the class. she had a van, you can report from your own experience at the end of this hour of remembrance, you will speak about your persecution as a homosexual in the federal but public. and my dear mrs carts, are you survived as a huge child living under false identity? your parents were murdered in ashley at the beginning of this an hour of

remembrance, you won't tell us what it means for a person to discover one's true identity lankin. i am, i like to thank everyone involved in today's our, of remember in the donkey and the vision forfeit of your anger in the same they. and i thank all the people who advocated in advance and supported the call to remember sexual minority. i from ethics, linda, heightened to vin. we still know to little above the fate of individual sexual majorities. national socialists, persecuted lesbian, women and chance sexual us under pretext, for example, calling them the anti social. and in this way, there criminalization for sexual identity became hidden and invisible. other groups also are only slowly becoming visible to us with for our culture of remembrance. it

is important to tell the story of all those persecuted, let me make the injustice be recognized as sovereigns. few and fewer contemporary witnesses can tell us their stories in life, but we can and much frigging that bring their suffering to mind in a different way. and when it wasn't in class on their testimony of noise, in the culture of re mammaries, we need tell that he at russia find a different way forward. on tuesday i opened an exhibition by the adventure molecules moral together with a director, danny diane doyle, my thank most severe, most sincerely followed. the exhibition shows every day, objects of german and juice, air handle car, menorah as an escape trunk, or a doll o l. i think all objects are shown for the 1st time, again in germany, even if their own gifted owners can no longer speak for themselves. looking at

these objects brings home a sense of the irretrievable loss that the murder of millions of european jews represent. pershing on this public, and this is why it's so valuable to have that if her memory shenise and monuments and nearest oracle sites 2 weeks ago, i witnessed a memorial for euthanasia, vincent and bam of 4000 people were mad at their patients from nursing care and hospital institutions as well as inmate from concentration camps among them, mary berner, whose biography will be told us if there visiting this memoria and left a deep impression on me. a vibrant culture of remembrance is also the purpose of the german. when i stocks youth exchange here in the hall, there are some of the participants. i'm very grateful that you have come to day.

department is in the men again of scotland. then feel a many, jackie bar culture of remembrance, alive. many people in this country believe germany and already dealt with a show are enough. that's a mistake. there can be no conclusion. defeated long behead of dangers to believe that we had learned our lesson middle another. we must continue to deal with our past. and there are still painful questions unresolved and also troubled by attempts to qualify the unique character of the holocaust. we must firmly reject.