FAQ

It's not mentioned specifically but the historical date would probably be September of 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was subsequently defeated in only three weeks and Poland surrendered. The war in Europe officially ended in May of 1945, nearly 6 yrs later.

Yes they were as part of the Nazis exertion of control over people they considered "undesirable". In addition to Jews, intellectuals, teachers, gypsies and large groups from neighboring countries like Hungary, Russia, Greece, etc, were all arrested and forced to live in ghettos in major cities and were later sent to concentration camps.

Before they were taken into custody, gay folks also had to wear cloth triangles on their clothing for easier identification by the Nazis just like Jews were forced to wear the gold Star of David. The color of the triangle depended on the country where they lived: some were pink, other countries used red and darker red triangles.

A partial list of markings for prisoners in Nazi concentration camps for non-Jews is shown here:

Red triangle: Political prisoner (includes socialists, Freemasons, communists, anarchists, etc.)

Green triangle: Professional criminal (convicts and other common criminals)

Blue triangle: Foreign forced laborer (usually emigrants)

Purple triangle: Bible student (Jehovah's Witness)

Pink triangle: Male homosexual (includes rapists, pedophiles, and zoophiles)

Black triangle: Work-shy/asocial (includes alcoholics, drug addicts, vagrants, the mentally ill, prostitutes, etc.)

Brown triangle: Gypsy (Roma or Sinti male)