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Deborah Fleischman
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 7, 2003

EQUALITY FORUM ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

Lead Program "From Pink Triangle to Equality"

Equality Forum announced a collaboration with representatives of the German government and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in its lead program From Pink Triangle to Equality. The announcement was made at a press conference on Tuesday, January 7 at the National Museum of American Jewish History. Formerly called PrideFest America, Equality Forum, the premiere annual global gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) forum, runs from Monday, April 28th to Sunday, May 4th in Philadelphia. The program From Pink Triangle to Equality will be held on Thursday evening, May 1st at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute Conference Center in Philadelphia.

From Pink Triangle to Equality will examine the history of homosexuals from Nazi concentration camps to today when Germany has emerged as one of most progressive nations on gay civil rights. The program is named in recognition of the pink triangle which gays were forced to wear during the Holocaust. Today, Germany protects the civil rights of all its citizens.

"This program examines the darkest side of homophobia to the power of redemption," explained Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of Equality Forum. "In the last quarter of the 20th century, Germany made remarkable progress in protecting and respecting minority rights.

Clearly, our country's investment in the Marshall Plan, which spurred Germany's economic recovery and fostered their democratic governance paid off."

Germany is the Featured Nation this year and programming will include participants from the cities of Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg and Munich, as well as members of the German National Tourist Office. Germany will be represented on From Pink Triangle to Equality by a member of the Federal German Parliament (Bundestag) Volker Beck and Munich City Councilman Thomas Niederbuehl. Mr. Beck championed gay marriage, which the German Supreme Court upheld. Mr. Niederbuehl is a gay activist and represents the local gay and lesbian initiative "Pink List" in the Munich City Hall.

"Since the end of the Nazi rule and the shameful discrimination and persecution of homosexuals, Germany has undergone a steady process of liberalization regarding the social as well as the legal status of gays," stated Stefan Schlueter, Deputy Consul General of the German Consulate General in New York and liaison to the Jewish communities and organizations. "The program's title 'From Pink Triangle to Equality' is well chosen. Today, gays and lesbians have equal rights and are valued citizens."

This program brings together the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Federal Republic of Germany in an important collaboration which strengthens the relationship between the German and Jewish communities as well as the gay community. Dr. Geoffrey Giles, Associate Professor of European History at the University of Florida, and Dr. Jennifer V. Evans, Assistant Professor of History at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, two of North America's leading scholars on the treatment of homosexuals under Nazi Germany and during the post-war period, will be representing United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies (CAHS).

"We are pleased these scholars associated with the Museum will be participating in this important event," said Paul Shapiro, Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's CAHS. "Dr. Giles has done considerable work on the topic while at the Center as a J.B. and Maurice Shapiro Senior Scholar-in-Residence, and we look forward to Dr. Evans' work at the Center as a Fellow in 2003."

"That the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and leading German politicians collaborate with us speaks volumes about how far Germany has progressed," stated Dr. Harold Goldman, President of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, who will moderate the panel.

Since its founding in 1993, Equality Forum has become the nation's largest annual GLBT symposium and festival. It has expanded from a three-day conference of regional organizations to a full week of events featuring international, national and regional leaders on a broad range of compelling issues. With an anticipated 60 programs and social events presented by 80 regional, national and international organizations, Equality Forum is the most comprehensive international program about the GLBT community and its civil rights aspirations.

For more information, visit www.equalityforum.com or call (215) 732-3378.

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