The dpa news agency quoted Frank-Walter Steinmeier as saying that the harsh treatment continued in the post-war era, in both parts of a then-divided Germany, where homosexuality for years remained a criminal offense.
BERLIN — Germany’s president has asked gays for forgiveness for decades of suffering and injustice they endured as a result of repressive laws in Germany in the Nazi era and after World War II.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke Sunday in a ceremony marking the persecution of gays by the Hitler regime.
The dpa news agency quoted Steinmeier as saying that the harsh treatment continued in the post-war era, in both parts of a then-divided Germany, where homosexuality for years remained a criminal offense.
The president says « this is why I’m asking for forgiveness today, for all the suffering and injustice, and the silence that followed. »
Steinmeier says he wants to reassure « all gays, lesbians and bisexuals, all queers, trans- and intersexuals » that they are protected in today’s Germany.
