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Memorial · Berlin · Updated on 1 November 2026.

Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin

Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism is a memorial in Berlin. This place has an audio tour of about 2 minutes, in English or Dutch. 13 of the 50 well-known points of interest nearby are within 1 km. Within 420 m you'll find a bench, a water point, a public toilet and a bike pump.

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Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin
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Photo: Times · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0View the photo on Wikimedia Commons
Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin, photo 2
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Photo: Times · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0View the photo on Wikimedia Commons
Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin, photo 3
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Photo: Paul David Doherty (User:PDD) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0View the photo on Wikimedia Commons

The story

Wikipedia ↗Official website ↗

Audio tour · Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism

2:23

  • en
  • nl

You're standing at the edge of the Tiergarten in Berlin, at the memorial to the gay people persecuted under Nazism. At first glance it's just a grey block of concrete. A cube, 3.6 metres tall and 1.9 metres wide, set slightly askew among the trees. It was designed by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, a Danish-Norwegian artist duo.

Read and hear the whole story in the Outdoor Pitstop app: check in at this place and it is yours (with Pro; new users are Pro for the first 4 weeks).

Opening hours and admission

Wheelchair
Accessible

Source: OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.

Photos

10 photos from Wikimedia Commons. In the app you add your own photo when you are there.

Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin
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Photo: Times · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0View the photo on Wikimedia Commons

Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism

The Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin is a monument on the edge of the Tiergarten, unveiled in 2008. It remembers homosexual people who were persecuted under Nazism, a history that went unacknowledged for many years after the war. The grey concrete cube, 3.60 metres high and 1.90 metres wide, stands slightly tilted among the trees. Look through the small window on the front and you will see a short film of people kissing, a simple image that gives the cold block its force. Nearby, the Brandenburg Gate is 352 metres away, Potsdamer Platz 458 metres and the Reichstag Building 594 metres.

Background to the memorial

After 1945, gay people persecuted under that regime were not officially recognised. Paragraph 175, the law that made homosexuality a crime, remained in place in both the West and the East. It was not until 1985 that Richard von Weizsäcker named them as a group of victims in a speech. From 1993, campaign groups lobbied for a memorial in Berlin. In December 2003, parliament gave the green light, and the memorial was unveiled on 27 May 2008, with Klaus Wowereit as the speaker. Paragraph 175 was not fully abolished until 1994. This is the third memorial of its kind in the country, after the earlier ones in Frankfurt and one other city. There was also debate. Critics felt the memorial only concerned men, and historian Israel Gutman, who survived the persecution himself, objected to its location so close to the nearby memorial to the murdered victims. Since the unveiling, the memorial has been vandalised several times.

Opening hours, tickets and accessibility of the memorial

The memorial is wheelchair accessible, so visitors using a wheelchair can visit it. We do not yet have information about opening hours or tickets. If you want to know whether times apply or whether you need to arrange anything in advance, please check the official website: stiftung-denkmal.de/denkmaeler/denkmal-fuer-die-verfolgten-homosexuellen.html#c948. That site has the latest details for your visit, so check it shortly before you set off.

Toilets, drinking water and benches nearby

The memorial is a good place to stop for a rest. The nearest bench is 35 metres away, on Ebertstraße, and there are 210 benches within 500 metres. If you are thirsty, the nearest drinking water tap is 337 metres away, on Straße des 17. Juni, and there are 2 drinking water taps within 500 metres in total. The nearest public toilet is 349 metres away, near the Großer Tiergarten. This toilet is free, always open and wheelchair accessible. There are 5 public toilets within 500 metres. If you are cycling, the nearest bike pump is 419 metres away, on Potsdamer Straße. It is also the only bike pump within 500 metres.

Walking and more to see nearby

The Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin is a good starting point for a longer walk. If you want to keep going after your visit, there are plenty of places close by. First, you can listen to the audio story about the memorial in the Outdoor Pitstop app. It lasts 2 minutes and you listen to it on the spot. The Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz and the Reichstag Building also have their own audio stories, so you can walk from one to the next and keep listening along the way. If you want to go a bit further, the Museum Neue Nationalgalerie, 910 metres away, is a good choice. This museum also has an audio story in the app. The furthest point is Checkpoint Charlie, an attraction 1,164 metres away, where the app also tells you more about the site. It takes you about a quarter of an hour to walk there from the memorial.

Facilities near Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism

The nearest pitstop of each kind within 1 km, as the crow flies. No honesty box within 1 km.

Well-known points of interest nearby

50 well-known points of interest nearby, those with an audio tour first. 13 of the 50 well-known points of interest nearby are within 1 km.

Brandenburg Gate
AttractionAudio story · 2 min

Brandenburg Gate · 350 m

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Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0View the photo on Wikimedia Commons
Potsdamer Platz
AttractionAudio story · 2 min

Potsdamer Platz · 460 m

Reichstag Building
AttractionAudio story · 2 min

Reichstag Building · 590 m

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Photo: Jörg Braukmann · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0View the photo on Wikimedia Commons
Neue Nationalgalerie
MuseumAudio story · 2 min

Neue Nationalgalerie · 910 m

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Photo: A.Savin · Wikimedia Commons · FALView the photo on Wikimedia Commons
Gendarmenmarkt
AttractionAudio story · 2 min

Gendarmenmarkt · 1.1 km

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Photo: Christoph Matthias Siebenborn · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0View the photo on Wikimedia Commons

Hear the story of Brandenburg Gate on the spot with the app

All 760 points of interest in Berlin →

Also within walking distance

The 10 nearest points of interest with a story, within 2 km.

  1. 1Memorial to the Murdered Jews of EuropeAttraction · 190 m away
  2. 2PhilharmonieAttraction · 570 m away
  3. 3KunstgewerbemuseumMuseum · 710 m away
  4. 4KulturforumAttraction · 740 m away
  5. 5Gropius-BauMuseum · 830 m away
  6. 6KupferstichkabinettMuseum · 840 m away
  7. 7Federal ChancelleryAttraction · 910 m away
  8. 8Topography of TerrorMuseum · 960 m away
  9. 9House of the Cultures of the WorldMuseum · 990 m away
  10. 10Konzerthaus BerlinAttraction · 1.1 km away
All 760 points of interest in Berlin →

More about persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany

Explore further

More in Berlin

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Frequently asked questions

When was the memorial to homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin unveiled?

The memorial was unveiled on 27 May 2008, with Klaus Wowereit as speaker. Parliament gave the green light for construction in December 2003.

Who designed the memorial to homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin?

The memorial was designed by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, an artist duo. It is a grey concrete cube measuring 3.60 metres high and 1.90 metres wide.

What can you see through the window of the memorial to homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin?

Through the small window on the front you can see a short film of two people kissing. The film is replaced every two years, so women are also shown.

Is the memorial to homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the memorial is wheelchair accessible. The nearest public toilet, at Großer Tiergarten 349 metres away, is free, always open and also wheelchair accessible.

What attractions are close to the memorial to homosexuals persecuted under Nazism in Berlin?

The Brandenburg Gate is 352 metres away, Potsdamer Platz 458 metres and the Reichstag Building 594 metres. A further memorial is also nearby.

When was Paragraph 175 finally abolished?

Paragraph 175, the law that made homosexuality a criminal offence, was not finally abolished until 1994. After 1945 the law remained in force in both the West and the East.

Nearby

More well-known points of interest nearby

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