Lesbian and gay rights leaders in Georgia were angered when two paragraphs describing the persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis were edited out of a 92-page teacher’s guide on the Holocaust.
The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust had recommended deleting the paragraphs, which described the Nazi persecution of lesbians and gays, arguing that the text was overly graphic and unsuitable for young readers.
Gay advocacy group Georgia Equality Project Director Harry Knox countered that the information could be presented in an “age-appropriate manner,” and urged the Commission to reconsider its decision. “Erasing persecutions for gays from the history of the Holocaust repeats the tragic silence of most Germans in the Nazi years,” he said. Knox further contended that the Holocaust was horrifying and that students should be made upset when they learn about it.
Upon hearing the complaints of lesbian and gay rights activists, the Commission had already printed the guides, but agreed to send the missing paragraphs to teachers in a separate letter.
