1988: Protest from HOSI Activists at the Inauguration of the Monument Against War and Fascism

On November 24, 1988, Alfred Hrdlicka’s Monument Against War and Fascism was unveiled on Vienna’s Albertinaplatz. Activists of the Homosexuelle Initiative (HOSI) and Rosa Lila Villa participated in the event, carrying a banner that read: “1000s of homosexual concentration camp victims are waiting for rehabilitation.” The banner, which had already been used in 1985 on the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp, referred to the nonrecognition of gay people as Nazi victims by the Austrian state. Police forces called on the activists to remove the banner; when they refused, it was snatched from them by the police. Bystanders who were present criticised the actions of the police officers and expressed solidarity with the activists, doing so later as well in written letters to the editor to different daily newspapers. After having gone through all of the Austrian courts, Gudrun Hauer and Alfred Guggenheim, both from HOSI Vienna, lodged an appeal with the European Commission for Human Rights; this was, however, rejected in 1993.