In a long-overdue act of remembrance, Paris has unveiled a striking new monument honoring LGBTQ+ victims of the Holocaust—a chilling reminder of a dark history that queer voices are still fighting to be heard within. Revealed on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, the installation now lies in Paris’s Marais district like a whisper from the past that refuses to be silenced.
The piece, designed by queer artist and activist Jean-Luc Verna, features a dramatic star-shaped wand—black on one side, silver on the other—meant to confront memory and time itself. “There is a black side in front of us, forcing us to remember,” Verna explained. “At certain times of the day, it casts a long shadow, evoking the dangers looming over us.” The silver surface, by contrast, glints with a somber beauty, representing how quickly both time and public opinion can change.
History in Stone, Shadows, and Silver
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, present at the ceremony, made clear this was not merely art—it was accountability. “Historical recognition means saying ‘this happened’ and ‘we don’t want it to happen again’,” she declared, adding her voice to a growing chorus demanding remembrance for queer lives lost in the camps.
While the Holocaust is largely known for the genocide of six million Jews, it’s critical to recall that between 5,000 to 15,000 gay men were sent to Nazi concentration camps. Roughly 100,000 men were arrested under Nazi-era laws criminalizing homosexuality. Those condemned were forced to wear pink triangles—a symbol that has since been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community as an emblem of resistance and survival.
“The pink triangle was a Nazi invention,” said queer historian Benno Gammerl, “but today it’s a symbol of pride, worn defiantly by those who refuse to be erased.”
Past Meets Present—and It’s Political
This monument isn’t just a nod to history—it’s a mirror to the present. Jean-Luc Romero, deputy mayor of Paris and a prominent gay politician, didn’t mince words. “We didn’t know, unfortunately, that this monument would be inaugurated at one of the worst moments we’re going through right now,” he said, referencing the political climate in the United States. “We’ve never experienced such a setback in the U.S., especially for trans people.”
Romero was referring to a string of executive orders signed this year by President Trump during his second term, including a chilling proclamation that the United States officially recognizes “only two sexes.” These orders rolled back protections for transgender youth, eliminated diversity initiatives, and banned trans people from military service—an attack on civil rights wrapped in policy.
Why This Matters to the LGBTQ+ Community
In an era of rising authoritarianism, increasing transphobia, and renewed attacks on queer existence worldwide, monuments like this one in Paris serve a crucial purpose. They aren’t just stone and metal—they are declarations that we existed, we were persecuted, and we will not be forgotten.
For the global LGBTQ+ community, this is about more than memory. It’s about visibility. It’s about reclaiming history that tried to bury us. And it’s a call to arms: as rights are stripped away from queer and trans people across the world, our stories must be etched into every city, every square, every book—because silence is never neutral.
As shadows lengthen over the Paris pavement, they stretch into the present—an invitation to remember, resist, and never again be erased.