Pride Month Program // Film Screening & Talkback

Paragraph 175: Anti-Gay Persecution in Nazi Germany

In honour of Pride Month, the Neuberger, in partnership with the German Consulate in Toronto, presents a special film screening of Paragraph 175 (2000) and exclusive talkback. Rupert Everett narrates this harrowing documentary about the persecution of homosexuals in the Third Reich, which adds a deeper dimension to Holocaust history. Using an obscure paragraph in Germany's penal code dating back to 1871, the Nazi government arrested gay men, sending them to jail or concentration camps, where they were tortured and murdered. Interviews with aging survivors detail the shift from the social freedoms of the Weimar Republic to the repressive terror imposed by the Nazis.

Screening in connection with the Paragraph 175 and the Legacies of Anti-Gay Persecution talkback at 7 PM on June 29, 2021.

Documentary available FREE on June 28 - 30, 2021.

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June 29, 2021 @ 7 PM EDT

The Neuberger is joined by Dr. Jake Newsome and Michelle Douglas to discuss the legacies of sexuality-based persecution and its associated iconography in both Nazi Germany and Canada

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Remember to register for the free Holocaust Education Week Channel on the Virtual J in order to view the program and have access to other free Neuberger online content.

Presented in partnership with:

Dr. Jake Newsome is a museum educator and scholar of German and American LGBTQ history. He earned his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his research focuses on Holocaust history, gender and sexuality, and memory studies. His book Pink Triangle Legacies: Coming Out in the Shadow of the Holocaust, which will be published by Cornell University Press next year, traces the transformation of the pink triangle from a concentration camp badge in Nazi Germany into a symbol of queer activism, pride, and community beginning in the 1970s. Dr. Newsome is the recipient of multiple research and teaching awards, scholarships, and fellowships. He is also a public scholar and international speaker, who has been invited by institutions ranging from small community centers to the French and UK governments and the US Library of Congress to speak about the memorialization of the Nazis’ gay victims. Dr. Newsome currently works at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.

Michelle Douglas is the Executive Director of the LGBT Purge Fund, a veteran, a survivor of Canada’s “LGBT Purge” and an activist in the movement to seek legal equality for the LGBT2Q+ community over the past 30 years. Michelle served as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces from 1986 – 1989. Despite a distinguished service record, she was honorably discharged after being deemed “Not Advantageously Employable Due to Homosexuality”. After being fired by the military, Michelle’s landmark legal challenge in 1992 ended Canada’s formalized discriminatory policy against LGBT members of the military. This experienced launched a decades-long commitment to volunteerism and activism for Michelle. Professionally, Michelle also had a 30-year career in public service. She retired from the Canadian Department of Justice in 2019 where she held the position of Director of International Relations. Michelle is a member of the board of directors of the Michaëlle Jean Foundation. Michelle was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. In 2021, Maclean’s Magazine named Michelle on their “Power List 50”. She is a graduate of Carleton University and resides in Ottawa.

Canadian Premiere of White Noise

[5 March 2021 - 7 March 2021]

The Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre is proud to partner with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network for the Canadian premiere of the documentary, White Noise (2020). The Atlantic’s first feature documentary is the definitive inside story of the alt-right. With unprecedented, exclusive access, White Noise tracks the rise of far-right nationalism and the terrifying heart of the movement—explosive protests, riotous parties, and the rooms where populist and racist ideologies are refined, weaponized, and injected into the mainstream.

As white nationalist violence surges in America and across the world, White Noise represents an urgent warning about the power of extremism, and where it’s going next. This is essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand this urgent reality.

White Noise is available on the Virtual J from 5 March 2021 to 7 March 2021.

Access Film

Remember to register for the free Holocaust Education Week Channel on the Virtual J in order to view the film and have access to other free Neuberger online content.

Amira Elghawaby
Canadian Anti-Hate Network

Daniel Panneton
Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre

Daniel Lombroso
Director, White Noise

The Great "White" North Talkback

Join the Neuberger, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, and White Noise Director Daniel Lombroso, on March 7 at 7:30pm on the Virtual J, for The Great "White" North, a talkback tied to the Canadian Premier of White Noise. Lombroso will be joined by Amira Elghawaby from the CAHN and Daniel Panneton from the Neuberger to discuss the state of hatred in the United States and Canada today, and the different ways that it can be fought. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions.