Wednesday, November 30, 2005
The death of Pierre Seel
If you have seen Rob Epstein's film Paragraph 175, you can't help but remember the powerful words of Pierre Seel as he recounted his experience as a gay victim of the Holocaust. Despite what I thought was a certain numbness to new survivor stories -- no doubt a result of years of Hebrew school and visits to Holocaust museums in the US and Israel -- I was mesmerized by Seel because he represented a new part of me that was also central the Hitler's path of destruction.
Hitler and his followers were the antithesis of Seel and his male lover. As Seel stood in horror as his lover was fed to animals, he was consumed by his love for another man. The criminals, of course, were consumed with an equal amount of hate.
I do hope you will take a moment to read Doug Ireland's outstanding piece on the life of Pierre Seel, as France's longest surviving known gay Holocaust survivor, Seel's recent death will close another chapter on a book in our history which should never be forgotten.
Hitler and his followers were the antithesis of Seel and his male lover. As Seel stood in horror as his lover was fed to animals, he was consumed by his love for another man. The criminals, of course, were consumed with an equal amount of hate.
I do hope you will take a moment to read Doug Ireland's outstanding piece on the life of Pierre Seel, as France's longest surviving known gay Holocaust survivor, Seel's recent death will close another chapter on a book in our history which should never be forgotten.
By: Michael Rogers
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