By Gerard Veldhoven
I approached the New Glasgow Legion in late October to talk about laying a wreath in memory of the thousands of gays who were tortured and killed in concentration camps during the Second World War. To my great surprise and obvious delight legion members were very much in favour of my request.
I wanted the wreath laying to be a formal event so that those in attendance would realize the horrific deaths that occurred included gay men. Lesbians were also treated badly and were humiliated horribly. They were not thought to be a threat to Hitler’s idea of an Aryan race.
The ceremony was very emotional and I was accompanied by a few others including Darl Wood from Truro who represented the lesbian victims. John Carter, Eric Arbuckle, Darryl Martin and Wayne Collette were on hand.
Hundreds of people attended the Remembrance Day ceremony and our brothers and sisters who were victims of Nazi rule will now be remembered at the ceremonies in New Glasgow. 
Gerard Veldhoven lays a wreath honouring LGBT persons killed in the Holocaust. Gerard is a well-known LGBT Activist in Central Nova Scotia. He is a frequent contributor to Wayves.
