Memorial to the persecution of homosexuals or Angel of Frankfurt

Near St. Peter's church on Klaus-Mann-Platz, in front of the Eldorado cinema has stood a memorial with an angel sculpture for the homosexual men and women persecuted and murdered during the Third Reich since 11th December 1994. Idea and initial planning of the artwork came from the "Initiative Mahnmal Homosexuellenverfolgung e.V." (Initiative for the memorial to the persecution of homosexuals, registered association) in Frankfurt. The square is laid out in a cross-shape and enclosed by four benches and boxwood hedges. In the middle stands the angel-sculpture on a narrow plinth with the following inscription: Homosexual men and women were Persecuted and murdered during National Socialism. The crimes were denied, The murders hidden, The survivors judged and despised. This we wish to call to mind, knowing that Men who love men And women who love women Could be persecuted again at any time. (Frankfurt am Main, December 1994) The sculpture is modelled on the "Angel with banner", one of 11 figures that used to adorn the ornamental gable of the Western portal of Cologne cathedral. The original hasn't survived. The "Angel" was cast in bronze after a late 19th.-c. plaster-cast by Peter Fuchs. Trockel then struck the head off the angel and put it back on, at a slight angle. The angel's wings are clipped. Standing not far from Tom Fecht's Aids-memorial "Damaged Love" on Petersfriedhof, this fragile looking, damaged angel is a moving sight.