2025 HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL LECTURE - “Enemies of the State: The Nazi Persecution of LGBTQ+ People"

Lecture Description: The Cohen Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will host award winning historian Dr. Jake Desai-Newsome as the 2025 Holocaust Memorial Lecturer. In his talk, which is entitled "Enemies of the State: The Nazi Persecution of LGBTQ+ People," Dr. Desai-Newsome will use archival material and survivor testimonies to tell the stories of LGBTQ+ people in Nazi Germany. Attendees will learn about the complex motivations that convinced Nazi leaders that combating homosexuality was vital to the success of the Third Reich. The result was the destruction of the vibrant LGBTQ+ communities that had emerged during Germany’s democratic years, and the targeting, torture, and murder of tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ Germans. And while the Holocaust ended in May 1945, LGBTQ+ survivors soon learned that the era of state sanctioned persecution was not over.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Jake Desai-Newsome is an award winning scholar of German and American LGBTQ+ history whose research and resources educate global audiences. Jake is the author of Pink Triangle Legacies: Coming Out in the Shadow of the Holocaust , which traces the transformation of the pink triangle from a Nazi concentration camp badge into a global symbol of LGBTQ+ pride. Since earning his Ph.D. in history, Jake has published in academic journals as well as popular outlets like the Washington Post, and often appears as a guest on podcasts, including Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness. Jake is also the Founder and Director of the Pink Triangle Legacies Project. In addition to serving as a historical advisor for film projects, exhibits, and plays, Jake has been invited by the French, UK, and US governments about the important lessons that LGBTQ+ history has for all of us today.

This event is free and open to the public but registration is required. [Registration link coming soon.] Registration will be available for both the livestream and in-person seating. Registration for in-person seating will close on 9/8 (or sooner if seats fill up).

Doors will open for registered guests beginning at 5:30pm. Please note that photography and videography are prohibited at this event. We invite those of you who are attending this lecture in person to stay afterwards for a dessert reception with the speaker, which will conclude at 7:45 pm.

The lecture is made possible through donor funding as well as support from the KSC Office of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Keene Endowment Association. If you would like to make a gift to support this lecture or other Institute offerings, please visit our website.

This year's Holocaust Memorial Lecture is part of a 2025-2026 series on "Gender and Genocide" being offered by the Cohen Institute. Speakers in this series represent a wide range of scholarly research and views; our guests' perspectives should not be taken as representative of the Cohen Institute or Keene State College as a whole.

If you have any questions, please contact coheninstitute@keene.edu. We look forward to seeing you in person or online for this fascinating lecture! ****

This event is part of the Cohen Center calendar.