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| A memorial for gay victims of the Nazi regime |
(Scroll down for video) For the first time ever, gay victims of the Nazi German regime will have their own memorial in Israel, according to a statement released by Israeli officials.
The memorial for homosexuals persecuted by the Nazi regime will be built by the municipal government of Tel Aviv.
The monument, which will feature a giant concrete pink triangle reminiscent of the symbol used by the Nazis to mark homosexual prisoners, will be built in Meir Park in Tel Aviv. The exact plans will be unveiled by the end of the year.
The monument was the brainchild of a Meretz city council member, Eran Lev, who took the idea to Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
The monument was designed by landscape architect and professor Yael Moriah, who also oversaw the recent renovation of Meir Park.
Lev said that the location of the monument in the park, near the Tel Aviv Gay Center, was symbolic.
"One of the first Nazi restrictions on Jews was against going to public parks," Lev said.
This will be the first and only memorial site in Israel that mentions non-Jewish victims of Nazis, who were persecuted.
At least 50,000 gay men were sentenced under paragraph 175 of Germany with many being subjected to cruel medical experiments, castration, or sent to camps to work to death.
15,000 known homosexuals were sent to concentration camps such as Sachsenhausen, Auschwitz and Birkenau during the time the Nazis were in power with 60 percent dying before the camps were liberated.
An unknown number of gay men were sent to concentration camps under other pretexts.