Swedish Federation for Gay & Lesbian Rights
The Swedish Federation for Gay & Lesbian Rights is an organisation for Homo and bisexual women and men, founded in 1950. RFSL is without political and religious affiliations and today has 32 local branches, from Luleå in the north to Malmö in the south.
RFSL works to end oppression and discrimination in society by lobbying politicians and authorities to improve conditions for homosexuals.
Through membership in ILGA, the International Lesbian & Gay Association, and NRH, the Nordic Council for Homosexuals, RFSL also fights against oppression of homosexuals in other countries.
Another of RFSL's aims is to provide opportunities for social contacts while strengthening homosexuals' selfesteem through companionship and organizational community.
In 1995, at the 50th anniversary of the peace in 1945 RFSL made an exhibition about the homosexual prisoners from the concentration camps and about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals. This exhibition has since been shown around Sweden at libraries. At the same time RFSL held a celebration ceremony to the victims by organizing an art exhibition and seminar about homosexuals during the second world war.
At our library we have some literature from Germany, USA, Norway and Sweden that deals with the same topic. The library is open to researchers and is frequently used. We also help students who are interested in the history of gays and lesbians.
The homosexual victims that survived the concentration camps didn't get the same compensation as the other survivors because the law against homosexuals in Germany existed even before the Nazi regime. People still thinks it is right to persecute and kill homosexuals. This has to stop! It's the same prejudices and violence that exists today as well as under the Nazi era.
For further information:
Eva Ahlberg, information secretary at RFSL
RFSL, Box 350, SE-103 33 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: +46-8-736 02 13, Fax: +46-8-30 47 30