Leonhard Cohen

Leonhard Cohen (Possibly Cohn) was born December 9, 1908. This portrait was drawn last April (2023) for Days of Remembrance.  Anti-Semitism, homophobia, and transphobia still run rampant in our world, and we must not lose sight of what has already happened, lest it happen again.

I first found Leonhard in the Yad Vashem archives, just a single photo labeled: "21-year-old Leonhard Cohen, had relations with men." This was part of a propaganda album titled "Jewish Criminals" from 1938.

Through cross-referencing records in the Arolsen Archives, I believe I uncovered his fate. At Sachsenhausen, there was a prisoner, number 35020, listed as imprisoned under Paragraph 175, and also identified as Jewish. This meant he likely wore both the yellow Star of David and the pink triangle, marking him for even harsher treatment.

A death certificate dated April 8, 1941, lists his residence as Berlin-Charlottenburg, Kantstraße 120/121. His parents were Hugo Cohn and Frieda Cohn (née Raphaelsohn). The cause of death, as recorded by the Lagerkommandant, was “heart and circulatory failure” but this was likely a lie, he was probably worked to death or murdered under the brutal, sadistic labor imposed on gay prisoners.

This portrait remembers Leonhard, his suffering, and his stolen future.