Peter Flinsch

I often find myself wondering, what is my place in all this? Since childhood, I’ve asked: What would have happened to me if I had been born back then? What role would I have played, depending on the time and place of my birth? Recent events in the US has made this even more prescient a thought.

Peter Flinsch was born on April 22, 1920, and he was an artist like me. Forced into the Hitler Youth and later mandatory military service, he was conscripted into the Luftwaffe for a short time. Despite his Aryan features, he was convicted under Paragraph 175 for kissing a man at a Christmas party in 1942.

While being caught as gay meant execution in the SS or Gestapo (on Himmler’s orders), members of other military branches faced court-martial and varying punishments. Peter was sentenced to serve in a mine-sweeping unit alongside criminals, sparing him from concentration camps, but not from immense danger. These units were treated terribly, and survival was far from guaranteed.

After the war, Peter emigrated to Vancouver, where he became a renowned artist and art director. One of the few survivors who spoke openly about his persecution, he embraced the life he had once thought impossible—a life where he could live freely and authentically. He passed away at age 89 in on March 30, 2010.