Strengthening the remembrance of LGBTIQ+ victims and other victims

Objective

1. Strengthening the remembrance of the Holocaust, acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity to strengthen democracy in the EU.

Projects under this topic should focus on the non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust as well as other genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity of the 20th century’s Europe.

Projects under this topic should NOT address the Holocaust against Jewish people which are covered by Topic 2.

CERV-2026-CITIZENS-REM-GENCRIME-2 - Priority 2: Strengthening the remembrance of LGBTIQ+ victims and other victims

Projects under this priority should not address projects focusing on the remembrance of Roma victims (Projects focussing on the remembrance of Roma victims should apply under Priority 1).

Europe’s 20th century was marked by horrific crimes, genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as the crimes committed under authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, including those of communist and fascist dictatorships. The remembrance of these gravest crimes committed on European soil plays a critical role in upholding these values.

Despite growing efforts to preserve the memory of the victims of these crimes, the experiences of many groups remain overlooked, marginalised or insufficiently recognised in public memory. This includes, among others, LGBTIQ+ people and other communities targeted on the basis of their identity, beliefs or perceived social status.

Throughout history, LGBTIQ+ people have faced systemic persecution under a wide range of political and social regimes, often shaped by prevailing religious, cultural, and legal norms. Under the Nazi regime, it is estimated that 50000 gay and bisexual men were subject to ‘severe jail sentences in brutal conditions’, with around 10-15000 being sent to concentration camps. Lesbian women, transgender people, and others whose identities did not conform to Nazi ideals of gender and sexuality also faced surveillance, discrimination, violence, and social exclusion, with their experiences largely unrecognized for decades.

As a result, the history of LGBTIQ+ persons in Europe is marked by both struggle and resilience. The preservation and recognition of LGBTIQ+ history and memory are essential to building an inclusive European identity rooted in dignity, diversity, and human rights. Remembering and recognising these atrocities is essential to restore justice as underlined in the LGBTIQ+ equality strategy 2026-2030.

Greater awareness of all these histories contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the causes, mechanisms and consequences of mass atrocities and contributes not only to preventing their recurrence but also to reinforcing democratic resilience, fostering civic engagement, and building a common European culture of remembrance.

Projects under this topic could focus on:

• Addressing how genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity were organised, which actors were involved and how they were committed, the roles of collaborators, perpetrators and bystanders.
• Finding new ways of remembering, educating and teaching about these crimes to protect society against resurging threats of hatred. They can include artistic work on memory projects, as well as stimulating memory activism. These new methods should be inclusive, where applicable participatory and create an enabling learning environment.
• Fostering awareness raising, mutual learning or training activities that accurately reflect the persecution of LGBTIQ+ people, and other minorities throughout history.
• Countering historical falsification and memory competition related to the persecution of LGBTIQ+ people, genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially among Europeans that shared a common history but have divergent views on their common past.
• Fostering awareness raising, mutual learning or training activities that accurately reflect the persecution of LGBTIQ+ people, and other minorities under the Nazi regime while countering denial, distortion, trivialization, and especially false comparisons.
• Addressing divergent and opposite national historical narratives, on regional basis, of these darkest hours of Europe history and other negative common shared historical events.
• Digitalising historical material and testimonies of witnesses for education and training purposes.

For further information about the call and its conditions, please see the Call document.