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PHOTOS: On assignment in Hungary, Poland, and Germany

International News Editor Michael K. Lavers traveled to Eastern Europe this month

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2 years ago

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Stickers on the door to the offices of the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

BERLIN — The Washington Blade was on assignment in Hungary, Poland, and Germany from April 2-16.

The Blade interviewed LGBTQ activists, government officials, and refugees from Ukraine who have resettled in Berlin and in Warsaw, the Polish capital. The Blade also visited Auschwitz in Oświęcim, Poland.

A billboard at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, on April 2, 2024, proclaims the country to be “family-friendly.” (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Part of the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a memorial to Hungarian Jewish people who the Arrow Cross Party, a fascist Hungarian militia, massacred during World War II. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Posters on the Dohány Street Synagogue’s fence in Budapest, Hungary, with pictures of Israelis who Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip took hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Carmel Gat’s sister-in-law, Yarden Roman-Gat, was among the hostages released last November. Roman-Gat’s brother, Gili Roman, is a gay man who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A falafel restaurant in Budapest, Hungary, with a decal on the window that notes it welcomes LGBTQ customers. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The drink menu at CoXx, a gay cruising bar in Budapest, Hungary. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
An anti-transgender book for sale in a bookstore in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government over the last decade has cracked down on LGBTQ rights in the country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A UNHCR-affiliated community center for refugees in Kraków, Poland, on April 5, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A picture of Polish-born Pope John Paul II inside St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in Kraków, Poland. The Roman Catholic Church remains a powerful institution in Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
An anti-Russian President Vladimir Putin sticker on a streetlight in Kraków, Poland, on April 6, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Posters at Lindo Bar, a gay bar in Kraków, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Patrons at Lindo Bar, a gay bar in Kraków, Poland, on April 6, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Magda Dropek votes in Kraków, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Photo courtesy or Dropek’s X account)
Auschwitz I camp in Oświęcim, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

A mural in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
La Pose, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The Warsaw House Foundation on April 8, 2024, hosted a clothes swap for transgender people at La Pose. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Drag queens entertain patrons of La Pose, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland, on April 8, 2024, during a broadcast of an episode of “Czas na Show” or “Drag Me Out,” a reality show that features male Polish celebrities performing in drag with drag queens. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
International News Editor Michael K. Lavers interviews gay Deputy Polish Justice Minister Krzysztof Śmiszek at his office in Warsaw, Poland, on April 9, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Patryk Janczewski)
The Polish Sejm in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Mirosława Makuchowska of Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, a Polish LGBTQ rights group, at her organization’s offices in Warsaw, Poland, on April 10, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Pride flags fly from an apartment’s terrace in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The Ukrainian and Pride flags in Warsaw House Foundation’s apartment in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Drag queens perform at Ramona Bar, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A poster for a sex workers rally in Berlin. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A memorial to Ukrainians who have died during Russia’s war against their country in Berlin on April 13, 2024. The memorial was across the street from the Russian Embassy. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Lunch in Berlin’s Tiergarten park on April 13, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A gender-neutral bathroom at SchwuZ, an LGBTQ club in Berlin. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Performers at SchwuZ on April 14, 2024. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
A pro-Palestinian sticker near Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin on April 14, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The Canadian Embassy in Berlin on April 15, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Dmitry Shapoval, a gay Ukrainian man with HIV, in Berlin on April 15, 2024. He fled Ukraine in March 2022 after Russia launched its war against his country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The menu at Felixx, a gay bar in Vienna (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A picture of former President Donald Trump in a New York courtroom on the front page of Die Presse, an Austrian newspaper, on April 16, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
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