Discrimatn and persecutn has led to gay soldiers of the Great War beg seen as tragic figur, but this was not always the se
Contents:
- HOW WWI SPARKED THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
- THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE GAY SOLDIERS WHO SERVED THE FIRST WORLD WAR
- THE FOTTEN GAY SOLDIERS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
HOW WWI SPARKED THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
* world war 1 gay soldiers *
One of the World War I’s most endurg legaci is largely fotten: It sparked the morn gay rights movement. Gay soldiers who survived the bloodlettg returned home nvced their ernments owed them somethg – full cizenship. Especially Germany, where gay rights already had a tenuo footg, they formed new anizatns to advote public for their rights.
Though the movement that lled self “homosexual emancipatn” began the 19th century, my rearch and that of historian Jason Crouthamel shows that the war turned the 19th-century movement to gay rights as we know today. The Scientific Humanarian Commtee was then the world’s leadg homosexual emancipatn group, boastg a membership of about 100 people.
THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE GAY SOLDIERS WHO SERVED THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Read the stori of four men and women who intified as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr that ntributed to help Bra durg the First World War * world war 1 gay soldiers *
Homosexualy meant the loss of one’s job, social ostracism, the risk of blackmail and perhaps crimal prosecutn.
THE FOTTEN GAY SOLDIERS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
They went directly to a set of mands that characteriz gay rights to this day – that gay people are upstandg cizens and serve to have their rights rpected. “The state mt regnize the full cizenship rights of verts, ” or homosexuals, an activist wrote the year after the war. He mand not jt the repeal of the sodomy law, but the openg of ernment jobs to known homosexuals – a radil ia at the time, and one that would rema far out of reach for many s.
Throughout the 20th century, gay rights groups stggled for the right to serve openly the ary, a hallmark of rpectabily.