What It Was Like to Be Gay Durg WWII Smhsonian Magaze

Contents:

• GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME
• "COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS
• WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE GAY DURG WWII
• IN WWII, TWO GAY SOLDIERS’ FORBIDN ROMANCE LIV ON IN THEIR LOVE LETTERS
• ERNST RöHM, THE HIGHT-RANKG GAY NAZI
• HOW WWII STARTED THE MORN GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• THE PK TRIANGLE: FROM NAZI LABEL TO SYMBOL OF GAY PRI
• NEW WWI MOVIE TO FEATURE A GAY LOVE STORY
• THE LAVENR SRE: GAY AND LBIAN LIFE POST-WWII AMERI

GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME

In 1952, Alan Turg was forced to endure chemil stratn by the same ernment after beg prosecuted for homosexual acts. It is unclear how many of the men publicly or privately intified as gay or were part of gay muni and works that had been tablished Germany before the Nazi rise to power. However, the Nazi mpaign agast homosexualy and the regime’s zealo enforcement of Paragraph 175 ma life Nazi Germany dangero for gay men.

The latter term dated to 1869, when a pamphlet advotg for crimalizatn of sexual relatns between men ed the term “Homosexualät” (“homosexualy”). The newer slang word “schwul” (often translated to English as “gay”) was also creasgly popular among certa groups. In ntrast, the work of gay men that veloped around thor Adolf Brand and his anizatn Gemeschaft r Eigenen (The Communy of Kdred Spirs) took a different approach.

"COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS

It was the relatively eeg atmosphere of the Weimar Republic that gay muni and works grew and veloped unprecented ways. Some joed “iendship leagu” (Frndschaftsverbän), groups that polilly and socially anized gay men, lbian women, and others. Gay newspapers and journals, such as Die Frndschaft (Friendship) and Der Eigene (translated varly, but this ntext implyg “his own man”), ntributed to the growth of gay works.

They actively tried to build a sense of muny among gay men, and clud personal ads and rmatn about gay meetg plac. Shortly thereafter, they sought to dismantle the visible gay cultur and works that had veloped durg the Weimar Republic. Nohels, the Nazi closur and creased police surveillance ma far more difficult for gay men to nnect wh each other.

WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE GAY DURG WWII

In a further latn, the Nazis ed new laws and police practic to arrt and ta whout trial a limed number of gay men begng late 1933 and early 1934.

Three events the years 1934–1936 radilized the Nazi regime’s mpaign agast homosexualy and led to more systematic opprsn of gay men. Fally, 1936 SS lear and Chief of the German Police Herich Himmler tablished the Reich Central Office for the Combatg of Homosexualy and Abortn (Reichszentrale zur Bekämpfung r Homosexualät und r Abtreibung).

IN WWII, TWO GAY SOLDIERS’ FORBIDN ROMANCE LIV ON IN THEIR LOVE LETTERS

The notorly homophobic Himmler saw both homosexualy and abortn as threats to the German birth rate and th to the fate of the German people. In the Nazis’ unrstandg, the men were “homosexual” (“homosexuell”) offenrs and th crimals and enemi of the state.

In the mid- to late 1930s, the police raid bars and other meetg plac that they believed to be popular wh gay men. In rarer s, the Kripo or the Gtapo would send a man directly to a ncentratn mp as a “homosexual” (“homosexuell”) offenr.

For example, gay men tegorized by the Nazi regime as Aryan had far more optns than those tegorized as Jews or Roma (Gypsi). Unverg the histori of gay men durg the Nazi era was difficult for much of the twentieth century bee of ntued prejudice agast same-sex sexualy and the ongog enforcement of Paragraph 175.

ERNST RöHM, THE HIGHT-RANKG GAY NAZI

The efforts of scholars and German gay rights anizatns have helped to brg the persecutn of gay men unr the Nazis to the public eye. In the 1990s, the German ernment acknowledged “persecuted homosexuals” (“verfolgten Homosexuellen”) as victims of the Nazi regime. For the first time, gay men who had suffered at the hands of the Nazis beme eligible for moary pensatn om the German ernment for jtic perpetrated agast them.

A few years later, May 2008, the Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted unr Nazism (Denkmal für die im Natnalsozialism verfolgten Homosexuellen) was unveiled nearby Tiergarten park central Berl. Liebman and more than 9, 000 Amerin servicemembers, however, eventually were given a Sectn 8 "blue discharge" for beg homosexual. The 1994 documentary Comg Out Unr Fire giv voice to the experienc of thoands of gay and lbian servicemembers who joed the ary durg World War II, a story that is largely ignored by historians and mms across the untry.

HOW WWII STARTED THE MORN GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

In 1993, the Uned Stat was batg the discrimatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy regardg homosexuals the morn ary. At the time, homosexualy was classified as a mental illns by the medil muny; mental illns was one ndn that disqualified young people om service.

THE PK TRIANGLE: FROM NAZI LABEL TO SYMBOL OF GAY PRI

Gay and lbian recs were forced to answer qutns vaguely, or lie about their sexualy, orr to be allowed to serve; otherwise, they would n the risk of beg sent home and brand as “sex perverts. Instead of chargg dividuals wh sodomy, a urt-martialed offense, the ary began intifyg spected homosexuals as psychopaths. The new iendships gave gay and lbian GIs refuge om the hostily that surround them and allowed for a distct subculture to velop wh the ary.

NEW WWI MOVIE TO FEATURE A GAY LOVE STORY

Servicemembers on every waront enjoyed drag show entertament; an entire gay lexin was veloped om the wrgs of Dorothy Parker; and eventually an unrground queer newspaper emerged.

The irony that the ary selected two homosexuals to reprent the ial image of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was not lost on Abry. The feral discrimatory actns drove LGBTQ people further to the shadows of society and embolned law enforcement and policians, who beme more vlent toward gay and lbian cizens. Patrons of the gay bar fought back and sparked a vlent uprisg that started the gay rights movement the Uned Stat.

Gay and lbian veterans of World War II beme some of the first to fight ary discrimatn and blue discharg the years followg the war. My only hope is that anizatns around the untry m to pturg the voic of gay, lbian, and transgenr veterans and that we fd a place our history to honor their service as well.

THE LAVENR SRE: GAY AND LBIAN LIFE POST-WWII AMERI

We sat down wh Sir John Dermot Turg, Alan Turg’s nephew and thor of a new book on Bletchley Park, to discs his uncle’s role pivotal role puter science and his persecutn for beg gay the 1950s.

Wartime film star Patsy Kelly's most fiant act was beg an openly gay woman an hospable climate for the LGBTQIA+ muny. Their excln om service and s remembrance for much of the 20th century have left a dark unrbelly of misogyny, racism and homophobia.

Homosexualy, on the other hand, was nebulo and shadowy, a behavur and an inty type difficult to ppot wh any accuracy but potentially vastatg to the efficy of all-male forc. Anxieti about homosexualy reached fever pch the send world war wh the risg fluence of psychology and s promise to make better armi. Atralia, Canada and Great Bra all heed “expert” warngs of the imment dangers homosexualy posed, but the US rang the alarm lour than anyone else.