‘On the same level as the Nazis’: the film about Germany’s postwar persecutn of gay men | Film | The Guardian

Contents:

• NETFLIX EXPOS THE SECRET GAY HISTORY OF NAZI GERMANY
• ‘ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE NAZIS’: THE FILM ABOUT GERMANY’S POSTWAR PERSECUTN OF GAY MEN
• IN 'GREAT FREEDOM,' A MAN IS EED OM THE NAZIS, AND RE-IMPRISONED FOR BEG GAY
• ‘GREAT FREEDOM’ AND THE LONG SHADOW OF AN ANTI-GAY LAW GERMANY
• ERNST RöHM, THE HIGHT-RANKG GAY NAZI
• GAY NAZI MOVIE TRIUMPHS AT ROME FILM FTIVAL
• THE HORRIFIC NAZI TREATMENT OF GAYS — THE SAD STORY OF PK MEN“THE NAZIS STUCK 25 CENTIMETERS OF WOOD UP MY ASS”PETER PRKAR·FOLLOWPUBLISHED LSONS OM HISTORY·5 M READ·JUL 22, 2021--4SHAREGAY PRISONERS A NAZI NCENTRATN MP, WEARG A PK TRIANGLE (IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)THE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS NAZI NCENTRATN MPS WAS CEL AND DISGTG. YET, THERE WAS A STE OF PRISONERS WHO WERE NSIRED THE LOWT OF THE LOW BY THE MP GUARDS AND EVEN BY THE FELLOW PRISONERS — GAY MEN.THE TREATMENT OF THE GAYS THE NAZI NCENTRATN MPS WAS TLY HORRIFIC. GAY MEN WERE ED FOR MEDIL EXPERIMENTS AND AS SHOOTG TARGETS. THE GUARDS WOULD AIM FOR THE PK TRIANGL ON THEIR CHTS THAT SYMBOLIZED THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATN.THEY WERE TORTURED, EXPERIMENTED ON, AND RIDICULED. THEY WERE BEATEN TO ATH BY THEIR FELLOW PRISONERS. THEY RECEIVED THE MOST DANGERO TASK THE MP’S STONE QUARRI AND FACTORI.“THE NAZIS STUCK 25 CENTIMETERS OF WOOD UP MY ASS.”— PIERRE SEEL, A GAY HOLOT SURVIVORTHE NOTOR PARAGRAPH 175
• NEO-NAZI WHO TORTURED GAY PEOPLE VIRAL VIOS DI PRISON OF SUICI
• AN INTERVIEW WH A GAY, RSIAN NEO-NAZI
• GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME
• GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME - PHOTOGRAPHS

NETFLIX EXPOS THE SECRET GAY HISTORY OF NAZI GERMANY

Which didn’t stop burly Hler nfidante and head of the Nazi SA paraary wg Ernst Röhm, a not-terribly-closeted gay man, om equentg the tablishment. As the film explas, the SA had a strong homoerotic element, a disgt wh women and femy they somehow ed to jtify homosexualy – for a time, anyway. Röhm is but one player this ncise, ftly told doc that the Eldorado as a lnchg pad to a broar story about beg gay Nazi Germany.

The film never out and yells , but is also a remr of the Fal Solutn tenor that still acpani much anti-gay and anti-trans rhetoric and, creasgly, policy. He was also a bohemian spir who had a passnate homosexual relatnship wh Manasse Herbst, a Galician Jewish actor who fled Germany 1936.

Hirschfeld, a groundbreakg sexologist, both gay and Jewish and therefore a prime target of Nazi Germany, was thankfully not prent when his stute was ransacked by mardg Nazi youth (here aga, there are photos). Here we experience the nce that thrived before the fall, at a hiaway for those whose differenc would soon mark them for prison, exile, or, many s, ath ( is timated that between 5, 000 and 15, 000 gay people died the ncentratn mps for vlatg Paragraph 175).

‘ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE NAZIS’: THE FILM ABOUT GERMANY’S POSTWAR PERSECUTN OF GAY MEN

But as the award-wng new film Great Freedom mak clear, was fact a vdictive article of the German penal that crimalised male homosexualy and blighted the liv of 140, 000 men, more than a third of whom received prison sentenc.

Adrian Florido speaks wh actor Franz Rogowski about the movie "Great Freedom, " where a German man is imprisoned for beg gay. ” Victor (Ge Friedrich) stammers disbelief, more to himself than to Hans (Franz Rogowski) fictnal character of Hans, liberated om a Nazi ncentratn mp at the end of World War II only to be sent directly to prison, is based on a chillg and often overlooked chapter German postwar is repeatedly arrted unr Paragraph 175, a law crimalizg sex between men that the Nazis expand jt a uple of years to their regime, and which was kept on the books for s law was ed, sometim wh elaborate stg operatns, to nvict up to 50, 000 gay men Wt Germany between 1945 and 1994 — roughly as many as were arrted durg the which the Nazis ed . “For gay men, the Nazi era did not end 1945, ” said Peter Rehberg, the archivist of Schwul Mm, a gay cultural stutn Sebastian Meise, the director of “Great Freedom, ” read about the men who went om the ncentratn mps to prison bee of their sexualy, “really changed my unrstandg of history, ” he said a telephone terview om Vienna.

But for many s, postwar Germany’s treatment of gay men was also neher liberal nor 1935, the Nazis strengthened Germany’s law crimalizg homosexualy, which was origally troduced the 1870s. This allowed the regime to crimalize not jt gay sex, but almost any behavr that uld be seen to n afoul of heterosexual norms, cludg lookg at another man.

IN 'GREAT FREEDOM,' A MAN IS EED OM THE NAZIS, AND RE-IMPRISONED FOR BEG GAY

Bermbach spent four weeks jail and was fed 5, 000 marks — a hefty sum at the he paid off the fe, he beme one of the thoands of gay and bisexual men who fled Paragraph 175. He moved to Paris 1960 search of more and his wrg partner Thomas Reir llected many stori om Bermbach’s generatn of gay men durg the six years they spent rearchg and wrg the script for “Great Freedom, ” visg the archiv at the Schwul Mm and the Magn Hirschfeld Foundatn, which llects terviews wh men affected by the, Paragraph 175 did not stop gay culture om evolvg Wtern Germany; the German tle of the film, “Grosse Freihe, ” is a nod to a venerable gay bar Berl where the penultimate scene tak place.

A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn C, Page 3 of the New York edn wh the headle: The Long Shadow of Germany’s Anti-Gay Law. A man  make-up and pearls nmng transgenr people may seem untertuive, but Milo Yiannopoulos is hardly the first gay reactnary.

‘GREAT FREEDOM’ AND THE LONG SHADOW OF AN ANTI-GAY LAW GERMANY

The se of Ernst Röhm, the hight-rankg gay Nazi, prents an tertg study the nstctn and ntament of masculy by the right.

(Earlier, the Social Democrats, one of the few parti to mpaign for the repeal of Paragraph 175, showed self willg to gay-ba Röhm.

As Eleanor Hanck explas, Röhm, his face srred om war wounds, strsed a hyper-masculy to unteract ntemporary views of homosexualy as feme. His open homosexualy may have threatened the psychologil secury of some other Natnal Socialists, creatg a form of ‘male homosexual panic.

ERNST RöHM, THE HIGHT-RANKG GAY NAZI

'” She go further, wonrg if “the purge of the SA and the killg of Röhm reprented the leral objective rrelative for the supprsn and reprsn of the homosexual sir their own Nazism?

Even before Ernst Röhm was murred, the Nazis had begun crackg down on homosexualy, banng anizatns, burng books, and arrtg the first of some 100, 000. Around 15, 000 gay people were sent to ncentratn mps, where some were experimented upon bizarre efforts to fd a “cure” for sexual orientatn, a forhadowg of Amerin psychologil and later fundamentalist efforts to try the same thg.

GAY NAZI MOVIE TRIUMPHS AT ROME FILM FTIVAL

Get our ee weekly email for all the latt cematic news om our film cric Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cematic email for eeA Danish movie about a gay love affair between two members of a neo-Nazi group won top honours at the Rome Film Ftival, while Helen Mirren won the bt actrs won for her pictn of Leo Tolstoy's wife Michael Hoffman's The Last Statn, while Meryl Streep picked up a reer achievement wng movie, Brotherhood, tak a hard look at the neo-Nazi group that the leadg character, Lars, jos after leavg the group rri out raids on homosexuals, but Lars and his mentor the group, Jimmy, beg a love affair that they try to keep secret. “The Nazis stuck 25 centimeters of wood up my ass”Gay prisoners a Nazi ncentratn mp, wearg a pk triangle (Image: Wikimedia Commons)The treatment of prisoners Nazi ncentratn mps was cel and disgtg. Yet, there was a ste of prisoners who were nsired the lowt of the low by the mp guards and even by the fellow prisoners — gay treatment of the gays the Nazi ncentratn mps was tly horrific.

”— Pierre Seel, a gay Holot survivorThe notor Paragraph 175Graphs wh the number of nvictns due to Paragraph 175 (Image: Wikimedia Commons)In 1871, the law known as Paragraph 175 me to force the German Empire. He was received that day wh meras, bouquets of flowers, and a greetg om the openly gay former mayor of Berl, Kls seven s earlier, Brazda survived a spell Buchenwald, the ncentratn mp to which he was sent havg twice been arrted for vlatg Paragraph 175, the German law prohibg male homosexual activy.

THE HORRIFIC NAZI TREATMENT OF GAYS — THE SAD STORY OF PK MEN“THE NAZIS STUCK 25 CENTIMETERS OF WOOD UP MY ASS”PETER PRKAR·FOLLOWPUBLISHED LSONS OM HISTORY·5 M READ·JUL 22, 2021--4SHAREGAY PRISONERS A NAZI NCENTRATN MP, WEARG A PK TRIANGLE (IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)THE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS NAZI NCENTRATN MPS WAS CEL AND DISGTG. YET, THERE WAS A STE OF PRISONERS WHO WERE NSIRED THE LOWT OF THE LOW BY THE MP GUARDS AND EVEN BY THE FELLOW PRISONERS — GAY MEN.THE TREATMENT OF THE GAYS THE NAZI NCENTRATN MPS WAS TLY HORRIFIC. GAY MEN WERE ED FOR MEDIL EXPERIMENTS AND AS SHOOTG TARGETS. THE GUARDS WOULD AIM FOR THE PK TRIANGL ON THEIR CHTS THAT SYMBOLIZED THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATN.THEY WERE TORTURED, EXPERIMENTED ON, AND RIDICULED. THEY WERE BEATEN TO ATH BY THEIR FELLOW PRISONERS. THEY RECEIVED THE MOST DANGERO TASK THE MP’S STONE QUARRI AND FACTORI.“THE NAZIS STUCK 25 CENTIMETERS OF WOOD UP MY ASS.”— PIERRE SEEL, A GAY HOLOT SURVIVORTHE NOTOR PARAGRAPH 175

Published 2016, Whisnant’s book subverts the notn that the only queer people targeted durg the Third Reich were gay men, suggtg stead that the Nazi party’s broar terpretatn of Paragraph 175 meant that a small portn of terned dividuals were what we today would ll genr-nonnformg or trans.

What’s more, Whisnant pots out that while lbian women were not necsarily arrted bee of their sexualy, that is neher to say that some lbian women did not end up ncentratn mps, nor that the homophobia of the time didn’t impact them more broadly. ” And bis the German public’s disda for the trans-posive physician, signs of other cracks the fa of early Berl’s tolerance beg to show when nsirg the number of gay magaz circulatg at the time. Ernst Röhm, manr of the Nazi Party’s early ia force, the SA, and so one of the most powerful members of the party, was gay.

This wasn’t exactly a well-guard secret; gay sirs om the time rell spottg the high-rankg official at gay bars, even pickg up male sex workers Munich. ” The historian ntu to scribe how some might have seen the Nazi’s emphasis on male-bondg, physil power, and homoerotic imagery as a draw toward jog the party the first place. ”Nazi-era propaganda, like this 1933 electn poster, often prented an ialized, homoerotic-tged view of ArchiveWhatever illn of acceptance queer members of the Nazi party might have felt the early 1930s vanished the aftermath of a pivotal event lled The Night of the Long Kniv.

NEO-NAZI WHO TORTURED GAY PEOPLE VIRAL VIOS DI PRISON OF SUICI

The aftermath of the purge saw the Nazi propaganda mache signifintly ramp up s homophobic bent — a velopment that, Dr.

That is, by the letter, didn’t necsarily crimalize homosexualy, but rather what was nsired homosexual ntact — male-on-male peratn.

Maxim Martskevich, the 36-year-old Neo-Nazi founr of Occupy Pedophilia, a Rsian vigilante group that tortured spected gay teenagers on vio, has reportedly mted suici while servg a 10-year prison sentence Siberia for an unrelated vlent offense, acrdg to the Mosw Tim. Through Format 18, he allegedly arranged the productn and sale of vios showg immigrants beg 2013, Martskevich beme famo amongst the Wtern LGBTQ muny for his vios associated wh Occupy Pedophilia, his group that ed social media to lure gay men wh promis of sex only to rerd their huiated and physil torment on mera. In many of his vios, Martskevich and his horts punched and slapped the gay men, forced them to strip to their unrwear, shaved their heads reverse Mohawks, pated rabows the sheared strip upon their heads, forced them to hold sex toys, ma them state their full nam, had them utter self-nigratg statements like "I suck c*ck" and also forced them to drk one vio, Martskevich brandished a two-pronged fork towards a young man's eye and told him that he uld eher lose his eye or be sodomized wh the fork.

AN INTERVIEW WH A GAY, RSIAN NEO-NAZI

One of the most popular groups had 75, 000 followers, acrdg to the Amerin tech news webse The mpaign also spawned a spoff group, Occupy Gerontophilia, which targeted young gay people acced of "prostutg" themselv to olr men. Martskevich's anti-gay group and s vios began to surface the Wt the same year that the Rsian feral ernment signed a natnal law crimalizg as "homosexual propaganda.

GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME

" The law has sce been ed to shut down LGBTQ youth groups, tnal s as well as to fire gay teachers, arrt people monstratg for LGBTQ rights and harass queer cizens out of the untry.

GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME - PHOTOGRAPHS

Adolf Hler’s regime overturned all prev attempts Germany to crimalize same-sex acts, to challenge bigoted stereotyp about homosexualy, and to create tablishments where the men uld live and socialize openly. Ernst Röhm, lear of the SA, the Nazi Party’s stormtroopers, had been openly gay, but Hler had only tolerated this until he beme too troublome.

Although the Third Reich was one of the most heartlsly homophobic regim morn history, practilly no first-hand acunts of Nazi vlence agast gay men existed eher Wt or East Germany before the early 1970s.