Eastern Europe was once a world lear on gay rights. Then ran out of spegoats | CNN

Contents:

• GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME
• EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS
• DOCUMENTARY EXPLOR GAY AND LBIAN OPPRSN EAST GERMANY
• STAT OF (GAY) LIBERATN EAST GERMANY AND WT GERMANY

GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME

The Nazi regime rried out a mpaign agast male homosexualy between 1933 and 1945. 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.

It is important to note that not all of the men arrted and nvicted unr Paragraph 175 intified as gay. However, the Nazi mpaign agast homosexualy and the regime’s zealo enforcement of Paragraph 175 ma life Nazi Germany dangero for gay men. Gay men Germany were not a monolhic group, nor did the Nazi regime view them as such.

EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS

For example, gay men active anti-Nazi polil movements risked beg arrted as polil opponents.

Already the mid- to late-neteenth century, there were ditns of nascent and growg gay muni Germany. Among the terms were “gleichgchlechtlich” (“same-sex oriented”) and “homosexuell” (“homosexual”).

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.

DOCUMENTARY EXPLOR GAY AND LBIAN OPPRSN EAST GERMANY

Today, the terms “Homosexualät” and “homosexuell” are often nsired rogatory.

Gay muni and works Germany ntued to grow and velop durg the Weimar Republic (1918–1933). 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.

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.

STAT OF (GAY) LIBERATN EAST GERMANY AND WT GERMANY

Gay men gathered together at meetg plac, such as bars, that tered to a gay clientele. 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.

Part of this nmnatn was a rejectn of the era’s open exprsns of sexualy, cludg the visibily of gay muni. Some proment Nazis, cludg Aled Rosenberg and Herich Himmler, were clearly homophobic. However, Röhm’s posn the Nazi learship did not temper the movement’s nmnatn of homosexualy and gay muni.

Shortly thereafter, they sought to dismantle the visible gay cultur and works that had veloped durg the Weimar Republic.