Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany
Berlin's Eldorado nightclub stood as a beacon of gay life in 1932, its lights glowing against the backdrop of a society that tolerated private lives while maintaining strict public laws. Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code had criminalized sexual acts between males since 1871, yet enforcement remained inconsistent before the Nazi takeover. The law required proof of penetrative sex, typically anal or sometimes oral, leaving other activities unpunished. Conviction rates stayed low because men were not arrested without concrete evidence, and most sentences involved fines rather than jail time. Terms exceeding one year were rare during this era of relative quiet.
The first homosexual movement originated in Germany, with Karl Maria Kertbeny coining the word homosexual and Berlin hosting the world's first rights organization founded in 1897. Political compromises allowed many homosexuals to live freely in dedicated subcultural spaces provided they did not significantly infringe on the public sphere. In the 1920s, gay culture flourished in major cities like Berlin, where clubs and publications thrived under the radar of authorities. The Nazi Party responded negatively to a questionnaire about their views on Paragraph 175 in 1928, declaring anyone who even thought of homosexual love an enemy. Despite this rhetoric, the party temporarily tolerated known homosexuals including Ernst Röhm but never adopted tolerance as a general principle.
On the 30th of June 1934, Ernst Röhm and several SA leaders were suddenly arrested and executed, ending any sense of safety that German homosexuals had felt. Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich supported the purge to assert control over the Nazi police state, making homophobia a priority for the regime. After the Röhm purge, persecuting homosexuals became a central goal of the Nazi police state, transforming what was once sporadic enforcement into systematic persecution.
Almost exactly one year after Röhm's death, Paragraph 175 was amended to punish all homosexual acts defined broadly. The new version criminalized behavior objectively when shame was harmed or subjectively when there existed lustful intention to excite either man or a third party. Men could be convicted for mutual masturbation, embracing each other, or even looking at another man with desire. Under section 175a, harsher penalties emerged for male prostitution, sex with men under 21, or relationships involving students and employees. The law change went largely unpublicized to avoid spreading knowledge about homosexuality, leaving many arrested without knowing they committed crimes. Police began creating lists of suspected homosexuals in October 1934, establishing special departments dedicated to tracking them.
Between 1937 and 1939, nearly 95,000 men were arrested for homosexuality, representing more than 600 arrests per week across Germany. Police methods included calling entire classes of teenage boys to ask about sexual experiences, which accounted for 23.9 percent of total charges by 1939. Denunciations resulted in 35 percent of arrests, coming from neighbors, relatives, coworkers, students, employees, ex-boyfriends, or passersby who overheard suspicious conversations.
The snowball method involved arresting one man, interrogating him, and searching belongings to find additional suspects, accounting for thirty percent of all arrests. Some men were observed before arrest or temporarily released hoping they would lead police to other suspects. Male prostitutes often identified others through photograph albums shown to them during questioning. In Hamburg, police watched restaurants serving mixed heterosexual and homosexual clientele as well as the most-trafficked public toilets. Entrapment tactics ensnared victims, while raids conducted in parks and public toilets captured another ten percent of those arrested. By 1939, youthful experiences such as these made up a significant portion of charges brought against men.
From 1939 to 1940, the number of men sentenced in civil courts under Paragraph 175 fell from 7,614 to 3,773 as military jurisdiction took precedence. An estimated 6,400 to 7,000 men were convicted by military courts under Paragraph 175 during wartime. The German military considered homosexuals predators disrupting morale and unit cohesion, yet manpower requirements forced conscription of available men including known homosexuals and former concentration camp prisoners.
Even castrated homosexual men could be drafted into service assuming willingness to bear arms and remain celibate. Military courts generally issued convictions only when there was attempted or actual contact with another man's genitals, showing leniency toward younger men and one-time offenders. More than 90 percent of those convicted were reintegrated into the military after serving fractions of their sentences before parole to the front. In 1943 Himmler demanded classification systems sending incorrigible offenders to concentration camps while retaining others for vital manpower needs. Beginning in 1944 some homosexual concentration camp prisoners were forcibly enlisted in penal battalions like the Dirlewanger Brigade until a week before Germany's unconditional surrender.
About 5,000 to 6,000 homosexual men were imprisoned in concentration camps where their death rate reached 60 percent compared to 42 percent for political prisoners and 35 percent for Jehovah's Witnesses. Sociologist Rüdiger Lautmann examined 2,542 known cases determining that at least 3,100 to 3,600 men died within these facilities. SS guards murdered prisoners out of cruelty or during sadistic games disguising deaths as natural causes. At camps like Mauthausen and Flossenbürg it became standard practice to work homosexual prisoners to death.
In mid-1942 almost all homosexual prisoners at Sachsenhausen totaling at least two hundred were executed while many at Ravensbrück died simultaneously. Homosexual prisoners faced worse conditions than other groups performing dirty backbreaking labor with little solidarity from fellow inmates including Jews. Some younger attractive men obtained advantages through sexual relationships with kapos or SS guards though most struggled without such connections. After 1942 conditions improved due to forced labor needs allowing some promotions because non-German prisoners ineligible for kapo positions arrived. Homosexual prisoners were preferred targets of Nazi human experimentation including attempts by endocrinologist Carl Vaernet to change orientations by implanting testosterone-releasing pellets.
Between 1945 and 1969 West Germany convicted about 50,000 men under Paragraph 175 matching the number convicted during twelve years of Nazi rule. The 1935 version of Paragraph 175 remained in force unaltered in West Germany upheld by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1957. In 1962 historian Hans-Joachim Schoeps stated that for homosexuals the Third Reich had not yet ended capturing views held by many before partial decriminalization in 1969.
Homosexual concentration camp prisoners were not recognized as victims of National Socialism receiving no reparations or state pensions available to other groups. Political prisoners and persecuted Jews could be disqualified from victim status if discovered to be homosexual. Rudolf Klimmer unsuccessfully petitioned East German government in the 1950s to recognize homosexuals as victims offering compensation equal to other groups. Activists made similar demands in West Germany during the 1970s but these were rejected until much later when recognition finally came decades after liberation.
Before 1970 there were hardly any references to persecution of homosexuals changing only after Stonewall riots triggered gay liberation era. The pink triangle became one of most prominent symbols of gay liberation in United States connecting Nazi persecution to present discrimination and violence against LGBT people. Martin Sherman's 1979 play Bent brought additional attention to Nazi persecution of homosexuals in English-speaking countries while activists used symbol to mobilize opposition against ongoing discrimination.
Permanent memorials added to several concentration camps including Mauthausen in 1984, Sachsenhausen in 1992, Dachau in 1995, and Buchenwald in 2002 encountered strong resistance from established survivor associations. Memorials constructed in German cities such as Frankfurt 1994, Cologne 1995, Berlin 2008, and others followed. Hundreds of Stolpersteine installed to commemorate individual victims while hundreds more built internationally including Amsterdam Bologna Turin Barcelona San Francisco New York Montevideo Sydney. In 1985 West German president Richard von Weizsäcker officially recognized Nazi persecution for first time while 2002 annulled Nazi-era judgments under Paragraph 175 and 2017 offered compensation extending to men convicted after 1945.
Common questions
When did the Nazi regime begin systematically persecuting homosexuals in Germany?
Systematic persecution began after the Röhm purge on the 30th of June 1934 when Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich made homophobia a priority for the regime. Paragraph 175 was amended almost exactly one year later to punish all homosexual acts defined broadly.
How many men were arrested for homosexuality between 1937 and 1939 under Paragraph 175?
Nearly 95,000 men were arrested for homosexuality between 1937 and 1939 representing more than 600 arrests per week across Germany. Police methods included calling entire classes of teenage boys which accounted for 23.9 percent of total charges by 1939.
What was the death rate for homosexual prisoners in concentration camps compared to other groups?
The death rate reached 60 percent for about 5,000 to 6,000 homosexual men imprisoned in concentration camps compared to 42 percent for political prisoners and 35 percent for Jehovah's Witnesses. Sociologist Rüdiger Lautmann examined 2,542 known cases determining that at least 3,100 to 3,600 men died within these facilities.
When did West Germany officially recognize Nazi persecution of homosexuals and offer compensation?
West German president Richard von Weizsäcker officially recognized Nazi persecution for the first time in 1985 while 2002 annulled Nazi-era judgments under Paragraph 175. The government offered compensation extending to men convicted after 1945 in 2017.
How many men were convicted under Paragraph 175 in West Germany between 1945 and 1969?
West Germany convicted about 50,000 men under Paragraph 175 between 1945 and 1969 matching the number convicted during twelve years of Nazi rule. The 1935 version of Paragraph 175 remained in force unaltered in West Germany upheld by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1957.