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Paragraph 175 was a German statute that criminalized sexual relations between men. The Nazis revised Paragraph 175 in 1935 to make it broader and harsher.
An official order incarcerating the accused in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp for the "offence" of homosexuality. Germany, July 1944. The Nazis posed as moral crusaders who wanted to stamp out what they labeled as the "vice" of homosexuality in order to help Germany win the racial struggle. They persecuted homosexuals as part of their so-called moral crusade to racially and culturally purify Germany.
A waiter from Düsseldorf who was arrested by the Gestapo for allegedly having sexual relations with other men. Düesseldorf, Germany, 1938. [RW 58-61940] The Nazi regime considered homosexuality a moral vice that threatened the current and future strength of the German people. They carried out a campaign against male homosexuality that included shutting down gay and lesbian meeting places and arresting men under Paragraph 175, the statute of the German criminal code that banned sexual relations between…
Interior designer from Duesseldorf who was charged with homosexuality and imprisoned for 18 months. Duesseldorf, Germany, date uncertain.
Identification pictures of a prisoner, accused of homosexuality, who arrived at the Auschwitz camp on June 6, 1941. He died there a year later. Auschwitz, Poland.
Identification pictures of a prisoner, accused of homosexuality, recently arrived at the Auschwitz camp. Auschwitz, Poland, between 1940 and 1945.
Identification picture of a prisoner, accused of homosexuality, who arrived at the Auschwitz camp on May 28, 1941. Auschwitz, Poland.
Identification pictures of a bartender from Duisburg who was arrested under Paragraph 175. Duisburg, Germany, August 27, 1936.
Beginning in 1933, the Nazi regime harassed and destroyed lesbian communities and networks that had developed during the Weimar Republic.
The Nazis used color-coded badges sewn onto uniforms to classify prisoners in the camp system and to easily identify the alleged reason for an individual’s incarceration.
The Nazi regime carried out a campaign against male homosexuality and persecuted gay men between 1933 and 1945.
Portrait of a gay couple. Berlin, Germany, ca. 1930. Nazi ideology identified a multitude of enemies and led to the systematic persecution and murder of many millions of people, both Jews and non-Jews. The Nazis posed as moral crusaders who wanted to stamp out the "vice" of homosexuality from Germany in order to help win the racial struggle. Once they took power in 1933, the Nazis intensified persecution of German male homosexuals.
June 28, 1935. On this date, the German government revised Paragraphs 175 and 175a, facilitating the persecution of gay men and men accused of homosexuality.
December 28, 1943. On this date, the Kohouts wrote to the commandant of Flossenbürg with a request to visit their son, a gay man who was imprisoned in the camp.
In 1919 Robert and his brother Karl founded the Nerother Bund youth group in the Cologne region. Like other German youth groups, it aimed to bring youth closer to nature through camping and hiking. Homosexual relationships sometimes developed from the intense adolescent male camaraderie, and the Nerother Bund accepted these friendships, as did a number of German youth groups at the time. 1933-39: Soon after the Nazis took power in 1933, they dissolved all independent youth groups and urged the members to…
Between 1933-1939, Nazi eugenics and racial hygiene led to policies like mass sterilization and criminalizing marriage between Jews and non-Jews.
Portrait of Robert T. Odeman, author and actor who was imprisoned in 1937 for 27 months for homosexuality. In 1942, he was deported to Sachsenhausen concentration camp where he was a prisoner for three years. Berlin, Germany, before 1937.
Learn about the Flossenbürg camp from its establishment until liberation in April 1945, including conditions, forced labor, subcamps, and death marches.
Jews were the primary targets for mass murder by the Nazis and their collaborators. Nazi policies also led to the brutalization and persecution of millions of others.
Karl was born in the north German port of Hamburg. His father was American, and his mother was German. Soon after Karl was born, his father returned to the United States and a little later, his parents were divorced. Karl left school when he was 14 and worked as a shop apprentice. 1933-39: In 1935 an informer told the police about Karl's secret meetings with a 15-year-old youth, and he was arrested under the criminal code's paragraph 175, which defined homosexuality as an "unnatural" act. Though this law…
Karl was born in the small town of Bad Zwishenahn in northern Germany. When he was 2, his family moved to the port of Bremerhaven. His father was a sailor and his mother became a nurse in a local hospital. After his father died, Karl continued to live with his mother. Karl was 20 when he began training as a deacon at his parish church. 1933-39: Karl was 26 when his jealous lover denounced him and he was arrested at his house under paragraph 175 of the criminal code, which defined homosexuality as an…
One of six children, Willem grew up in Amsterdam where his parents were theater costume designers. When Willem was 17, he fought with his parents about his homosexuality. He left home and severed contact with his family. He began writing and painting, and in the 1920s was commissioned to do a mural for the Rotterdam town hall. In 1932 he moved to the countryside near Apeldoorn. 1933-39: When he was 38, Willem met Jan Tijssen, the son of a greengrocer, and they lived together for the next seven years.…
In 1933-1934, the SS seized control of the Nazi camp system. Learn more about the persecution, forced labor, and murder that occurred under SS camp rule.
Jews were the main target of Nazi hatred. Other individuals and groups considered "undesirable" and "enemies of the state" were also persecuted.
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