"Homosexuality is a variant of sexual behavior that does not stand outside socialist society." — Greg Taylor
West GermanyIn West Germany, a Federal Constitutional Court case reaffirmed Paragraph 175 in 1957 due to heavy support for criminalizing homosexuality (Whisnant, 170). The reaffirmation did not eliminate the Nazi persecution section and homosexuals continued to receive harsh punishments if caught by authorities. Around the same year, Hans Giese, a proponent of Paragraph 175 reform, was approached by Veit Harlan to help him in creating the film "Different from You and Me (§175)," which outlined
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East GermanyUpon the creation of the two German states in 1949, the East Germans, like the West, were tasked with reforming the former Nazi laws still in place. The government declared that Paragraph 175a, the Nazi revision to Paragraph 175 which imposed stricter punishments for homosexual relations, was declared invalid in 1950 on the grounds that it was a Nazi law (Taylor, 308). It was reinstated to its pre-Nazi form in 1955, meaning that homosexuals were still persecuted if caught by the authorities.
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the issue of homosexuality and Paragraph 175 in West Germany. Interestingly enough, Harlan is arguably most well known for his 1940 film Jud Süß, a heavily anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda film. Different from You and Me (§175) was meant to shift public opinion regarding homosexuality, but it was eventually subjected to censorship by the government.
By the 1960s, debates began to flourish over Paragraph 175 reform. It was argued that "a redefined notion of the law [should be] clearly differentiated [...] from morality" (Whisnant, 189) and that it "was behind the consensus emerging among 'modern nations' that homosexuality should be decriminalized" (190). On June 25, 1969, Paragraph 175 and 175a were replaced with a new version of the law. However, under the new law, men aged between 18 and 21 were still persecuted for having sex with each other for a period of 5 years in order to "protect" these men (Whisnant, 197). The inequalities created by this new law was a precondition of gay activism in West Germany during the 1970s (McLellan, 108). Groups such as the Homosexuelle Aktion West Berlin (HAW) and Homosexuelle Aktionsgruppe München (HAM) were active throughout the 1970s (McLellan, 115). Many West German activists in West Berlin could travel to East Berlin on a day-pass and meet with East German activists (McLellan, 109). These visits, as well as Rosa von Praunheim's 1971 film greatly aided the East German activist movements. Unlike East Germany, however, the West never dealt with the inequalities regarding age of consent in their Paragraph 175 reform. As a result, former East Germans faced the issue one again upon unification in 1990, as the reunification of Germany meant that East German laws, including the 1989 Paragraph 151 reform, were rendered invalid. Further ReadingsJohnson, Kurt R. "An American Drag Queen in West Berlin: The Negotiation of Homosexual Identity, Transgressive Behavior and Social Acceptance in Late 1960s and Early 1970s West Germany." Sexuality & Culture, vol. 16, no. 2, 2012., pp. 187-204
McLellan, Josie. "Glad to be Gay Behind the Wall: Gay and Lesbian Activism in 1970s East Germany." History Workshop Journal, vol. 74, no. 1, 2012., pp. 105-130. Taylor, Greg. "The East German Contribution to Equal Gay and Lesbian Rights in Germany." American Journal of Legal History, vol. 54, no. 3, 2014., pp. 303-350. Whisnant, Clayton J. Queer Identities and Politics in Germany: A History, 1880-1945, Harrington Park Press, New York, NY, 2016. |
On January 12, 1968, East Germany decriminalized homosexuality and replaced Paragraph 175 with a new law entitled Paragraph 151. Despite homosexuality gaining legal status, Paragraph 151 set the age of consent for homosexuals at 18, even though the age of consent for heterosexual couples was 14 (Taylor, 312). Under Paragraph 151, those caught engaging in same-sex sexual encounters with anyone under the age of 18 received a punishment of up to 3 years in prison. The inequality created through the age of consent became a contentious issue for activists.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, activism flourished in East Germany. Groups such as the Homosexuelle Interessengemeinschaft Berlin (HIB) organized regular meetings, parties and other social events and lobbied for the recognition of gay and lesbian rights in East Germany (McLellan, 105). These East German activists had strong links with activists in West Germany, whose ideas were used as valuable sources. In 1973, West German filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim's 1971 film Nicht der Homosexuelle its pervers, sondern die Situation in der er lebt (It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He lives) aired on the national television station ARD, which was available to most East German viewers (McLellan, 109). This film was one example of the valuable West German sources available to East Germans. In 1987, the Supreme Court's Third Senate concluded that Paragraph 151 was unjustified and that the age of consent should be equal regardless of whether the act is same-sex or not. On December 14, 1988, the motion was passed and came into effect on July 1, 1989. This meant that "the last vestiges of discrimination against homosexuals in the Criminal Code were eliminated" (Taylor, 322) and East German homosexuals came one step closer to sexual equality. LinksViet Harlan's Different From You and Me, also known as The Third Sex (1957) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkBlKyXPJko
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