Homosexuality in Germany

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For a long time, especially during the time of National Socialism and in the first two decades after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany , homosexuality in Germany was affected by discriminatory legislation and persecution. Today, however , homosexuality is widely accepted, especially in larger cities. There are no longer any laws in Germany that punish homosexual intercourse. The marriage is in Germany since 1 October 2017 and same-sex couples open. Up to this date, since August 1, 2001, they had been able to enter into a registered civil partnership that differed from marriage in only a few areas of law. Same-sex marriages concluded abroad are recognized as marriages.

history

The persecution of homosexual men in German-speaking countries goes back to the beginnings of Christianity. According to isolated cases of “ sodomy ”, “unnatural lust ”, “abuse of boys” or “ fornication against nature”, men were repeatedly persecuted or executed who were suspected of or convicted of same-sex sexual acts .

The German Imperium

Eduard Oberg

During the German Reich, homosexuality was socially and politically ostracized because of the morals prevailing at the time.

In 1869, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs mentioned for the first time " Urningslists " (pink lists) kept by the police , in which "continuous personal notes on more than 2,000 Urnings living in Berlin" were recorded.

On May 15, 1871, § 175 was introduced and thus sexual acts between persons of the male sex were again made a criminal offense throughout the empire.

On May 15, 1897, Magnus Hirschfeld , Max Spohr , Eduard Oberg and Franz Joseph von Bülow founded the Scientific and Humanitarian Committee . It is considered to be the first organization in history to try to liberalize homosexuality. The main goal of the committee was to remove Section 175 . It worked closely with the Institute for Sexology , which was also opened by Hirschfeld in 1919 , and adopted numerous scientific theories developed there. These described homosexuals as a biological third sex between men and women. Homosexuality should no longer be prosecuted as it is an innate trait. In a survey carried out in 1899, Hirschfeld succeeded in gaining knowledge of the taboo suffering of homosexuals by asking pastors about their pastoral care experiences. It is an important social-psychological contemporary document.

In 1898 August Bebel , chairman of the SPD and signatory of the first petition of the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, pointed out that the Berlin police kept lists of names of homosexuals, which were later referred to as pink lists .

From 1907 to 1909 there were a number of lawsuits for homosexual behavior, with prominent members of the cabinet of Kaiser Wilhelm II . The so-called Harden-Eulenburg affair initially only revolved around a dispute between Philipp zu Eulenburg and the journalist Maximilian Harden , which, however, expanded and is now considered the greatest scandal of the Second German Empire.

Weimar Republic

On October 26, 1921, the legal philosopher and jurist Gustav Radbruch (SPD) became Minister of Justice . He was a signatory of the petition to delete § 175 and tried unsuccessfully to keep "simple homosexuality" free from punishment. Instead, the paragraph was tightened by the conservative government elected on January 15, 1925, but somewhat defused again in June 1927 by Marx's fourth cabinet. On October 16, 1929, the Reichstag's Criminal Law Committee recommended with a narrow majority the impunity of “simple homosexuality” among adults. However, due to the crises of the Weimar Republic and the gains of votes by the National Socialists, this decision could not be implemented.

time of the nationalsocialism

Since gays and lesbians did not contribute to the reproduction of the “master race”, they opposed the ideology of the National Socialists.

Pink angle

Homosexual men were deported to concentration camps - mostly after serving a prison sentence due to §§ 175 and 175a RStGB, which were tightened in 1935 - and marked with the pink triangle after the introduction of the angle mark . Early concentration camps used different labels (e.g. Lichtenburg: "We had a capital 'A' on our leg," says Kurt von Ruffin).

Lesbian women were not persecuted for being lesbian, but lesbians who were Jewish or politically unpopular (e.g. active in the communist resistance) were also abducted for these reasons. A special identification of lesbians is therefore not detectable either with the sometimes rumored "pink triangle" with the additional identifier "LL" or under the pretext of persecution as "anti-social" with a black triangle. The only indication of a black base angle in a lesbian in Ravensbrück (Mary Pünjer) concerns a woman of Jewish origin.

Ernst Röhm , the homosexual leader of the Sturmabteilung , was initially protected by Adolf Hitler . However, Hitler later perceived him as a threat and had him killed during the Night of the Long Knives . Gays were denounced by Hitler as "enemies of the people". He viewed homosexuality as "degenerate" behavior that threatened the efficiency of the state and the male character of the German people. Paragraph 175 was extremely tightened in 1935 by extending it to all "indecent" acts. This not only included mutual masturbation, which was previously unpunished. In theory, “just looking at the beloved object” or “just touching it” should be enough to be punished. Even the previously unpunished “caressing, hugging, kissing, etc. like. "was now threatened with prison. Section 175a was newly created, which threatened “serious cases” of fornication with penal sentences of up to ten years.

On June 10, 1936, the Reich Central Office for Combating Homosexuality and Abortion was founded. Their establishment was the prelude to the persecution of homosexuals, which began to increase again after the 1936 Olympic Games. The main task of the Reich Central was to collect data on homosexuals. The Pink List eventually contained files of around 100,000 men who had been convicted or suspected of being homosexual.

In penitentiaries and prisons, but also in the concentration camps, homosexual men were tortured and mistreated to submit "voluntary" applications for castration and castrated.

In 1944 , the Danish SS doctor Carl Værnet carried out human experiments to “cure” people in the Buchenwald concentration camp . He implanted artificial hormonal glands in the groin area of ​​the victims, which were supposed to lead to heterosexuality through the permanent release of male hormones.

German Democratic Republic

Section 175 of the Criminal Code (“fornication between men”), which has been in force since the establishment of the Reich and was considerably tightened by the Nazis , was restricted in 1957 in the GDR to sexual acts with young people under the age of 21. This so-called age of consent was reduced to 18 years in 1968.

But that did not mean that tolerance or acceptance came about: homosexuality was considered a vice of the bourgeoisie. Gay and lesbian emancipation was prevented.

In 1989, the People's Chamber of the GDR canceled its special legislation directed against homosexuality (§ 151) without replacement, the age of consent was thus 14 years, as with heterosexuals. This age of consent was legally effective in the new federal states until March 9, 1994; at the same time, an age of consent of 18 years according to Section 175 existed in the old federal states.

Federal Republic of Germany

Before the reunification

Since the Federal Republic of Germany came into existence , homosexual acts were punishable and prosecuted. The legal basis for this was Section 175 of the Criminal Code . On May 10, 1957, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled: Same-sex activity clearly violates the moral law . Therefore homosexuals could not invoke the right to free development of personality guaranteed by the Basic Law. In addition, Section 175 of the Criminal Code was not so much a National Socialist law that it would have to be denied validity in a free, democratic state . The application of § 175 in the Federal Republic was excessive. More than 50,000 men were convicted and 100,000 preliminary investigations started.

In 1969 same-sex intercourse was decriminalized when the age of consent was 21. In 1973 the age of consent was reduced to 18 years. Even after the decriminalization, however, the police continued to collect data on homosexuals in pink lists . In 1978, the Handbuch der Kriminalistik still saw the keeping of homosexual files as a necessary measure for carrying out police security tasks.

Triggered by Rosa von Praunheim's film Not the homosexual is perverse, but the situation in which he lives , the modern lesbian and gay movement formed in Germany from 1971 .

After reunification

In 1994, the German Bundestag standardized the age of consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals to 14 and 16 years respectively by repealing § 175 as part of the legal harmonization after German reunification . As a result, the age of consent for homosexuals fell in West Germany with effect from March 10, 1994, while it rose in some areas for homosexuals and heterosexuals in East Germany.

From the end of the 1990s, there was a struggle for state recognition of same-sex couples in Germany, which led to the passing of the Civil Partnership Act in February 2001 . Since the beginning of the 2010s, the introduction of same-sex marriage has also been called for.

On June 27, 2017, Chancellor Angela Merkel lifted the parliamentary parliamentary group for a vote on the approval of same-sex marriage for members of the Bundestag from the CDU and CSU . The voting behavior is a conscience decision of the individual MPs.

On June 30th, a vote on same-sex marriage took place in the Bundestag . The law was passed with a clear majority of 393 to 226 votes; the Chancellor herself voted against. On July 7, 2017, the "opening of marriage" was also decided in the Federal Council. The law was signed by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on July 21, 2017 .

Same-sex couples have been able to marry since October 1, 2017. Civil partnerships entered into up to September 2017 can be converted into marriages upon request. On March 6, 2018, Bavaria's state government waived a lawsuit before the Federal Constitutional Court.

The following important information is missing from this article or section:
The new education plan in Baden-Württemberg and the associated controversies in 2013/2014
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The following important information is missing from this article or section:
Further adjustments of registered civil partnerships of homosexuals to marriage after the referendum in Ireland and member survey of the CDU 2015
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Social situation

An online survey conducted by the Fundamental Rights Agency identified in 2013 for Germany including the following figures: 46% of surveyed LGBT (of English. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ) felt in Germany last year, discriminated against, have 68% their sexual identity often or always hidden during school hours. 6% of LGBT people were victims of physical or sexual violence in the past year. Only 4% of same-sex couples dare to hold hands in public in Germany, while 68% of heterosexual couples do so.

According to an opinion poll by the Angus Reid Global Monitor in December 2006, 52 percent of Germans were in favor of same-sex marriage across Europe. The Federal Republic is thus in seventh place in the European Union and is above the average of 44 percent. However, there are repeated violent attacks on homosexuals. The gay attack phone was set up in Berlin especially for this purpose and is managed by Maneo , an additional project of the information and advice shop Mann-O-Meter . In addition to providing help and advice for victims of anti-gay violence, Maneo also provides anti-violence training in cooperation with the Berlin police. According to an opinion poll by Emnid in September 2007, 79 percent could imagine a homosexual Federal Chancellor.

After a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court in February 2013 allowed lesbians and gays to adopt their partner's adoptive child, a survey by Stern showed that 74 percent of Germans would be in favor of full equality between same-sex partnerships and marriage. 23 percent were against equality, 3 percent were undecided. Among the supporters of the parties represented in the Bundestag, the strongest support came from voters from the Greens (86 percent), followed by voters from the SPD (82 percent), the FDP (71 percent), the Left (70 percent) and finally the CDU (64 percent).

At the beginning of 2017, the results of a study by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (ADS) from 2016 became known. According to this, 95 percent of the respondents are of the opinion that it is good to legally protect homosexuals from discrimination. 80.6 percent are also of the opinion that lesbians and gays still suffer from degradation and inequality today.

Politics and law

Blood donation ban

According to the guidelines of the German Medical Association, there has been a blood donation ban for bisexual and homosexual men since 2017 if they had sex with a man a year earlier. Before 2017, all men who have ever had sex with a man were excluded from donating blood .

Adoption law

Until October 2017, homosexual couples in registered partnerships were not allowed to adopt children together; stepchild adoption is permitted by law. In February 2013 the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the ban on successive second adoption is unconstitutional. (see rainbow families ) The Federal Constitutional Court had proceedings to examine the ban on joint adoption by life partners. With Marriage for All , which is possible from October 1, 2017, same-sex married couples are allowed to jointly adopt non-biological children.

guardianship

A ruling by the Munich District Court together partnered gay couples are entitled since August 5, 2016 as foster parents , the guardianship and exercise together for children and adolescents; up to this point in time there was a loophole in the law that prevented this.

Anti-Discrimination Act

As a party to the Amsterdam Treaty , Germany has been required to revise its legislation on discrimination in areas such as sexual identity in employment and occupation. This was specified in EU Directive 2000/78 from December 2000, which had to be implemented by December 2003. Due to disagreement in the governing coalition at the time and lobbying work on the part of business associations and the churches, a bill was only presented at the turn of the year 2004/2005 and passed by the Bundestag in spring 2005. The Federal Council called on the mediation committee , which, due to the early elections in 2005, did not deal with the draft. It was not until August 18, 2006 that Germany fulfilled this EU requirement with the General Equal Treatment Act , which had minor changes compared to the red-green draft. The law goes beyond the EU requirements, as it prohibits discrimination not only in labor law , but also in civil law . On the other hand, there are doubts as to whether the law even meets the EU requirements in other areas, e.g. B. by the fact that the dismissal protection is not regulated by the AGG, but by the dismissal protection act.

Some federal states have had anti-discrimination legislation for a long time, e.g. Some of them are even written into their state constitutions: for example Berlin (since 1995), Brandenburg (since 1992) and Thuringia (since 1993). In Saxony-Anhalt, discrimination based on sexual identity in the public service was banned in 1997.

armed forces

Logos of the staff element Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion of the Bundeswehr

Homosexual soldiers are legally equal in the Bundeswehr . The Soldiers' Equal Treatment Act ( SoldGG ) aims to prevent or eliminate discrimination, among other things on grounds of sexual identity, for service as a soldier.

Parties and politicians

Klaus Wowereit at the Berlin Christopher Street Day 2001

The parties have different views on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people and their further development. On the conservative and right-wing sides, there are still reservations about same-sex marriage, introduced in 2017, as well as legal protection against discrimination against homosexuals, bisexuals, trans- and intersex people. While parties on the left-liberal spectrum support and promote further liberalization, in particular through the SPD , Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen , FDP and Die Linke , this is viewed in the opposite way by parties on the right-wing political spectrum.

The AfD, for example, is openly homophobic and campaigns for the abolition of same-sex marriage . The current status is currently recognized by the CDU , but there are tensions between conservatives and moderates within the party, for example CDU party chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer rejects same-sex marriage.

The parties represented in the Bundestag each have organizations in which lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans and intersex people can organize.

The Schwusos are the working group of social democratically oriented gays and lesbians, founded in 1978, who are organized in the SPD. Correspondingly, the CDU and CSU have an organization for lesbians and gays in the Union . The liberals gays and lesbians organize themselves in the FDP . In the Greens, lesbian and gay policy is coordinated in state and federal working groups, similar to other policy areas such as transport or domestic and legal policy, as official party organs.

In the local elections in 1996, the Munich Pink List received 1.8 percent of the vote and a seat on the Munich City Council. This made it the first gay and lesbian group of voters in Europe to enter a local parliament. There it forms a joint parliamentary group together with the representatives of the Greens.

Among the best-known politicians who live openly homosexually are Klaus Wowereit (SPD), the former governing mayor of Berlin, who made headlines primarily through his public coming-out before the elections with the words “I'm gay, and that's a good thing” , Volker Beck , member of the German Bundestag from Cologne, Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016), former Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany and Barbara Hendricks , former Environment Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany and Jens Spahn , Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Germany. The First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Ole von Beust (CDU), did not deny his homosexuality in 2003 after an alleged blackmail attempt by the then Second Mayor Ronald Schill .

In principle, the sexual orientation of politicians is of little public interest, since homosexuality is predominantly accepted. Sensational headlines and unwanted outings sometimes damage the reputation of journalists and the press more than the personalities affected.

Compensation for the victims of National Socialism

For a long time, homosexual victims of National Socialism were largely excluded from public commemoration and compensation for Nazi injustice. A rethinking in the politics of remembrance did not begin until 1985 with the speech of Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker on the 40th anniversary of the liberation, in which the hitherto concealed persecuted groups were included in the commemoration for the first time. However, it was not until 2002, under red-green, that the legal rehabilitation of the victims of the homosexual paragraph 175 from the Nazi era could be enforced. Shortly before, the homosexuals had been excluded from the provisions of the National Socialist Injustice Repeal Act by the Union and the FDP. The initiative “Commemorate the homosexual victims of National Socialism ” and the Lesbian and Gay Association therefore campaigned for a memorial to the homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism . Its implementation was decided by the German Bundestag on December 12, 2003 and soon caused some controversy because lesbians were not taken into account in the implementation. On May 27, 2008, the monument to the homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism was inaugurated in Berlin. The memorial for the gay and lesbian victims of National Socialism in Cologne has been a prominent reminder in the cityscape of Cologne since 1995, on the banks of the Rhine at the Hohenzollern Bridge, mainly of the homosexual persecution at the time. The Frankfurter Engel, a memorial dedicated to this topic, has existed in Frankfurt am Main since 1994 . Until then, there were only memorial plaques in German-speaking countries.

"Conversion Therapy"

In December 2019, the Federal Cabinet decided on a stricter ban on so-called conversion therapies (incorrectly called "homo cures") for minors. The ban is intended to be protected under criminal law and also to prevent the offering, mediation and advertising of such treatments.

Christian denominations

While homosexuality is tolerated in many political and social circles, various religious communities view practiced homosexuality as a sin. B. prevents access to offices and sacraments (like public clinging to any other sin). This is justified with statements in the Bible , which traditionally prohibit homosexual activities.

Most Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany comply with the 2005 instructions of the Vatican regarding homosexuality among prospective priests. According to this, candidates are not to be admitted to the priesthood who “practice homosexuality, have deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support a so-called homosexual culture” . Temporary homosexual tendencies are no reason for exclusion. The German Bishops' Conference expressly endorsed this instruction and stated that it corresponds to the previous practice.

In contrast, homosexual clergy in the Old Catholic Church , in the Metropolitan Community Church and in the Evangelical Church in Germany have no sanctions to fear. Homosexuality is not an obstacle to office. Therefore, a civil same-sex marriage is open to them. In 19 of the 20 regional churches of the EKD (as of 2020) and in the Old Catholic Church, blessing or wedding services are permitted for same-sex couples. Same-sex couples can also be married in the Metropolitan Community Church .

In the 14 regional churches Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia , Evangelical Church in the Rhineland , Evangelical Church in Baden , Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg , Reformed Church in Germany , Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck , Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau , Evangelical -Lutherische Landeskirche Hannover , Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz , Lippische Landeskirche , Nordkirche , Bremische Evangelische Kirche , Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen and Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland , the marriage of same-sex couples has been allowed under canon law since 2016/2018/2019.

Lesbian and gay movement

As part of the lesbian and gay movement, numerous associations developed in Germany with the aim of promoting the equal treatment of sexual minorities. The Center for Gay History acts as an archive and research facility especially for the gay movement in Cologne .

aims

Even today, numerous organizations and politicians are still committed to further developing the rights of homosexual people. The associations advocate improving anti-discrimination measures, e.g. B. a representative right of action instead of just a representative right of representation in the General Equal Treatment Act , the reform of Article 3 of the Basic Law and further improvements in protection against discrimination, as they exist in other European and North American countries. A statutory ban on reparative therapies is also required . Another problem for equal treatment is the predominant position of churches and ecclesiastical bodies in many social professions as employers, since these employment relationships have generous exceptions to labor law and thus married lesbian and gay workers are not protected. (The problem is more acute in the Roman Catholic Church .) Likewise, the associations advocate a worldwide decriminalization of criminal law provisions that still exist in around 70 emerging and third world countries worldwide.

Clubs and organizations

The Homosexuelle Aktion Westberlin (HAW) was founded on August 15, 1971, and was the first organization of the newer German gay movement. She was particularly committed to the deletion of § 175 StGB without replacement. The reason for the foundation was the showing of the film Not the homosexual is perverse, but the situation in which he lives by Rosa von Praunheim . As a result of the 1973 conflict, known as the queer dispute, in which the appearance of French and Italian participants in women's clothing was controversial at the final discussion of the Whitsun meeting, the organization split into an integrationist wing of orthodox Marxists and the radical feminist faction. In 1974, the HAW was followed also in West Berlin , founded General Gay Association . It was founded as an antithesis to the more left-wing political and socialist-oriented HAW and is now the longest-running association of the new gay movement.

The homosexual self-help was founded in 1980 and is a non-profit organization, which was created after the first ten years of political gay movement in the postwar period.

The lesbian ring has existed since 1982 to represent lesbians nationwide and to be able to better enforce political demands, as well as to better network lesbians, also outside of the big cities. He also supports the Lesbian Spring Meeting , which has been held annually since 1974 and is the largest and best-known meeting of lesbians in Germany.

From 1979, founded in San Francisco International order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (International Order of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence), an organization to support AIDS prevention and the promotion of HIV and AIDS projects, developed in the 1990s, Religious houses in Germany (ore mother house Heidelberg 1991, founded from there: Berlin 1993, Hamburg 1996 and Cologne 1997).

Between 1986 and 1997 the Federal Association for Homosexuality existed as an attempt to establish an umbrella organization for homosexuals in West Germany.

The Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany , with almost 3,000 individual members and 70 member organizations the largest civil rights and self-help organization of lesbians and gays in Germany. It is now represented in almost all federal states. The association is also recognized as a non-governmental organization with official advisory status to the United Nations. The association was founded on February 18, 1990 by East German gay civil rights activists like Eduard Stapel in Leipzig as the "Gay Association in the GDR" (SVD). During this time, the Lambda youth network came into being , which was initially only active in Berlin and Brandenburg and today sees itself as a nationwide youth association for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people.

Specific interest groups

HUK at the CSD 2006 in Berlin

Since openly lived homosexuality can still cause problems in a wide variety of environments, even in Germany, there are many interest groups today , especially in different professional areas.

Selection of major clubs and organizations

Well-known activists

science

Along with Magnus Hirschfeld , Martin Dannecker and Hans Giese, Rolf Gindorf is one of the most important German sexologists specializing in homosexuality. In 2004 he received the Magnus Hirschfeld Medal for special services to sexual reform. He also became known through the lawsuit motivated by a marriage wish, which he and his partner Wolfgang Gindorf submitted to the Federal Constitutional Court and thus contributed significantly to the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act.

sociology

Rüdiger Lautmann was the first professor at a German university to study the past and present of discrimination against homosexuals. At that time he decisively pushed the depathologization of homosexuality in science, since until then homosexuality had also been exclusively pathologized in German sociology .

politics

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs

Before the term homosexuality existed, the East Frisian Karl Heinrich Ulrichs coined the term uranism . He assumed a natural, non-pathological disposition and therefore demanded the impunity of homosexual acts. As a pioneer of the homosexual movement, he presented this publicly for the first time in 1867.

Particularly politically involved in the lesbian and gay movement today Volker Beck and Günter Dworek , which are among the pioneers of lesbian and gay politics of Alliance 90 / The Greens. The work of Konstanze Gerhard particularly focuses on the situation of lesbians in the workplace. The opera director and university professor Andreas Meyer-Hanno received several awards for his services to gay emancipation, including the Federal Cross of Merit . In 2005, Hans-Peter Hoogen was the first gay activist to be awarded the Hessian Order of Merit on ribbon by the Hessian Prime Minister Roland Koch . In the same year Ernst-Detlef Mücke also received the Cross of Merit for his services to equal rights and respect for homosexuals in schools and society.

Sports

In 2014, Thomas Hitzlsperger came out as the first professional footballer to advance the discussion about homosexuality among professional athletes.

entertainment

Dirk Bach and Hella out of their senses

The best-known artists in the entertainment industry who are active in the lesbian and gay movement include Maren Kroymann , Hella von Sinnen , Georg Uecker , Hape Kerkeling and Lutz van der Horst .

media

Max Spohr

Around 1900 Max Spohr was the first and at the time the only German bookseller and publisher to publish open publications on the subject of homosexuality to a significant extent. The film director Rosa von Praunheim is considered an important representative of postmodern German film. With his documentary Not the homosexual is perverse, but the situation in which he lives from 1970, he was a pioneer and one of the co-founders of the political gay and lesbian movement in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Scene and culture

Lesbian-Gay City Festival Berlin, 2006
Lesbian traffic light women in Munich, installed for the CSD 2015

In the big cities, especially in Berlin and Cologne , there is an extensive lesbian and gay scene. The Berlin district of Schöneberg in particular is known for its high concentration of gays and a corresponding infrastructure around Motzstrasse and is considered the largest gay and lesbian district in Berlin. The annual Lesbian and Gay City Festival Berlin takes place there around Nollendorfplatz with around 350,000 visitors . In the 1970s, the scene concentrated more about in the same neighborhood lying Chelmno road . The Berlin districts of Prenzlauer Berg , Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain are also rich in infrastructure . In the alternative gay scene, in addition to the Schwarzer Kanal site , the Tuntenhaus in Berlin, which has been in existence since 1981 and originally emerged from a squatter scene, is very well known .

In Cologne, the districts around Rudolfplatz as well as around the Heu- or Alter Markt are to be mentioned. The gay and lesbian community in Cologne celebrates two separate street parties in these two centers in the week before Christopher Street Day (CSD) and in August. The Cologne Pride is after the Carnival now the largest event in Cologne. In 2005, Cologne was selected to host the worldwide lesbian and gay Olympics, the Gay Games 2010 .

On the Internet, PlanetRomeo (formerly known as GayRomeo ) is the largest German-speaking, with around 1.4 million (as of September 2012) registered profiles worldwide (including around 380,000 in Germany, 29,000 in Austria , 39,000 in Switzerland and 19 in Liechtenstein ) gay contact portal. In September 2006 the operation of the portal was transferred to the Amsterdam company PlanetRomeo BV in order to avoid criminal problems due to the stricter youth protection regulations in Germany compared to other European countries. Another chat platform is the gay chat .

Due to the openly lived homosexuality of Peter Plate and the band's political activities, Rosenstolz and the entertainers Hella von Sinnen and Dirk Bach enjoy great popularity in the scene. Marianne Rosenberg has been popular in the gay movement since the 1980s and has been involved in the fight against AIDS for many years.

The largest gay and lesbian sports clubs in Europe include Vorspiel SSL in Berlin, Sport Club Janus eV in Cologne and the Frankfurt volleyball club based in Frankfurt am Main . It was founded in 1985 and now includes 15 different sports. Special features of the club are, for example, the sports department with special offers for HIV-positive people and synchronized swimming for men. The choir Die Schrillmänner from Karlsruhe deals not only with singing but also intensively with political issues.

There are also several homosexual associations in the popular area. Traditional Bavarian Schuhplattler is practiced by the Munich-based Schwuhplattler group . The first gay carnival club is called Rosa Funken and was founded in Cologne in 1995.

The Gay Museum in Berlin gives an insight into the history of the lesbian and gay movement .

media

Movies

For films with a gay, lesbian and transgender background, the Teddy Award has been presented annually since 1987 on the evening before the Golden Bear is presented at the Berlinale .

The series Berlin Bohème , Monday Stories , Montagskinder , Von Mann zu Mann , and the feature films Sommersturm and The Moving Man are among the most successful German film and television productions with homosexuality as a central theme . The latter is based on the comic by the cartoonist Ralf König , who made gay topics known to a broad mainstream, even beyond the borders of Germany and Central Europe.

In Rosa von Praunheim's production Not the homosexual is perverse, but the situation in which he lives , the life of many gays at the beginning of the 1970s is treated in the subculture with the consequences to be drawn from it. The controversial film triggered the emergence of the modern gay movement in German-speaking countries.

In the GDR, the subject of homosexuality was first taken up in 1989 in the feature film Coming Out .

In the film Taxi to the Toilet , the director Frank Ripploh describes part of his own life as a gay teacher. The film from 1980, shot with a minimal budget, has meanwhile advanced to become a cult film in the scene.

Films with a regional reference also became known, such as the 1993 off-mainstream film Prinz in Hölleland, which is characterized above all by the authentic representation of the alternative gay subculture of Berlin-Kreuzberg at the beginning of the 1990s, or the documentary I know none - alone under heteros from 2003 in which gays from rural regions, mainly from Baden-Württemberg , are accompanied and their social environment is presented.

Radio

According to the company, the private radio broadcaster Blu.FM from Berlin, which has existed since 2003, is the first gay and lesbian radio station in Germany. The first lesbian and gay radio broadcast was Eldoradio , which from 1985 also broadcast from Berlin.

watch TV

As of November 1st, 2008, TIMM, a nationwide German-speaking television station, was available that aimed its program at homosexual men. The TV channel is currently in insolvency proceedings and can now only be received via the Zattoo platform.

Print media

The own called itself the world's first magazine with homosexual topics. It was published from 1896 to 1932 by the Berlin Adolf Brand . With the 1st StrRG and the first reform of § 175 (June 25, 1969) the publication of homosexual magazines in the Federal Republic of Germany became possible: DU & ICH from October 1969 to today, originally coined by Alexander Ziegler and him from April 1970 to 1981, coined by Hans Eppendorfer , and DON from May 1970 to 1995, originally coined by Jens MA Reimer . Between 1975 and 1982 the lesbian press played a special role for the lesbian movement in West Germany. There are currently several free magazines, including Box , Rik , GAB , the Hinnerk , blu and Victory Column . The L-Mag is currently in German-speaking countries the only magazine that is specifically geared towards lesbians and can be purchased commercially.

The Querverlag , founded in 1995, describes itself as "Germany's first lesbian-gay book publisher". In addition, the Bruno Gmünder Verlag , which has existed since 1981, is one of the leading publishers of homosexual media.

Christopher Street Day

CSD in Stuttgart, 2002

The first German Christopher Street Days took place in 1979 in Berlin (with 400 partly masked participants) and Bremen. However, there have been larger lesbian and gay demonstrations in Germany since 1972 (the first in the Federal Republic of Germany on April 29, 1972 in Münster). A CSD is now held in almost every major city. With around one million participants, the move in Cologne to the Europride 2002 was the largest in Europe. Every year 600,000 to 700,000 spectators and participants come together in Cologne for the final parade of Cologne Pride . The parades are often accompanied by celebrities and politicians such as the Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse , the former Federal Minister Renate Künast , the former ruling Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit , the Mayor of Frankfurt Petra Roth , the Hessian Prime Minister Roland Koch or the Greens chairwoman Claudia Roth . The highest ranking participant in 2005 was the then Federal Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Joschka Fischer . In most cities, the patronage is also taken over by local politicians (usually lord mayors).

Due to increasing commercialization, the annual Transgeniale CSD had temporarily established itself as a more political alternative in Berlin-Kreuzberg .

See also

swell

  1. ↑ Sueddeutsche.de: Ehe für alle, That changes for homosexual couples
  2. ↑ a b Persecution of homosexuals in Germany
  3. ↑ Science Against Homophobia
  4. ↑ Judgments of Roman Catholic priests on the position of Christianity in the state punishment of same-sex love, in: Hirschfeld, Magnus (Ed.): Yearbook for sexual intermediate stages with special consideration of homosexuality, 2nd year, Leipzig 1900, 161–203; here is a summary of the survey results
  5. ↑ Biography: Philipp Fürst zu Eulenburg and Hertefeld, 1847–1921
  6. ↑ Joachim Müller: There was no nationwide organized lesbian persecution ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 7, 2017  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rosa-winkel.de
  7. ↑ Claudia Schoppmann "National Socialist Sexual Policy and Female Homosexuality", published in two editions in 1991 and 1997
  8. ↑ Biography of Mary Pünjer ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 7, 2017  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rosa-winkel.de
  9. ↑ Alexander Zinn: "Removed from the people's body"? Pp. 279-289.
  10. ↑ Röhm's biography on rosa-winkel.de ( memento of the original from April 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 7, 2017  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rosa-winkel.de
  11. ↑ The ideological motives of the persecution of homosexuals on rosa-winkel.de ( memento of the original from April 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 7, 2017  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rosa-winkel.de
  12. ↑ The tightening of paragraph 175 on rosa-winkel.de ( memento of the original from April 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 7, 2017  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rosa-winkel.de
  13. ↑ Alexander Zinn: "Removed from the people's body"? Pp. 279-289.
  14. ↑ Persecution of homosexuals during the Nazi era and their fate in post-war Germany ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Kulturring in Berlin e. V.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kulturring.org
  15. ^ Concentration camp experiments on gays
  16. ↑ http://www.pnn.de/potsdam-kultur/86010/
  17. ↑ Data pool on the discourse on male homosexuality in the GDR
  18. ↑ How the Federal Constitutional Court discriminated against homosexuals 50 years ago
  19. ↑ Project work on homosexuality
  20. ↑ 06.11.1994: Section 175 repealed
  21. ↑ Merkel lifts the parliamentary group. Tagesschau (ARD) on June 27, 2017
  22. ↑ Zeit.de: Bundestag votes for marriage for everyone
  23. ↑ Spiegel.de:Bundesrat gives the green light for marriage for everyone
  24. ↑ Steinmeier signs law on marriage for all. Spiegel online from July 21, 2017
  25. ↑ Zeit.de : Bundestag votes for marriage for everyone
  26. ↑ Sueddeutsche.de: Ehe für alle, That changes for homosexual couples
  27. ↑ Bavaria renounces lawsuits against marriage for all. Time online from March 6, 2018
  28. ↑ EU LGBT survey - European Union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender survey - Results at a glance
  29. ↑ European Commission: Eurobarometer, Section 2.4 Attitudes towards homosexuality (PDF; 9.4 MB), December 2006.
  30. ↑ In Cologne, too, the Free Association against Homophobia has introduced an advice line where you can report your problems. ( Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ) Maneo - The gay anti-violence Project in Berlin ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / freie-vereinigung-gegen-homophobie.de.tl @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.maneo.de
  31. ↑ Zeit: Survey: For 79 percent homosexuality no obstacle to the election of Chancellor
  32. ↑ Survey: Three quarters of Germans say yes to gay marriage , Spiegel-Online from February 28, 2013
  33. ↑ Study on homosexuality and acceptance in Germany. January 17, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017 .
  34. ↑ Aidshilfe.de: Blood donation ban for gay and bisexual men
  35. ↑ Sueddeutsche.de: Ehe für alle, That is changing for homosexual couples
  36. ↑ Karlsruhe strengthens adoption rights for homosexual couples , Süddeutsche Zeitung of February 19, 2013
  37. ↑ Press release No. 9/2013 of February 19, 2013 (judgment of February 19, 2013 on 1 BvL 1/11 and 1 BvR 3247/09): Non-admission of successive adoption by registered life partners is unconstitutional . Press office of the Federal Constitutional Court. February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  38. ↑ Karlsruhe must consider joint adoption by gay couples . In: Legal Tribune Online . March 21, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  39. ↑ Zeit.de : Bundestag votes for marriage for everyone
  40. ↑ Sueddeutsche.de: Ehe für alle, That changes for homosexual couples
  41. ↑ Rights of homosexuals: the court grants guardianship to foster mothers. Spiegel online from August 5, 2016
  42. ↑ Text of the EU Directive 2000/78 from the Official Journal of the EU
  43. ↑ How the EU Anti-Discrimination Directive (2000/78 / EC) came about
  44. ↑ Inquiry from the Greens in the European Parliament  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.greens-efa.org  
  45. ↑ Situation of homosexual citizens in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (pdf)
  46. ↑ Dennis Klein: AfD wants to reintroduce a ban on marriage for gays and lesbians. Retrieved June 13, 2019 (German).
  47. ↑ Kramp-Karrenbauer continues to reject marriage for everyone. Retrieved June 13, 2019 (German).
  48. ↑ Thomas Niederbühl, City Councilor of the City of Munich ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.thomas-niederbuehl.de
  49. ↑ Weizsäcker speech on May 8, 1985 ( memento of the original from March 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundestag.de
  50. ↑ A memorial for the homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism
  51. ↑ Plenary minutes 15/83 German Bundestag ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lsvd.de
  52. ↑ Spahn tightens the ban on "homo reversal of polarity". Der Tagesspiegel from December 18, 2019
  53. ↑ confessio. Flyer (pdf) Love instead of approval! A topical word for the discussion about the gay blessing. , accessed on March 27, 2019
  54. ↑ Congregation for Catholic Education: Instruction on criteria for clarifying the vocation of persons with homosexual tendencies with a view to their admission to the priesthood and to holy orders
  55. ↑ Statement of the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Karl Cardinal Lehmann, on the report on the instruction of the Congregation for Catholic Education "On criteria for the professional clarification of persons with homosexual tendencies with regard to their admission to the seminary and to the Holy Orders" .
  56. ↑ EKD: Theological, state church law and service law aspects of the church's handling of the legal consequences of the registration of same-sex civil partnerships according to the Civil Partnership Act ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ekd.de
  57. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from November 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ekd.de
  58. ↑ mirror: Homosexuality no office obstacle
  59. ↑ Blessing and wedding services in the Protestant regional churches - HuK - Homosexuelle und Kirche e. V. Accessed June 17, 2020 .
  60. ↑ Tagesspiegel.de: Weddings allowed for everyone in Berlin
  61. ↑ EKIR.de: marriage also for registered partnerships
  62. ↑ EKIBA.de: Synod resolves marriage for same-sex couples
  63. ↑ Announcement: Oldenburg Church resolves “marriage for everyone”. In: NDR.de. November 22, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  64. ↑ Ulf Preuß: marriage order also for homosexual couples . ( Memento from December 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Reformiert.de, November 24, 2017, accessed on November 28, 2017.
  65. ↑ Ekkw.de: Traugesetz will also apply to same-sex couples in Kurhessen-Waldeck in the future
  66. ↑ FAZ.net: Evangelical Church in Hessen-Nassau marries homosexual couples , accessed on November 20, 2018
  67. ↑ Evangelical Sunday newspaper: Blessing becomes marriage
  68. ↑ NDR.de: Landeskirche Hannover introduces marriage for everyone
  69. ↑ Saarbrücker Zeitung: Evangelical Church of the Palatinate: Church wedding for everyone
  70. ^ Neue Westfälische Zeitung: Lippische Landeskirche allows weddings for same-sex couples
  71. ↑ North Church: "Blessing" is "marriage" . In: evangelisch.de . September 20, 2019, accessed September 20, 2019.
  72. ↑ Morgenpost: Marriage for homosexuals, finally equality
  73. ↑ Thomas Hitzlsperger acknowledges his homosexuality . In: The time . January 8, 2014
  74. ↑ Rainbow Fund ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archiv2.regenbogenfonds.de
  75. ^ Self-reported by GayRomeo
  76. ↑ Masked, quarreling, successful - the story of Christopher Street Day ( Memento of the original from April 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / magazin.zitty.de
  77. ↑ KCM, Gay Center Münster eV
  78. ↑ CSD: The secrets of gay Cologne ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.koeln.de
  79. ↑ Fischer at the CSD Cologne ( Memento of the original from February 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (pdf; 3 kB)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / news.gay-web.de
  80. ↑ Transgenialer CSD Kreuzberg ( Memento of the original from March 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stress Faktor.squat.net

Web links

Commons : Homosexuality in Germany  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files