Johann Baptist Welsch

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Johann Baptist Welsch , called Tilla (born February 22, 1888 in Arzdorf , † March 2, 1943 in Mauthausen , Upper Austria ) was a well-known Cologne travesty artist in the 1920s and 1930s .

Stumbling stone for Johann Baptist 'Tilla' Welsch Schnurgasse at the corner of Steinstrasse

Welsch was originally a commercial employee. During the Weimar Republic there was a lively homosexual scene in Cologne with clubs, bars and friendships that could otherwise only be found in Berlin in Germany . As Tilla , Welsch was a star who appeared primarily in the trendy clubs in the "Hotel zum Adler" in Johannisstrasse and in the largest and most dazzling gay bar "Dornröschen" in Friedrichstrasse to entertain homosexual and heterosexual guests. Both restaurants were run by the gay restaurateur Josef Johann Mumbour . Tilla's appearances as a female impersonator with acting, jokes and singing also met with approval from the middle-class press.

Due to the stricter application of § 175 under National Socialism, Welsch was arrested several times by the Cologne police and finally after his last arrest in December 1940, like many homosexuals of his time, transferred to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. He died there on March 2, 1943 at the age of 55.

Before his last freely chosen place of residence at Schnurgasse 64, a stumbling block was laid in his memory .

Literature and source

Remarks

  1. ^ Erwin in het Panhuis: Different from the others - gays and lesbians in Cologne and the surrounding area 1895 to 1918 ; Emons, Center for Gay History, Cologne, 2006, ISBN 3897054817 , page 177
  2. ^ For example, in an article in the Rheinische Zeitung on May 15, 1926
  3. ↑ NS Documentation Center - Stumbling Blocks | Memorials for the victims of National Socialism (Welsch, Johann Baptist artists. Tilla) , accessed on March 1, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Welsch, Johann Baptist
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tilla
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German travesty artist
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Arzdorf
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 1943
Place of death Mauthausen , Upper Austria