Gay men in world war 2

An estimated , men who were accused of homosexuality were deported to concentration camps. The police established lists of homosexually active persons. Significant numbers of gay men were arrested, of whom an estimated 50, received severe jail sentences in brutal conditions.

Lesbian, gay and trans life in Germany began to thrive at the beginning of the 20th century. Most died in the camps, often from exhaustion. In the gains made by gay men in Germany and the Soviet Union were abruptly reversed. Severely mentally and physically disabled people, as well as those perceived to have disabilities, were targeted because of Nazi beliefs that disabled people were a burden both to society and to the state.

Few known victims are still alive but research is beginning to reveal the hidden history of Nazi homophobia and post-war discrimination. But decades before the Sexual Offences Act received royal assent, thousands of gay and bisexual men fought for their country during two World Wars.

Some gay men could be open and were protected by their comrades; others were considered good for morale and became ‘mascots’. The thriving gay culture in Berlin was lost. Unknown numbers of German gay men, lesbians and trans people fled abroad, and others entered into marriages in order to appear to conform to Nazi ideological norms, experiencing severe psychological trauma.

There they could be subjected to hard labour and torture, or they were experimented upon or executed. In the process towards complete decriminalisation had been initiated within the German legislature. Others, who were found out, were court-martialled, imprisoned and thrown out of the services.

In Austria, all same sex relations were criminalised and punishable under the penal code of This part of the penal code, which enabled persecution of gay and lesbian communities, was not amended during the Anschluss the annexation of Austria into greater Germany under the Nazi regime between and After the war, the Allies chose not to remove the Nazi-amended Paragraph Neither they, nor the new German states, nor Austria would recognise homosexual prisoners as victims of the Nazis — a status essential to qualify for reparations.

Twice imprisoned for homosexuality, he was deported to Buchenwald concentration camp in where he was subject to forced labour for 32 months. Unsurprisingly very few victims came forward. However, during World War II, psychiatrists found increased authority in the armed forces and developed new screening methods to find and disqualify gay men, changing the focus from the sexual act to the individual.

He survived the war and died in Rudolf Brazda was the last known concentration camp survivor deported specifically for homosexuality. During the redrafting of Paragraph in Germany, there was much debate about whether to include lesbianism, which had not been recognised in the earlier version.

Those who did, even those who had survived death camps, were thwarted at every turn. Ultimately lesbians and trans people were not included in the legislation and they were subsequently not targeted in the same way as gay men. Many were castrated and some subjected to gruesome medical experiments.

He was arrested, put on trial and imprisoned for being gay. On 6 May , the Nazis violently looted and closed The Institute for Sexual Science , burning its extensive collection on the streets. By the s, Paragraph of the German Penal Code, which criminalised homosexual acts, was being applied less frequently.

Most homosexuals were sent to police prisons, rather than concentration camps, where they were exposed to inhumane treatment. Albrecht Becker — imprisoned by the Nazis for being gay. Fighting Proud: The Untold Story of the Gay Men Who Served in Two World Wars brings together the forgotten stories of gay men who served in the BAF and on the Home Front.

One British soldier repressed his homosexuality and left letters from a fictitious son lying about his barracks. Repression against gay men, lesbians and trans people commenced within days of Hitler becoming Chancellor. Collective murder actions were undertaken against gay detainees, exterminating hundreds at a time.

People who had been persecuted by the Nazis for homosexuality had a hard choice: either to bury their experience and pretend it never happened, with all the personal consequences of such an action, or to try to campaign for recognition in an environment where the same neighbours, the same law, same police and same judges prevailed.

Indeed, many gay men continued to serve their prison sentences.