The official treatment of homosexuality in the Nazi Germany in 1933-1945
Introduction
The period of the Nazis rule in Germany (1933-1945) is an extremely important period in the world history. Coming to power, Adolf Hitler and his supporters created the political system based on ideology of the purity of so-called “Aryan” race – in other words, German race. This ideology was characterized by absolute intolerance towards other nations and cultures. The Nazi idea of racial cleanliness presumed that all other nationalities must be subordinate to Germans. Some races, like, for example, Jews, were considered the dregs of society and threat to Aryan nation’s greatness. However, if we delve deeper into the topic, we will find out that there were victims …show more content…
By studying this period of history, it can be claimed that the Nazi strategy towards homosexuals was something almost opposite to what had existed before, during the golden years of Weimar Republic. Anti-homosexual repression campaign started and quickly resolved existing homosexual culture – “most of the homosexual bars and clubs were closed in all the major towns of Germany. Goering’s (the Prussian Minister of the Interior) second decree, dated February 23, 1933, made the repression official” (Tamagne, 2006, p. …show more content…
The main cause for the persecution was, of course, Nazi ideology of the “cleanliness” (or “purity”) of the Aryan race. Homosexuality was considered something that could be spread from one individual to another. In other words, there was a theory that one homosexual man could seduce another man (usually younger one) and “spoil” him, making him homosexual as well. This was viewed as a threat for Nazi cult of family where men and women had reserved and strict gender roles.
Further on, already at that time there existed an opinion that homosexuality can be an inborn quality. For Nazism it meant that people who have inclinations towards homosexuality should be persecuted and not allowed to have families. Through having children homosexuals were believed to pass their “deviation” to further generations. In addition, the theory of inborn homosexuality made Nazis to believe that such sexual orientation was a kind of inborn illness and that there should be ways to treat this illness, or at least stop it from spreading. At the same time, especially during the War, Nazis considered that homosexuality was a social disease that could easily distribute in all-males society. It can be said that Nazis recognized their own society structure built on man’s dominance as vulnerable to the “disease” of homosexuality. This view made the politics
Introduction
The period of the Nazis rule in Germany (1933-1945) is an extremely important period in the world history. Coming to power, Adolf Hitler and his supporters created the political system based on ideology of the purity of so-called “Aryan” race – in other words, German race. This ideology was characterized by absolute intolerance towards other nations and cultures. The Nazi idea of racial cleanliness presumed that all other nationalities must be subordinate to Germans. Some races, like, for example, Jews, were considered the dregs of society and threat to Aryan nation’s greatness. However, if we delve deeper into the topic, we will find out that there were victims …show more content…
By studying this period of history, it can be claimed that the Nazi strategy towards homosexuals was something almost opposite to what had existed before, during the golden years of Weimar Republic. Anti-homosexual repression campaign started and quickly resolved existing homosexual culture – “most of the homosexual bars and clubs were closed in all the major towns of Germany. Goering’s (the Prussian Minister of the Interior) second decree, dated February 23, 1933, made the repression official” (Tamagne, 2006, p. …show more content…
The main cause for the persecution was, of course, Nazi ideology of the “cleanliness” (or “purity”) of the Aryan race. Homosexuality was considered something that could be spread from one individual to another. In other words, there was a theory that one homosexual man could seduce another man (usually younger one) and “spoil” him, making him homosexual as well. This was viewed as a threat for Nazi cult of family where men and women had reserved and strict gender roles.
Further on, already at that time there existed an opinion that homosexuality can be an inborn quality. For Nazism it meant that people who have inclinations towards homosexuality should be persecuted and not allowed to have families. Through having children homosexuals were believed to pass their “deviation” to further generations. In addition, the theory of inborn homosexuality made Nazis to believe that such sexual orientation was a kind of inborn illness and that there should be ways to treat this illness, or at least stop it from spreading. At the same time, especially during the War, Nazis considered that homosexuality was a social disease that could easily distribute in all-males society. It can be said that Nazis recognized their own society structure built on man’s dominance as vulnerable to the “disease” of homosexuality. This view made the politics