Paragraph 175
Unnatural fornication, whether between persons of the male sex or of humans with beasts, is to be punished by imprisonment; a sentence of loss of civil rights may also be passed.
This is part of the German penal code of 1871 known as Paragraph 175. It condemned male homosexual acts and bestiality. As early as the 1890s, petitions were created and sent to the Parliament of Germany, known as the Reichstag, to abolish this part of the code. Unfortunately, it failed and the movement to broaden the law to include lesbian acts was brought forth instead in 1907. However, it never passed and in 1929, the Reichstag Committee decided to finally repeal Paragraph 175, but was ultimately stopped by the rise of the Nazi Regime. They kept the code in effect and widened its perimeters to simply “lewd” conduct between members of the same sex, including, but not limited to, kissing, fondling, and mutual masturbation. Under the revised code, an estimated 100,000 men were prosecuted. Between 10,000 and 15,000 were sent to concentration camps where the majority died. Less than ten men convicted by the Nazi Party of homosexuality were known to be alive by the turn of the century. Paragraph 175 tells their forgotten story.
Albrecht Becker, Gad Beck, Heinz Dörmer, Annette Eick, Heinz F. and Pierre Seel are the men and women interviewed by Holocaust researcher Klaus Müller, who admits at the start of the documentary that he was never aware of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals during WWII. It is scantly talked of topic, but one definitely deserving of this documentary.
Holocaust documentaries are not hard to come by and the horrors of that period in history are well-known, but Paragraph 175 is truly a one of kind experience. Unlike many Holocaust documentaries that seek to reveal the inhumanity of the event and bring the viewer to an emotionally devastating place to understand a fraction of what the victims went through, Paragraph 175 celebrates these surviving men and women. Each one is quite a character, spunky and vivacious despite their age and what they have lived through. They share amusing stories with a smile and talk fondly of Weimar Berlin, when they could freely be themselves without prosecution, before the film takes a serious turn upon total Nazi control of the government in the mid-1930s.
Even through the tragedy they speak of, love remains a prevalent theme. Gad talks of his dramatic relationship with a young man named Manfred, whom he risked his life to attempt to free after being rounded up with his family by the Gestapo. Annette is saved by a woman who sends her papers to escape to England in a love letter. Heinz Dörmer fondly reminisces about his sexual experiences as a young boy and Albrecht laughs about his lover he visited in New York before he was imprisoned upon his return to Germany. In a way, the documentary aims to eliminate the shame that has surrounded these people since the 1930s. Their sexuality is almost praised and the stories of their romantic encounters are warm and upbeat compared to the solemn and dark retelling of the injustices they suffered.
After watching the film, it is no wonder it was ranked number 35 on the list of 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die. It is undoubtably informative, inspiring, and powerful. It is a story that deserves to be heard and more commonly known amongst the general population, especially since all of the featured Holocaust victims have since passed on. Gad Becker was the last remaining gay survivor when he died in 2012 at the age of 88.
Whether you’re queer or not, you’ll find the courage of these men and women truly astounding and walk away from the film with a better understanding the of persecution of homosexuals during WWII. One of my personal favourite documentaries, I highly recommend it to anyone interested in LGBT history.
