Perspectives on the Gay Community in Weimar Berlin

Jordan L. Nistendirk* and Katherine B. Aaslestad, Department of History, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Field (Broad Category): History (Human Engagement) 

Student’s Major: Political Science and History 

During the early twentieth century, Berlin became the world’s first modern “gay capital.” The forthright activism of the homosexual community, lax enforcement of homophobic laws, and a thriving gay nightlife culture combined to make Berlin unique. By the dawn of the “Roaring Twenties,” Berlin’s gay community was the most visible and diverse in the world; home to scientists, artists, politicians and military figures advocating for homosexual acceptance. Cheap travel and salacious accounts of gay nightlife drew sex tourists from across the Western world and further increased the community’s global visibility. This visibility, however, can be viewed as a double-edged sword. As media coverage of the gay community facilitated gay rights advocacy, it also prompted further attacks on the lives and spaces of gay Germans. This work will examine the variety of sexual expressions and ideologies that existed in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, and the gay community’s coverage in local and international media sources. Despite the diversity and divisions that existed within the gay movement, tourist accounts of Berlin’s gay community largely focused on nightlife. Furthermore, the community’s increased visibility led to attacks from across the political spectrum, culminating in its near-destruction after the Nazi Party took power in 1933. In the present day, it is important to note the continuing trend of stereotypes minimizing the gay community to its party scene, as its diverse identities and expressions remain marginalized. 

Funding: 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU 497-level course HIST 484 Capstone