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mothwingThe German law making same-sex sexual relationships between men a criminal offence punishable with up to 5 years of prison only stopped being in use in 1994.
I was eleven in 1994, I had just come to a new school, a friend of mine was in love for the first time, I was wondering why some of the other girls were suddenly interested in boys, and all over Germany, men were being imprisoned or fined or otherwise criminalised for having sex with other men.
The law responsible had been taken from the law introduced 1851, which had been altered in 1935. This version was much stricter than the 1851 one, of course. After the end of the Third Reich, the law, §175, remained in use as it did not strike the people responsible as a particularly nazi law, and hence did not need to be abolished along with the others.
As, if not more embarrassing: with their usual speed of action the German government decided in 2002 to rehabilitate men who had been imprisoned as homosexuals during the Third Reich. Two-thousand and two? I wonder how many of the original victims were even alive then. Better late then never, of course, but two-thousand and two?? These men had been interred in concentration camps like all the other people who were considered either unworthy or dangerous, but when the camps were liberated by the allies, some prisoners staid behind - murderers, rapists, thieves - homosexuals. It is so ridiculous that these men have only been rehabilitated in 2002, what the fuck has taken them so long?
The men interred in these concentration camps were subjected to the most gruesome torture, castrated, and as they were criminalised even after the end of the Third Reich. This would only end in 1969, and because they were only criminals, and as unpopular as they had been, their fates were ignored.
In 1969 the law was changed to something which was not a lot less ridiculous, but at least did not mean that all homosexual men would be interred for their relationships. The new system introduced two age limits - under 18 it would not be against the law to engage in same-sex acts, but if the men were older then 18 but younger than 21, it was a criminal offense - completely ridiculous. Still, seeing as underage sex as such has also always been a matter of debate this was probably a really modern law. Too bad it remained in use until nineteen-fucking-ninety-four.
And why did it vanish?
Did someone have a sudden brainwave?
No. Because of the German reunification. The paragraph had not been in use in the GDR since 1957, and it had been abandoned completely in 1989. There had been a debate about whether this paragraph ought to be in use in both parts of Germany, and they decided against it -last minute, I might add, as the deadline for including or chucking it was 1994.
I was eleven in 1994, I had just come to a new school, a friend of mine was in love for the first time, I was wondering why some of the other girls were suddenly interested in boys, and all over Germany, men were being imprisoned or fined or otherwise criminalised for having sex with other men.
The law responsible had been taken from the law introduced 1851, which had been altered in 1935. This version was much stricter than the 1851 one, of course. After the end of the Third Reich, the law, §175, remained in use as it did not strike the people responsible as a particularly nazi law, and hence did not need to be abolished along with the others.
As, if not more embarrassing: with their usual speed of action the German government decided in 2002 to rehabilitate men who had been imprisoned as homosexuals during the Third Reich. Two-thousand and two? I wonder how many of the original victims were even alive then. Better late then never, of course, but two-thousand and two?? These men had been interred in concentration camps like all the other people who were considered either unworthy or dangerous, but when the camps were liberated by the allies, some prisoners staid behind - murderers, rapists, thieves - homosexuals. It is so ridiculous that these men have only been rehabilitated in 2002, what the fuck has taken them so long?
The men interred in these concentration camps were subjected to the most gruesome torture, castrated, and as they were criminalised even after the end of the Third Reich. This would only end in 1969, and because they were only criminals, and as unpopular as they had been, their fates were ignored.
In 1969 the law was changed to something which was not a lot less ridiculous, but at least did not mean that all homosexual men would be interred for their relationships. The new system introduced two age limits - under 18 it would not be against the law to engage in same-sex acts, but if the men were older then 18 but younger than 21, it was a criminal offense - completely ridiculous. Still, seeing as underage sex as such has also always been a matter of debate this was probably a really modern law. Too bad it remained in use until nineteen-fucking-ninety-four.
This is the paragraph in question, in the 1969 version: 1969 25.06.
Erstes Gesetz zur Reform des Strafrechts Unzucht zwischen Männern
175
I. Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren wird bestraft
1. ein Mann über achtzehn Jahre, der mit einem anderen Mann unter einundzwanzig Jahren Unzucht treibt oder sich von ihm zur Unzucht mißbrauchen läßt,
2. ein Mann, der einen anderen Mann unter Mißbrauch einer durch ein Dienst-, Arbeits- oder Unterordnungsverhältnis begründeten Abhängigkeit bestimmt, mit ihm Unzucht zu treiben oder sich von ihm zur Unzucht mißbrauchen zu lassen,
3. ein Mann, der gewerbsmäßig mit Männern Unzucht treibt oder von Männern sich zur Unzucht mißbrauchen läßt oder sich dazu anbietet.
II. In den Fällen des Absatzes I Nr. 2 ist der Versuch strafbar.
III. Bei einem Beteiligten, der zur Zeit der Tat noch nicht einundzwanzig Jahre alt war, kann das Gericht von Strafe absehen.
And why did it vanish?
Did someone have a sudden brainwave?
No. Because of the German reunification. The paragraph had not been in use in the GDR since 1957, and it had been abandoned completely in 1989. There had been a debate about whether this paragraph ought to be in use in both parts of Germany, and they decided against it -last minute, I might add, as the deadline for including or chucking it was 1994.
