• The reimprisonment of homosexuals in Germany after WWII

    From Fudge Factors@21:1/5 to All on Thu Aug 3 03:42:37 2017
    XPost: ga.motss, alt.culture.alaska, nf.general
    XPost: alt.tv.infomercials

    After the end of World War II in Europe, homosexual prisoners of
    liberated concentration camps were refused reparations and some
    were even thrown into jail without credit for their time served
    in the camps. From the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

    After the war, homosexual concentration camp prisoners were not
    acknowledged as victims of Nazi persecution, and reparations
    were refused. Under the Allied Military Government of Germany,
    some homosexuals were forced to serve out their terms of
    imprisonment, regardless of the time spent in concentration
    camps. The 1935 version of Paragraph 175 remained in effect in
    the Federal Republic (West Germany) until 1969, so that well
    after liberation, homosexuals continued to fear arrest and
    incarceration.

    After 1945, it was no longer a crime to be Jewish in Germany,
    but homosexuality was another matter. Paragraph 175 of the
    German Criminal Code had been on the books since 1871. An
    English translation of the earliest version read simply:

    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.

    In Germany, homosexuality was considered a crime worthy of up to
    five years of imprisonment until Paragraph 175 was voided in
    1994.

    Update: I missed this while writing the post: Paragraph 175 was
    amended in 1969 to limit enforcement to engaging in homosexual
    acts with minors (under 21 years). (thx, eric)

    http://kottke.org/15/02/the-reimprisonment-of-homosexuals-in- germany-after-wwii
     

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