This page was created by Anonymous. 

The Florida Holocaust Museum: History, Heritage and Hope Permanent Exhibition

Homosexuals

Germany allowed much more sexual freedom in the 1920s than other countries, though homosexuality, referred to as "unnatural indecency," was technically against the law under Paragraph 175 of Germany's Criminal Code. Before the Third Reich, Berlin may have been considered the gay capital of Europe. Hitler obliterated this leniency when he came to power. Nazi doctrine considered homosexuality to be an "aberrant" social behavior which compromised the establishment of a pure Aryan "master race.'' On September 1, 1935, the Supreme Court changed the wording of Paragraph 175 to outlaw simply "indecency." This completely legalized the arrest, conviction, and punishment of men for even the mildest of sexual advances.

The police began raiding homosexual meeting places and used informers to arrest suspected homosexuals. In total, the Nazis convicted 50,000 men for homosexuality. Most of these prisoners spent time in regular jails, but approximately 5,000 to 15,000 men faced incarceration in concentration camps. Though scholars may never be certain, many estimate that up to two-thirds of homosexuals imprisoned in concentration camps died during their incarceration. 
In my experience, homosexuality leads to an absolute - I would almost say, mental instability and madness.  We need to be clear about the fact that, if we continue to have this vice in Germany without combating it, it will mean the demise of Germany, the end of the Germanic world.
          - Heinrich Himmler, secret speech to SS generals, February 1937
None of those in the punishment squad lived long. And there were always some homosexuals in it.  Three, four, five, six perhaps, but always some.  But you only saw them for a short while, and then they were dead.
          - Zdzislav Jasko, Former Sachsenhausen political prisoner

This page has paths:

This page references:

  1. Homosexual prisoner