Homosexuals in Nazi Germany

Paper Summary:

This paper details the social and political policies targeting German homosexuals, beginning with its early criminalization in Germanic provinces before unification, with the majority of the discussion centered on the treatment of homosexuals during Hitler's Third Reich. Included is discussion of Paragraph 175, Ernst Roehm's homosexuality, the 'Night of Long Knives', medical experimentation on homosexuals, and the imprisonment of gays in Nazi concentration camps.

From the Paper:

"It was Heinrich Himmler who would ultimately shape much of the Nazi's policy on dealing with the homosexual question. Himmler was the leader of the SS (Schutzstaffel), the elite guard of the Nazi party, and the chief architect of the concentration camp system begun in 1933 (Plant, 74). It was Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich who led Hitler to believe that a coup was being orchestrated by their rival Roehm, whose homosexuality Himmler abhorred. The result of this deception was the Night of the Long Knives in which Roehm and hundreds others connected to the SA were murdered in June of 1934 (Plant, 56). Himmler would later refer to the murder of Roehm as proof of the Nazi's willingness to rid Germany of homosexuals, "Two years ago...when it became necessary, we did not scruple to strike this plague with death, even within our own ranks" (Steakly)."

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