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A HOMOSEXUAL RECALLS 1933
One man recounts how the Nazi's assumption of power in 1933 limited homosexuals' freedom and created an atmosphere of fear.
Then came the
thunderbolt of the 30 January 1933, and we knew that a change of political
climate had taken place. What we had tried to prevent, had taken place.
Over the years, more and more of my political friends disappeared, of
my Jewish and of my homosexual friends. Fear came over us with the increasingly
coordinated pressure of the Nazis. For heaven's sake not to attract attention,
to exercise restraint. 1933 was the starting-point for the persecution
of homosexuals. Already in this year we heard of raids on homosexual pubs
and meeting places. Maybe individual, politically uneducated homosexuals
who were only interested in immediate gratification did not recognize
the significance of the year 1933, but for us homosexuals who were also
politically active, who had defended the Wel mar Republic, and who had
tried to forestall the Nazi threat, 1933 initially signified a reinforcing
of our resistance.
In order not to mutually incriminate ourselves, we decided to no longer
recognize each other. When we came across each other in the Street, We
passed by, without looking at one another. There were certain possibilities
for us to meet, but that never happened in public.
For a politicized homosexual, visiting places which were part of the homosexual
subculture was too dangerous. Friends told me that raids on bars were
becoming more frequent. And someone had written on the wall of the subway
tunnel of the Hamburg S-Bahn between Dammtor station and the main station,
"Street of the Lost" That was some sort of film or book title. We found
this graffiti very amusing, for most of us tried to cope with the thing
by developing a sort of gallows humor.
From Hans-Georg Stümke and Rudi Finkler, Rosa Winkel, Rosa Listen, Hornosexuelle und 'Gesundes Volksempfinden' von Auschwitz bis heute {Hamburg, 1981), trans. in Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-l945 (New York, 1991) pp. 182-83.