Paragraph 175 was a law criminalized homosexual acts between males written into the German Criminal Code between May 15, 1871, and March 10, 1994. The law was most notably acted upon during World War II, when men believed to be engaging in sodomy or loving another man were marked by an inverted pink triangle and placed in concentration camps. To seek out gay men, a unique section of the Gestapo (Secret State Police of the Nazis in Germany) was created. The Gestapo determined that men who touched or looked at another man would be arrested in line with Paragraph 175. The Nazis less commonly arrested lesbians, as it was believed that women who loved women could relearn their role as the caregiver and wife in society. An estimated 100,000 people were arrested, with about 10,000 imprisoned of which 4,000 survived the camps. Dr. Hirschfeld was a self-identifying German homosexual men that served as an activist for the removal of Paragraph 175 throughout his lifetime. Dr. Hirschfeld was a doctor who created the Insitut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sex Research) and founded the Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee (Scientific Humanitarian Committee, abbreviated WhK). The WhK aimed at using research to repeal Paragraph 175. The same year he formed the WhK, Dr. Hirschfeld drafted …show more content…
It is also important to recognize that queer people were among those actively persecuted during the Nazi era. The giving and receiving of rights is a significant historical event for any group of people, and is particularly notable for queer studies when many countries in the world enforce the death penalty for same-sex relationships. The fight for equality is far from over, but the repeal of the Paragraph 175 brought attention to the idea that same-sex relationships are not a criminal