History of gay men in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
In the 1920s, homosexual people in Germany , particularly in Berlin , enjoyed a higher level of freedom and acceptance than anywhere else in the world. However, upon the rise of Adolf Hitler , gay men and, to a lesser extent, lesbians , were two of the numerous groups targeted by the Nazi Party and were ultimately among Holocaust victims . Beginning in 1933, gay organizations were banned, scholarly books about homosexuality, and sexuality in general, [ which? ] were burned , [ when? ] and homosexuals within the Nazi Party itself were murdered. [ who? ] The Gestapo compiled lists of homosexuals, who were compelled to sexually conform to the "German norm." Between 1933–45, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested as homosexuals, of which some 50,000 were officially sentenced [ citation needed ] . Most of these men served time in regular prisons, and an...
