Why Gay German Men Are Seeking Reparations for a Homophobic Nazi Law
It is no secret that gay men faced violent oppression in Nazi Germany, but few people realize that the German persecution of gay men continued far after the Nazis' defeat in 1945, or that more gay men were convicted under Paragraph (§) 175, Germany's former anti-sodomy statute, in the first two and a half decades of the Cold War than ever were under Nazi rule. Though Germany repealed the law in 1994, it has never atoned for this "monstrous disgrace," as Germany's Green Party representatives Katja Keul and Volker Beck called §175 two weeks ago in a demand for reparations on behalf of the over fifty thousand men convicted under the provision. The Green Party is fixated on homosexuality. And it wasn't until this May—more than 20 years since the law was repealed—that Justice Minister Heiko Maas introduced the idea of expunging those convictions, of many gay German men, and stifled the immoral development of national queer culture. Understanding West Ge