NAZI REGIME AND HOMOSEXUALS

Arguments and discussions about sexuality-related topics are widespread. Sexual issues have long been a major source of worry, dating back to the Greek philosophers of antiquity. There are various forms of sexual inclination, such as heterosexuality and homosexuality. The term “homosexuality” was first coined in the nineteenth century by Maria Benkert, a German scholar. People of the same sex can be attracted to and intimate with each other when they have the sexual preference known as homosexuality. Minority groups, including homosexuals, were accepted and safeguarded in ancient societies. The Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, and Indian civilizations are among them. However at the coming of Christianity homosexuality was outlawed in the whole of the Roman Empire. It was illegal to belong to this group or practice homosexuality within the Roman Empire (Pickett, 2015). In many empires, cultures and nations homosexuality group has been discriminated upon and mistreated basing on their sexual orientation. This paper will analyze the experiences of the homosexuals under the Nazi regime.

Nazi/Third Reich

The Nazi regime of German assumed power in the year 1933. This gave rise to the so called Third Reich. This was the same year that Hitler of German rose to power. The government at that time did away with the civil rights of the Germans. This were clear signs of dictatorship that was taking root in the German society under Hitler and the Nazi uprising. The Nazis under the leadership of Adolf Hitler developed a policy that required everybody and every institution to align themselves with the policy of Nazi. This was referred to as coordination policy. The Nazis managed to dissolve all the political parties that were in German. This was an attempt to paralyze any opposition that could arise. The Nazi managed to subject the law, education, the economy and culture under their control (Holocaust). This meant that they had powers to implement their own directives in these sectors. The Nazi regime was identified with the designation Third Reich. This terminology was developed in 1922 to champion the unification of all social divisions in German.

In the 1920s German through its homosexual activist advocated for change in societal attitudes towards homosexuals. This activists from German became worldwide leaders as far as championing for the rights of the homosexuals is concerned. This happened despite German having banned homosexual activities. According to the criminal code paragraph 175, it was illegal for anyone to practice homosexuality. However the coming of the Nazi regime saw homosexuals going through great mistreatment. One of the homosexuals who were subjected to mistreatment by the Nazi regime was I, Pierre Seel. He was raised up in France and as a teenage young man he found himself in an illegal secret group. This group was the gay community. This young man was deported by the authority because he was found to be a homosexual. He was taken direct to Nazi prison which was at Schirmack.

In the Third Reich, homosexuals were badly mishandled. In 1935 the Nazi regime pushed for the change of law regarding homosexual activities. The new law that came into force prohibited unnatural sexual act. It was the sole duty of the Nazi to determine the meaning and application of unnatural. This great shift in the area of law caused many young and old men their lives. Majority of the men were arrested in connection with homosexuality (Trueman, 2015). Before the law courts, they were charged and sentenced to prison. There were various charges that were leveled against such men. This was a difficult period in the history of homosexuals. The homosexuals lacked defenders or people who could help or hear them out.

Another distinctive feature about the mistreatment of the gay community in the Third Reich is the idea of locking men in concentration camps. This was as a result of them being homosexuals. The Nazi decided to lock men who were homosexual in the camps because they were detrimental to the Aryan population. The determination of the Nazi regime to expand the Aryan population was evident. This was supposed to be realized by people giving birth without any control. Since they wanted to expand the Aryan population through birth then it means the homosexuals could not have been of any help to the Nazi regime. The homosexual could not give birth as is expected of all adult male and female. What followed was the plan to exterminate the homosexuals.

It is vital to realize that everybody is entitled to life and all the choices that come with it. The decisions that one takes in his/her life depends on the motivation and outcomes that he/she wants to get. The mistreatment of the homosexuals by the Nazi regime was uncalled for. The men who dared participate in this illicit act some were killed. Seel while in prison witnessed the killing of his companion who was gay (Seel, 1995). The Nazi regime did not hesitate to take the life of the men who were involved in homosexuality. They had no apologies to make at all. They saw this as a total violation to the code of conduct of the people of Germany.

Some of the homosexual victims who escaped death narrowly from the prisons were forced to join the army for subsequent wars between Germany and other states. This was a disciplinary measure to ensure that all their energy is spent in the battle field. Their survival was very minimal because of the harsh environment that war exposed them to. I, Pierre Seel did not escape the idea of becoming an army officer by force. He had no option but to join the army. This happened to him because of his position on homosexuality (Seel, 1995). He narrates his story how he participated in the Yugoslavian war and came out with many injuries. This was brutality and torture that was extended to homosexuals by the Third Reich regime. Some homosexuals like Seel were forced to witness Aryan couples make love to one another. This was supposedly meant to convert the homosexual to heterosexuals. According to those who witnessed this acts like Seel, they saw it as a violation of human rights and dignity.

As part of their role to tame homosexuality in Germany under the Nazi regime directed the police to raid the homes of homosexuals. They confiscated their crucial documents and property leaving them hopeless and defenseless. The heinous acts of the police to launch attacks on the private residence of the homosexuals was a clear indication of high level of injustice that was going on in the Third Reich (Holocust). This situation was out of hand because it had gone beyond the required level. The over exaggeration of reactions towards homosexual defiance was in itself criminal punishable at the court of law.

Fate of other minorities under Nazism

When Adolf Hitler took over power in German he declared that there was no superior race in the whole world and especially Germany than the Aryan. He observed that all other tribes and races were minorities that could not have been compared with the noble and superior race of Aryan. Hitler knew that the German people were the only true Aryan. Therefore he wanted to do everything possible to preserve this unique race called the Aryan (History on the net,). This protection of the Aryan race involved the destruction or annihilation of other races that were in German at that time. He did not see anything wrong in terminating lives of people who were conspired to be outcasts.

When the Nazi came to power they sought to do away with the minority races in Germany. The Jews happened to be one the minority races that were up for extermination. The Nazi as they embarked on their plan to destroy the Jews, they begun by making very strict laws to bar the Jews from participating in public duties and appointments. Things were tough on the side of the Jews since they could not participate in anything meaningful. The laws that were made by the Nazi regime were mainly targeting the Jews. This was just but the beginning of the long journey full of discrimination for Jews. There were no more intermarriages between the Jews and the other races. They were no longer legally accepted as citizens of Germany. This was discrimination of the highest order done to minority group like the Jews. It is therefore evident that what other minority groups faced was very distinct from what the homosexuals faced.

All the people who did not belong to the Aryan race were considered outsides. They were subjected to torture and mistreatment. They were referred to as asocial. All of them were branded and considered to be carriers of wrong genes. Many of these people who came from outside German were forced to be sterilized so that their bad genes could no fertilize German women (Longerich, 2011). The troubles that befell other races during the Nazi era were overwhelming because it was evident that they were not needed in German. The Nazi wanted to remain with a homogenous race and this race was Aryan. No other person was considered of any significance or value.

The most crucial part that degenerated to gross violation of human rights in German was the Nuremberg laws. These laws helped to prepare the foundation upon which Hitler and Nazi could bank on and commit mass murder. Many lives were lost as a result of these laws that were enacted by the Nazi. The minority groups were on the receiving end and they had no option. Jews and other minority lost their lives in the hands of the Nazi (Facing history, 2017). It is evident that the inhumane acts that were done to the minority groups under Nazi were of great magnitude as compared to what the homosexuals encountered.

Conclusion

The Nazi era in German is a very critical part of human history. This era cannot be forgotten easily because of the inhumane acts that were done to the minority groups. The discrimination, the killings and mistreatment of humanity that was experienced during the reign of Adolf Hitler marks one of the darkest period in the history of humanity.

Reference

Facing history. (2017). The Nazis in power: Discrimination, obedience, and opportunism, Retrieved from: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/decision-making-times- injustice/nazis-in-power-discrimination-obedience-opportunism

Holocaust Encyclopedia. (n,d). Third Reich, Retrieved from: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007331

History on the net. (2017). Nazi Germany-minority groups, Retrieved from: https://www.historyonthenet.com/nazi-germany-minority-groups/.

Longerich, P. (2011). The Nazi racial state, Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/genocide/racial_state_01.shtml.

Steakley, J.(2017). Homosexual and the holocaust: Homosexuals and the Third Reich, Retrieved from: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/homosexuals-and-the-third-reich.

Pickett, B. (2015). Homosexuality, Retrieved from: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/homosexuality/.

Seel,P.(1995). I, Pierre Seel, Deported Homosexual: A Memoir of Nazi Terror, New York: Basic.