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| PARAGRAPH 175 (2000) | |
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Homosexuality still raises heated debates, as the homosexual community is struggling for equal rights.
Despite contemporary and historical lessons this issue continues to lead to hate crimes in our
modern-day and enlightened society.
Some still believe that homosexuality is a disease or disorder that can be treated while the American Psychology Association discards
this notion.
Yet, the stigma remains, as it often is fueled with heated emotions that
often rest within people’s values and morals.
This stigma seems to have divided people into two camps with different opinions; only time and wisdom will help the people in both
camps come together. The documentary, Paragraph 175, is depicted through several archive film clips, which are complemented with several interviews with the few who are still alive when the film was shot. Through these interviews the audience can see the emotion that the survivors display and hear the horrors that they experienced through their trembling voices. The documentary does not disclose much of what happened, but their faces and voices tell more than a thousand words. Shame, anger, and sadness are intertwined in the emotions that are expressed through the interviewees, as they try to tell their story that not many have thought was important during the last 50 years. The years after World War I was the beginning allowed for a good life for gay men and women in Germany, especially in Berlin, where the gay community blossomed. It was a time when the gay community could live relatively open despite the law of Paragraph 175, which dated back to 1871. Paragraph 175 stated, “An unnatural sex act committed between persons of the male sex or by humans with animals is punishable by imprisonment; the loss of civil rights may also be imposed.” The existence of Paragraph 175 left the gay community in danger to extortion and imprisonment. Thus, arose a movement led by Dr. Magnus Hirschfled that attempted to remove this law and help erase some of the stigma in regards to homosexuality. The movement gained a large number of followers, as it seemed that freedom was about to take another historical step forward. The rise of the Nazi regime in Germany initially seemed to be safe for gay men and women, as Hitler’s leader for the storm troops was Ernst Röhm, who was known to be gay. However, several people tauntingly criticized Röhm and the Nazi government. Some went as far as suggesting that the Nazi leaders were all homosexuals. In retrospect, it has been told that Hitler had made a deal with the German military leaders, which entailed that Hitler had to get rid of Röhm, who was considered an embarrassment, if he wanted the German chancellor position. It led to the Night of the Long Knives when Röhm was executed without a trial, as Hitler informed the people that Röhm and some others were planning a coup. It also caused Hitler to enforce Paragraph 175, which was also rewritten a year after Röhm’s death. Darkness and shadow spread quickly around Germany, as the majority of Germany supported Hitler as the new German chancellor. Maybe, this notion could serve as an opportunity to show that a misguided public majority can be very dangerous. In fact, a month after Hitler was in power he order gay meeting places to be closed, which shortly after was followed by the torching of the Reichstag, the German legislative building. Chaos ruled in Germany, as Hitler methodically used the chaos to gain emergency powers from the government. Sanctioned to use force, Hitler began to increase the persecution of Jews and made the Nazi party the only legal party within a six-month span. Amidst the hatred and the persecution of Jews, homosexuals thought that they were protected by their German heritage. However, many found that their German ethnicity did not protect them, as many were sent off to prison and labor camps while many were also sent to concentration camps. They were forced to wear pink triangles, which marked them as homosexuals. Lesbians were luckier as a decision was made in the Nazi government that women were more important, as they could bare children and help provide a strong nation. Nonetheless, a few lesbians were sent to concentration camps, but their number cannot even compare to the number of gay men that were imprisoned. The reason was that male homosexuality was treated as a contagious disease and female homosexuality was treated more like a short-termed condition. After the war the Allies did not recognize the gay survivors as they were simply swept aside. The German’s continued to enforce the Nazi version of Paragraph 175 until 1967. The shadow of the emotional damage and stigma that the Nazi regime created still affects people today. This stigma might have affected the low number of survivors that have stepped forward for recognition of their suffering. Only ten known survivors existed when this documentary was shot. The year after the documentary was released the German and Swiss Bank compensation program for survivors began to include gay victims, which was in 2001. |
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DIRECTED BY |
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Rob Epstein Jeffrey Friedman |
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COUNTRY |
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UK / Germany / USA |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 3/12/2005 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
