Underground Circles and Clandestine Romance: Queer Resistance under the Third Reich

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Roberson, K. (2021). Underground Circles and Clandestine Romance: Queer Resistance under the Third Reich. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

This study proposes a framework through which to examine queer resistance and oppositional behaviors under oppression and persecution, such as the Nazi regime. Under the Weimar Republic, queer circles coalesced into communities that developed a degree of visibility in the German public and political discourse. Queer activists advocated for the abolition of Paragraph 175, the section of the German legal code which criminalized homosexual intercourse. Immediately following the National Socialist seizure of power in 1933, the Nazi German government targeted the visible queer establishments and print outlets. In 1935, the Nazi regime revised Paragraph 175 to implement harsher penalties and expand the scope of its homosexual criminalization. This study examines the clandestine queer communities that moved outside the public sphere to both preserve their own safety and resist Nazi persecution. Queer circles developed underground networks to maintain a semblance of their Weimar-era communities and engage in explicitly illegal acts of sexual autonomy. Furthermore, queer individuals engaged in tactics to preserve the safety of their networks and immediate queer circles.

Details
Author

Roberson, Keira

Title

Underground Circles and Clandestine Romance: Queer Resistance under the Third Reich

Physical Description

1 online resource (74 pages) : PDF

Date

2021

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

This study proposes a framework through which to examine queer resistance and oppositional behaviors under oppression and persecution, such as the Nazi regime. Under the Weimar Republic, queer circles coalesced into communities that developed a degree of visibility in the German public and political discourse. Queer activists advocated for the abolition of Paragraph 175, the section of the German legal code which criminalized homosexual intercourse. Immediately following the National Socialist seizure of power in 1933, the Nazi German government targeted the visible queer establishments and print outlets. In 1935, the Nazi regime revised Paragraph 175 to implement harsher penalties and expand the scope of its homosexual criminalization. This study examines the clandestine queer communities that moved outside the public sphere to both preserve their own safety and resist Nazi persecution. Queer circles developed underground networks to maintain a semblance of their Weimar-era communities and engage in explicitly illegal acts of sexual autonomy. Furthermore, queer individuals engaged in tactics to preserve the safety of their networks and immediate queer circles.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Queer studies
History

Subjects--Places

Europe

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

LGBTQ
Nazi Germany
Paragraph 175
Queer
Resistance
Third Reich

Subject Area

History

Advisor(s)

Perry, Heather

Committee Members

Cox, John
Massino, Jill

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2021.

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This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For additional information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/.

Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Roberson_uncc_0694N_12825

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:2154