TRIBETWELVE t1_j1yun2j wrote
Just a friendly reminder that the first book burnings in Nazi Germany were of an institution that led the way in LGBTQIA+ research, specifically Trans research.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_f%C3%BCr_Sexualwissenschaft
die_a_third_death t1_j1yxujx wrote
Yup. It really set LGBT rights in Germany back several decades.
ThereIsNoGame t1_j1yzrb0 wrote
There's this permanent fixture now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_Homosexuals_Persecuted_Under_Nazism
I think this, right in the middle of Berlin, is fitting and appropriate.
Creepy-Explanation91 t1_j1zuvg1 wrote
It’s a giant concrete cube with a tiny screen of two dudes kissing inside? Not a very creative or artistic design is it? Wouldn’t a big statue of two guys kissing both send a better message and be more artistically pleasing? Is there a specific reason for it being just a giant cube? It’s a very important monument since gay men were heavily persecuted by the Nazis but the article doesn’t give much information and I have a-lot of questions about why the design was chosen.
ThereIsNoGame t1_j1zz0nb wrote
I'm not an art critic, but my understanding this is in parallel with the memorial to the murdered jews of europe:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_the_Murdered_Jews_of_Europe
As the maze of blocks represents the fear, confusion and directionlessness of the jews in that dark time, so too does the concrete cube, and it's unassuming exterior, represents the way the gender diverse had to hide their identity, remain closeted, to avoid persecution. Only by getting close, can you see who they really were.
Art is most powerful when it's subtle. Art should not tell a story to the audience, but instead guide the audience in the direction of the conclusions they should make. It's not there to answer questions, but ask questions and challenge the audience to understand the answers.
Why have Mount Rushmore when you could just put up a big sign that says "Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln were all good presidents."?
Creepy-Explanation91 t1_j1zzl10 wrote
I guess that makes sense. I really don’t understand modern art.
burgermiester288 t1_j20nbdi wrote
It's meant to reflect how queer men had to hide their love. Like your coming across something you shouldn't see.
apple_kicks t1_j1yywni wrote
In some cases esp in nazi occupied areas that previously saw more of a strong lgbt scene (Paris and Amsterdam) took til 60s or 2010s to get rights back on track
MBH1800 t1_j20nqu5 wrote
Worst thing I read about the holocaust was that when the camps were liberated, most inmates still alive were released and sent to hospital care - except the homosexuals, who were transferred to prisons to serve out their "sentence". It was still illegal under the new government as well.
Johannes_P t1_j20wo0e wrote
Moreover, the time spent in KZ wasn't treated as prison, meaning they were kept even longer than their initial sentence.
MBH1800 t1_j2146r1 wrote
Jesus Fucking Christ, that's horrible.
Johannes_P t1_j20wk4l wrote
Yep, the Nazi era aggravation of the paragraph 175 was retained after 1945 and until the end.
chatte__lunatique t1_j21s69h wrote
Not just in Germany, across the world. Hirschfeld's work was groundbreaking, and the loss of his research and treatment documentation was so devastating to queer and especially trans healthcare, that it's not an exaggeration to compare it to the loss of the Library of Alexandria.
[deleted] t1_j1z4jwq wrote
[deleted]
WikiSummarizerBot t1_j1yuofq wrote
Institut für Sexualwissenschaft
>The Institut für Sexualwissenschaft was an early private sexology research institute in Germany from 1919 to 1933. The name is variously translated as Institute of Sex Research, Institute of Sexology, Institute for Sexology or Institute for the Science of Sexuality. The Institute was a non-profit foundation situated in Tiergarten, Berlin. It was the first sexology research center in the world.
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Ksnj t1_j20u6e3 wrote
Maaaaaaan, every time I see this, it makes me so fucking upset. As a trans person myself, not being able to be myself for over 3 decades, due mostly to lack of information/representation, has caused catastrophic damage. What would trans lives look like if the Nazis (current iteration included) were not around? Our mental/physical health be so much better……so many lives could have been saved.
chatte__lunatique t1_j21q37t wrote
Yeah it's super depressing. We lost so much knowledge because of the Nazis, knowledge that could have saved countless trans and queer lives. And that's not even getting into how many queer people the Nazis — followed by the Allies who let us continue to rot in the camps — murdered directly.
I wonder what my childhood might've been like if that knowledge hadn't been burnt to the ground, and had instead become widespread...
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