Berlin Was a Queer Haven Before the Nazis Came and Destroyed Everything
A German Jew founded the first-ever LGBTQ community center in Berlin.
When we think of German history, all we see is the Nazis ruling the country. However, before the spread of this hateful ideology, Germany was a very progressive state compared to the US.
Before the little angry man arrived, Berlin was a Queer heaven. In fact, in 1897, a Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, which was the very first gay and lesbian organization in the world, was founded in Berlin.
A hundred years ago, a German Jew in Berlin released a study that started the modern LGBTQ rights movement. Magnus Hirschfeld was the first researcher to prove that gays are at a higher risk for suicide, and because of that, he created the world’s first community health center for LGBTQ individuals. He started being known as Germany’s “Einstein of Sex.” Apart from being an academic, he was also a fixture in Berlin’s drag scene, which was nicknamed “Tante Magnesia,” or Aunt Magnesia.
In 1919, Hirschfeld co-wrote and acted in a film called Different From the Others. This was the first ever gay film ever made and shown in the cinemas. The plot detailed Hirschfeld’s development of therapeutic protocols for doctors to help patients accept their…
