LGBT movements of the 1960's

 

 

 

 

 

This Blog aims to explore two different narratives of LGBT civil rights movements in 1960s. The first being the USA movement and their struggle to gain a meaningful discourse in the mainstream. The Second being the decriminalisation of homosexuality in East Germany.

 

The Advocate was a pioneering LGBT magazine with humble origins. The Personal Rights in Defence and Education (PRIDE) made their first publication in 1967 as a response to an overly aggressive police raid on a gay bar in Los Angeles, called The Black Cat. The Publication started life as a newsletter for LGBT issues, it did not take long for it to become the magazine that it is today, with pieces on Hollywood celebrities, columns on fitness, and cooking. This magazine helped to pave the way for other LGBT magazines, as well as, the LGBT movement as a whole. However, it is important to note that this did not end discrimination it only provided a voice for those LGBT people in the USA. However, not all LGBT movement sort non-violet solutions to their oppression. For example, the ground-breaking Stonewall riots of 1969 in New York, which was a response to the institutionalised discrimination felt by the LGBT community, as they were open harassed for their sexual orientation. It was Stonewall and the civil disobedience which instigated a national discourse on LGBT rights, which encouraged a more sexually liberal way thinking in America. Stonewall was one of the first poignant steps to the legalisation of gay marriage in 2015. 

 

While following the stories of the different LGBT movements around the world in the 1960’s one man stood out to me, that man being Dr Rudolf Klimmer. Due to Klimmer’s sexuality and communist affiliation, he maintained a low profile in Nazi Germany until the war had ended 1945. After which time Germany was divided into east and west. When Klimmer became a promenaded figure in the denazification of the east portion of Germany, he was instrumental in the removal of anti-gay legislation as he worked with the East German Government to devise strategies for denazification. Using his position in the East German communist party, he was able to establish a Scientific-Humanitarian committee. This allowed for issues of sexual politics to be discussed in the public sphere, to raise awareness of LGBT issues and decriminalised homosexuality through the removal of section 175 of Bismarck’s law. This monumental change in the East came 20 years before it did in the West, as the West was more socially and sexually conservative. However, it is important to note that, even though homosexuality became decriminalised in the East, it was still far from being socially accepted. The ideological concepts at play betwixt the two Germanys’ is of particular interested to me, as both Germanys’ are pushing for denazification and progressive reform. However, East German were the first to adopt an open discussion on sexual politics and thus decriminalised homosexuality. This was clearly influenced by the campaign lead by Dr Rudolf Klimmer.   

 

Ultimately, in the 1960s the LGBT community had to struggle to gain a rational discourse worldwide. I feel that these two stories help to highlight the global fight for LGBT civil rights.   

 

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.  

 - Jack Cerullo :)