Were there really gays in the Nazi party, even though they sent thousands of homosexuals to concentration camps or worse? Yes. In fact, Ernst Röhm, the second most powerful man in the party in the early years, was gay – and a close friend of Hitler’s. How could this be?

Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/btnewberg. Research, writing, editing, and production by B. T. Newberg. Logo Design by Rachel Westhoff. Animation by Maxeem Konrardy. Additional credits, references, and more at www.historyofsexpod.com.

References

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Anchor, 1986.

Brashler, Karin Lynn. “Mothers for Germany: A Look at the Ideal Woman in Nazi Propaganda.” Thesis. Iowa State University, 2015.

Carney, Amy Beth. “Victory in the Cradle: Fatherhood and the Family Community in the Nazi Schutzstaffel.” Thesis. Florida State University, 2010.

Clark, Anna. Desire: A History of European Sexuality. New York: Routledge, 2008.

Dammann, Martin. Soldier Studies: Cross-dressing in der Wermacht. Berlin: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2018.

“FBI Shows Gay-Bashing Increase in 2006.” The Advocate. 2007, Nov 20. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from: https://web.archive.org/web/20071122223957/http:/www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50559.asp

Gellately, Robert, and Stoltzfus, Nathan. Social Outsiders in Nazi Germany. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001.

Giles, Geoffrey. “The Denial of Homosexuality: Same-sex Incidents in Himmler’s SS and Police.” Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 11, No. 1/2, 2002, Jan-Apr: pp. 256-290.

Giles, Geoffrey. “The Institutionalization of Homosexual Panic in the Third Reich.” In: Social Outsiders in Nazi Germany. Gellately, Robert, and Stoltzfus, Nathan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001.

Guenther, Irene. Nazi Chic? Fashioning Women in the Third Reich. New York: Berg, 2004.

Gorden, Mel. Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House, 2000.

Gordon, Terri J. “Fascism and the Female Form: Performance Art in the Third Reich.” Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 11.

Hancock, Eleanor. “Only the Real, the True, the Masculine Held Its Value: Ernst Röhm, Masculinity, and Male Homosexuality.” Journal of the History of Sexuality. Vol. 8, No. 4, Apr. 1998, pp. 616-641.

Hopper, Tristin. “Cross-Dressing Nazis: A German Artist Found So Many Photos of Them He Published a Book.” National Post. 2018, Nov 27. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from: https://nationalpost.com/news/cross-dressing-nazis-a-german-artist-found-so-many-photos-of-them-he-published-a-book-about-it

Huebel, Sebastian. “Stolen Manhood? German-Jewish Masculinities in the Third Reich, 1933-1945.” Thesis. University of British Columbia, 2017.

Kühne, Thomas. “Protean Masculinity, Hegemonic Masculinity: Soldiers in the Third Reich.” Central European History. Vol. 51, 2018, pp. 390-418.

Kühne, Thomas. The Rise and Fall of Comradeship: Hitler’s Soldiers, Male Bonding, and Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: University Printing House, 2017.

Loroff, Nicole. “Gender and Sexuality in Nazi Germany.” Constellations. University of Alberta, 2012.

Marhoefer, Laurie. “Among Abnormals: The Queer Sexual Politics of Germany’s Weimar Republic, 1918-1933.” Thesis. State University of New Jersey, 2008.

Marhoefer, Laurie. “Degeneration, Sexual Freedom, and the Politics of the Weimar Republic, 1918-1933.” German Studies Review. Vol. 34, No. 3, 2011, pp. 529-549.

Marhoefer, Laurie. Sex and the Weimar Republic: German Homosexual Emancipation and the Rise of the Nazis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015.

Michael, Robert, and Rosen, Philip. Dictionary of Antisemitism from the Earliest Times to the Present. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2007.

Milton, Giles. Fascinating Footnotes from History. John Murray Publishers, 2010.

Neumann, Boaz. “The Nazis Tolerated Gays. Haaretz. Then Everything Changed.” 2019, Jan 24. Retrieved May 2, 2020, from: https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/holocaust-remembrance-day/.premium.MAGAZINE-the-nazis-tolerated-gays-then-everything-changed-1.6869815

Oyler, Lauren. “A Farewell to Pants: The Role of Cross-dressing During WWI.” Vice. 2016, Feb 11. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ypa8qy/a-farewell-to-pants-the-role-of-cross-dressing-during-wwi

Schneider Hilton, Ella E. Displaced Person: A Girl’s Life in Russia, Germany, and America. Louisiana State University Press, 2004.

Statutory Order of the Leader and Chancellor on the establishment of the Cross of Honour of the German Mother of 16 December 1938. Reich Law Gazette (RGBl) Part I, 1938, No. 224, Page 1923)

Steakley, James. “Homosexuals and the Third Reich.” The Body Politic, 11, January/February, 1974.

Stryker, Susan. Transgender History. Berkely, CA: Seal Press, 2008.

Audio Credits

Podcast theme music mixed from “Gregorian Chant”, “Mystery Sax”, and “There It Is” by Kevin MacLeod

Episode theme music mixed from “Pop Goes the Weasel” by Kevin MacLeod and “Sieg Heil” by LeoHMagic.

Additional music and audio from “Marching 3” by Freesound.org, “Minstrel Guild” by Kevin MacLeod, WWI artillery sounds by ?, and “Angry Crowd Sound Effects” from Visual & Sound FX.

“Berliner Hills 90210” skit mixed using “Beverly Hills 90210 – Intro [HQ]” from Jan Schmelter.

Image Credits

Pride Flag – Wikipedia

Hitler face – Needpix.com

SS Flag – Wikipedia