Literature on Hammerschlag

Homosexuals as a Victim Group under the Nazis

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The knowledge now widely accepted regarding the persecution of gay men under National Socialism was first addressed in the mid-1970s, initially within the gay rights movement and later among the general public.

The first program of the theater group “Brühwarm” from 1976 included a scene that addressed this persecution. The authors Hans-Georg Stümke and Rudi Finkler, who were also active in the Hamburg gay rights movement, published the monograph Rosa Winkel, Rosa Listen. Homosexuals and “Healthy Public Sentiment” from Auschwitz to the Present.

Police Decoys in Quentin Crisp's The Naked Civil Servant (1968)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The British gay eccentric Quentin Crisp writes the following about police decoys in public restrooms in his 1968 book The Naked Civil Servant (translated into German in 1988 as Crisperanto):

CW: racist stereotypes, the N-word

The main area of operation for this particular strategy was the dimly lit public restrooms in the less densely populated areas of London. While a plainclothes detective paced back and forth across the street with watchful indifference, his accomplice—selected by superiors for his natural, job-appropriate physique—stood there at the urinal and “showed off”—he displayed his DIY apparatus to anyone who happened to walk in. (One cannot imagine what an equipment inspection—which would, after all, have to take place before every shift—would look like.) The trap worked well, and many of the most unbelievable people were lured to their doom in this manner. More recently, now that everyone is familiar with these maneuvers, they have fallen out of fashion. Common knowledge robs them of their effect. They also offend the sporting instinct of the British people. They are seen as a trick, like placing a diamond bracelet on the sidewalk and pouncing from ambush on anyone who bends down to pick it up. Almost exclusively, it was borderline cases that were caught. Those whose idea of a pleasant evening consisted of wandering from one “gentleman” to another quickly learned to recognize a cop even by touch. People who had never heard of homosexuality but whose natural curiosity was aroused by any manifestation of strange human behavior were put in such danger by these police techniques. Even if you had a good night, asking the officer what on earth he was doing there would certainly lead to arrest; if it was a bad night, a brief glance in his direction was enough. The worst consequence of the decoy system , however, was that for a police officer assigned to such a post who happened to have no sympathy for gay men, aversion quickly turned into the most savage hatred. Conversely, gay men who originally feared the police—which some might consider a good thing—now developed contempt for them.

Rüdiger Trautsch »Hardly Anyone Did It Out of Love!«

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Rüdiger Trautsch, who was closely associated with the Café TucTuc from 1979 to 1981, studied photography at the Academy of Fine Arts during that time. For his thesis project, “Hardly Anyone Did It Out of Love!”, he staged scenes from the everyday life of an ordinary gay man (Martin Dannecker and Reimut Reiche).

The large-format booklet feels substantial in the hand; with ample white space and a deliberately balanced placement of text and images, Trautsch gives his protagonist Reinhold—a middle-aged window dresser—the space he needs to stroll through the IGA wearing makeup, receive a visit from his aunt, cruise through parks and cruising spots, and dance through the nightlife in a grand evening gown. A touching portrait.

Felix Rexhausen's »Dienstlich Unterwegs«; (Männerschwarm)

Fri, 01 Jan 1982 00:00:00 +0000

In his anthology Die Märchenklappe, author Felix Rexhausen publishes the text “On Official Business,” in which he captures the thoughts of a fictional police officer assigned to observe homosexuals from the police box at Spielbudenplatz. In contrast to his disinterested colleague, he seems to have a voyeuristic curiosity about the “view of Pissburg” (p. 64): “It’s crazy boring here today. Sure, still better than running around outside in this weather or sitting in the patrol car. But otherwise, I kind of liked it better; I always enjoy coming here.” (p. 65)

Literature on Hammerschlag

Homosexuals as a Victim Group under the Nazis

Police Decoys in Quentin Crisp's *The Naked Civil Servant* (1968)

Rüdiger Trautsch »Hardly Anyone Did It Out of Love!«

Felix Rexhausen's »Dienstlich Unterwegs«; (Männerschwarm)

Police Decoys in Quentin Crisp's The Naked Civil Servant (1968)