The Nazi Movement and the Lavender Scare

In the 1920’s and early 1930’s, the Nazi party appealed to many Germans because of the solutions they offered in times of despair. Their party valued unification under one leader to resolve the German economic crisis, restoring the German military, and abrogating the Versailles treaty. The Nazis appealed to the German people because of their demands in lieu of the Versailles treaty and in response to the economic crisis. The Treaty of Versailles had many consequences for Germans including the regulation of the German army and loss of several colonies.

His political party, the Nazi Party, enforced ideas and laws supporting this belief throughout Germany, including the station of Jews in concentration camps. This resulted in the brutal persecution and,

After 1937, it was no longer an option to live a gay life openly since “Nazis increased their efforts to find and prosecute homosexuals.” This now meant that gays could no longer

They were saw as impure to the Germans that had wanted a pure race and thought that they got in the way of the German nation (1). Before the war, Nazis kept lists of questionable homosexuals on lists called "Pink Lists." Nearly 1.2 million known homosexuals were in Germany in 1928 (Persecution 1). At the beginning of the war, brown-shirted troopers raided gay associations and congregations (Mosaic 1). Instead of being organized like the Jews, homosexuals were simply rounded uo and taken to the concentration camps. While in the concentration camps, homosexuals were treated especially harsh (Persecution 1). They were forced to wear pink triangles on their clothing to be easily recognized and for easy humiliation (Brittanica 1). Some homosexuals were raped and others endured brutal medical experiments. To find an easy fix to homosexuality, doctors would try to make them release more male testosterone or put them through castration (Persecution 1). Because Hitler hated homosexuals so much, he even sent suspected gay SS men to camps in their uniforms. Nearly 15,000 homosexuals were killed during World War II (Holocaust 1). Although lesbian bars were shut down, there was no precise killing of them (Brittanica

The main goal of the Nazis pertaining to the European Jews was that of total extermination. At the yearly party rally held in Nuremberg in 1935, the Nazis announced new laws which regulated a large number of the racial speculations common in Nazi philosophy. Two distinct laws passed in Nazi Germany in September 1935 are referred to on a whole as the Nuremberg Laws: the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Assurance of German Blood and German Honor. These laws epitomized large portions of the racial hypotheses supporting Nazi philosophy. They would give the legitimate structure to the orderly abuse of Jews in Germany. The laws rejected German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood." Ancillary ordinances to the laws disenfranchised Jews and denied them of most political rights.

The Nazis’s need to blame others, new laws, Nazi propaganda, and the planning for wartime all were key ingredients in the transition from merely persecuting Jews to wanting to exterminate them all. Isolating

The Lavender Scare was the name given to the systematic dismissal of a thousand homosexual government workers implemented by the US State Committee. The source that describes the reason for their dismissal was a report on December 15, 1950 by the US State committee. Its assertion against homosexuals hinges on the opinions of contemporary authorities such as doctors, psychologist, law enforcement and various other specialists of human behavior. The consensus created from these experts describes homosexuality as psychologically created, an emotional stunted individual, and was curable but requires the effort of the homosexual individual. These views present the fear of anything that does not adhere to the strict definitions of gender roles, and

During the Holocaust, the persecution of homosexuals were ignored, but they had not only been persecuted by German Soldiers. There were also reports of most people from the gay community were beaten to death. German soldiers had made some of the people from the gay community wear a pink triangle, and used them for target practice. Female homosexuality was not technically a crime, and thus gay women were not treated as poorly as gay men. Still, there are reports of gay women being imprisoned for their sexuality. Most would have been imprisoned for other reasons, i.e. “antisocial” behavior.

In 1933 Adolf Hitler was chosen as Chancellor of Germany by president Paul von Hindenburg. With this, the Nazi party came to power. Originally called the National Socialist German Workers party (Nazi for short), the Nazi party emphasized how Laissez-faire capitalism, economic liberalism, and democracy failed in government. The National Socialists stressed the importance of the impeccability of the German race. Although they had very determined ideas, The Nazi party began as a relatively small group in 1918. But coming into the 1930’s this was not the case. The widespread use of propaganda and radio broadcasting were instrumental to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party.

The background of homosexuality in the 1940’s and 50’s was harsh, but people started to be opened toward the rights. There were criticisms toward homosexuality in the early days of Milk. Gay men carried the labels of mentally ill or

Although denunciations were not confined to just homosexuality, it played a significant role of controlling the behavior of society and further enhancing the role of the Gestapo and S.S. Denunciations took place in all major parts of society, such as households, workplace, bars, and other areas of public gatherings. In the household, if anyone is suspected of homosexuality, their family members will denounce them in hope to limit the amount of persecution. However, little did they know the amount of harsh interrogation their family member had to face, from torture to even facing death. There was an instance when a mother denounced her own two sons in hope for less persecution, however, they both were subject to death (Herzog 123). Whatever the case, these denunciations were to be made to the Gestapo.

The Holocaust occurred during World War II. It began in January 30, 1933, when Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany. The Nazi’s, or National Socialists, was Hitler’s party. He became head of the party in 1921, right after the defeat of Germany in World War I. The Nazi party was mainly based on nationalism and racism. They promoted Aryan (German) supremacy and a plan to restore Germany to its greatness. Their one goal was to purify Germany. This plan was known as the “final Solution”. Numerous groups were persecuted, tortured, forced into labor camps, raped, and killed. These groups include Jews, Slavs, Roma, Jehovah’s Witness, homosexuals, disabled, and anyone who opposed Germany 's political or religious views. Jews were the main target of the Holocaust for many reasons; one being that the Nazi’s had a distorted view of history and the Jews intentions (“Holocaust”). They believed the Jews

     The Nazi Party also known as the National Socialist German Workers’ Party was the leading political party in Germany during World War 2. The Nazi Party was originally the German Workers' Party, but after Adolf Hitler took power and began speaking of Anti-Semitism and promoting Nationalism and an Aryan Race it was renamed. The Nazi party took over Germany in 1933, they would later ban all other political parties. The first concentration camps were created for political prisoners. these camps would later turn into death camps for jews and other groups of people the Nazi party thought was unfit for new Germany. The Nazi party would also take away gun right from all groups they would later put in concentration camps

Many people hold the misconception that the Nazis died out after World War II. However, Nazis are still a political party. They share the same hatred for Jews and other minorities, and the love and idolization for Hitler and Nazi Germany. They are more often referred to as Neo-Nazis. They are protected under the United States’ first

The most widely known aspects of Nazi ideology are their hatred of Jewish people and their tireless efforts to exterminate the entire race during their rule. This distinctly Nazi belief of antisemitism is not one that the Nazis created. It instead had existed for several thousand years throughout Germany and all of Europe. As Stackelberg and Winkle explain, “The origins of the stereotype of Jews as immoral materialists can be traced to the unwillingness of Jews to give up their religion in favor of world-renouncing Christianity” (Stackelberg and Winkle, Anti-Semitism, p. 2). This feeling of hatred towards Jews persisted for centuries, especially in countries that had a majority of Christian citizens. There were a number of people that continually perpetuated these anti-Semitic views with the works that they published and their actions towards Jews. A great