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DVD Paragraph 175
Rupert Everett narrates this sensitive documentary about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals during World War II. "Paragraph 175" refers to the old German penal code concerning homosexuality, which was used to justify the prosecution of gay men during the war (the code ignored lesbians, still considered viable baby-making vessels). As mere rumor became enough to justify imprisonment, over 100,000 were arrested and between 10,000 and 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. In Paragraph 175, Klaus Müller, a historian from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, sets out to interview the fewer than 10 who are known to remain alive. The film covers the astonishingly quick rise of Hitler (one interviewee points out how ridiculous a figure he seemed at first) and the shock that more liberal Germans felt as it became clear that he was a force to be reckoned with. Some of the film's most touching moments come when the participants reminisce about their first loves and the "homosexual Eden" that was Berlin in the 1930s. This is a beautifully well made documentary that poignantly captures a piece of nearly forgotten history. --Ali Davis
This documentary covers an aspect of the Shoah that isn't well-covered in a lot of the massive literature and films on the topic, the persecution of gay men (most of them from German Christian families) under the Nazi regime. I agree it is a refreshing change of pace to listen to the stories of the people who were among one of the other persecuted groups, even though the Jews of Europe were the primary and by far the greatest casualties. Of the hundred thousand or so gay men arrested and sent to concentration-camps, fewer than ten were known to have been alive at the time this documentary was made, and three of the survivors declined to be interviewed, for reasons that are explained during the audio commentary. Lesbianism wasn't considered a crime under Paragraph 175 and was viewed as a temporary treatable condition, but a handful of lesbians were also arrested or persecuted. This documentary also brings us the story of one lesbian Jewish woman, who was lucky enough to be able to leave Germany for England pretty early on, before things got much worse. And unlike the other survivors of the Shoah, these people were told to keep quiet for decades, not encouraged to tell their stories, not even after 30 or 40 years had passed. They have also never been recognised by the German government as having been Nazi victims, and indeed some, after all they had already been through, were once again arrested under Paragraph 175 in the Fifties and Sixties.
This provides a good general historical overview, as well as telling, poignant, and sensitive remembrances from the people who actually lived through the liberated days of the Weimar Republic and the Nazi repression and horror that followed, although given the age of most of the participants, it's understandable that these interviews aren't incredibly long, and that a lot of things remain unsaid. It seems really unfair to fault the documentary for this reason, since these people were incredibly brave to have survived and then consented decades later to reopen the pain and finally share their stories, but it just feels like it's lacking some substance. Maybe if the film had been a little longer, it would have felt more structured, tighter, even more informative and powerful. The audio commentary does add a little to the film, mostly talking about how they came to take on this project and their experiences filming it, such as how one of the oldest survivors, Heinz (whom they reported had died since the film was shot), had originally wanted to be shown in silhouette but decided against it for vanity reasons when shown the sample image of how he would look, as well as figuring he didn't have that much longer to live and that it wouldn't be such a big deal after all for people to see his face. (And as the commentators pointed out, it would have been a shame if he had gone through with the silhouette idea, since he had such beautiful eyes.) There are also two additional interviews with survivors, as well as some information about New York Films, the company that made this film, along with some movie trailers for some of their other films. And a word of warning--you have to turn the subtitles on yourself; they don't come on automatically as they do in some other films with a lot of foreign dialogue. For some reason, the letter "I" was always capitalised in the subtitles, as in, for example, "Today, It's hard to Imagine..." and "We dId the other thIng too, of course."
"I didn't even know why I was being sent to the camps!"
Paragraph 175 is a powerful documentary that deals with a provocative subject. I just wish filmmakers Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein had fleshed out the subject a bit more. While this film about gay men who were persecuted and imprisoned under the Nazi regime, is in many respects absorbing, the film ultimately suffers from an overly narrow and constricted focus.
Perhaps the problem was that there were just not enough men alive today who were willing to talk about their experiences. From the outset, the pool of interviewees was certainly going to be limited, but also limited is the actual archival footage of life in the concentration camps.
Instead the directors have chosen to pepper the film with well-preserved family photographs, and lively footage of gay and lesbian culture blossoming during the days of the Weimar Republic after WW1. Sensitively narrated by British actor Rupert Everett, Paragraph 175 is all about the German penal code, which was originally enacted in 1871, and later used by the Nazis, to outlaw homosexuality.
The penal code stated: "An unnatural sex act committed between persons of male sex is punishable by imprisonment; the loss of civil rights may also be imposed," But Paragraph 175 was never really enforced until the Nazi's came to power. This documentary centers on six emotional accounts of the most elderly and frail survivors of the concentration camps who, up until now, have repressed their stories.
There's a Jewish gay resistance fighter who posed as a Hitler Youth member to rescue his lover from a Gestapo transfer camp in an ultimately futile effort; a photographer who was arrested and imprisoned for homosexuality, who upon his release joined the army because of the lack of men in his hometown and he "wanted to be with men."
There's a young man who was freed from a sentence at Dachau only to be interned again at Buchenwald, and a Frenchman imprisoned from Alsace, who breaks down after telling of being raped and subject to inhuman torture. Their stories are indeed heart wrenching, because unlike the Jews, they have forced to live quietly, unable to share their horrific experiences for so long.
It is interesting to note that the penal code didn't cover lesbians. The Nazis considered lesbians to be "curable." Women were regarded, as vessels of motherhood - increasing the German population was top priority - therefore, they were exempt from mass arrest. Most lesbians went into exile or quietly married gay men. One woman, who tells her story in the film, was given exit papers and was lucky enough to escape to England.
The statistics are staggering: Between 1933 and 1945, some 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality, roughly half of them were sentenced to prison, and from 10,000 to 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. The camps were used for re-education, slave labor, castration and sadistic medical experiments. It's believed only about 4,000 survived their ordeal.
The situation didn't improve after the war. Paragraph 175 remained in force until the late sixties, so many gay men were re-imprisoned and subject to repeated persecution. In this respect, Epstein and Friedman should be largely commended for bringing this subject to the attention of the world, and telling these powerful personal stories before the last survivors die. Mike Leonard September 05.
Nazi's Socialized Stigma - An Important & Poignant Event...
Homosexuality still raises heated debates, as the homosexual community is struggling for equal rights. Despite contemporary and historical lessons this issue continues to lead to hate crimes in our modern-day and enlightened society. Some still believe that homosexuality is a disease or disorder that can be treated while the American Psychology Association discards this notion. Yet, the stigma remains, as it often is fueled with heated emotions that often rest within people's values and morals. This stigma seems to have divided people into two camps with different opinions; only time and wisdom will help the people in both camps come together.
The documentary, Paragraph 175, is depicted through several archive film clips, which are complemented with several interviews with the few who are still alive when the film was shot. Through these interviews the audience can see the emotion that the survivors display and hear the horrors that they experienced through their trembling voices. The documentary does not disclose much of what happened, but their faces and voices tell more than a thousand words. Shame, anger, and sadness are intertwined in the emotions that are expressed through the interviewees, as they try to tell their story that not many have thought was important during the last 50 years.
The years after World War I was the beginning allowed for a good life for gay men and women in Germany, especially in Berlin, where the gay community blossomed. It was a time when the gay community could live relatively open despite the law of Paragraph 175, which dated back to 1871. Paragraph 175 stated, "An unnatural sex act committed between persons of the male sex or by humans with animals is punishable by imprisonment; the loss of civil rights may also be imposed." The existence of Paragraph 175 left the gay community in danger to extortion and imprisonment. Thus, arose a movement led by Dr. Magnus Hirschfled that attempted to remove this law and help erase some of the stigma in regards to homosexuality. The movement gained a large number of followers, as it seemed that freedom was about to take another historical step forward.
The rise of the Nazi regime in Germany initially seemed to be safe for gay men and women, as Hitler's leader for the storm troops was Ernst Röhm, who was known to be gay. However, several people tauntingly criticized Röhm and the Nazi government. Some went as far as suggesting that the Nazi leaders were all homosexuals. In retrospect, it has been told that Hitler had made a deal with the German military leaders, which entailed that Hitler had to get rid of Röhm, who was considered an embarrassment, if he wanted the German chancellor position. It led to the Night of the Long Knives when Röhm was executed without a trial, as Hitler informed the people that Röhm and some others were planning a coup. It also caused Hitler to enforce Paragraph 175, which was also rewritten a year after Röhm's death.
Darkness and shadow spread quickly around Germany, as the majority of Germany supported Hitler as the new German chancellor. Maybe, this notion could serve as an opportunity to show that a misguided public majority can be very dangerous. In fact, a month after Hitler was in power he order gay meeting places to be closed, which shortly after was followed by the torching of the Reichstag, the German legislative building. Chaos ruled in Germany, as Hitler methodically used the chaos to gain emergency powers from the government. Sanctioned to use force, Hitler began to increase the persecution of Jews and made the Nazi party the only legal party within a six-month span.
Amidst the hatred and the persecution of Jews, homosexuals thought that they were protected by their German heritage. However, many found that their German ethnicity did not protect them, as many were sent off to prison and labor camps while many were also sent to concentration camps. They were forced to wear pink triangles, which marked them as homosexuals. Lesbians were luckier as a decision was made in the Nazi government that women were more important, as they could bare children and help provide a strong nation. Nonetheless, a few lesbians were sent to concentration camps, but their number cannot even compare to the number of gay men that were imprisoned. The reason was that male homosexuality was treated as a contagious disease and female homosexuality was treated more like a short-termed condition.
After the war the Allies did not recognize the gay survivors as they were simply swept aside. The German's continued to enforce the Nazi version of Paragraph 175 until 1967. The shadow of the emotional damage and stigma that the Nazi regime created still affects people today. This stigma might have affected the low number of survivors that have stepped forward for recognition of their suffering. Only ten known survivors existed when this documentary was shot. The year after the documentary was released the German and Swiss Bank compensation program for survivors began to include gay victims, which was in 2001.
Bent debuted onstage in 1979 with Ian McKellen starring in the London production and Richard Gere in its later Broadway version. The film version is adapted by the playwright, Martin Sherman, and closely follows his play's story of two gay concentration camp victims who are sent to Dachau and who fall in love, using their relationship as an emotional crutch in their efforts to rebuff the horror of the Holocaust. Max (Clive Owen), would rather wear a yellow star and proclaim himself a Jew than be lanced with the pink triangle that designates homosexuality. Horst, (Lothaire Bluteau) chastises him for his homophobia. Later the tables turn on Max, who finds--through Horst--the strength both to keep alive indefinitely and to ultimately embrace his sexual identity.
Author Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) wrote Lily Tomlin's narration for this superb documentary, based on a book by the late Vito Russo, about Hollywood's treatment of homosexual characters in the 20th century. Never pointing a finger at anyone in the film community, The Celluloid Closet presents clips from more than 100 mainstream features (including The Children's Hour, Advise and Consent, The Boys in the Band, and The Hunger) that speak loudly in their respective images of gays and lesbians. The film makes a persuasive case for patterns of sexual mythology in Hollywood, such as presenting homosexuals repeatedly as tragic, helpless figures redeemed only through death or as back-street monsters cavorting in the shadows. Things change, of... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Lily Tomlin Director(s): Jeffrey Friedman - Rob Epstein DVD Release Date: Released the 29 May 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A devastatingly skillful and emotionally compelling documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk charts the political rise and brutal slaying of the first openly gay city official in the United State, Harvey Milk. Ironically, the same election that brought Milk to the board of city supervisors of San Francisco also elected the man who killed him, a former police officer and fireman named Dan White. After White shot both Mayor George Moscone and Milk, his defense lawyers convinced the jury that White's judgment was impaired by depression and junk food, resulting in a conviction for manslaughter instead of murder--a verdict that prompted riots. With care and conviction, The Times of Harvey Milk captures not only Milk himself, but also the political and social landscape in ... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Harvey Fierstein Director(s): Rob Epstein DVD Release Date: Released the 08 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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It's a familiar story. Boy meets boy. Boy and boy start an organization to help gays "convert" to straightdom. Boy realizes he's in love with boy, and they leave their group to become outspoken denouncers of the movement.
Okay, so maybe it's not that familiar. Regardless, One Nation Under God is an insightful peek into the world of "ex-gays." Gary and Michael were two founders of Exodus, a ministry devoted to "curing" gays. Religious men, they felt that a gay lifestyle was incompatible with the teachings of the Bible, so they promoted heterosexuality. But despite leading heterosexual lives, the two men realized they were in love with each other. Their commentary anchors this documentary directed by Teodoro Maniaci and Francine Rzeznik. Interviews with the... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Teodoro Maniaci - Francine Rzeznik DVD Release Date: Released the 08 June 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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I remeber this when it was on Television and I had a copy on VHS that I was close to not being able to watch. I was ever so happy to see this wonderful film on DVD and I think that the plot was and is timeless. Kudo's to the entire cast for the roles they chose to play in during a time when it was not as open place for gays. Ken Olin does a wonderful job in every film he produces. I think this is a must for every family with a gay member of as well as every gay person should see this film as the acting is wonderful and I think there is a lot to learn about families and tollerance. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ken Olin DVD Release Date: Released the 07 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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