A HISTORY OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN EUROPE VOLUME I & II

A HISTORY OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN EUROPE Volume I & II BERLIN, LONDON, PARIS 1919-1939 Florence Tamagne Algora Publishing New York

 2006 by Algora Publishing. All Rights Reserved www.algora.com No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976) may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the express written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 0-87586-355-8 (softcover) ISBN: 0-87586-356-6 (hardcover) ISBN: 0-87586-357-4 (ebook) Originally published as Histoire de l'homosexualit. en Europe, .ditions Seuil, 2 000 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tamagne, Florence, 1970[ Histoire de l'homosexualite en Europe. English] A history of homosexuality : Europe between the wars / by Florence Tamagne. p. cm. Translation of: Histoire de l'homosexualite en Europe. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-87586-279-9 (hard) ISBN 0-87586-278-0 (trade paper) 280-2 (e-book) 1. Homosexuality Europe History 20th century. I. Title. HQ76.3.E8T3513 2003 306.76'6'0940904 dc22 2003027409 This work is published with the support of the French Ministry of Culture/National Book Center of France Front Cover: Otto Dix, Eldorado, aquarelle, 1927 Berlinische Galerie, Berlin,. Archives AKG, Paris, ADAGP. Paris 2000 Printed in the United States

ISBN 087586-

A History of Homosexuality in Europe (1919-1939) was originally published in France by Editions du Seuil; this is the second volume of the English translatio n. Volume I introduces the first glimmerings of tolerance for homosexuality around the turn of the last century, quickly squelched by the trial of Oscar Wil de which sent a chill throughout the cosmopolitan centers of the world. Then, a variety of factors came together in the aftermath of World War I to forge a climate that was more permissive and open. The Roaring Twenties are sometimes seen, in retrospect, as having been a golden age for homosexuals and lesbians; and the literary output of the era shows why. However, a different dynamic was also taking shape, and the second volume explores how that played out. The Depression, the rise of fascist movements, and a counter-reaction against what were seen as the excesses of the post-war era contributed to a crackdown on homosexuals, and new forms of repression emerged. What happened to homosexuals during and after World War II has been described in other books; here, Florence Tamagne traces the different trends in Germany, England and France in the period leading up to that cataclysm and provides important background to any understanding of the later events.

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD 1 INTRODUCTION 3 THE HISTORY OF HOMOSEXUALITY: A NEW AND CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY 3 RESEARCH IN HOMOSEXUALITY: METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS 6 PART ONE 11 A BRIEF APOGEE: THE 1920S, A FIRST HOMOSEXUAL LIBERATION 11 THE HOMOSEXUAL BETWEEN DANDY AND MILITANT 11 CHAPTER ONE 13 A MYTH IS BORN: THOSE FLAMBOYANT DAYS 13 LOOKING BACK: 1869-1919 13 One Scandal after Another 14 The Shock of the First World War 19 The homosexual, a traitor to the fatherland 20 The front as a school in homosexuality 21 The war casts open the blinds 25 THE HOMOSEXUAL SCENE: SUBVERSIVE LANGUAGE 28 Homosexual Talk: from Slang to Camp 28 Dandies and Flappers: Homosexuals Have Style 31 MAGICAL CITIES, MYTHICAL CITIES: THE GEOGRAPHY OF WHERE TO MEET 36 Berlin, A Homosexual Capital 37 The male scene 38 The female scene 39 Triumph of the amateurs 42 London, or the Glamour of Uniforms 45 Not much of scene at all 45 Pick-ups and prostitutes 47 Paris, Montmartre, and Getting Caught 50 Dance time 50 Night life 53 ix

A History of Homosexuality in Europe CHAPTER TWO 59 LIBERATION ON THE MOVE: THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOMOSEXUAL MOVEMENTS 59 THE GERMAN MODEL: COMMUNITARIANISM AND MILITANCY 59 Magnus Hirschfeld, Prefiguring the Militant Identity 60 The Beginnings of the WhK (1897-1914) 60 The apogee and decline of the WhK (1919-1933) 63 Assessing Magnus Hirschfeld s record 67 Adolf Brand and Der Eigene, An Elite and Aesthetic Homosexuality 69 Homosexual Magazines and Popular Organizations 73 Der Deutsche Freundschaftsverband 74 Der Bund f.r Menschenrecht 75 Lesbians, at the fringes of the homosexual movement 77 THE GERMAN MODEL AS AN INFLUENCE ON HOMOSEXUAL MOVEMENTS 81 The World League for Sexual Reform: A Homosexual Internationale? 81 A Lackluster Performance on the Part of English Activists 85 Edward Carpenter, socialist utopian and homosexual 85 British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology (BSSP): A timid reformism 88 THE FRENCH WAY: INDIVIDUALISM COMES UP SHORT 89 Marcel Proust, Witness of Days Long Past 89 Andr. Gide, A Militant Homosexual? 94 Inversion, An Isolated Attempt at a Homosexual Review 102 CHAPTER THREE 105 AN INVERSION OF VALUES: THE CULT OF HOMOSEXUALITY 105 SEDUCED IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 106 The Public Schools, Fostering the Cult of Homosexuality 107 Ambiguities in the System 110 Paradise Lost: The English Model 115 TWO GENERATIONS OF HOMOSEXUAL INTELLECTUALS 125 The First Homosexual Generation: Precursors 125 Cambridge and the Apostles 125 Bloomsbury 127 The Second Homosexual Generation: The Apogee 130 The Succeeding Generation 130 Oxford 132 Escape to Germany 140 PART TWO 149 UNACKNOWLEDGED FEARS AND DESIRES: 149 AMBIGUOUS SPEECH AND STEREOTYPED IMAGES 149 HOMOSEXUALS BECOME COMMONPLACE DURING THE INTER-WAR PERIOD 149 CHAPTER FOUR 151 AWAKENING: WORKING TO CONSTRUCT A HOMOSEXUAL IDENTITY 151 x

Table of Contents THE MEDICAL MODEL: AN IDENTITY IMPOSED FROM OUTSIDE 152 The Doctors Intrude 152 Medicine at the Service of Homosexuals 156 Psychoanalytical Shock 158 BEING HOMOSEXUAL: PROCLAIMING AN IDENTITY 164 An Early Revelation 165 Homosexual Discomfort 166 Asserting Oneself 169 A Generational Example: Thomas and Klaus Mann 171 DEFINING ONESELF AS A LESBIAN AN IDENTITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION 175 The Dominant Model and Alternatives 176 Radclyffe Hall 176 Natalie Barney and Colette 179 Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf 182 Individual Answers 184 Ignorance 184 Assuming an identity 186 Self rejection 190 THE BIRTH OF A HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY? 192 Sharing a Common Culture 192 Solidarity and Exclusion 200 CHAPTER FIVE 207 BREAKING THE SILENCE: HOMOSEXUALS AND PUBLIC OPINION 207 THE WEIGHT OF PREJUDICES 208 Guardians of Traditional Morals 208 The Churches 208 The public authorities 211 The press 212 Greater Tolerance? 219 Sensitive Topics 222 It s the feminists fault 222 Protecting young people 228 The stranger among us 236 HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE WINDS OF FASHION 239 Popular Fears and Fantasies: The Homosexual and the Lesbian in Literature 239 Homosexual and Lesbian Archetypes 239 A Raft of Novels 242 The Homosexual as a Symbol of Modernity 250 A Vague Homoeroticism: Youth and Androgyny 253 CHAPTER SIX 261 HOMOSEXUALS AS POLITICAL CHIPS 261 HOMOSEXUALS IN THE POLITICAL ARENA 262 The Fantasy of the Working-Class Lover 262 Homosexual as Leftist Activists 268 xi

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Pacifism 270 Communism and the far left 271 A Fascistic Fascination? 276 An .litist and aristocratic homosexuality 276 Erotic and aesthetic appeal 278 MISUNDERSTANDING OR BETRAYAL? THE LEFT SHIFTS BETWEEN PURITANISM AND OPPORTUNISM 279 The Soviet Illusion 280 Support from the Anarchists 282 The Confused Line of the German Left 285 The SPD and the KPD, allies of the homosexual movements 285 Homosexuality at the heart of party politics 287 GENEALOGY OF A CRIME: HOMOSEXUALITY AS A FASCISTIC PERVERSION 290 The Myth of the M.nnerbund 290 Hysterical Homophobia 293 Pragmatism and Scapegoats 295 Racism and sexuality 295 The R.hm case 297 PART THREE 303 A FACTITIOUS TOLERANCE: LOSING GROUND UNDER THE REPRESSION OF THE 1930S 303 CHAPTER SEVEN 305 CRIMINALS BEFORE THE LAW 305 REACTIONARY ENGLAND (1919-1939) 305 The Legal Situation 306 The Organization of Repression 307 Changes in sentencing for homosexuality 307 Police methods 309 Case studies 314 The Conference on homosexual crimes of May 7, 1931 316 The Obsession with Lesbians: The Temptation to Repress 318 The draft legislation of 1921 318 The trial of Radclyffe Hall 320 Extraordinary Women 322 WEIMAR GERMANY, PERMISSIVENESS AND REPRESSION (1919-1933) 324 The Legal Context 324 Institutional Waffling: Draft Laws Come and Go 325 Real Repression 326 Changes in sentencing 326 The police play disturbing games 328 Case studies 330 Censorship 335 FRENCH HOMOSEXUALS OUT ON PROBATION (1919-1939) 336 Was France the Land of Homosexual Tolerance? 336 Homosexuality Unknown to French Law 337 xii

Table of Contents The judges are interested 337 Censorship 338 Homosexuals under Surveillance 341 The Homosexual as an ordinary delinquent 341 Homosexuality and prostitution: military surveillance 343 CHAPTER EIGHT 355 THE END OF A DREAM: THE GERMAN MODEL BLOWS UP 355 1933-1935: DESTRUCTION OF THE GERMAN MODEL 356 You re Fired 356 First Victims: Corrupters of Youth and Male Prostitutes 359 Beefing Up the Legislation 361 The new 175 361 Lesbians 362 1935-1939: THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL TERROR 365 Stronger Repression 365 Centralization and rationalization of the campaign against homosexuality 366 Tighter sentencing (1935-1939) 367 Practices of the police and the judiciary 369 Some Specific Cases 372 Homosexuality in the Hitlerjugend and the SS 373 Homosexuality in the Wehrmacht 376 Homosexuality as a way of eliminating opponents 377 Rehabilitation or Eradication ? 379 Elimination by Labor 380 Curing and castrating 384 THE LATE 1930S: FRENCH AND ENGLISH HOMOSEXUALS IN A TURMOIL 388 Homosexuality Goes Out of Fashion 388 Depopulation 388 Decadence and decline 389 Turning Inward 392 German Exiles 395 POSTFACE 399 TOWARD HOMOSEXUAL LIBERATION 399 CONCLUSION 403 PROGRESS OR INCREASED REPRESSION? 403 NATIONAL INTERACTIONS, CONVERGENCES AND DISTINCTIONS 403 Questions: The Nature and Style of Homosexuality in the Inter-war Period 405 APPENDIX I. STATISTICS 409 ENGLAND: CHANGES IN HOMOSEXUAL CRIMES BETWEEN 1919 AND 1940 409 GERMANY: CHANGES IN HOMOSEXUAL CRIMES BETWEEN 1919 AND 1939 415 APPENDIX II. SONGS 420 THE LILA LIED, GERMANY S LESBIAN ANTHEM 420 xiii

A History of Homosexuality in Europe FRANCE S 421 APPENDIX III. GERMAN LEGISLATION ON HOMOSEXUALITY 422 175 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW CODE 422 DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1909 422 ALTERNATIVE DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1911 422 DRAFT LEGISLATION OF THE COMMISSION OF 1913 422 DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1919 423 DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1925 (THE REICHSRAT VERSION) 423 GOVERNMENT BILL OF 1927 (REICHSTAG VERSION) 423 DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1933 424 LAW OF 1935 425 APPENDIX IV. DR. CARL VAERNET S EXPERIMENTS AT BUCHENWALD (1944) 426 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 429 PRIMARY SOURCES 429 A. Archives 429 B. Print Sources 431 C. Testimonies 444 SECONDARY SOURCES 446 A. France, England and Germany in the Twenties and Thirties: reference works 446 B. History of Homosexuality 449 C. STUDIES ON INTELLECTUALS AND PROMINENT HOMOSEXUALS OF THE PERIOD 454 xiv LAVENDER SONG, LA CHANSON MAUVE

FOREWORD This work is the Institute of a, entitled, Research on e 1920s to the , medical and literary the English-language translation of a doctoral thesis presented to Political Studies of Paris, under the direction of Jean-Pierre Az.m Homosexuality in France, England and Germany from the beginning of th end of the 1930s, based on information from partisan, police, legal sources January 1998.

The question of language is at the heart of this study and problems of vocabular y frequently occurred. It was common, in the inter-war period, to employ terms suc h as invert or pederasts to indicate homosexuals. The author elected to use those terms whenever they occurred in a historical perspective and signified a nuance of ide ntity, often used by homosexuals themselves, without inducing negative connotations. It would be anachronistic to use the term gays to refer to homosexuals in the context of th e 1920s and 1930s; and to make the reading easier, the full phrase homosexuals and lesbia ns is not always repeated when both groups are indicated sometimes homosexual is used in a generic sense. Lastly, it is quite clear that although we may attach the te rm homosexual or lesbian to specific people s names, that does not necessarily mean that they regarded themselves as such. Quotations were used extensively, as the best means of recreating the climate of the era and bringing the first-person accounts to life. This inevitably presents challenges, as most had to be translated into French, by the author; or into English, for th is edition; or both. Where possible, idioms in the source language have been preserved in order to avoid distorting the meaning; in some cases, English sources have been rendered as ind irect quotes set off by dashes since it would be impractical to repeat the entire rese arch project from scratch. 1

INTRODUCTION THE HISTORY OF HOMOSEXUALITY: A NEW AND CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY Sexuality holds a place at the heart of human societies. However, the history of sexuality is quite a new field of study.1 It stands at the crossroads of several disciplin es history, sociology, ethnology, anthropology, medicine and so this history is sti ll finding its way, oscillating between embarrassed silence and tempestuous logorrhea. Disc ussions of sexuality have usually been sheepish or provocative, seldom neutral and objec tive. In fact, sexuality is not fixed and certain, independent of any context; quite to t he contrary, its position within a society reveals the relations of forces, the founding myth s, the underlying tensions, and the insurmountable taboos. To Michel Foucault, the very concept of sexuality is an ideological construction. Every form of society would, in fact, have its own corresponding attitude toward sexuality. The concept of sexuality is not only determined by culture, but also by class an d gender. Thus, the traditional (so-called middle-class ) schema of sexuality is the monogamist heterosexual family. It may be associated with economic considerations (the woman does not work), ideological considerations (the woman does not have indepe ndent sexuality, she must embody the image of the eternal female and conform to her womanly role ), and political considerations (the family is a factor of stability w ithin society). This conformist model was spread from the middle class to the working class starting around the end of the 19th century, as a result of the bourgeoisie s effo rts to impose morality upon the masses. Under this highly restrictive definition of the sexual standard, any form of sexuality not conforming to that pattern was categorized a s abnormal. Thus, under the combined pressures of religion, medicine, the law and morality, specific types were born: the child who masturbates, the hysterical wo man, the congenital prostitute, the homosexual. 1. See Denis Peschanski, Micha.l Pollak and Henry Rousso, Histoire politique et sciences sociales, Bruxelles, Complexe, 1991, 285 pages; Jacques Le Goff (dir.), La Nouvelle Histoi re, Bruxelles, Complexe, 1988, 334 pages. 3

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The history of sexuality cuts across many fields of human activity and history: it touches on the history of morals, changing attitudes, and in particular how our imagination has shifted over time: the history of representation, as well as the history of medicine, the law, the police, religion and, of course, political history. Literary histor y, art history, and the history of language also add to the picture. Attitudes toward s exuality can only be understood in a broad context. The history of sexuality, and thus th e history of homosexuality, cannot be described in social terms alone. It sheds light on f ields that seem to be quite unrelated, and gives us a better understanding of specific peri ods. This richness is, at the same time, its principal difficulty; the sources are many, a nd varied, and it is not immediately apparent that they are related to each other. Working to s ynthesize all these inputs, the historian sometimes realizes that he has ventured onto gro unds which are foreign to him, like medicine and anthropology. As is true for any his tory of social attitudes, the historian must make an effort not to apply ulterior values to the population under study. He must also be fully conscious of his own prejudices and acquired views related to his education, his gender, his lifestyle, his social and cultur al origin and his personal experience. Then we must consider whether the sources are neutral. In the field of social attitudes, representations and public opinion, we are constantly dealing with subjective documents and with personal testimonies, from which it is someti mes difficult to draw conclusions. Extensive use of historical literature as evidenc e can likewise entail involuntary distortions. With a question like homosexuality, esp ecially, one may encounter silence, a lack of evidence, or false evidence. Thus with all humility it must be admitted that an ideal neutrality cannot be attained in the history of s exuality, nor even perhaps the approximate truth much less in the history of homosexuality . We must be aware of that; but that does not mean we have to throw in the towel. The re is a minimal truth that is worth seeking, exposing and analyzing. And that is what I will attempt to do in this work. Homosexuality can be defined simply as a form of sexuality in which sexual attraction is directed toward a person of the same sex. That is a minimal defini tion which, nonetheless, raises various problems.2 Indeed, we must specify what such a defin ition covers: will we consider as homosexuals and lesbians those people who are attrac

ted only by individuals of their own sex, or will we also include bisexuals, who may be e qually attracted by both sexes or who may have relations with both sexes? This is a rea l problem for, due to social constraints, many homosexuals have led a parallel lives, givi ng the appearance of being heterosexual. By the same token, for us to acknowledge that a person is homosexual, is it absolutely necessary that he should have had sexual relatio ns with a person of his own gender or is it enough that he should have felt a purely plato nic attraction? That presents another sizable problem: the term homosexual is a recent invention and does not really apply very well to the passionate friendships, fem ale as well 2. This is not the place to make a detailed analysis of the various theories on homosexuality. For a general view, refer to Michel Foucault, History of the sexuality, t.I, La Volo nt. de savoir, Paris, Gallimard, 1976, 211 pages; for English and American theories, see Kenneth Plumm er, The Making of the Modern Homosexual, London, Hutchinsons, 1981, 380 pages, and David F. Greenberg, The Construction of Homosexuality, Chicago, the University of Chicago Press, 1988, 635 pages. Guy Ho cquenghem is also interesting: Le D.sir homosexuel, Paris, .ditions universitaires, 1972, 125 page s. For anthropological research on the origins of homosexuality, see Evelyn Blackwood, The Many Faces o f Homosexuality, New York, Harrington Park Press, 1986, 217 pages. 4

Introduction as male, of the 18th and 19th centuries. Still, should we exclude certain people from the study just because they did not see themselves as homosexual? These questions are at the center of research on homosexuality, and the various answers that may be given often indicate an ideological standpoint. The very res trictive definition of homosexuality and lesbianism that is sometimes adopted in militant homosexual writings demonstrates a strong political desire to tie homosexual communities to a clear and exclusive identity, in complete opposition to the dominant heterosexua l society. That is a phenomenon of withdrawal and rejection appropriate for a minority that wants to persist against a hostile and not very understanding majority. Thus Susan Cav in states that the feminine account of feminine events is ideally represented by feminist lesbians and separatist lesbians.3 Certainly, she has a point. Until recent years the his tory of homosexuality remained terra incognita, and the terms homosexual or lesbian rarely came up at all, except to spice up a joke or to ruin someone s reputation. It took the rem arkable works of homosexual historians like Jeffrey Weeks, Lilian Faderman, and Claudia Schoppmann to discover whole facets of social history that had been completely o bscure. Furthermore, many studies on homosexuals leave out lesbians altogether, so that their history is even more overlooked. Still, we must avoid going to the opposite extreme. The quite understandable desire of the gay community to take over homosexual history sometimes leads to a revanchist history, over-emphasizing the ghetto and awarding good and bad points depending on the degree of subservience to an exclusive concept of homosexuality. That lea ds to tiresome debates on whether so-and-so was actually homosexual, especially if we are talking about inter-war period. Virginia Woolf, for example, might be hailed by some as a complete, almost militant lesbian, an example for the lesbians of her era, where as others refuse to regard her as such because she was married and she never defined herse lf as lesbian. Both positions seek to deny the complexity of human behavior and to red uce it to a preconceived model, one that lends support to one camp or another. This presen ts two clear dangers: the dilution of the concept of homosexuality in the infinite vari ation of individual experiences, and the ghetto-ization of homosexuality, since the term could no longer be applied to any but a very restricted group of individuals who satisfy all the political criteria of homosexuality: exclusive attraction, complete sexual relat ions,

affirmed identity, overt militancy. The history of homosexuality has to consider the distinction between homosexual conduct, which is universal, and homosexual identity, which is specific and temp oral. Homosexuals do not necessarily define themselves as such, even if they find peop le of their own sex attractive or have sexual relations with them.4 By the same token, society will not necessarily distinguish an individual in terms of his sexual practices. 3. Susan Cavin, Lesbian Origins, San Francisco, Ism Press, 1989, 288 pages, p.17 . 4. Some were quite unaware of the very concept of homosexuality; that was very m uch the case before the end of the 19th century. Some considered that trait in their personal ity as generally meaningless, unimportant, and uninteresting; that attitude, too, was prevalent before the 20t h century. Others flatly rejected the term homosexual because they felt it reflected characte ristics that they did not share that includes prostitute, and prisoners who practiced homosexualit y for reasons of circumstance, but otherwise considered themselves heterosexual. Then, the proble m of vocabulary is such that some men might admit they love other men, but reject the label of homos exual because they see it as having effeminate connotations. 5

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The term homosexual itself can be perfectly pegged to a specific space and time. It appeared in the 19th century, in Europe, and gradually took hold more broadly . It seems to have been invented by the Hungarian Karoly Maria Kertbeny, in 1869 and it bec ame more widespread after it was taken up by the medical community. Until that point in time, society did not distinguish the people, but the acts. Sodomy was condemned in many countries. Until 1939, the term homosexual was scarcely ever used and it only slowly gained currency. It competed with other terms, in particular invert and uran ist. These changes of vocabulary are not trivial: on the contrary, they testify to a shift in how the phenomenon was perceived, by society as well as by homosexuals themselves. U ntil the end of the 19th century only pejorative terms, insults, were used to indicat e such people; homosexuality as a practice was not distinguished from sodomy. By employ ing the term homosexual, doctors wanted to affirm their objective view of the phenomen on, their scientific approach, and their lack of prejudice. By adopting this vocabul ary, homosexuals achieved a fundamental identity, but that was a step fraught with consequences: they also fell into a scientific and medical category and they seemed to amalgam ate the word with the concept as it was defined by heterosexual society. The adoption of the term gay marked an important turning point in the second half of the 20th century. This choice illustrated the desire to get away from the pejorative and degrading conn otations of the term homosexual, and to reaffirm the homosexual identity only as a communit y, using non-value-laden language. The history of homosexuality is not the history of sexual conduct, which is prac tically unvarying;5 rather, it consists in studying the relations between homosexuals an d society and observing the answers homosexuals have developed in order to affirm their identity. At the same time, one begins to wonder about homosexual identity and t he validity of categorizing individuals according to their sexual practices. This i s why I chose to adopt a broad definition of homosexuality. I regarded as being relevant to my t opic any person having had homosexual liaisons, even temporary, even platonic ones. S imilarly, in the context of representation and interpretation, I explored very broadly the topic of homoeroticism, i.e. a diffuse, even unconscious, attraction between peo ple of the same sex.

RESEARCH IN HOMOSEXUALITY: METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS Choosing to study homosexuality from a comparative viewpoint may seem to add an unnecessary complication. Why, indeed, not focus on just one country and stud y it thoroughly? Experience guided my choice. In an earlier work,6 I concentrated my research on homosexuality in England (1919-1933).7 It seemed obvious, then, that the fate of English homosexuals had been largely influenced by the example of Germany. Thus it became appropriate to study the two countries in parallel. On the other hand, in my 5. Of course, this is relative. There are sexual fashions that come and go. In E ngland, for example, homosexual relations evolved; during the Victorian era, child molestation enjoye d a considerable vogue. The practices of reciprocal masturbation, fellatio, and co.tus contra ven trem were often preferred over sodomy. 6. Florence Tamagne, L Homosexualit. en Angleterre, 1919-1933, DEA d histoire du xxe si.cle, under the direction of Anthony Rowley, IEP de Paris, 1991-1992, 188 pages. 6

Introduction readings, France appeared only anecdotally. That struck me as odd, and not very logical: in the political and intellectual fields, France of the 1920s and 1930s was a gu iding light in Europe, if only because of the influence of Proust and Gide. It thus seemed to m e that it would be instructive to include France in the study. Then, using the three count ries as representative examples, one might draw a map of homosexuality in the inter-war period, define models, understand the interactions and perhaps distinguish some common ground and find the commonalities in the thinking and the lifestyles common to h omosexuality in all three countries. In the 1920s and 1930s, all three countries occupied a choice place on the Europ ean and international political scene. All three had taken part in the First World W ar. All three came out of it shaken . although, obviously, Germany s situation was special . Shortly after the war, the three countries considered themselves liberal democra cies equipped with parliamentary systems. Lastly, they were in constant interaction e conomically, commercially, politically, militarily, socially and culturally; so that it was n o arbitrary decision to look at them all together. Homosexuality, when it is studied, is often considered over the long term. Many works set out to embrace the history of homosexuality from Antiquity to the curr ent day, pretending thus to imply that the subject is easily reducible and that changes o ccur only over the centuries, or even the millennia. Studying homosexuality over the long term means ignoring sudden changes and any characteristics specific to the period. Fo r my part, I set out to prove that homosexuality is a historical phenomenon that unfo lds within a given political, economic and social context, and that it can be understood on ly in the light of events that are both internal and external to the homosexual community. The choice of the period proved to be a determining factor. From the English example , I had become convinced that the inter-war years constituted a crucial era, for homosex uals as well as for the concept of homosexuality. The end of the First World War opened a period of hitherto unknown homosexual liberation, the echo of which has survived until today in a fragmentary and largely mythologized way in the homosexual culture. T hen again, the 1920s do not seem to have recorded major advances for the homosexual community. Furthermore, during the 1930s a particularly intense program of anti-homosexual

repression was inaugurated under the Nazi regime in Germany. After the Second Wo rld War, the very notion of a homosexual golden age had disappeared and the fate of homosexuals in the concentration camps had become taboo. Twenty years of homosexual life had been wiped away. In fact, until very recently, the history of homosexuality during the inter-war period was almost completely blacked out, and the focus was placed ins tead on the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the post-war period. We are starting to question that convention, and the specific conditions of the inter-war period increasingly appear to be crucial for the history of homosexual ity. This reversal of perspective comes from German historiography. The fact that homosexu als were sent to the concentration camps, and certain medical experiments that were conducted upon them, threw a sinister shadow over the history of homosexuality in Germany 7. The topic was in fact limited to England and Wales, because Scotland and Ulst er didn't have the same legislation concerning homosexuality. Besides, Scotland and Ulster were special cases. The two regions would have required a far more in-depth survey, which seems at prese nt very difficult, given the extreme scarcity of sources. 7

A History of Homosexuality in Europe and inspired some major research projects. In France and England, a similar inte rest in the period has not yet evolved; thus, it was essential to study the 1920s and 1930s. 8 The history of homosexuality has, until lately, been investigated primarily by t he Americans, thanks to the gay liberation movement of the 1970s, particularly in t he context of Gay and Lesbian Studies. This history has primarily focused on how the moveme nt was formed, and on the homosexual identity, then on the upheavals linked to AIDS. Ho wever, some authors (both gay and lesbian), did look for traces of the homosexual way o f life in centuries past, concentrating in particular on the end of the 19th century, when homosexuality emerged as a concept. Less research is being done in Europe. England built on the American trend and developed its own analyses. But, there again, the authors were especially interested in the most recent period. Theoret ical works on the homosexual identity and the construction of homosexuality proliferated. W orks covering earlier eras are still rare. Outstanding among them is Jeffrey Weeks s bo ok, Coming Out Homosexual Politics in Britain from the 19th Century to the Present ( 1979), which offers a useful assessment of homosexuality in Great Britain. In Germany, as we have said, the younger generations tried to build a complete history of German homosexualit y, so as to clarify the Weimar apogee and the Nazi repression. In France during the 1970s , under the leadership of Guy Hocquenghem, Jean-Louis Bory and Michel Foucault, theoreti cal and militant works proliferated . albeit without an identical trend in historica l research.9 Currently, the post-war period is starting to be analyzed, but the ea rlier years are still largely ignored. For any historian of homosexuality, finding sources remains the principal proble m. Medical, literary, autobiographical, and propagandistic sources are fairly abund ant and easy to find, even though a certain number of German works dealing with homosexu ality and published between the two wars have disappeared . either they were burned wh en Hitler came to power, or they were destroyed during the bombing. And still great er problems arise: personal testimonies from those days are rare, for obvious reaso ns. Populations were not polled on the subject, and the press remained very discreet. Legal and police sources are often vague and lacunar. Certain subjects are well covered by the

available sources: the homosexual scene, homosexual movements, and homosexuality in the English public schools, in particular. Similarly, there are plenty of medica l references, novels, and confessions from intellectuals and public figures of the time. The o ther side of the coin is obvious: very little is known about homosexuals in the lower middle class and the working class; popular reactions are not very reliable (for they are often r eported by third parties); and the press generally abided by the code of silence, thus dist orting any research that might rely on journalistic reports. Lesbians, moreover, suffer fro m an awkward disparity in the sources; in every field (especially the legal) the evid ence and documents concerning homosexuals are more abundant than those dealing with lesbi ans. I tried, to the extent possible, to restore balance . without always succeeding: as we will 8. Homosexuality during World War II seems to me to be a large enough subject to be addressed separately. The conflict changed the game considerably, both in terms of homosex ual conduct and in the specific measures taken against it. 9. One might mention some works of varying size and interest, such as those by G uy Hocquenghem, Race d Ep. Un si.cle d images de l homosexualit. (1979), Jacques Girard, Le Mouvement homosexuel en France (1981), Marie-Jo Bonnet, Un choix sans .quivoque. Recherches historiqu es sur les relations amoureuses entre les femmes, xvie-xxe si.cle (1981), Gilles Barbedette et Michel Carassou, Paris gay 1925 (1981), Maurice Lever, Les B.chers de Sodome (1985), Fr.d.ric Martel, Le Rose et le Noir (1996). 8

Introduction see, female homosexuality posed fewer social problems and thus it was less discu ssed. Moreover, many lesbians managed to lead a discreet life and did not seek to publ icize their experiences. However, research on the history of lesbians is currently on the upswing and more books are appearing. Finally, a comparison between three countries over a period of twenty years does not allow for much discussion of regional nuances. With regard to the homosexual scene, everything was concentrated in the capital cities, where the most homosexual act ivity took place. That does not mean, obviously, that there was no homosexuality in th e provinces or countryside; far from it. But we have very little evidence about it. I tried, whenever possible, to shed some light on one or another provincial town. Regiona l study of the history of homosexuality, which is already well underway in Germany, will be of considerable interest for the history of social attitudes. There remains the question of police and legal sources. Here, the study is quite out of balance in favor of England and, especially, Germany. There are not many Engl ish sources, but they suffice to enable us to draw a coherent picture of the repress ion of homosexuals. The sources primarily are composed of legal statistics, reports of homosexual lawsuits, official reports and notes from the police. Here again, regional studi es would enable us to look more deeply into these data and to establish geographica l nuances. The German files are superabundant, if dispersed far and wide. I was fo rced to restrict my research to certain nationwide studies. Several German researchers h ave begun very specific research projects studying one city in particular. I am obliged to acknowledge that my research on France, in this respect, met wit h partial failure. It is a special case: homosexuality was not punished by French law in the 1920s and 1930s, so it is normal to find very few documents. Nevertheless, the d iscovery of a file on homosexual prostitution in the maritime regions tends to prove that th ere was some semi-official surveillance of homosexuals. Unfortunately, it is impossible to go further for the moment: all requests and inquiries made to the French National A rchives and the Police Archives proved fruitless. I tended to stay away from certain types of sources. It seemed counter-productiv

e to spend vast amounts of time and energy collecting the testimony of homosexuals who lived during the inter-war period. There are not that many people concerned and, moreover, any such recollections related to a remote past, on a particularly sub jective topic, would have to be taken with a large grain of salt. Distortions, even invo luntary ones, may easily weaken the credibility of memoirs. I therefore preferred to rel y on existing written testimonies and oral records, and I always read them with a cri tical eye. Press clippings were also used sparingly. Given the global character of this stu dy, it was impossible to conclude a systematic examination of the press for each country. I examined the homosexual periodicals thoroughly, at least the remaining specimens . for some of them, only two or three editions are available. Then, for each country, I focused on one national daily newspaper, which is used as reference, and I sometimes used o ther newspapers on specific points. By analyzing the press, it was possible to make a political reading of homosexuality. This research was done in Germany, where the leftist p ress was examined closely; I also made a thorough review of contemporary periodicals like Gay News. Cinematographic sources were very little used, except for three or four fi lms that were emblematic of the period. Many of the references required a critical reading, particularly the memoirs and the collections of memoirs written by homosexuals. They are invaluable, an irreplace able 9

A History of Homosexuality in Europe source on the homosexual way of life. However, care must be taken, especially wh en the works were written many years after the events. As with oral testimony, distorti ons can creep in with the passage of time. It is less of a problem when sources are over tly partisan, one way or another that in itself becomes a matter for analysis. I also made ext ensive use of the literature of the period, although I did not base my research mainly on literary sources. (That is a reproach often addressed to historians of homosexuality sinc e, for lack of objective materials, they are obliged to emphasize the history of homosexuali ty as it can be discerned in literature. Nevertheless, literary works are an extremely useful source of information.) The writer is the witness of his time; the homosexual novelist bri ngs his own perception of the situation, the heterosexual novelist always reflects some trend in public opinion. Thus, literature should not be excluded on the pretext of object ivity. There again, partisan sources can be as revealing as the most neutral analyses. The literary merit of the works was not considered; the oeuvres of Proust, Virginia Woolf and Thomas Mann are examined along with the worst trash novels, each one giving its own vie w of homosexuality for a different public. I do not claim that this work is exhaustive, but I think it has pulled together an extremely vast range of material. I hope that this work clarifies a subject that has been ignored over a period of history that is crucial, and that it will reveal, in ad dition to the different ways that homosexuality has been treated in the three countries, that the homosexual question, far from being a minor aspect of the history of sexuality, finds its p lace in the history of social attitudes and representations, serving through its faculty of attraction and repulsion to reveal the myths and fears of a society. Certainly, I do not claim to explain the inter-war period, Nazism and the beginnings of the Second W orld War exclusively on the basis of sexuality. It is quite obvious that the economic , political and social factors remain decisive. Neither do I propose to expound a theory of psychohistory, even if psychoanalytical theories are sometimes enlightening. Nevertheless, the study of homosexuality should allow us to gain a new understanding of certai n fears on the part of the general public and the government, and perhaps to reassess th e influence of sexual fantasies in the formation of the popular imagination.

10

PART ONE A BRIEF APOGEE: THE 1920S, A FIRST HOMOSEXUAL LIBERATION THE HOMOSEXUAL BETWEEN DANDY AND MILITANT Sex, sex, sex, nothing but sex and jazz. T.C. Worsley, quoting his father, in Flannelled Fool

CHAPTER ONE A MYTH IS BORN: THOSE FLAMBOYANT DAYS The Roaring Twenties. In homosexual mythology, the period just after the War conjures up a new freedom, the birth of homosexual movements, the extraordinary variety of the Berlin subculture. A new world, strangely modern and close to our s, seems to have had a brief and brilliant apogee. Is this wishful thinking or historical truth? Did Eldorado really exist? In fact, the liberal tendencies that had begun to flicker through society before and during the First World War took concrete shape in the 1920s. Homosexuals, like m any others, would benefit from the lax atmosphere in Europe in the wake of the war. In the countries on the winning side, it was a time for optimism and making hay while t he sun shined; after the suffering and privations, people wanted to laugh and have a go od time, and were readier to tolerate the expression of sexual peccadilloes. The homosexual emancipation of the 1920s was fed by many streams: historically, it comes under the rubric of the movements at the end of the 19th century which tried, on the basis of new medical theories, to influence public opinion. It also bore tra ces of the scandals of the Victorian era and the shock of the First World War, fundamental events that resonated profoundly in the homosexual mind. And then, it was based on a cu lture of subversion, which created its own codes and defined its own boundaries. The lang uage and clothing, the clubs, drag all constituted bases of a homosexual identity in gestation and the bases of a homosexual liberation which, while it may now be seen in a cont ext that is more or less mythical, was nonetheless real. LOOKING BACK: 1869-1919 Among the legendary dates in homosexual history, some stand out. One is the nigh t of June 27, 1969, the date of the Stonewall incidents. Others are more arbitrary , but are evidence of a conscious will to reconstruct the history of homosexuality and homo sexuals from an identifying point of view. In 1869, the Hungarian writer-journalist Karoly Maria Kertbeny apparently used the term homosexual for the first time in an 13

A History of Homosexuality in Europe anonymous report calling for the abolition of criminal laws on unnatural acts, add ressed to Dr. Leonhardt, Prussian Minister of Justice. Even if it took several decades before the term stuck, this date, for many historians, marks a turning point, clearly disti nguishing the sodomite (who offended God) and the homosexual (who offended society). In fa ct, the years 1869-1919 can be regarded as a major watershed in the history of homos exuality and as the foundation upon which the homosexual liberation of the 1920s was built. One Scandal after Another The scandals at the end of the 19th century hold a place apart, in this history. They certainly broke out in a paradoxical context. While urbanization, the guarantee of anonymity, and developments in medicine were leading to a greater sense of tolerance and while the beginnings of a homosexual scene, even a community, were seen, anti-homose xual legislation was strengthened and was used as a pretext for moral repression. Thi s ambivalence is seen most clearly in England and Germany, with France experiencin g a kind of counter-reaction. The period is characterized by the development of openly homosexual movements and clubs, albeit in relatively restricted and elitist milieux the aristocracy, the high bourgeoisie, the avant-garde. In England, the precursors of the sexual liberatio n of the 1920s were the Neo-Pagans. This group of intellectuals, linked to the Bloomsbury group, had its hour of glory just before the First World War. Centered around Rupert Br ooke, leading light of Georgian literature, it included Justin Brooke, Jacques and Gwe n Raverat, Frances Cornford, Katherine (Ka) Cox and the four Oliver sisters: Margery, Brynh ild, Daphne and Noel. Coming together in Grandchester, in the country surrounding Cam bridge, they sought to escape modernism by recreating a rural myth and developed an original lifestyle founded on worship of the body, freedom of movement, nudism, and coed bathing. The Neo-Pagans worked out a new paradigm for relations between men and women based on frankness and a free discussion of sexual questions. However, thi s rejection of social conventions still retained the strict observance of chastity before marriage for women, which led to frustration and repression. In this context, homosexuali ty represented a loophole; Rupert Brooke, who had already had homosexual adventures in his public school and then at Cambridge,10 saw it as an easy and early means of obtaining

sexual satisfaction. His relationship with Denham Russell-Smith is remarkable in this sense. He reveals every little detail in a letter to James Strachey.11 The detachment whic h he displays and his freedom in describing the sex act testify to a new approach to sexuality and homosexuality. Pleasure becomes possible, beyond the moral interdicts. Brooke be gan by playing with Denham the love games commonly played by the boys at public school, hugging, kissing and fondling each other. They went on that way for years, he sa ys, until one calm evening when he masturbated him in the dark, without saying a word.12 Denham then came to spend part of the holidays with Rupert, who decided to go al l the way. One night, I decided that the next day I would do it, not knowing at all ho w my 10. Rupert Brooke had homosexual relations in his public school with Lucas St. J ohn and Charles Lascelles, then at Cambridge with A.L. Hobhouse and Georges Mallory. 11. Cited by Paul Delany, The Neo-Pagans: Friendship and Love in the Rupert Broo ke Circle, London, Macmillan, 1987, 170 pages, p.78-80. 12. Ibid., p.78. 14

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days partner would take it. simply wanted to have fun, and still more to see how it w ould be to remove the shame (as I saw it) of being a virgin.13 Brooke does not express any remorse, only the fear that his partner would refuse him: Very banal thoughts crossed my m ind, like the Elizabethan joke about the dance of the bedclothes, I hoped that he was e njoying it, etc. I thought of him only in the third person.14 Here, homosexuality is no longer regarded as deviant, a monstrous vice, but as one form of sexuality among others . The Neo-Pagans, due to their elitist nature, did not exert significant influence on British society but they did infuse a new spirit in the high bourgeoisie and the intellectual milieux. Their ideal of a body released of the Puritan constraints was taken up again shortly after the war. The death of Rupert Brooke, on the front in 1915, shook V ictorian society. He became the symbol of all the young soldiers sacrificed for their fat herland and he represented the idealized image of a radiant, fair and innocent youth that th e world of the post-war period would struggle in vain to recapture. Sherrill Schell s photogr aphs immortalizing the flower of English youth embodied a visual image that summarize d all the longings of the nation in a time of crisis.15 What is novel in this admirati on, in the context of a society that was still deeply Puritan, it is that it is essentially homoerotic. In France, Paris enjoyed a flattering reputation (especially among foreigners) a s a capital of pleasures and haven of tolerance. Chic lesbians, mostly Americans, ma de Lesbos-on-Seine their paradise. One of the homosexual centers in Paris was the s alon of Winaretta Singer, princesse de Polignac.16 Married at the age of 22 to Prince Lo uis de SayMontb.liard, she divorced very quickly. She knew she was a lesbian and wanted to be independent. In his book Monsieur de Phocas, Jean Lorrain draws a satirical port rait of her: a multimillionaire Yankee whose greatest lack of discretion lay in her appearance s at the theater in the company of a friend whose beauty was a little too conspicuous. 17 H er friends, the count de Montesquiou and the countess Greffulhe, advised her to mar ry Edmond de Polignac, who was also homosexual, in order to preserve her social pos ition. She was soon receiving the best society and attracted many writers, in particula r Proust. An American by birth, she was well acquainted with the Anglo-Saxon world. A frie

nd of Henry James, she brought Oscar Wilde and Lord Douglas to the attention of the Pa risian elite. They created a sensation. Paradoxically, only Montesquiou and Proust avoi ded them, finding them decadent !) Their flamboyant homosexuality made quite an impression and created the appearance of a new tolerance. Sapphic love affairs were the fashion of the day, especially in high society. Th e countess d Orsay, Princess Violette Murat, the Duchesse de Clermond-Thunder, princ ess Catherine Poniatowska, Countess Van Zuylen and, of course, Princess de Polignac herself were leading examples. The great courtesans also entertained female liaisons: Li ana de Pougy, .milienne d Alen.on, Liana de Lancy. Literary circles were especially rich in lesbians: Natalie Barney, Ren.e Vivien, Anna de Noailles, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Vernon Lee were living in Paris. The city attracted many expatriate lesbians , who found an exceptional freedom and a fully-formed lesbian society in the capital. Natalie 13. Ibid. 14. Ibid., p.79. 15. Christopher Hassall, cited by Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1975, 363 pages, p.276. 16. Michael de Cossart, Une Am.ricaine . Paris. La princesse de Polignac et son salon, 1865-1943, Paris, Plon, 1979, 245 pages. 17. Cited by Michael de Cossart, ibid., p.98. 15

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Barney s salon, at 22 rue Jacob, was a center of Parisian Sapphism.18 Literary cel ebrities gathered there: Paul Val.ry, Ford Madox Ford, Ezra Pound, Gide and Proust, and t he finest flower of Parisian lesbians: Romaine Brooks (who would have an affair wit h the Princesse de Polignac), Dolly Wilde (Oscar s niece), Colette, .lisabeth de Gramont , Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, Rachilde, Gertrude Stein, Marie Laurencin, Marguerite Yourcenar , Mercedes d Acosta, Sylvia Beach, Adrienne Monnier, Dorothy Bussy (Lytton Strachey s sister), Mata Hari, Edna St. Vincent Millais and Edith Sitwell. The atmosphere w as relaxed, cosmopolitan, literary or with literary pretensions and well born. Inhe rently chauvinistic, they were for the most part quite oblivious to the other social cl asses. France already symbolized a brilliant, theatrical, sometimes blatant homosexuali ty that was quite disengaged from political and social concerns. In the absence of repressive laws, homosexuals seemed to be well integrated into the society. However, this i dyllic vision is misleading: for the majority of homosexuals who were not a part of hig h society and who lived in the obscurity of the provinces, homosexuality remained a stain that had to be kept carefully hidden. Germany was different. There, by the end of the 19th century, a strong homosexua l community existed and organizations like the Wissenschaftlich-humanit.res Komite e (WhK), under Magnus Hirschfeld, and the Gemeinschaft der Eigenen led by Adolf Br and, were forming to advocate the abolition of 175 of the Penal Code, under which indec ent acts between men were punished with a five-year prison term. Their respective new spapers, Jahrbuch f.r sexual Zwischenstufen and Der Eigene were launched in 1899 and 1903 . This detail explains why Germany, before 1914, had already built a solid reputation f or sexual freedom. Travel in Germany, a normal part of an Englishman s university experience , was generally the pretext for such discoveries. Rupert Brooke went to Munich, the ap ex of the artistic avant-garde, in 1911. However, it was in Berlin that a homosexual scene worthy of the name was first coming together, with bars, clubs, and meeting places for wom en as well as for men. In 1905, homosexuality was already such a fashionable topic that it was treated humorously in the German satirical newspapers. The Munich weekly magazine Jugend

published a cartoon captioned, The modern census, showing a middle-class German family being interviewed by the census official. The parents are asked: How many children do you have? And the mother answers: Two girls, a boy, one uranian and th ree homosexuals. In the three countries covered by this study, the Puritan backlash, based on a s eries of major scandals, badly shook the incipient homosexual communities. In England, the trial and condemnation of Oscar Wilde took on considerable symbolic importance.1 9 The facts are well-known: after having received at his club an insulting note from t he Marquis de Queensberry, calling him a somdomite [sic], Oscar Wilde filed suit for slander. The trial opened on April 3, 1895, but quickly turned to his disadvantage, several y oung male prostitutes having been called to testify. The case was eventually dropped, but it set off two further lawsuits, which began on April 26 and on May 22, in which Wilde was 18. Gertrude Stein hosted a competing salon at 27 rue de Fleurus. For details on the life and adventures of Natalie Barney, see George Wickes, The Amazon of Letters. The Life and Loves of Natalie Barney, London, W.H. Allen, 1977, 286 pages. 19. This topic still fascinates the popular imagination. In the period between t he two wars, one notable publication in 1933 (a key year for homosexuals), was the book by Hilary Pacq, Le Proc.s d Oscar Wilde, Paris, Gallimard, 263 pages. 16

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days accused of offending morals and of sodomy. On May 25, he was sentenced to two ye ars in prison, to the great joy of the public and the press.20 Oscar Wilde s trial, while it was unique in terms of the prominence of the individ ual in question and the scandal it caused, is just one of many examples of the outbu rsts of moral panic which haunted Victorian England. Wilde s sentence was the consummat ion of the victory of the Puritan party and it crystallized in the public view the i mage of the homosexual as a corrupter of youth, a source of danger and depravity. A con spiracy of silence around homosexuality, intended to protect family morals, ensued. The Lancet newspaper, for example, said: It is particularly important that such subj ects are not discussed by the man in the street, much less by the young boy or the young girl.21 To prevent such scandals from proliferating, Halsbury, with the support of the cons ervative Prime Minister Salisbury, drafted the Publication of Indecent Evidence Bill in 1 896, prohibiting the publication of reports on trials relating to homosexuality. According to Sal isbury, indeed, it was proven that the publication of details in lawsuits of this kind entails the imitation of the crime. 22 Paradoxically, the Oscar Wilde trial was a catalyst for a new sense of identity among homosexuals. The case had revealed the existence of a homosexual lifestyle that was already solidly in place: Wilde was linked to a network of young male prosti tutes who lived in an apartment at 13 Little College Street. It was not the first time that such events occurred: in 1889 and 1890, the scandal of Cleveland Street23 exposed a s imilar group of young telegraphists. In Germany, the homosexual question came to the fore as early as 1907, when the imperial regime of William II was suddenly shaken by a series of scandals. The j ournalist Maximilian Harden, in his newspaper Die Zukunft, accused two close friends of th e Kaiser, Prince Philipp von Eulenburg and Count Kuno von Moltke, of being homosexuals. Th e motive was to discredit William II by casting suspicion on his entourage and ups etting Germany s international relations. Eulenburg and Moltke in fact were suspected of having given information to the First Secretary of the French legation in Berlin , Raymond Lecomte, who was himself homosexual. He was in a position to reveal to the Quay d Orsay that Germany was bluffing during the Moroccan crisis of January-April 1906 .24 The episode was indisputably political in origin: an advisor to William II, and incidentally his best friend, Eulenburg was an anti-imperialist diplomat and favored a rappro

chement with France. He quickly drew upon himself the resentment of the military and of Bismarck s disciples. Maximilian Harden organized a campaign against him, and focused on his homosexuality as an easy means of destroying his career and depriving him of influence, thus weakening the emperor at the same time without incriminating him directly. It seems that Harden did, indeed, have many compromising documents con cerning William II s sexuality, but he preferred not to make use of them. It is quite clea r 20. See Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde, London, Hamish Hamilton, 1987, 632 pages. 21. Lancet, 9-26 November 1898, cited by Richard Davenport-Hines, Sex, Death and Punishment, London, Fontana Press, 1990, 439 pages, p.139. 22. Lord Salisbury, 20 March 1896. 23. For details on the ring at Little College Street, see Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde, op. cit., p.414417; on the Cleveland Street scandal, see Jeffrey Weeks, Sex, Politics and Society, L ondon, Longman, 1989, 325 pages, p.113-114. 24. For more details, see James D. Steakley, Iconography of a Scandal: Political Cartoons and the Eulenburg Affair in Wilhelmin Germany, in Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus and Geo rge Chauncey Jr. (dir.), Hidden from History, London, Penguin Books, 1991, 579 pages , p.233-263. 17

A History of Homosexuality in Europe that the charge of homosexuality was only a pretext in a more subtle political m aneuver. During the period between the wars, as well, attacks on homosexuals were often o nly a means to a political end. Harden started by making Eulenburg talk; he had forced him to resign from public affairs in 1902 by threatening to expose his private life. However, in 1906, Eul enburg renewed his political contacts, and that led to the campaign launched against hi m regarding his relations with General Kuno von Moltke, military commander of Berl in. It is possible that this campaign was launched under strong pressure from the military brass, which had just been just hit by a series of homosexual scandals as well. Given t he charges, the Kaiser asked Moltke to resign and Eulenburg had to leave the diplomatic corp s and turn in his medals. As in England, with Oscar Wilde, one lawsuit followed another. Moltke filed charges against Harden. Adolf Brand, the leader of Gemeinschaft der Eigenen (the Community of Special People ), a homosexual movement, accused the Chancellor of the Reich, Prince Bernhard von B.low, of having an affair with his Secretary. B.low sued hi m for calumny. Moltke s suit against Harden opened on October 23, 1907 and quickly turne d sensational. Moltke s wife made devastating revelations about her husband s sexualit y and Hirschfeld had to testify as an expert. He affirmed that Moltke s unconscious o rientation could be described as homosexual. The purpose of this testimony was to denounce the hypocrisy of the government, which overlooked homosexuality in highly-placed figures but condemned it in others. This tactic did not pay off: on October 29, Harden was discharged and a new suit was opened, with Chancellor B.low pursuing Brand for calumny. Brand was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. A little later, medic al experts asserted that Moltke s wife was hysterical and Hirschfeld challenged her t estimony. Harden was then sentenced to four months in prison. Once he was released, he continued his campaign against Eulenburg. The Eulenburg trial was never carried to its conclusion, for the prince fell seriously ill. He died in 1921, without being re habilitated (unlike Moltke). The Eulenburg case did serious harm to the homosexual cause. Eulenburg was disgr aced and ruined, and the press and the general public now looked on homosexuals as traitors to the nation. The involvement of Hirschfeld, a Jew and a homosexual, i n the lawsuit, added the idea of a conspiracy between the two groups with the aim of b

ringing down the Empire. Homophobic demonstrations became commonplace, often combined with anti-Semitic, antifeminist and anti-modernist actions. The number of arrest s and indictments for homosexuality increased. The German homosexual liberation moveme nt underwent a severe crisis. Financial support for the WhK fell by two thirds betw een 1907 and 1909. It is clear that Hirschfeld s intervention was a serious strategic error : the wellto-do homosexuals who had supported it, hitherto, now feared that they too could be penalized.25 It is clear that homosexuals in the three countries under study were in touch wi th each other from the very beginning of the century. The homosexual world already had a certain unity, superficial but real. In France, the princesse de Polignac s salon felt the backlash of a wave of Puritanism. The multiplying scandals reverberated deeply a mong these people of various stations and nationalities. Wilde s trial in 1895 shook th is world of 25. See James D. Steakley, The Homosexual Emancipation Movement in Germany, New York, Arno Press, 1975, 121 pages. 18

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days aesthetes and eccentrics; some turncoats became vehement moralists: Octave Mirbe au let loose a tirade against the aesthetes, Paul Le Bourget disavowed his homosexualit y and fell in with Barres and the French nationalists. In 1903, Alfred Krupp committed suic ide; the same year, the Baron d Adelsward-Fersen was arrested in Paris after a scandal havi ng to do with schoolboys; in 1907 came the Eulenburg affair. According to Michael de C ossart, the shockwave was felt by the secret society of homosexuals throughout all of Eur ope. 26 This affair had extreme repercussions. Books were still being written about it a fter the First World War.27 Proust mentions it in Sodom and Gomorrah: There exists between certain men, Sir, a freemasonry about which I cannot speak, but which counts amo ng its ranks, at this moment, the sovereigns of Europe but the entourage of one of them , who is the emperor of Germany, wants to cure him of his illusions. That is a very gr ave thing and may lead us to war. 28 The French press started calling homosexuality the Germa n vice. Berlin was renamed Sodom-on-Spree and the Germans were called Eulenbuggers. In the men s toilets, homosexual come-ons took a new form: Do you speak German? 29 The scandals of the pre-war period left a lasting mark on the homosexual mind. The uproar showed how fragile were the attempts at homosexual emancipation, alwa ys at the mercy of the whims of ever-shifting public opinion which was concerned wi th respectability and ready to name sacrificial victims, in a crisis, in order to r edeem the sins of the nation. They also revealed to those homosexuals who had been isolated that homosexual networks existed and that a homosexual culture was being formed. The First World War confirmed these trends. The Shock of the First World War The First World War represented a major founding myth in the homosexual imaginat ion of the 1920s. The contradictory trends of the inter-war period originated in the War: liberalism and authoritarianism, pacifism and militarism, virility and femi ninity. Ambiguity was born from a certain confusion around the concept of homoeroticism, itself a consequence of the war. It could be associated with camaraderie, heroism, male beauty and therefore with virility; just as it could be condemned as the incarnation of a lax

rearguard, traitorous, impotent and thus female. Also, while the homosexual comm unity of the 1920s may have recalled the First World War as a time of male friendships and while they may have developed a nostalgia for the sacrificed beauties, the War a lso led to a misogynist, militarist tendency expressed in antidemocratic movements and an a pology for virile violence. In public opinion, too, liberal tendencies (and the pent-up desire for pleasure in the post-war period) clashed with repressive tendencies (including t he confusion of homosexuality with decadence). 26. Michael de Cossart, Une Am.ricaine . Paris, op. cit., p.95. 27.Maurice Baumont, L Affaire Eulenburg et les Origines de la Premi.re Guerre mond iale, Payot, 1933, 281 pages. 28. Marcel Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. d e la Pl.iade, 1988, t.III, 1952 pages, p.586-587. 29. See John Grand-Carteret, Derri.re lui : l homosexualit. en Allemagne [1907], Lill e, Cahiers GaiKitschCamp, 1992, 231 pages. 19

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The homosexual, a traitor to the fatherland War reveals a country s weaknesses. After 1914, each nation pulled together its forces to confront the threat. In Germany, England and France, the notion of hol y unity was invoked to catalyze the coming together around national values. The war left little room for minorities and rendered suspect any and all forms of deviation. Homosex uals became a target of choice for the heralds of nationalism. In Germany, the homose xual movements retreated into prudent silence. Individuals remained vulnerable to rum ors. In D.H. Lawrence s Kangaroo, the hero, Richard Somers, is characterized by his con stitutional weakness which makes him unfit to bear arms, his attraction to socialism and his sexual ambiguity. He becomes the scapegoat of the small village of Cornouail les, and each inhabitant begins to spy on him. He is finally obliged to flee to London, b ut he has difficulties all throughout the war.30 In England, the war was seized upon as an excellent occasion to purge the countr y of all its blemishes, in particular the sexual ones. Oscar Wilde s trial was still very much present in the public memory in 1914. It was a symbol of the decadence of the ol den days, which would have to be eliminated if one wanted to make England a masculine and victorious nation. One of the broad topics in propaganda was the fight against pacifists, a nd grafted onto that theme one can find exhortations against sexual deviance, in pa rticular homosexuality, considered a German weakness. This was a direct consequence of th e Eulenburg episode, but it was also a handy way to designate homosexuality as a c rime almost equivalent to treason. The same phenomenon could be seen in France: in Temps retrouv., Proust gives a perfect analysis of how the war changed the perception of Charlus homosexuality. S ince the war, the tone had changed. The baron s inversion was not only denounced, but a lso his alleged Germanic nationality: Frau Bosch, Frau van den Bosch were his usual nick names. 31 The English army, for its part, enacted severe sanctions against sexual relation s between men: two years of prison for any act, committed in public or in private; ten years in the case of sodomy. Officers were cashiered before being sentenced. In spite of that, homosexual activity still went on in the ranks: during the war, 22 officers and

270 soldiers were tried for homosexuality.32 Homosexuality was not only a crime against the a rmy, it was a crime against England at war. Civilians, too, became objects of attack and a veritable witch hunt started. The parliamentary deputy No.l Pemberton Billing launched a crusade against homosexuals.33 In 1918, he published an article entitled, The Fir st 47,000, referring to the number of British homosexuals (according to him) known t o the German secret service. They supposedly had a list that enabled them to blackmail people in high places and to extort state secrets. Billing reiterated his assertions be fore the House of Commons. He also went after the dancer Maud Allan, who was playing the role o f Salome in the Oscar Wilde play. Allan charged him with slander. Billing proteste d that the way the play, and the way it was being performed, was targeted directly at s exual per 30. The novel is based on D.H. Lawrence s personal experiences during the war. 31. Marcel Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, op. cit., 1989, t.IV, 1728 pag es, p.347. 32. According to Samuel Hynes, A War Imagined. The First World War and English C ulture, New York, Atheneum, 1991, 427 pages, p.225. 33. The very witty Billing led a feisty campaign against the Jews, German music, pacifists, the Fabians, foreigners, financiers and internationalism. 20

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days verts, sodomites and lesbians, and said that at a time when Britain s very existen ce as a nation was in danger, the producer J. T. Grein had chosen to put on the most dep raved of all the depraved works by a man who already had been given the stiffest penalty available to the law for vice, for crimes against nature.34 The trial was an enormous scan dal and Billing was never seen as the defendant. He used the hearings as a soapbox to ra il against homosexuality and posed as an honest patriot defending his country against those who were being led astray by Germany. He was acquitted.35 The hysteria over homosexuality shows the extent to which it could be regarded a s pernicious and hazardous for the nation. The specter of having a homosexual trai tor in power cropped up time and again during the inter-war period, and then, with grea ter and greater resonance during the Second World War and up to the paroxysms of the Fif ties, during the Cold War, with the Cambridge spy scandal. The front as a school in homosexuality By bringing men closer together in situations of extreme danger, the war was a fertile ground for the development of homosexual friendships; and thus it served to relieve homosexuality of some of the tension and drama surrounding it. Warrior aesthetic s is based largely on homoeroticism; by focusing on the male body, by accentuating vi rile characteristics, it strives to create an ideal male society. Saint-Loup, in Temp s retrouv., takes advantage of the war to live out a fantasy homosexual romance. The war rep resented a kind of ideal situation, his dreams fulfilled in a purely masculine chivalric o rder, far from women, where he could risk his life to save his order, and in dying ins pire a fanatical love in his men. 36 Antoine Prost and St.phane Audoin-Rouzeau both evoked the fraternity of the trenches, a stereotype of the Great War:37 in the trenches, soldiers and officers supposedly met each other as equals, helping each other, comforting each other, and feeling moments of intense sympathy. Similarly, in Germany, the universally worn Stahlhe lm (steel helmet) became a unifying symbol that fostered the cult of Frontkameradsch aft. This enduring myth, promulgated by the UNC s motto United as [we were] at the Front, is based on a genuine, but fleeting, reality. After the war, only memories were left to testify to the magic of this solidarity. Still, we should not underestimate t he impact of

the experience. The testimony quoted by St.phane Audoin-Rouzeau in Les Combattan ts des tranch.es has strong homoerotic connotations, which has not been emphasized unti l now. The newspaper Le P.riscope also said, in 1916: [Because of all the misfortunes th ey have shared] they have conceived deep friendships for each other. Their shared memori es and pains have left an indestructible bond which keeps them together. Thus they go a round as couples, in the squads: two by two, as if the friendship could not extend to sev eral people without being weakened and would lose its intensity if it were shared.... They a re never seen without each other.... They are called comrades. Poil et Plume, in October 1 916, said: 34. In Samuel Hynes, A War Imagined, op. cit., p.227. 35. Ibid. 36. Marcel Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, op. cit., t.IV, p.324-325. 37. See Antoine Prost, Les Anciens Combattants et la Soci.t. fran.aise, 1914-193 9, Paris, Presses de la FNSP, 1977, 3 volumes; St.phane Audoin-Rouzeau, 14-18, les combattants des tranc h.es, Paris, Armand Colin, 1986, p.50. 21

A History of Homosexuality in Europe In the first-aid stations, a casualty who is failing will grab the first stretche r-bearer who comes along and whom he has never seen, and exclaim: Kiss me. I want to die with you . In fact, if the war allowed a blooming of hitherto discreet and timorous homosex uality, it also served as an eye-opener for men who, in normal times, would have looked on such relationships with contempt. Most people still thought of the homosexual as an effeminate and affected man. The friendships created in the trenches were built on a different logic, that of male societies welded together by a code of honor and shared expe riences. Most of the homosexual friendships on the front were established between young officers and their men. J.B. Priestley38 notes that it was largely members of th e upper classes or of the well-to-do middle class, who had been prepared for such passio ns in their public schools, who welcomed the completely masculine way of life, freed of the complications associated with females. These passionate friendships, idealized and devoid of physical contact, were inspired by the youth, the beauty, the innocence of a you ng man, often an aide-de-camp or a soldier assigned to serve an officer. It was under su ch circumstances that Somerset Maugham met the young ambulance driver, Gerald Haxton, who was to become his companion. J.R. Ackerley39 noted that his couriers and servant s were selected on the basis of their looks; in fact, this desire to have the best-look ing soldiers in one s service was common with many officers. He did not know, he said, whether any of the other officers took greater advantage than he did of this relationship of alm ost paternal intimacy. Many officers tried to sublimate what they regarded as guilty desires in an increased devotion to their men. Psychologist W.H.R. Rivers encountered several cases of officers who were torn by their sexual desires and a strict notion of duty and m ilitary discipline which obliged them to sublimate their feelings in a more impersonal interest for the fate of their men. Many cases of neurosis seem to have been the consequence of this conflict. Siegfried Sassoon, in his poems, expresses the pain (more mental than physical), and the guilt, he felt over his close companions who died. But now my heart is heavy-laden. I sit Burning my dreams away beside the fire: For death has made me wise and bitter and strong;

And I am rich in all that I have lost. O starshine on the fields of long-ago, Bring me the darkness and the nightingale; Dim wealds of vanished summer, peace of home, And silence; and the faces of my friends. 40 After the war, Sassoon fully acknowledged his homosexuality and went on to have relationships with Philip de Hesse, Gabriel Atkin, Glen Byam Shaw and especially Stephen Tennant. This conjunction between the former soldier, virile and torment ed, and the decadent young dandy summarizes the shift that took place in homosexual circ les after the war. Two opposite worlds attracted each other, with their own excesses , in their 38. Cited by Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory, op. cit., p.273. 39. Ibid. 40. Memory in Collected Poems, 1908-1956, London, Faber & Faber, 1984, 317 pages, p.105. 22

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days successive rebellions against the established order to create a new model of a rmal homosexuality, without constraints. The poet Wilfred Owen41 seems to have had less difficulties accepting his homose xuality, probably because he was fully conscious of it before going to the front. His war poems42 contain many homoerotic passages; Owen does not stop at evoking the beau ty of his comrades, he shares their sufferings, he evokes the special bonds that tie t hem. While he denounces the horror of battle, with his aesthetic vision and his passion for the virile body he offers an original vision of life on the front: Red lips are not so red As the stained stones kissed by the English dead. Kindness of wooed and wooer Seems shame to their love pure. O Love, your eyes lose lure When I behold eyes blinded in my stead! Heart, you were never hot Nor large, nor full like hearts made great with shot; And though your hand be pale, Paler are all which trail Your cross through flame and hail: Weep, you may weep, for you may touch them not.43 This is a very male perspective which bars from the outset any intervention by women. In this, Owen is a harbinger of homosexual relations in the post-war peri od, when men linked by a common experience preferred to stay to themselves, apart fr om women whom they did not really know and whom they did not really trust. Such fancies were not limited to the Officers Club; romantic idylls also develope d among the troops. Private Anthony French conceived a great passion for his fello w soldier Albert William Bradley, who died in his arms in September 1916. When he first se t eyes on him, he was struck by his beauty, his youth, his face pale and finely sculpted. He had a high, broad forehead, and his lips traced an odd curve that left a little dimple in his no

cheek.44 Some of the soldiers, certainly, also came to worship their officers, a s can be seen in the play by Robert Graves, But It Still Goes On (1931). One of the favorite topics in the homosexual imagery of the era was that of bath ing. Descriptions of naked soldiers bathing under the affectionate gaze of their offi cers crop up in many of the memoirs of ex-serviceman, expressing the striking contrast bet ween the vulnerability of the flesh (with strong erotic connotations) and the aggress iveness of the external world. 41. On Wilfred Owen, see Kenneth Simcox, Wilfred Owen, Anthem for Doomed Youth, London, Woburn Press, 1987, 166 pages. 42. The Poems of Wilfred Owen, edited by Jon Stallworthy, London, The Hogarth Pr ess, 1985, 200 pages. 43. Greater Love (1917), ibid., p.143. 44. Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory, op. cit., p.274. 23

A History of Homosexuality in Europe A little further, a naked soldier was standing under a jet of water.... And the beauty of this fragile, little blond thing, so white under the sun... was someth ing so immense in itself that it pierced me with pain like a lance.45 Lastly, the war gave lesbians an unexpected opportunity. Many women participated in military operations, especially as military ambulance attendants. In The Well of Loneliness, Radclyffe Hall evokes this desire to serve and the opportunity offer ed to women who were single and had no children to find a place in society. Stephen, one of her heroines, says she is afraid that they d refuse people like her; her interlocutor puts a han d on hers and advises her, rather, that this war could give women of [her] kind their chance. I believe you may discover that they need you, Stephen. 46 Heroines indeed joined the London ambulance corps; and they found not only a place in society but a solidarity that was to be maintained after the war. One w riter observed that feminine women, the nurses, had answered the call of their country superbly, and that should not be forgotten by England; but the others who also offered the best that they had they too ought not to be forgotten. They might have seemed a little strange (in fact, some of them were), and yet in the streets they were rarely no ticed, although they walked with big steps, perhaps out of timidity, or perhaps out of a selfconscious desire to be useful, which often goes hand-in-hand with timidity. They had been active participants in the universal upheaval and had been accepted as such , for their merits. And although their Sam Browne belts held no guns and their hats an d their caps lacked regimental badges, a battalion had been formed during those te rrible years which never would be completely dissolved.47 Thus the First World War brought to light the latent homosexual feelings in certain sectors of the male and female population, thus contradicting the stereo type of the depraved homosexual. In their work History of Sexual Life during the World War, Fischer and Dubois describe the living conditions in the prison camps. The soldiers gave in, they say, one after the other, to the temptation of relationships that went against nature . Even those who by temperament were most hostile to it were gradually drawn in by the supplications of their homosexual comrades, even those who might not have had the least idea, in civil life, of homosexuality.48 The echo of these temptations is perceptible in contemporary satirical newspapers, which published caricatures depicting the diva of the regime nt

waited on by a horde of his admirers and where transvestite soldiers express sudden whims. After the war, the troubled consciences could no longer ignore the psychological shifts generated by combat. Still, over the sexual liberation of the Roaring Twenties a pall was cast, a feeling of incompletion: the young male prostitutes o f the bars in Berlin, the homosexuals in the big, licentious cities were all haunted by the specter of death which always ran more swiftly than they, which pursued their least pleasur es. On 45. Reginald Farrer, cited by Paul Fussell, ibid., p.301. Bathing appears as a t heme in both poetry and painting. Henry Scott Tuke, Frederick Walker and William Scott of Oldham spe cialized in portraying young men by the waterside. E.M. Forster had already suggested the er otic connotations of bathing, in A Room with a View. That freed George Emerson, Freddy Honeychurch and the pastor Beebe of their inhibitions in a pagan communion. 46. Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness [1928], London, Virago Press, 1982, 4 47 pages, p.271. 47. Ibid., p.275. 48. Cited by Richard Davenport-Hines, Sex, Death and Punishment, op. cit., p.148 . 24

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days the other hand, the great homosexual myth of the inter-war period, in particular among English intellectuals, was to find a friend, a friend for life. This desperate searc h for a special partner seems reminiscent of the uncomplicated friendships of war-time, when fraternity between men could be exercised without constraints, without any thoug ht of the world outside, the world of women, of mothers and sisters. The war casts open the blinds Tell England. You must write a book and talk to them, Rupert, about the schoolboys of our generation, who died.49 The war left deep wounds. In England, 744,000 were killed and more than a halfmillion civilian deaths are ascribed to the conflict. The influenza epidemic of the winter 1918-1919 caused another 100,000-plus deaths. In Germany, 2 million men died in combat or from their wounds. Civilian deaths were 740,000 more than normal, never mind the deficit in the birth rate, estimated at 3 million. But the toll was highest in F rance: 1,300,000 died at the front, plus 150,000 other deaths related to the war, not c ounting deaths from disease. Thus, out of 8 million mobilized, there were 6.45 million s urvivors.50 However, according to Antoine Prost, a large proportion of those mobilized never made it to the front, and so the number of ex-serviceman would actually be only about a million. However, about a sixth of the population was directly affected, if one includes war widows (600,000) and orphans (760,000), that is to say 7,500,000people.51 Many veterans associations supported the legend of communion in the trenches and particularly emphasized that the survivors had rights over us (Clemenceau). Th e veterans associations called for pacifism, driven by their memory of suffering an d the horror of the war, which deeply marked people s minds psychologically and aestheti cally as well. The heavy death toll was identified with the promising younger generati on who went off to war with all their illusions, and were sacrificed. This feeling of y outh in flower, mown down by guns, was ideally symbolized by the myth that developed in England around Rupert Brooke. Thus the post-war period, while idolizing the adol escent heroes for their beauty and their youth, opened the way to a latent homoeroticis m in certain circles of society. Worship of the body followed naturally in the wake of the great carnage of the w ar of 1914, and it is indissociable from the slogan, Never again. Naturism, the rise

of movements along the lines of the Wandervogel, and vestimentary liberation were partly the consequence of the great aesthetic shake-up of the war and a terrible fear of an y attack on the body, especially the young body. The dominant moral values were replaced by the morality of survival, which gives priority to pleasure over the spirit of sacrif ice. The war transformed the family unit, and the number of orphans was one of the most immediate effects. The poet W.H. Auden, for example, ascribes his homosexua lity to the absence of his father throughout the entire war period, and Christopher Ishe rwood, to 49. Ernest Raymond, Tell England: A Study in a Generation, London, Cassell & Cie , 1922, 320 pages, p.314. 50. Then there were the civilian casualties : some 570,000 died as a rsult of th e evacuation, occupation, bombings, the higher infant mortality rate and the epidemic of Spanish flu. 51. Nevertheless, not all the war veterans and victims participated in the movem ent. At its apogee, in 1930-1932, it had about 3 million members. 25

A History of Homosexuality in Europe his father s death in combat. Although such an explanation is partial and psychoan alytical, there could be some truth to it. The war was also followed by a steep rise in divorces, a consequence of the long separations during the war and the different courses lives will take; but there was also a rise in the marriage rate. Widows were see n in two possible ways: ideally, they should hide away in their sorrow, faithful beyond d eath to the dear departed, and devoted to the children. The merry widow, remarried and fre e, became a lightning rod for animosity and led to an obsession with woman-vampires , treacherously louche and sensualist, revived by the novel by Radiguet, Le Diable au corps (1923). Added to that was the new disparity in numbers between men and women. In England, in 1911 there were 1068 women for 1000 men; by 1921, there were 1096; i n 1931, 1088; and in 1939, there were still 1080 per 1000.52 In France, according to Jac ques Dup.quier, there were more than one million more women than men in 1931. The shortage of men would (falsely) be seen as a reason for the alleged proliferation of lesbian s in the 1920s.53 Then, in contrast to the pacifism of the ex-serviceman, certain homosexuals in t he 1930s, who were children in 1914, developed a mythical sense of the war many you ng people had the impression that they had missed the major event of their lives. T hey had missed the solidarity forged in combat, and they could not prove that they were men. At Oxford, after the war, the younger students felt like second-class citizens whil e their seniors returned haloed in glory, and plaques lined the walls of the university enumerating the names of the war dead. At the same time, other movements derived from the wa r (like Freikorps in Germany) developed a homoerotic mystique around the worship of virility and the glorification of the soldier. Ernst von Solomon s works exemplify this trend. Similarly, Max-Ren. Hesse s novel Partenau, published in 1929, evokes the d rama of the return to normal and certain soldiers inability to accept the values of civil s ociety. Lieutenant Ernst Partenau, 30 years old and the glory of the regiment, secretly falls in love with the brilliant Stefan Kiebold, 22 years old. Their relationship soon disturb s their superiors. Stefan tries to convince Partenau that this love is misplaced, and he ascribes it to the influence of the war years: You refuse to see things as they are, now, or you can t see them, because for four years you lived in the extreme conditions of the No M

an s Land, like a cave man, facing death every day, in an atmosphere of tension and hard ma sculinity. But we ve gone back to women, long since. 54 Partenau commits suicide immediately thereafter. Violence too becomes a dominant theme in a certain strain of homosexual literatu re. James Hanley s novel, The German Prisoner (1930),55 exploits the topic of the war around a sadomasochistic homosexual phantasmagoria. The war here is seen as a ca talyst of violence subjacent to a certain type of homosexual relations; the enemy is at the same time an object of hatred and of desire, the possible lover in times of peace and the symbol of a hostile nation. Unable to overcome the duality of their nature, the heroes give in to 52. Fran.ois-Charles Mougel, Histoire du Royaume-Uni au XXe si.cle, Paris, PUF, 1996, 600 pages. 53. An absurd idea: Andr. Armengaud shows clearly that in France, for example, t he feminine excess was resabsorbed in part by the decrease in male celibacy, and the high rate of marriage between Frenchwomen and foreign or younger men. See La Population fran.aise au X Xe si.cle [1965], Paris, PUF, 1992, 127 pages. 54. Max-Ren. Hesse, Partenau, Paris, Albin Michel, 1930, 323 pages, p.312-315. 55. James Hanley, The German Prisoner, London, ed. part., 1930, 36 pages, p.32-3 3. 26

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days fatal impulses. The climax is reached when two English soldiers violate, then ki ll, the German prisoner, young, fair and beardless, matching the stereotype then in vogu e; they are soon blown to bits, themselves. The cruelty and violence of the text reaches an unbearable pitch, revealing the frustrations of combat. Unable to accept their o wn homosexuality that surfaces at the front, the soldiers project it onto their enemy, denying it and destroying it at the same time. The text seems to synthesize all the fears relat ed to homosexuality in times of war. The sexual tension reaches a paroxysm, the body becomes obsessive, but this discovery of sexual attraction for a man and worse yet, an e nemy, is too brutal to be accepted. All the protagonists are blown away as if no trace must r emain of such wayward actions, as if such a situation must at least be confined to war ti mes.56 The loss of innocence is another major theme of the period, illustrated by the n ovel Tell England (1922), by Ernest Raymond. Here, the homosexuality of the pre-war p eriod, displayed in the form of the passionate friendship between two pupils in a publi c school (a common topic in British literature), and the post-war world stripped of its i llusions. The war highlights this shift it is when his friend dies at Gallipoli that the h ero, Ray, realizes that he loved him. Reminiscing about the idyllic scenes of their adoles cence, he cries, I loved you. I loved you. I loved you. 57 He is left alone with the awarenes s of his lost love and the vague sense that that love could not have existed unless it re mained unrecognized the ambiguity of the homosexual feeling which has no right to be declared in any definite way, and that is condemned as soon as it comes into cle ar existence. The entire novel is charged with homoeroticism and calls upon a laten t homosexual culture that is there, waiting to be reactivated among English readers from the middle class or higher. The attraction of the book rests in its worship of youth ; homosexuality becomes a diffuse feeling of love and compassion for other boys, a way of still denying its sexual character while accentuating how widespread it is in the soci ety.58 Thus the war marks a watershed in terms of sexuality, the revelations of the fro nt having certain consequences once peace was restored. By awakening certain men to the profound truth of their own nature, it destroyed the entire edifice of lies and dissimulation which had enabled Victorian society to preserve its appearance of morality. From this point on, homosexuality was hard to cover up entirely, since it was clear b

y now that it involved more than a narrow segment of the population who were considered sic k or depraved. It suddenly became a possibility for everyone. Even if this acknowledgement was fleeting or unconscious it upset the foundation

of sexual morals. Still, homosexuality was not freed from its underlying but eve r so constraining myths: youth offered in sacrifice, pleasure dissolving in death, gu ilt before society s expectations, the impossibility of finding lasting satisfaction. All the se themes persisted in the inter-war period, so that the liberation of morals remained hyp othetical even among homosexuals, themselves. Those who called it decadence would persist, nonetheless, in associating the new visibility of homosexuality with the war, co mparing it to a plague. 56. Ibid., p.36. 57. Ernest Raymond, Tell England, op. cit., p.298. 58. Ibid., p.92. 27

A History of Homosexuality in Europe THE HOMOSEXUAL SCENE: SUBVERSIVE LANGUAGE The homosexual scene is theater. It is not timeless; quite to the contrary. It f ollows the fads and fashions and interprets the latest trends. Homosexual fashions in s peech, clothing, and gestures follow specific codes that help keep homosexuals in a wor ld to themselves. In ways that are often imperceptible to the uninitiated, these evolv ing fashions delineate variations and sexual conventions. Knowing how to interpret t he details enables one to penetrate to the very heart of homosexual life, to discer n the secrets and to sort out what is part of homosexual reality and what is more a part of th e mythology. The flamboyance of the homosexual scene of the 1920s, for example, ta kes its place among the founding myths of a culture, and gains importance mainly in subv ersion. Homosexual Talk: from Slang to Camp

The role language has played in shaping the homosexual identity was highlighted by Michel Foucault in the first volume of his History of Sexuality. He drew atte ntion particularly to their prolific talk about sex during times when middle-class families preserv ed a Puritanical silence on the topic. Putting it in words is an essential element of r epression, but is also a means of getting around it, of subverting it. Sex, and homosexual sex in particular, was filtered and re-transcribed through a coded vocabulary, fixed expressions which made it possible to channel the discourse and at the same time to cut shor t the discussion, to render a final judgment from the heterosexual point of view. But this same language, these same expressions can also be appropriated by homos exual speakers who void them of their usual meanings, deform them and transform them to the point of using them as the basis for defining their own identity. Talk ab out homosexuality then becomes something else altogether, a separate genre with its own rules and obligatory passages. Therefore, we will start by simply trying to delineate homo sexual speech as such, the everyday speech, the designations, the labels. It may seem anachronistic to talk about homosexual speech. Indeed, the term homosexual was not much used in those days in homosexual circles, except in medica l books (often translated from German). Many homosexuals were unaware of the meani ng of the term, or did not really see themselves as such. Worsley s characters stumbl e on this in his autobiographical Flannelled Fool, in a scene that may be paraphrased as f ollows.

You are a homosexual, she observed, pleasantly. Really? I asked, truly surprised. Aren t you? she insisted. I don t know! I answered, in all good faith...But was I? How could I say? Homo, I certainly was. Sexual, certainly not. In any cas e, that word was not in everyday usage, as it is it now. In those days it was still a te chnical term, the implications of which largely escaped me; and in any case it implied b eing effeminate. Effeminatized, I certainly was not. Wasn t I, on the contrary, hard, a t least a virile athlete?59 In fact, such designations are a function of the culture and the social milieu. Thus Alias, in Maurice Sachs s novel of that title, summarizes the situation: 59. T.C. Worsley, Flannelled Fool. A Slice of Life in the Thirties, London, Alan Ross, 1967, 213 pages, p.25-26. 28

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days He is a fag, he said to me (and every age, every class has its own way, like that, of indicating the same thing or ascribing the same characteristic, using different words: the schoolboy says a fag when the doctor says homosexual and a woman says abnormal ; a journalist might say invert, a strong man a dirty aunt, a bartender in Montmartre: queen, etc.)60 The bourgeoisie traditionally kept mum on this touchy subject. Discussing sexual ity in public was out of the question, much less homosexuality. Girls especially wer e quite unaware of the existence of homosexuals or lesbians. When it became necess ary to mention the question, a suitable vocabulary was terribly lacking. T.C. Worsley n oted: We had, in any event, in our godforsaken hole of a province, no word for those w ho nowadays one would summarily describe as queer.61 In his public school, where homosexuali ty was frequent, it remained unmentioned in everyday conversation. Many homosexual memoirs concerning this period corroborate these statements.62 Very o ften, outside the mainstream there was greater freedom: lower-class workers had crude slang terms for homosexuals, whereas certain avant-garde circles, like Bloomsbury, cou ld be very liberal. It would be an error, however, to think that homosexuality was generally overloo ked. If one studies the homosexual vocabulary in French, German and English communiti es, the multitude of designations is striking. Three categories of terms indicating homosexuals and their activities can be distinguished: scientific or medical ter ms; familiar or slang terms that heterosexuals used when talking about homosexuals which some times were picked up by homosexuals themselves; and terms used within the homosexual community, often having a coded meaning. Equivalent medical terms are found in all three languages: homosexual, lesbian, invert, uranian, uranist, unisexual, antiphysic, indiff.rent, occasionnel (only due to special circumstances), intermediary. One of those could be used to indicate homos exuals. There are a vast variety of colloquial and slang terms; according to Brassa., Parisian slang had more than 40 expressions for a homosexual but only six ways o f designating a lesbian. Among most frequent French terms used in the 1920s and 1930s were tante, tapette, p.d., p.dale, j.sus, mignon, lapin (roughly, aunt, queer, fag, p edal, darling, sweetie, rabbit). For the women, amazones, gouines, goulues, gousses, tribades (amazons, dykes, and literally, gluttons, pods, tribads). My mother said pods, and as I did not understa nd her she said to me: But don t you see, they are women with women. ... My buddies at the

studio spoke among themselves of dykes. None of that made much sense to me; I did not see myself as either a pod or a dyke I never liked those words .[But] one never us ed the word lesbian. 63 60. Maurice Sachs, Alias [1935], Paris, .ditions d Aujourd hui, 1976, 220 pages, p.3 8. 61. T.C. Worsley, Flannelled Fool, op. cit., p.74. 62. Anonymous homosexual testimonies, from people of all backgrounds, have been used to recreate the lifestyle homosexual during this period. The English comments inclu de oral records preserved at the National Sound Archives, some of which have been published in B etween the Acts. Lives of Homosexual Men, 1885-1967 (ed. K. Porter and J. Weeks, London, Routledge, 199 0, 176 pages), Walking after Midnight. Gay Men s Life Stories (Hall-Carpenter Archives, London, Routledge , 1989, 238 pages) and Inventing Ourselves. Lesbian Life Stories (Hall-Carpenter Archives, London, Rout ledge, 1989, 228 pages). 63. Testimony of B., a dressmaker s apprentice born in Paris in 1910, recorded by Claudie Lesselier, in Aspects de l exp.rience lesbienne en France, 1930-1968, m.moire de DEA de socio logie, Paris-VIII, under the direction of R. Castel, November 1987, 148 pages, p.93. 29

A History of Homosexuality in Europe It was roughly the same in England: We were a group of girls who were really lesb ians; although we did not use that term, we knew what the word meant and we had used it.64 In German, Schwule was the term most often used. There were certain more pejorat ive terms like Tunte (queer). Other names were more specific, like Puppenjunge or St richjunge, which designated the homosexual male prostitute. Young women were called Lesbierin or, more commonly Lesbe, or sometimes Tribadie. Bube and B.bin are aff ectionate terms for a young male or female lover. More medical terms were also employed, l ike Urnische or Urning for uranians. In the German and Austrian lesbian milieu, a colo r code was used: lesbians are Lila, Violett, Mauve, Fliederfarben (lilac color), Veilch enblau (purplish); the main Berlin lesbian club was called Damenklubs Violetta, the lesbian song is Lila Lied.65 In England, among the most current terms were to be so (to be like that ) and TBH (To Be Had: available ).66 Queer was already in use. This term seems to have been importe d from Ireland, then spread throughout the theatrical circles. It only took on its pejorative sense later. There were other alternatives in circulation as well, such as to be musical, for example. Homosexuals called themselves by terms with pejorative overtones th at also spread throughout the general public, like pansies, poofs (tantes) or Nancy boys (tapettes, queer). Lesbians also used queer ; the public often identified them as horsey, or girl s in collar and tie, an allusion to their masculine dress.67 The terms butch and fem came later. Homosexual slang (parlare) extended to many situations. Of course, it was used t o indicate sexual practices of a range and variety that would be impossible to lis t completely. Making love with a boy could be called shagging someone, or having a go with someone.68 Plain-sewing meant mutual masturbation; it was a contemporary term in homosexual slang borrowed from the navy, just like icated coitus contra ventrem. 69 But the slang xual life and thus ggeration of homosexual d titled people divided the year into Princeton-first-year, which ind

was not limited to sex; it left its mark on every aspect of homose came to embody what we know as high camp. High camp, a kind of exa postures and clich.s, was a parody of the normal life of the rich an

who lived in Mayfair. The guys took the names of well-bred ladies, seasons, designated certain bars and restaurants as fashionable and

used a secret terminology based on posing (camp), dressing up (drag) and satire (send u p). The best definition of high camp was given by Christopher Isherwood in The World in the Evening, where he explains, 64. Testimony of Eleonor, farm wife, recorded by Suzanne Neild and Rosalind Pars on, Women like us, London, The Women s Press, 1992, 171 pages, p.33. 65. See annexes (in volume 2 of this work). For more on this topic, see Das Lila Wien um 1900, zur .sthetik der Homosexualit.ten, Vienne, Promedia, 1986, 127 pages. Bear in mind a lso that Ren.e Vivien was nicknamed la Muse aux violettes. 66. Cited in particular by Frank Oliver, a navy mechanic, in Walking after Midni ght (op. cit.), John, a dancer and gigolo, in Between the Acts (op. cit., p.137), and Gifford Skinner, a shopkeeper, ( Cocktails in the Bath, Gay News, n 135, p.21-24). 67. See Myrtle Salomon and Olive Ager at the National Sound Archives (Hall-Carpe nter Archives), and Gifford Skinner, Cocktails in the Bath, loc. cit. 68. Fred, a hobo, in Between the Acts, op. cit., p.15. 69.W.H. Auden was the first to say that in print. 30

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days You think that what is camp is an elegant young man with bleached hair, wearing a Gainsborough hat and a feather boa and who thinks he s Marlene Dietrich?... What I am talking about is high camp... true high camp is basically serious. One does not make fun of it, one uses it to make fun of himself. One expresses what is re ally serious through mockery, artifice and elegance.70 Camp helps homosexuals to formulate their own culture. According to Quentin Crisp (one of the best representatives of camp), camp came into being in the 192 0s as a reaction to the crisis in sexual values, the upheaval of feminine and masculine roles that marked the period. All that game of stylizations which is now known by the name of camp (a word which I heard then for the first time) was self-explanatory in 1926. Women moved and gesticulated that way. Homosexuals wished to copy them, for obvious reasons. What is strange about camp is that it became fossilized. The mannerisms never changed. Now, if I saw a woman sitting with her knees together, one hand on the hip and the other lightly touching the hair on the nape of her neck, I would think: E ither she is reliving her last social triumph, in 1926, or she is a transvestite. 71 The use of a specific language is the first act of homosexual differentiation. T he slang functions as a secret code and brings homosexuals closer to troublemakers and delinquents, who also have a need for anonymity and dissimulation. The linguisti c expansion testifies to the cultural richness and the desire of homosexuals for a ffirmation. The middle-class world of silence, of non-designation, of refusal to name and th us to recognize, is opposed by the noisy world of homosexuality, the logorrhea of camp, the tende ncy to say it all, to say too much. Dandies and Flappers: Homosexuals Have Style Blinded by mascara and rendered mute by lipstick, I paraded in the dark streets of Pimlico.... I wore a veil so thick that it completely obscured the road in front of me. That didn t matter. There were others to watch where I was going.72 Among the myths associated with the 1920s, the flamboyance of style is the most persistent. In fact, membership in a group justifies the use of a vestimentary c ode that identifies its members. Certainly, what most homosexuals wanted was to be able t o blend in with the mass of normal people and so they conformed to the canons of virility that were in vogue at the time, adding only the slightest variations to their appeara nce. According to Michel de Coglay, those who were willing to give themselves away th rough sartorial hints were in the minority and the serious, intelligent and embarrassed

homosexual did not distinguish himself in any way.73 The hair was worn very short at the na pe of the neck and on the sides, brilliantined and combed in order to form a wave o r plastered smooth like patent leather.74 The suit was dark, of thick fabric, broad in cut, with 70. Christopher Isherwood, cited by Gay News, n 60, p.19. 71. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant [1968], London, Fontana, 1986, 217 pa ges, p.26-27. 72. Ibid., p.22. 73. Michel du Coglay, Chez les mauvais gar.ons. Choses vues, Paris, R. Saillard, 1938, 221 pages, p.137. 74. See Gifford Skinner, Cocktails in the Bath, loc. cit. 31

A History of Homosexuality in Europe the bottom of the trousers flared. This baggy fashion had some erotic advantages , as Gifford Skinner relates: The average man wore his trousers very full cut and they went up almost to the chest. The underclothes, if one wore any, were quite as loose and left the genit als free. Any friction caused by walking could produce the most stark effect. In the stree t, homosexuals would stud their conversation with remarks like, Did you see that piece? or Look what s coming he s sticking straight out! This was often an illusion caused by a fold in the clothing, but it was a pleasant pastime and didn t cost an ything. 75 Others, however, sought a departure from the ubiquitous classicism. Suits in electric blue, almond green or old rose were much admired, but few dared to wear them for fear of being kicked out of public places.76 Certain accessories became homo sexual signs of recognition, in particular suede shoes and camel s hair coats. Some dared to wear their hair long. Any eccentricity was readily perceived as proof of inversion, leading to a littl e adventure for Quentin Crisp, a flagrant homosexual if ever there was one, when h e presented himself at the draft board: While his eyes were being tested, they said to him, You ve dyed your hair. That s a sign of sexual perversion. Do you know what these wor ds mean? He just said yes, and that he was a homosexual.77 That does not mean that the man in the street could clearly identify a homosexua l, that he knew enough to decipher the signs. However, any sartorial oddity was sus picious and could easily be seen as a sign of homosexuality. There was one way out: to b e perceived as an artist, i.e. necessarily an original. Crisp notes that the sexual significan ce of certain forms of comportment was understood only vaguely, but the sartorial symb olism was recognized by everyone. Wearing suede shoes inevitably made you suspect. Any one whose hair was a little raggedy at the nape of the neck was regarded as an artis t, a foreigner, or worse yet. One of his friends told him that, when someone introduced him to a n older gentleman as an artist, the man said: Oh, I know this young man is an artis t. The other day I saw him on the street in a brown jacket. 78 In the same way, the use of make-up was spreading, so that mere possession of a powder puff was enough to prove one s homosexuality for the police. Evelyn Waugh remembers sleazy young men in shirtsleeves standing in a bar, repairing the deva stations caused by grenadine and cr.me de cacao with powder and lipstick.79 This practice

was still tainted with infamy and it generally was indulged in secrecy, sheerly for the titillation: Sometimes I arranged to meet my friend George at the station. We would board in first class, for there was no conductor at that hour of the night and t he compartments were private with a mirror on the wall. George was mad about make-up and initiated me. It was just brown powder bought from a theater shop on Leicest er Square. Once applied, we would ask each other if it were visible. Yes meant that a 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 32 Ibid. Ibid. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, op. cit., p.115. Ibid., p.28. Cited by Lain Finlayson, Gay Dress, in Gay News, n 60, p.19.

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days layer had better be quickly removed. No meant the addition of a little more powder ; and so on to Liverpool Street. Once in the subway and until the end of the line, we would sit in the corner very withdrawn, terrified at the thought of being seen a nd perhaps sent to prison.80 The very chic Stephen Tennant, taking tea with his aunt, was admonished: Stephen, darling, go and wash your face. Thus we know that the practice was by no means limited to male prostitutes, but involved various social classes. However, it was far from being well accepted, even in the most exalted circles. At a ball hosted by the Earl of Pembroke, Cecil Beaton was thrown in the water by some of the more virile young men; one of them shouted: Do you think the fag drowned? According to Tennant, who was there at the time, the attack was caused by the abuse of make-up; he was convinc ed that it was Beaton s made-up face that so disturbed the thugs.81 In the 1920s, Stephen Tennant embodied homosexual aesthetics carried to its apogee. He was a great beauty, and he enjoyed using all the artifices of seducti on and l art de la pose, theatricality. In that, he exaggerated the prevailing fashion for dr essing up. Vogue, in its spring 1920 edition, wrote that there was nothing more amusing tha n to dress up and paint one s face outrageously for, as Tallulah Bankhead says, there is no suc h thing as too much lipstick. 82 Photographed by Cecil Beaton, especially, Tennant lo oked like a prince charming. Even in his everyday wear, he stood apart from the crowd ; his biographer Philip Hoare made much of his style, and his innate sense of theater which made him a symbol of the Bright Young People of the 1920s in London. Late in the decade, Tennant represented the most extreme of fashion for a man, at least. His feminin e manners and appearance were not diminished by the striped double-breasted suits he wore, in good taste and well cut, which ought to have made him resemble any young fellow downtown. But Stephen s physical presence was enough to belie such an impression. He was large and imperious, but he moved with a pronounced step, aff ected, which was described as prancing or as seeming to be attached at the knees. Each of h is movements, from the facial muscles to his long limbs, seemed calculated for effe ct. He gilded his fair hair with a sprinkling of gold dust, and used certain preparatio ns to hold the dark roots in check. Stephen could very well have been taken for a Vogue illu stration perhaps by Lepappe brought to life. 83

The most famous Bright Young People had made their studies in Oxford, like Harold Acton and Brian Howard.84 Acton was the first to wear very broad trousers (Oxford bags) in lavender. Together with Cecil Beaton, Stephen Tennant and other young society men they organized all kinds of themed evenings. Stephen Tennant s effemin ate appearance caused ambivalent reactions. Some were simply struck: I do not know if that is a man or a woman, but it is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, 85 th e admiral Sir Lewis Clinton-Baker would say. Others were less indulgent. When Tennant arri ved one evening dressed particularly outrageously, the criticism reached a boiling p oint. Rex Whistler, one of his friends, considered it regrettable that he had gone too far : He posed 80. Gifford Skinner, Cocktails in the Bath, loc. cit. 81. Cited by Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant, Londo n, Penguin, 1992, 463 pages, p.85-86. 82. Ibid., p.75. 83. Ibid., p.81. 84. See chapter three . 85. Cited by Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures, op. cit., p.81. 33

A History of Homosexuality in Europe as much as a girl. Rex s brother added, Men should not draw attention to themselves.

That was the only true charge against Stephen, and it was irrefutable. Parents al so complained that their children spent time with Stephen. Edith Olivier noted that Helena Folkestone was complaining about how badly people spoke of Stephen, that he was hated by people who did not understand him. Olivier noted that they were out of touch with the times, since nowadays so many boys resemble girls without being effeminate. That is the kind of boys that have grown up since the war. 86 The main trends which we have just reviewed for men are also found among women. The woman of the 1920s is mythically associated with the flapper, summari zed in a few visual stereotypes: hair cut short, short skirt, cigarette. This is a mode rn woman, independent, who takes care of her appearance, and goes to dance halls and espec ially the cinema. The flapper is a sign of the beginnings of the Americanization of Europe an societies. Her image was first broadcast by Hollywood films through actresses like Louise Brooks and Clara Bow, then by the great dressmakers like Poiret, Madeleine Vionn et, and Coco Chanel, as well as photographers like Edward Steichen, Horst and Beaton. Th e proliferation of women s periodicals spread the new fashion throughout all of society, thus contributing to the creation of a mass phenomenon.87 The short hair, the short, fluids dresses that did not impede walking, were very symbols of independence. However, while this new fashion was indeed shocking, it was not always seen in negatively , especially among young people. The flapper, who hung around with young men of her age, was easily accepted as a comrade who could share common interests in sport or dancin g, who was not physically timid, whom one did not have to treat with special care. With out exaggeration, one can see that the flapper perfectly embodied the other side of the homosexual tendency that suffused the post-war period. The companion from the trenches is substituted by an androgynous wife who, with her flat chest and her helmet of sh ort hair, may even recall the ideal friend met during the war. Thus, Leslie Runciman, of E ton and Cambridge, with a homosexual past, ends up marrying the novelist Rosamund Lehman n, herself sexually troubled, for her ambiguous personality: I know that it may seem extraordinary that I should wish to spend my life with a woman, but Rosamund resembles a boy much more than a woman. She has the spirit of a man. 88 Beyond the traditional image of the flapper, the figure of the lesbian can be di stinguished.

While the flapper is accused of casting doubt on the value of femininity, her androgynous allure is mitigated by the feminine accessories: silk hose, fans, su nshades, boas. She ostentatiously flirts with her cigarette-holder. Her heavy make-up is accentuated by the plucked eyebrows and the feathers, fringes, and pearls which adorn her ha ir. While the criticism may have become outspoken, it was first and foremost directe d against unmarried women, those who worked, followed the fashions, and were easy targets of suspicion of deviant practices. In France, women had been prohibited from wearing men s clothes since about 1805. Those who still wanted to wear trousers we re to address themselves to the police prefecture and to request a special permit. Sev eral peti 86. Ibid. 87. In France, Le Petit .cho de la mode (1880), Modes et travaux (1919), Le Jard in des modes (1923), MarieClaire (1937). The anglo-saxon examples dominated, with Harper s Bazaar and Vogue, the French version of which came out in 1920. 88. Cited by Gillian Tindall, Rosamund Lehmann: An Appreciation, London, Chatto & Windus, 1985, 201 pages, p.47. 34

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days tions had been submitted to Parliament early in the 19th century in the hope of abolishing this law, without success. However, right up until the 1920s, this taste for cro ss-dressing was not systematically related to lesbianism. On the contrary, the lesbians asse rted their femininity. Liane de Pougy, for example, said, We liked long hair, beautiful boso ms, pouts and glances, charm, grace; not woman-boys. Why would we wish to resemble to our enemies? as Natalie-Flossie used to murmur. 89

However, the lesbians of the avant-garde followed the example of Radclyffe Hall and Una Troubridge by exaggerating the flapper fashion.90 Short hair was the fas hion after the war, but Radclyffe Hall chose to affect the Eton crop, a cut much shor ter and more masculine than was usual. When the fashion returned to longer and more femi nine cuts at the end of the 1920s, she chose a crew-cut. She affected men s suits, ties and laceup shoes. To accentuate her male appearance, she smoked cigars and adopted viril e poses, feet apart and hands in her pockets. It should be noted that the strict separation of roles adopted by the lesbian co uple at the time led to a dichotomy in the costumes of the two partners. Radclyffe Ha ll, as a true lesbian (butch), found it appropriate to wear men s clothes, whereas Una Troubr idge (fem) retained feminine elements in her attire. Her hair was never as short as R adclyffe Hall s, and she wore dresses and high heels. In France, Violette Leduc also distinguished herself by wearing a suit; her lover of the time, Hermine, reproache d her, saying that she was imitating them. At the publishing house where she worked, they would tease: I saw Violette Leduc at a concert; yes, in the same getup. This attit ude was adopted intentionally: I hardened my baroque face with razor-cut hair cut above t he temples; I wanted to be a focus of curiosity for the public in the caf.s, for th e public promenading in the theater because I was ashamed of my face, and at the same time I imposed it on others. 91 Cross-dressing was also very much in style among the lesbians in the inter-war period. Vita Sackville-West, for an escapade in Paris with Violet Trefusis on Oc tober 5, 1920, disguised herself as a young man, which enabled her to display her passion for her partner without risk: I dressed myself as a boy. It was easy, I put a khaki band around my head, which was the style at the time and did not attract attention. I browned my face and

my hands... My large size was useful. I looked like a rather neglected young man , a kind of student of about nineteen years old.92 But while these vestimentary extravagances might be seen in the eyes of the unin formed public as some vestige of aristocratic eccentricity, it was more difficult for a nonymous lesbians to affirm their identity. Above all, they ran into maternal hostility: M y 89. Cited by Jean Chalon, Liane de Pougy, Paris, Flammarion, 1994, 389 pages, p. 277. 90. See Katrina Rolley, Cutting a Dash: The Dress of Radclyffe Hall and Una Troub ridge, in Feminist Review, n 35, summer 1990. 91. Violette Leduc, La B.tarde, Paris, Gallimard, 1964, 462 pages, p.166. Violet Leduc is a very ambiguous personality and her testimony must be seen in context: she goes out wi th Ermine, but also with Gabriel, and it is he whom she seeks to please by dressing this way. At the same time, it is partly a provocation: she likes to be seen as a lesbian. Besides, the conspicuou s clothing permits her to distract people from her ugliness they are so struck by what kind she is that the y no longer notice what she looks like. 92. Nigel Nicolson, Portrait d un mariage [1973], Paris, Stock, 1992, 319 pages, p .151. 35

A History of Homosexuality in Europe mother wanted me to wear the requisite feminine clothing. I wanted to wear short s. At seven or eight years, I cut off my curls with a pair of manicure scissors. If I had been a boy, I would have had short hair. My mother struck me. They bobbed my hair and by the age of twelve years I had an Eton crop. There was a terrible argument, but I gave arist ocratic examples to support my position. 93 In the 1930s, the fashion turned once again toward a more feminine look and lesb ians became even more conspicuous. The dresses were more colorful; they were longer, and the contours of the body were accentuated again. Hair remained short, but mi ght be curly, waved or fringed. The only concessions to masculinity were sailor pants, then the beach pyjamas that came out in the 1930s; one might wear them at home, on the be ach, in a boat; but they were still strongly associated with homosexuality. It became in creasingly difficult for lesbians to go unnoticed. Peter Quennell, who met Vita Sackville-W est in 1936, was struck by her unusual appearance. He noted that she was larger and mor e imposing than her husband who, standing by her side with his pink face, his bria r pipe and his tweed jacket, looked like nothing so much as a graduate student, while s he evoked a vigorous mixture of both sexes: Lady Chatterley and her lover in one an d the same incarnation. Curls of thick black hair straggled out from under a wide-brim med Spanish hat. She had very thick eyebrows, and very dark eyes; her cheeks were hig hly coloured and she made no effort to dissimulate the very visible moustache that V irginia had affectionately mentioned. She was wearing heavy earrings and a thin string o f pearls that plunged down inside a lace blouse, and over it all great velvet jacket, whi le her legs, which Mrs. Woolf said called to mind the trunks of vigorous trees, were stuffed into gamekeepers breeches and high boots laced to the knees. 94 Thus, a pure homosexual vestimentary culture developed in the 1920s and 1930s. While it allowed homosexuals to identify one another more clearly, it also put t hem at the mercy of a society increasingly skillful at reading through the codes. Miss Runcib le wore men s trousers, and Miles touched up his lashes in the dining room of the hot el where they stopped to lunch. They were asked to leave. 95 MAGICAL CITIES, MYTHICAL CITIES: THE GEOGRAPHY OF WHERE TO MEET Among the founding myths of the homosexual liberation of the 1920s, certain

cities Berlin, London, Paris hold a special place. The richness of the homosexua l scene in those towns, the profusion of homosexual hang-outs, the exuberance of t he nocturnal festivities made them symbols of pleasure and permissiveness, the memory of which lingered on for decades. However, behind this glowing fa.ade, the homosexu al scene consisted more of tawdry bars, dismal provinces, and shame. It may seem foolhardy to try to map out the homosexual and lesbian places in France, England and Germany in the inter-war period: after all, in all three cou ntries, many meeting places were skillfully dissimulated in order to avoid drawing the a ttention of the police. An establishment could be shut down one week and reopen shortly i n 93. Olive Ager, National Sound Archives (Hall-Carpenter Archives). 94. Cited by Victoria Glendinning, Vita, la vie de Vita Sackville-West, Paris, A lbin Michel, 1987, 437 pages, p.316-317. 95. Evelyn Waugh, Ces corps vils, Paris, UGE, coll. 10/18, 1991, 245 pages, p.167. 36

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days another location, under another name. In a small provincial town, there might ve ry well exist a bar, a dance hall or a club that could be used as a meeting place for ho mosexuals, without advertising that fact. Unlike the analogous establishments in the capita l, these haunts might be mixed and open to heterosexuals as well; but the proprietors wer e accommodating people, probably homosexual themselves.96 In spite of the limitati ons, on the basis of existing sources we can draw an impressive and picturesque view of the homosexual scene in the inter-war period a panorama of the Roaring Twenties. Berlin, A Homosexual Capital In the 1920s, Berlin became an obligatory stopping place for European homosexual s. Visitors accounts glow with enthusiasm: Marcel, how you would like this big blond bitch of a city. I hopped over here from Venice. Joy keeps me from sleepin g. There are great-looking young men 97 Many French works, whose writers were struggling to come up with a compelling subject, take on a tone of amused sympathy or virtuous indignation and simply enumerate the names and addresses of most of the homosexual bars and associations, sometimes constituting a virtual guide to homosexual life in B erlin. Louis-Charles Royer, in L Amour en Allemagne (1936), described how he discovered Ber lin in June 1930: I walked into a bar to get some change and the barman asked me: Are you French? Yes. Pederast? Well, I am not used to such direct assaults; my eyes blinked. The barman must have taken that for assent; he squeezed my hand in his own soft, be-ringed fingers: Pleased to meet you. Then, taking a look at the clock, he added, You were well informed. But you ve arrived a little early. Come back tonight , around ten o clock. 98 Each of Royer s incursions into Berlin life plunged him into confusion. Wishing to step into a hotel with a lady, he was taken aside by the proprietor, who asked h im whether his partner was a transvestite. Royer denied it vehemently, to which the proprietor responded: Well then, what are you doing here? As described by foreign visitors, the whole capital seemed to be in the hands of homosexuals.99 While that is clearly an exaggeration, there admittedly was a gre at number of meeting places. Some clubs only operated for a few months; others beca me institutions. In the words of Charlotte Wolff, a young lesbian in the 1920s, and then a sexologist

exiled under the Nazi regime: 96. Research in the local and departmental archives would help us to understand the homosexual subculture in the provinces; but the current work forcuses on comparisons at the national level, and so such research has not been conducted. Nevertheless, in the present chapter and in Chapter Seven, I provide information on homosexual life in harbor towns like Tou lon, Dover and Hamburg, which had a broad range of homosexual (but probably not lesbian) establ ishments. 97. Letter from Ren. Crevel to Marcel Jouhandeau, late 1928, in Masques, n 17, sp ring 1983, p.49. 98. Louis-Charles Royer, L Amour en Allemagne, Paris, .ditions de France, 1936, 22 5 pages, p.2. 99. They were already very numerous, before the war, for Magnus Hirschfeld speak s of more than 50000 homosexuals in the capital, in Les Homosexuels de Berlin (1908 (reedi ted., Paris, Cahiers GaiKitschCamp, 1993, 103 pages). 37

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Homo bars and nightclubs had sprung up not only in the trendy districts of west Berlin, but also in the poor neighborhoods. One might see a line of Mercedes in front of the homo bars as well as in front of the upper crust lesbian nightclubs. Men and women, who may have been hetero, would greedily watch the comings and goings of the underground society, which now goes by the horrible term subculture. Some of those who came as onlookers would join in the fun and danced with partners of th e 100 same sex. Scandal is good publicity, and the more visible establishments, like Eldorado, started to attract more heterosexual tourists in search of exotic frissons. The community was very fragmented: not only according to the variety of sexual demand, but als o according to social and cultural origins. The male scene The trendiest and best-known nightclub was Eldorado, on Lutherstrasse; it was famed throughout Europe for its transvestite shows. But this club only very part ially reflects the homosexual life of Berlin, of which it gave a brilliant sketch. It was enlarged and reopened in 1927 on Motzstrasse, at the corner of Kahlkreuthstrasse. It was a meeting point for artists, writers, actors and society men; heteros and homos, Berliners and foreigners met there. At any rate, one had to be seen there. The Mikado, B.low-Kasino and Kleist-Kasino also put on transvestite revues. The Mikado, which enjoyed an exce ptional longevity, was opened in 1907 and closed in 1932-1933. The Silhouette, at 24 Gei sbergstrasse, was also a meeting place for celebrities. There, one might find the homosexual actor Hubert von Meyerinck, Conradt Veidt, and Marlene Dietrich. The smartest cl ubs were in the west of Berlin, around B.lowstrasse, Nollendorfplatz up to Kurf.rste ndamm. Then there was a host of homosexual clubs and bars, each one with its own distin ct character, clientele and ambiance. Some put on shows, others were simply places to flirt and hang out, where one could find a partner for a dance or a night. These bars were the foundation of ordinary Berlin homosexual life; some bore evocative names (like t he caf. Amicitia), others were perfectly anonymous only the informed customer would know what to expect inside. Many were tastefully decorated, with boudoir-like soft li ghting and upholstered banquettes to facilitate dialogue and enable clients to become acquainted, with the utmost discretion. These clubs were preferred by homosexual

s of the middle class, and above all they sought to preserve their reputation and avo id embarrassing scenes, touts, gigolos and too-conspicuous personalities. Along Siegesallee were a multitude of bars, like Zum kleinen L.wen, at 7 Skalizer Strasse, Windsbona-Kasi no, Marien-Kasino, the caf. Amicitia, Palast-Europa, and Palast-Papagei. This was Hom osexual Row, which led to the Brandenburg Gate. Conti-Kasino held theme evenings, a musical soir.e on Tuesdays, an evening for the elite on Thursday, private partie s on Saturdays. Kleist-Kasino, 14 Kleiststrasse, was frequented by the trade and banking clerks, lower-middle-class men who savored the furnishings, the cocktails and canap.s. The last category of establishments, the pubs and beer halls, were found primari ly in central Berlin or to the north. Here, the workers and less fortunate could hu ddle; an unemployed man might be had for a beer and a tip. This is the type of bar that A uden and Isherwood visited during their stay in Berlin. Cozy Corner was, in fact, Noster s Res 100. Charlotte Wolff, Hindsight, London, Quartet Books, 1980, 312 pages, p.73. 38

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days taurant zur H.tte, 7 Zossener Strasse, near Hallesches Tor, a working-class neigh borhood. It survived primarily due to its regular clientele; tourists avoided it, conside ring the neighborhood none too safe. In fact, there was nothing decadent about the es tablishment: it was decorated with photographs of boxers and bicycle racers, and the crowd consisted largely of young laborers who were out of work; they would sit, playin g cards and waiting for customers, their shirts open to the navel and sleeves rolled up. The Adonis-Diele, Alexanderstrasse, Caf. Fritz, 1a Neue Gr.nstrasse, Marburger-Diele , N.rnbergerDiele, Klubhaus Alexander-Palast, and Hohenzollern-Diele were all similar. The Karlsbad pastry shop and caf., on Potsdamer Strasse, hosted the drug crowd, and gigolos: The whole room was full of noisy men and young fellows, holding forth on one topic or another, making eloquently caressing gestures. A teenager, with great b ig eyes dilated by morphine, was lounging in the middle of the room; under his jacket, o ne could see his naked chest, and his feet were also naked, in sandals. He dipped a nd twisted to the muted yet feral sounds of a piano and violin, extending his arms, bending his wrists, wiggling, lying down, and standing up again abruptly...101 There were also numerous cabarets catering to soldiers. Along the promenades, so ldiers would be on the make, singly or in groups. 102 In his journal, Klaus Mann often evoked the homosexual subculture. Here, one can discover the names of small, unk nown pubs and beer halls for the popular classes, such as Lunte ( fox tail which had a p hallic connotation in slang). Klaus Mann proves that it was entirely possible to live an open and even vibrant sexual life as a homosexual in the 1920s October 30, 1931: Went to the Parisian. Brought to my table a little sailor with a pretty nape, and who was an appalling liar. Stopped for a soup at the Jockey, ma de out with Freddy. December 4: With a nice enough young peasant (and with an enormous thing), in a place near Kaufingerstrasse. December 30: Went to the baths (and took a bath) and had a massage; I really lik e the place, but nothing happened all the men were too fat; the masseur didn t dare to try anything, either.

January 2, 1932: With Babs, went to Lenbachplatz. Found a boy called Narcissus. Went with him to B s place. All three. Funny enough, and vulgar, but exciting. January 17: to the Private Club, a convivial homo joint with a faux-fashionable atmosphere and a lot of transvestites. Willy spent the night with me. Love.103 The female scene Berlin also had a well-developed and rather well-known lesbian subculture, espec ially after The Lesbians of Berlin came out in 1928, written by Ruth Margarite R.llig with a preface by Magnus Hirschfeld.104 The German capital had a vast choice of lesbian estab 101. Willy, quoting Ambroise Got, in Le Troisi.me Sexe, Paris, Paris-.dition, 19 27, 268 pages, p.52. 102. Magnus Hirschfeld, Les Homosexuels de Berlin, op. cit., p.72. 103. Klaus Mann, Journal. Les ann.es brunes, 1931-1936, Paris, Grasset, 1996, 45 2 pages, p.32, 37, 42 and 47-48. Italics in the original. 39

A History of Homosexuality in Europe lishments, around fifty of them, each striving to satisfy the demands of the cli entele: Here each one can find her own form of happiness, for they make a point of satisfying every taste. 105 The very chic Chez ma belle-soeur ( My sister-in-law s ) was a women s club located at 13 Marburger Strasse, but men were admitted, too. A 13-year-old bellb oy greeted visitors. Frescoes on the walls endeavored to evoke Mytilene, and booths were shielded by curtains to mask the frolicking of the young women. It seems that th is club was mostly a show place for the titillation of foreigners passing through town. Indeed, one young woman told Louis-Charles Royer that, The real ones, you know, don t come here. 106 Mostly, the distinguished lesbian would go to her private club; or she m ight put in an appearance at Topp and Eldorado, two large clubs where it was good to be s een. Dorian Gray, 57 B.lowstrasse, was one of oldest and better-known homosexual esta blishments. It was a mixed club, with certain days reserved for women and others for men. Friday, for example, was elite day for ladies, with dancing alternating with stage shows. Theme nights included a Bavarian alpine festival, and a festival of the Rhenish grape harvest. The cuisine was refined Viennese, the atmosphere was traditional and of good quality. Salon Meyer, or Meyer Stube, was outside the center, in the west of Ber lin, on Xantener Strasse. It was a miniature bar owned by two ladies; there was no live music but a gramophone lent some ambiance. The clientele were particularly refined: regula r visitors included countesses, artists, and famous personalities. The Caf. Domino, 13 Marburger Strasse, received only the top-drawer lesbians. Frozen sherry, cocktails, and sparkling wine were sipped as jazz played in the background. The Monbijou was a very private club indeed, located in west Berlin at Wormser and Luther Strasse; it ha d some six hundred members. One could only get in if introduced by one of the members. The interior was very elegant, separated into many small and intimate rooms; under s oft lights, surrounded by explicit illustrations, movie stars, singers and the lesbi an intellectual elite sat comfortably ensconced in leather easy chairs. Twice a year a great pri vate ball was given at La Skala of Berlin. In general, Berlin s lesbian establishments were characterized by a refined atmosp here, soft and indirect lighting, and sentimental music. Establishments opened and closed, as much due to the vagaries of fashion in the lesbian community as to po lice

action. Hohenzollern, located at 101 B.lowstrasse, was one of the first caf.s to tolerate and protect lesbians; in 1928, it suffered from competition from newer establish ments and lost its reputation. Maly und Jugel was a very private club located 16 Lutherstr asse. Window panes covered with thick curtains blocked out the street; inside, the d.c or was a subdued play of garnet red and pearl gray, with light-colored paintings, deep ar mchairs and a piano. The atmosphere was chaste; people came by the couple and there were none of those theatrical scenes of the clubs for foreigners. The lesbian newspaper Die Freundin provides some information on these female meeting places. They tended to pop up in the same neighborhoods, even in the sam e 104. Ruth Margarete R.llig (1887-1969) was a popular writer who published novels and serials in newspapers; she also worked as a journalist for several lesbian magazines suc h as Die Freundin and Gar.onne. She hosted stage performers, homosexuals, lesbians and transvestites a t home for evenings of singing, or spiritualism sessions. 105. Ruth Margarite R.llig, Les Lesbiennes de Berlin [1928], Paris, Cahiers GaiKitsch-Camp, n 16, 1992, 140 pages, p.53. 106. Louis-Charles Royer, L Amour en Allemagne, op. cit., p.14. 40

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days streets; some establishments hosted different clubs on different days of the wee k. Very often, the same lesbians were frequent visitors to several of these establishmen ts, and the same formulas were found in two or three clubs. Damenklub Harmonie met every Wednesday with the Exchange-Fests.le, 32 Jakobstrasse; the Association des Amies Thursday in K.hler s Fests.le, 24 Meerstrasse, the Club Heiderose every Sunday at the Kollosseum, 62 Kommandantenstrasse. Verona-Diele was at 36 Kleiststrasse. In 192 8, the Damenklub Tatjana opened; it met Wednesday in Alexander-Palast; in 1929, the Er. to club opened at 72 Kommandantenstrasse. At the same address, the Damenklub Sappho occupied the second floor; it met on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 7:00 PM, and Sundays from 5:00. The K.lnerhof Hotel hosted lesbians on Monday and Thursda y from 5:00 until 8:00 PM. New names and addresses appeared each year until 1932, when new lesbian clubs appeared for the last time: Manuela, 26 Joachimstaler Strasse; Monokel-Diele, 14 Budapester Strasse; Geisha, 72 Augsburger Strasse. Not all the lesbians preferred the fashionable clubs; some simply went to the lo cal caf.s or even to shady joints in bad neighborhoods. Auluka, at 72 Augsburger Str asse, was off-color to the point of extravagance. The Caf. Olala, Zielenstrasse, was rathe r coarse; as many men went there as women. The Topp Cellar, or Toppkeller, 13 Schweinstrasse, was a hideaway for women where men are tolerated as consumers and onlookers; they he ld contests like the most beautiful lady s calf. Sometimes, late in the evening, famous singers, actresses, and dancers would come in, but the general atmosphere was ra ther sordid. Charlotte Wolff describes one scene: A strange creature, a large woman who wore a black sombrero and looked like a man, directed the dancers with an eagle eye. She invited us to join them, and we spread out in a circle around her. She stood at the center of the circle and gav e commands in a hypnotic voice. We stepped forward and back, holding a glass with one hand and our neighbor with the other. This went on until we received the order t o drink and to throw our empty glasses over our shoulders.107 The Tavern, Georgestrasse, was a private jazz club that was used as the model fo r the Skorpion in A. E. Weirauch s lesbian novel. One room was reserved for the ladi es; there was smoking, dancing, and drinking. Beer festivals, masked balls, and sort ies on the beach were periodically organized. The atmosphere was crude, and fairly sexual;

arguments were frequent. Here the most haggard women in Berlin would turn up, prematurely haggard and faded. The Club des amies was for women of the popular classes; it held balls two or th ree times a week in Alexander-Palast in Landsberger Strasse; Saturdays and Sundays w ere packed. Violetta, 37 B.lowstrasse, was very popular; it was a center for homosex ual young women in business, saleswomen, manual laborers, and lower level employees. Dances were held, and conferences and cultural events, and a sporting group offe red excursions. Violetta took as its mission to make love and harmony reign, to figh t against contempt for homosexuals, and to fight against the extension of 175 of the Penal code to women. Many women came there dressed as men; evenings were organized in order to help people meet each other; and Das Lila Lied was sung ( the mauve song, the lesbi an anthem of Berlin). During certain festive evenings, each woman was entitled to p ick up a 107. Charlotte Wolff, Hindsight, op. cit., p.76-77. 41

A History of Homosexuality in Europe large number at the cloakroom, which she should wear very visibly. Toward midnig ht, mail would be delivered, and each woman could write the number of anyone whom she found interesting. Every means was employed to help them find partners: when the Tyrolian was played, no woman should remain seated; everyone was to step forward, dance, and change partners. In 1929, Violetta and the Monbijou club were combined; to celebrate this event, a great festival was organized on September 15 in Amerikanischen Tanzpalast, 72 Ko mmandantenstrasse. The two clubs then met at this address every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. For the Christmas festivities in 1929, a great masked ball was held. At the Caf. Princess, 4 Gleditschstrasse, each Thursday the merry shrews would meet; the evening went on until everyone was drunk. Other lesbian clubs also met here. The Magic Flute was a dance hall located Kommandanturstrasse where the readership of the lesbian newspaper Frauenliebe would meet. The masculine lesbians (Bubis) were clearly distinguishable from the female lesbians (M.dis). Each week, masked balls and dances were announced in Die Freundin. On April 23, 1927, a great ball was planned at the Exchange-Fests.le; September 2, a great co stume ball was held in Alexander-Palast. On February 4, 1928, a great masked ball marked Ma rdi Gras. Florida, at 72 Kommandantenstrasse, organized a costume ball on October 3, 1929. In fact, there was quite a lot of dancing in Berlin. Big costume balls were freq uently held to bring together the homosexuals of the city, and homosexuals who were visiting made a point of attending. Vita Sackville-West wrote, We went to ball of Sodomites. A g reat number of them were dressed as women, but I suppose that I was, in this respect, the only authenticate article. 108 Christopher Isherwood went to a Christmas ball in 1929 at In den Zelten. He met the great actor Conradt Veidt there. Foreign journalists tended to write rather frightened descriptions of these evenings. Oscar M.t.nier attended a masked ball at Dresdne r Strasse, the Dresdner-Casino. Inside there were 400 500 people, all in costume and all of them men. Half were dressed as women. M.t.nier was especially struck by the calm and the reserve of this assembly. Only the waltz, the scottish, mazurkas and polkas were danced; no one looked astonished and no one laughed; the most eccentric groups d id not draw attention. Everyone was having a good time without worrying about the neigh bors. He noticed moreover that the police tolerated these gatherings. They delivered

special permits; but they did use the occasion to create a register of homosexua ls. This policy enabled them to monitor the groups discreetly while tolerating activities that did not disturb the law and order. Triumph of the amateurs Not all the homosexual spots had to do with sex. They were at the same time meeting places, hangouts, private clubs, and conference halls; various establish ments depending on a homosexual clientele enabled their members to be among their own kind, to discuss their problems, or simply to get acquainted. The Berliner League of F riendship met Tuesdays in a room at 89 Alt-Jakobstrasse. The Association of Friends and (F emale) 108. Letter from Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, January 1929, in Louise de Salvo and Mitchell A.Leaska (ed.), The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, L ondon, Hutchinson, 1984, 473 pages, p.366. 42

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days Friends held its meetings at No. 32 on the same street. It organized costume bal ls, conferences on literature, art, the sciences, and group excursions. However, dating was the main point of most of these establishments, which gave homosexuals a place where they could do as they pleased without danger and where they meet new people discreetly. However, even with all these bars and clubs, there was still sex in the parks an d public urinals. There were always men in the bushes in the Tiergarten; they woul d flee when the police made their rounds: Near a pool, ten agents surrounded four young little urchin lads aged about fifteen to twenty. They, too, seemed to be wearing a type of uniform: silk shirts with Danton collars, full cut trousers in a light fabric, a nd patent leather shoes. 109 Berlin became the temple of male prostitution in the inter-war period. In Homose xuals of Berlin (1908), Hirschfeld already noted the existence of many safe houses, wh ich mostly catered to homosexuals of the higher social classes and officers who fear ed blackmail. But street prostitution in particular increased in the 1920s, followi ng the economic crisis of 1920-1923, then that of 1929.110 There were something like 650 profess ional male prostitutes (Strichjunge, Puppenjunge) in Berlin in the 1920s but, if one c ounts the casual or occasional ones, the number would be closer to 22,000, an enormous fig ure.111 Before the war, there were approximately 12,000 male prostitutes, including 400 professionals. That means there was an increase of more than 60%! 112 Male prostitutes tended to congregate more in the north and east of Berlin, most of them on Friedrichstrasse; there might have been about sixty there, on average. T here must have been a hundred pubs that allowed male prostitutes. Boys frequented the publ ic places that attracted many people: fairs, expositions, festivals, pedestrian way s, train stations, parks. They came from all sorts of backgrounds; hotel employees, horse grooms, hunters, telegraphists, drivers, salesmen and, of course, soldiers. The number o f soldiers who became prostitutes dropped after the First World War, following the measures taken by the Ministry of Defense. In particular, soldiers in civilian clothes we re stationed at high-risk locations and were ready to intervene if they saw a soldier solicit ing. The majority of young people whom Richard Linsert studied had no professional

qualification. Forty-nine had turned to prostitution after losing their jobs. Ho wever, 19 were only prostituting themselves to cover some extra expenses and to make a lit tle pocket money. The others gave various reasons: for fun, to pay for something spe cific, to pay the rent, out of laziness. From the sexual point of view, 31 said they were heterosexual, 34 homosexual, 22 bisexual. Eleven acknowledged masochistic tendencies; 5, sadistic; 5 were cross-dressers. Thirty-six admitted to being alcoholics, 6 coca ine addicts. 73 lived alone, 19 stayed with their parents, 6 were homeless. While the part-ti me male 109. Louis-Charles Royer, L Amour en Allemagne, op. cit., p.68. 110. From 1920 to 1923, Germany suffered from galloping inflation as a consequen ce of the war, the global economic crisis, the imposed payment of damages, and then of the occu pation of the Ruhr. The gold mark, which was worth 46 paper marks in January 1922, was worth 84,000 in July 1923, 24 million in September, 6 billion in October, and 1 trillion in December. Worke rs were hit hard by unemployment and the erosion of their spending power, because the wages did not keep pace with the inflation rate. In 1923, there were 210,000 unemployted in Berlin. 111. Richard Linsert, militant communist and a member of the WhK, surveyed 100 y oung prostitutes in Berlin, which allows us a good look at their sociological profile. His conclu sions were published in 1929, in 297, Unzucht zwischen M.nnern (Berlin, Neuer Deutscher Ver lag, 130 pages). See chapter tw. 112. I 1920, Greater Berlin had 3.8 million inhabitants; in 1939, there were 4.3 million. 43

A History of Homosexuality in Europe prostitutes were hooking in their everyday clothing, the most elegant (Klassejun gen) invested in fetishistic accessories (shoes with high heels, boots) and make-up. Those who wore a uniform were preferred: sailors, drivers, soldiers. Some, even at the age of twenty or more, dressed as schoolboys while soliciting: that was a sure success. Hirsch feld met the male prostitute known as B, who was very fashionable; he had about 20 to 25 customers a month and approximately 300 a year. Ten percent of them were from Berlin, 50 60% from the provinces, 30 40% were foreign (mostly French and American). The rates varied according to the popularity of the boy; a top male prostitute c ould make on average 20 30 RM (Reichsmark); Klassejunge got approximately 10 RM. The prices could go down as low as 50 pfennigs. Most of the boys made less than 5 RM a day. The weekly profits varied between 10 12 RM and 60 80 RM. Professionals and de luxe prostitutes were more expensive. Some boys simply asked for a place to spend the night, a meal, maybe some gifts. Those who practiced prostitution at a hotel were expecte d to give part of what they earned to the night porter. Unlike the women, the boys were pa id after consummation. Fairly often, clients would take off; and blackmail was not uncomm on. Most of the boys hoped to find some rich man who would pick them up and take the m along on a trip. Such couples did travel, in the guise of uncle and nephew, or m aster and servant. A boy s career was generally rather short; amateur male prostitutes worked the sidewalk a year and a half, on average. They began at around the age of 17 years (although some started as early as 14), and most were through by age 22 (although some wer e still at it, at age 30). Of the hundred boys met, three worked for the police: in the loc al jargon they were known as Achtgroschenjungen. If they stayed out of jail and did not ca tch any disease, the boys could hope to start a business and find a normal life. Berlin was not the only city marked by an increase in male prostitution. A surve y carried out by Dr. Hans Muser in 1933, Homosexualit.t und Jugendf.rsorge, focuse d mostly on the town of Hamburg, which had a strong homosexual subculture based on the harbo r traffic. The district of Sankt Pauli was famous for its shady bars where men cou ld dance together and pick up a sailor for a few marks. It is there that Stephen Spender spent several months between 1930 and 1933. Among the homosexual establishments was the Hamburg Society for Scientific

Exploration, which offered medical consultations and excursions for men and wome n. Then there were the Adonis-Bar and the Three-Stars, which had made names for the mselves. Women met Thursday evenings at Phaline. There were approximately 3,000 male prostitutes in Hamburg. As in Berlin, some solicited downtown, others in the bar s. Until 1924, most of the boys plied their trade in the central station, especiall y in the fourth class waiting room. In 1924, the police made a sweep and cleaned up the s tation; the prostitutes then spread throughout the whole city. Further police operations in 1928 and 1929 led the male prostitutes to regroup in homosexual joints. The number of prostitutes varied with the season; in the summer, they flowed out of Berlin looking for the tourist clientele. Statistics from the Office of Youth Affairs showed a net incr ease in amateur prostitution, in connection with the economic crisis. In 1929, 13% of ma le prostitutes only occasionally dabbled in it, and 87% were professionals. In 1930, no more th an 40% were professionals; in 1931, 46%. By the same token, the proportion of minor s involved was on the rise. In 1925, 11% of the male prostitutes were minors; 35% in 1926; 49% in 1928; 52.8% in 1930. Competition was fierce; the customers wanted young b oys, the supply was abundant and the older ones could not find any takers. Often, in order to 44

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days keep their customers, they refused to let the new ones in on where homosexuals c ould meet. The number of unemployed who resorted to prostitution kept going up, too. In 1925, 48% of the registered male prostitutes were unemployed; in 1931, it was 83 %! The Office of Youth Affairs in Hamburg undertook to rehabilitate the young men by fi nding them steady jobs and keeping an eye on them. Some of the young men were sent bac k to their home regions. The German homosexual scene thus seems to have been particularly vibrant. It offered a wide range of services to satisfy any desire, from simple entertainmen t to ultra chic dance halls, from timid pick-ups to the unrestrained hunt for sex. While Be rlin was clearly the center, the provinces had something to offer, too.113 Anyone who rea d the good homosexual newspapers (which were available to anyone by subscription and under discreet wrappers), could not miss finding out about such and such establishment in their area, or that friends met regularly at a small and nondescript caf.. For many who would not have dared to solicit in the street nor to approach obvious male prostitutes , the clubs were the entr.e to the homosexual community. London, or the Glamour of Uniforms The homosexual scene in London in the 1920s, lively as it was, was but a shadow of that in Berlin. There were far fewer establishments, and they were certainly les s picturesque. The large costume balls that gave the German capital such a reputation were lacking altogether and homosexual dances were rare. The homosexual associations had no money, so there were practically no meeting places at all. The London scene w as also more spread out and harder to identify than the scene in Berlin. On the other ha nd, London led the field in terms of military prostitution and the parks were the fa vorite place for homosexual assignations. Not much of scene at all Given the frequent police raids, homosexual life in London was primarily restric ted to the night: and one had to be initiated to know the main meeting spots. These places generally did not set out to attract a homosexual clientele; they were places th at were taken over by homosexuals, without the owners always knowing whom they were dealing with.

The Maida Vale neighborhood was known for its very gay atmosphere; many homosexual artists and writers settled there and so the place was soon colonized . Lionel 113. For a study on the homosexual scene in a provincial German town, see Cornel ia Limpricht, J.rgen M.ller and Nina Oxenius, Verf.hrte M.nner, das Leben der K.lner Homosexuell en im dritten Reich (Cologne, Volksblatt Verlag, 1991, 146 pages). To a far greater extent than in F rance or in England, German towns of a certain size tended to have specialized establishments and, es pecially, a local headquarters for various homosexual associations. Thus, the Deutsche Freundschaf tsbund was flourishing all over Germany. In Brunswick, its offices were at 3 Schlossstrasse. In Karlsru he, meetings were held at Prinz Wilhelm, 20 Hirschstrasse. There were affiliates in Eisenach, Weimar, Frankfurt, Krefeld, Leipzig, Saarbruck, and Dortmund. In Breslau, Sagitta welcomes homosexu als; in Chemnitz, there was the club Nous; Kassel had the club Fortuna. In D.sseldorf, the Club of Noble Sociability met at the restaurant Neue Welt. In Dortmund, one would go to Heinrich Burstedde f or dancing, and in Frankfurt, to the caf. Reichsland. 45

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Charlton, Tom Wichelo, Stephen Spender and his friend Tony Hyndman, William Plom er and J.R. Ackerley lived there. In London, homosexual evenings started in the gal leries of the theaters and the variety halls, in particular the Prince of Wales, Holborn a nd the Palladium, which were used as meeting places and hunting grounds. A few became favorites, including those of G.S. Melvin, Bartlett and Ross, which put on transvestite spe ctacles. Various plays were very popular with homosexuals. In The Green Bay Tree, by Fran k Vosper, a homosexual aristocrat picks up a working-class boy and remodels him in his own image. Similarly, Children in Uniform (the English version of Jeunes Filles en uniformes by Christa Winsloe) was a great success. After the theater, homosexuals headed off to certain caf.s. The Cri was located in the basement of the Criterion hotel. Most of the homosexual

clients took the service entrance on Jermyn Street, but some triumphantly entere d by the grand staircase on Piccadilly and were greeted by applause. Famous transv estites were regulars there, like Lady Lavender, a big blond twenty-year-old (who was in f act more like forty), or Rosie, Baroness Bothways, a Welshman of indeterminate age who dressed sumptuously and was covered with gold chains and bracelets. In spite of his reputation as a millionaire, Rosie was in fact cook for a very rich old homosexual who lent him his clothes and jewels for his nightly excursions in the West End. Coventry Street Corner House became a cult spot. Homosexuals would spend the evening there, but they might also turn up during the afternoon, in a room on th e first floor that they called the Lily Pond. The caf. was run by two old ladies who nev er noticed a thing, no matter how flagrant their guests might be. Sundays, one could go to a tea salon called The Tea Kettle, located one minute from Piccadilly Circus. There were no ex clusively homosexual clubs; but certain clubs that catered to people in show business were mainly homosexual, like Caravan Club, Rumbaba Club, Apollo Club and Florida. Nei ther were there many homosexual pubs. There was the Cavour Bar and JB s, in Leicester Square; Dickens on Edgware Road, The French Hour and York Minster in Soho; the ground floor of Queens, in Coventry Street, was a homosexual haunt as was Pakenham , next to the Wellington barracks where the soldiers of the Guard gathered; The Ru nning Horse, near Shepherd Market, was very much in fashion at one time; and, finally, the Long Bar of the Restaurant Trocadero, in Shaftesbury Avenue, which was reserved for m

en. The police from time to time descended on the pubs, took names and arrested potential homosexuals. That meant the end of the pub as a homosexual meeting pla ce. Sometimes all it took was for a group of homosexuals to meet at a caf. and find the owner obliging, and it would end up becoming a homosexual favorite. Quentin Crisp and his friends met in a caf. on Old Compton Street called the Black Cat; he said it res embled a dozen other caf.s in the area, with a horseshoe-shaped bar area that was rarely cleaned, a linoleum floor in black and white squares and mirrors everywhere. There he and h is counterparts would sit, while one dull day succeeded another, loveless night followed loveless night ; and they sipped tea, combed their hair and tried each other s lipsticks.114 For the women, the places for socializing were far fewer, and there was no compa rison with Berlin and Paris. The Orange Tree Club, which opened in 1921, became very famous and women could dance together there. In the 1930s, Gateway s Club, or Gate s, became the lesbian center of the city. Radclyffe Hall gives a rather sordid desc ription of the female bars in The Well of Loneliness. For her, the Narcissus and Alec s Bar w ere the 114. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, op. cit., p.28. 46

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days symbols of all that homosexuals lacked, even if they did offer some place to mee t: Where could one go if not to the bars? There was no other place where two women could dance together without causing comments or ridicule, without being looked at like mons ters. 115 One of the great homosexual events of the London season was the charity ball org anized by Lady Malcolm at the Albert Hall. Initially, it was intended for domestics and tickets had to be obtained. But as it was a costume ball, it served as a pretext for all kinds of fun. Famous women were represented. The final procession was a great moment. The ball evolved with the passing of the years until it became a drag ball. Pick-ups and prostitutes In London, solicitation principally took the form of cottaging ; it consisted in making the rounds of the various urinals of the city looking for quick and anony mous meetings. The most likely places were the urinals at the Victoria and South Kens ington stations and the public toilets at Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner. The urinals were frequently subjected to police raids; and there were often agents provocateurs, which made it all the more dangerous. Then other places were used as pick-up sites, li ke the arcades of the County Fire Office in Piccadilly Circus, the Turkish baths at Jer myn Street, the isolated streets of Bridge Places, Dove Mews, Dudmaston Mews or Falconberg; in Clareville Street, Leicester Public garden or Grosvenor Hill, one could find som ebody for the night.116 Most of the male prostitutes operated around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. Quentin Crisp remembers his astonishment at discovering this shady world . There he was, wandering along Piccadilly or Shaftesbury Avenue, when he ran into some young fellows standing at the crossroads. One of them said to him, Isn t it terribl e this evening, darling? Not a man on the horizon. Dilly isn t what it used to be. Crisp a dds that the Indian boy at school had stunned the students by telling them that there were male prostitutes in Birmingham, but they d never believed that they would really see on e themselves. Now, there they were and recognizable to everyone or almost everyone, posing like fashion models, with hand on hip and hip thrust forward. 117 One could take his conquest to a cheap hotel on the West End; J.R. Ackerley found some in Mayfa ir s

Shepherd Market, a zone known for prostitution. You could rent a room there, no questions asked. The location was not very promising, however: 11 Half Moon Street. It is i n this kind of room that one commits suicide. 118 In addition to the professionals, there were docile characters whom one would fi rst take along to dine, and there were boys who were kept.119 As in Germany, but to a lesser degree, male prostitution expanded due to unemployment. At the Cat and Flute in Charing Cross, young workmen would be found. The contemporary practice was that two would sit together and share a beer. A client would approach and offer to pa y for the 115. Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness, op. cit., p.403. 116. See Richard Davenport-Hines, Sex, Death and punishment, op. cit., p.146. 117. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, op. cit., p.26. 118. J.R. Ackerley, note dated 1921, cited by Peter Parker, A Life of J.R. Acker ley, London, Constable, 1989, 465 pages, p.40. 119. For details on the life of men who were kept as lovers, see John and Bernar d in Between the Acts, op. cit., 137-143 and 117-124; as for professional gigolos, see Tony, ibid ., p.114-150. 47

A History of Homosexuality in Europe second one. After a moment one of the boys would step away, leaving the two othe rs together. These boys were not necessarily homosexual, but got into prostitution due to the economic situation. Some of them said they were saving up to get married. 120 T he rates were set, with 10 shillings added if there were sodomy. Soldiers (mainly from the Guards brigade) and sailors made up another category o f prostitutes. Unlike the workmen, they were not in prostitution as a result of ne ed but rather by tradition. The best places to meet them were the London parks, especia lly Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens and Saint James Park, Tattersall Tavern in Knightsbridg e, and the Drum, by the Tower of London, for sailors.121 The guards red uniform and the sailors costumes exerted a fascination and an erotic attraction that was constantly evok ed by contemporaries: everyone prefers something in uniform. Any national costume or tra ditional equipment can be sexually stimulating and there are as many eccentric sexual tastes as there are kinds of costumes.122 The sailors uniform was particularly appreciated for the tight fit and especially for the horizontal fly. Moreover, while soldiers generally had very little time to s hare, sailors had many weekends. For a walk in the park, a soldier received about 2 shillings; a sailor might get up to 3 pounds. Stephen Tennant wrote about this fascination, noting o ne sailor s tight little derri.re.123 Anecdotes from those days include the story of an evening organized by Edward Gathorne-Hardy where a contingent of soldiers of the Guard w ere invited as special guests; in another, a soldier was offered as a gift to the ma ster of the house.124 To the soldiers, prostitution was a tradition; it seems that the young recruits were initiated by their elders as they were being integrated into the regiment. The customers were designated twanks, steamers or fitter s mates. A good patron was preferred; thus Ackerley received a letter one day announcing the death of one of his lover s and another soldier from his regiment offering himself as a replacement. This part-t ime prostitution allowed soldiers to get some pocket money, which they then spent on drinks or with prostitutes of their own. These activities were not entirely safe, for many a soldier or sailor could turn out to be quite brutal. Charles Damon, a former turn-of-the-ce ntury decadent, a relic of Oscar Wilde s circle, is supposed to have murmured to No.l Coward: My dear, my ambition is to die crushed between the thighs of a soldier of the guard ! 125

While London obviously had a far vaster choice of homosexual entertainment, there were also some good places in the provinces. In the big cities, especially university towns, homosexuals could get together at certain pubs (the Still and Sugarloaf a t Cambridge, for example). The big annual rowing race between Oxford and Cambridge was a good occasion to meet. That is where J.R. Ackerley met E.M. Forster, Colleer Abb ott, Lionel Charlton, Tom Wichelo, Harry Daley, their various lovers, and quite a num ber of police officers, soldiers, sailors and other young delinquents who were linked b y a common secret. In the 1920s, J.R. Ackerley, Raymond Mortimer and Eddy Sackville-West, inter ali a, went to Portsmouth. In the 1930s, due to increased repression in the capital, mo re of them 120. Cited by George Mallory, Gay in the Twenties, Gay News, n 30, p.9. 121. See Chapter Seven, as well. 122. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, op. cit., p.96. 123. Cited by Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures, op. cit., p.158. 124. Cited by Peter Parker, A Life of J.R. Ackerley, op. cit., p.114. 125. Cited by Philip Hoare, Noel Coward: A Biography, London, Sinclair-Stevenson , 1995, 605 pages, p.81. 48

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days turned up in harbor cities, in particular Brighton, which was easily accessible for the evening by the 6:00 PM. rapid train for 4 shillings round trip, or for the weeke nd for only 10 shillings. One of the discreet locations that accepted homosexuals was the ho tel The Old Ship, which had a wing reserved for men only. The room doors did not close, which allowed for easy coming and going. Several pubs were accepted homosexuals, in pa rticular Pigott s, on St. James Street; the Eastern, in Montpellier Street; and the Star of Brunswick. A section of the beach was reserved for men and, in fact, homosexuals took it over.126 The city of Dover was also favored by homosexuals, where four regiments were stationed along with a considerable number of sailors. J.R. Ackerley went to man y pubs, the British Queen, Granville, Prince Regent, and Clarendon; he had an apartment where he invited many friends. The city was host to homosexual celebrities like T.C. W orsley, Graham Bell, Christopher Isherwood, W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender, E.M. Forster, J ack Sprott, and John Hampson; Lionel Charlton and Tom Wichelo settled there for good ; William Plomer lived there for a year. Forster jokingly said that, if a bomb fel l on the city, it would have freed the country of almost all its undesirables.127 The rates were low: 10 shillings on average, but nothing was guaranteed; many male prostitutes were dishonest and dangerous; the city was organized around sex ; the sailors and the soldiers who prostituted themselves then spent their money on gi rls. The myth of Dover was boosted by W.H. Auden s poem, Dover, which evokes with many an ambiguity and double entendre the night life and homosexual meetings, and descri bes the atmosphere of a city whose rhythm followed the venal relations by which its popu lace passed the time: Soldiers crowd into the pubs in their pretty clothes, As pink and silly as girls from a high-class academy; The Lion, The Rose, The Crown, will not ask them to die, Not here, not now: all they are killing is time, A pauper civilian future. ... The cries of the gulls at dawn are sad like work: The soldier guards the traveller who pays for the soldier,

Each prays in a similar way for himself, but neither Controls the years or the weather. Some may be heroes: Not all of us are unhappy. 128 London s homosexual scene seems to have been more traditional than the German scene: it was on the defensive, which is a sign of greater police repression and less tol 126. All descriptions of the homosexual scene in London and the provinces has been reconstructed from the testimonies of Roy, Sam, Bernard, Barry and John, in Between the Acts; the testimony of Gifford Skinner, Cocktails in the Bath, loc. cit.; of Galileo, The Gay Thirties, Gay News, n 54, p.1112; and of George Mallory, Gay in the Twenties, loc. cit. 127. Cited by Peter Parker, A Life of J.R. Ackerley, op. cit., p.212. 128. W.H. Auden, Collected Shorter Poems, 1927-1957, London, Faber & Faber, 1966 , 351 pages, p.98. The Lion, The Rose and The Crown are names of pubs that were frequented by soldi ers and homosexuals. W.H. Auden slips in references that would be understood only by those in the kno w. 49

A History of Homosexuality in Europe erance for overt display. The English homosexual scene had merely infiltrated th e city, rather than springing up within it. And, due to the higher level of repression, the clubs and the pick-up scene were more directly sexual: there was little time and oppor tunity for small talk and idle chat, much less a real exchange of information. In the bars, simply asking for a cigarette was enough to pick up a partner, without attracting the a ttention of anyone else. In essence, the English homosexual culture was an underground cultu re, closed to the uninitiated, inaccessible to timid, and concentrated very closely in obscure districts of London and the ports. Paris, Montmartre, and Getting Caught Paris held a special position in the 1920s. In a climate of relative tolerance, many specialized homosexual and lesbian establishments were opened, and the capital g ained a reputation for the variety of its night-time pleasures.129 When the Nazis cracke d down in Berlin in the mid-1930s, Paris essentially became the new center of homosexual l ife. Dance time The homosexual venues were mostly found in one of three locations: Montmartre, Pigalle and Montparnasse. Since the end of the 19th century, Montmartre had been the main gathering place for Parisian lesbians, where they could be seen sitting tog ether at the sidewalk caf.s or dancing at the Moulin-Rouge. Lulu de Montparnasse opened T he Monocle, on Edgar-Quinet boulevard one of the first lesbian nightclubs. All the women there dressed as men, in Tuxedos, and wore their hair in a bob. Paris had many homosexual bars: Tonton, on rue Norvins, in Montmartre; la Petite Chaumi.re; Pal myre, on place Blanche; Liberty s; Rubis; Tanagra; R.camier; The Maurice Bar; Chez Ma Cousine on rue Lepic; Graff, place Blanche (where Crevel was a regular); the Cla ir de lune, on place Pigalle, was open from three in the afternoon until five o clock in the m orning and was popular with marines and soldiers; and Mon Club, at the end of a dead-en d off the avenue de Clichy, where salesmen and office workers met in the basement. The re were also Chez Leon, near Les Halles; la Bol.e, on the Rive Gauche, in the passa ge des Hirondelles; and Chez Julie, rue Saint-Martin. La Folie, on rue Victor-Mass., be came the Taverne Li.geoise on rue Pigalle. Les Troglodytes was a private club. The Petite Chaumi.re ( the little thatched cottage ) was a picturesque establishment

that drew sensation-seeking foreigners. The scene is described in Le Troisi.me Sexe, by Willy: 129. Gilles Barbedette and Michel Carassou present serious research on Parisian homosexual meeting places between the wars, in Paris gay 1925 (Paris, Presses de la Renaiss ance, 1981, 312 pages), and Brassa. in Le Paris secret des ann.es trente (Paris, Gallimard, 1976, 190 pa ges). I will thus repeat some of their conclusions. To round out the list, I also consulted the testimony of W illy (Le Troisi.me Sexe, op. cit.), Charles-.tienne (Notre-Dame-de-Lesbos, Paris, Librairie des Lettres, 1919, 309 pages, and Le Bal des folles, Paris, Curio, 1930, 255 pages) and Michel du Coglay (Chez les mauvai s gar.ons, op. cit.) Most of these establishments did not survive more than a year, as a result of police rai ds, the frequent scandals that ruined the reputation of the clubs, and the clientele s insatiable desire for something new. 50

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days The pianist gives a prelude to a shimmy, and as if on cue the professionals who are paid to give the viewers a spectacle immediately latch onto one another. They un dulate more than dance, and thrust their pelvises obscenely, shimmying their bosoms and delicately grasping the leg of their trousers, which they raise above their shiny boots with each step forward, all the while winking at the customers. They wear very fine clothing, and some appear to have built up their chests with cotton wadding . Others wear low-cut kimonos, and one of them wears an Oriental costume all in si lver lam..130 Many of these establishments are reputed to have engaged in drug trafficking, to o. Almost all the bars for pederasts in Montmartre, or near the porte Saint-Denis an d the porte Saint-Martin, are cocaine dens, where selling and using are common. 131 However, it was at the homosexual balls that they could get together on a large scale. Such events were very popular in those times. The Sainte-Genevi.ve Mounta in dance, with accordion music, was held behind the Pantheon, and evolved into a dr ag ball on the day of Mardi Gras. Male and female couples were seen, and women danced together. Magic-City, on rue Cognacq-Jay, was the most famous. A drag ball for m en of all ages and every social background, it was banned after February 6, 1934. Followin g this prohibition, homosexuals tried unsuccessfully to revert to normal balls and ended up slipping off to the outskirts of town. For instance, to celebrate Christmas in 1 935, a hundred homosexuals traveled fifty kilometers outside of Paris, by coach, for th eir midnight supper. Magic-City, due to its sinful reputation, attracted spectators as well as homose xuals, so that inverts were often greeted by a crowd of gawkers: For it was a very Parisian thing for some [of the normal people ] to come and visit the aunties at Magic every year. Their presence was always a nightmare for me; not

because I was afraid of being spotted by them, since I might well be just a dile ttante, but because I knew what homosexuals had to fear when these Peeping Toms showed up at these balls... For them, the aunties at Magic represented Sodom, whereas in fact they were nothing more than a disturbing caricature.132 This was the central topic of Charles-.tienne s novel, Le Bal des folles (1930). D espite the fictionalized aspect, one can assume that the author paints a fairly true-to -life picture,

especially with regard to the ambiance and the reactions of the onlookers. He pl aces himself in the position of the viewer who is completely foreign to the homosexua l milieu, who discovers, with a mixture of amazement, distaste and amusement, the largest gathering of Parisian queens, and he describes how the crowd gathered to watch the transvest ites shouts insults and threats.133 Others comment, How can they be allowed to insult the world this way! Today, we are entitled to respect as much as to fun. 13 4 People came there to be seen, and certainly to see others: 130. Willy, Le Troisi.me Sexe, op. cit., p.173-174. 131. Ibid., p.177-178. 132. Alain Rox, Tu seras seul, Paris, Flammarion, 1936, 403 pages, p.258. 133. Charles-.tienne, Le Bal des folles, op. cit., p.153. 134.Ibid., p.154. 51

A History of Homosexuality in Europe After the bruising attack outside, here the reception was more restrained, but quite as bitter, inside. All along the balustrade, clusters of people perched, c limbed, and packed together to the point of smothering, raised a mocking jeer: two hundr ed heads with eyes flaming and mouths hurling insults... a Greek chorus of poisonou s epithets, ridicule, and slurs....135 This was certainly the greatest homosexual attraction in Paris, not to be missed for anything in the world. Through their costumes, the transvestites expressed all t he exuberance and vitality of a community kept closely under wraps all the rest of the year an d wildly satirized the normal world through exaggerated, almost archetypal feminine and virile characters: countesses dressed in crinoline, mad virgins, Oriental dancer s cavorting with sailors, hoodlums, and soldiers. Pretty much the same ambiance prevailed at the Wagram Ball, which was also held during Lent. Charles-.tienne s description of it, in Notre-Dame-de-Lesbos, sounds like Magic-City. His portraits of the transvestites give us a good idea of the genera l color. Didine was one example: Stuffed into a yellow brocade dress, wearing a red wig topp ed by a trembling tiara of paste, the dress low-cut and in the back naked to the wa ist, revealing the physique of a prize fighter, a man climbed the staircase, twisting adroitly and with meticulous gestures lifting the long train of her skirt. 136 The list of the nicknames is particularly revealing: Fontanges, S.vign., Montesp an, the Duchess of Bubble, the Infante Eudoxie, the Mauve Mouse, the Dark One, Sweet ie Pie, Fr.da, the Englishwoman, Mad Maria, the Muse, the Teapot, the She-wolf, Sappho, Wet Cat, Little Piano, Princess of the Marshes, Marguerite of Burgundy, etc. This wa s a triumph of camp, a tinsel aristocracy that mocked the traditional hierarchies an d values. Like Magic-City, the Wagram Ball attracted a crowd of spectators, but of lower-c lass origins. From the Avenue des Terns to the parc Monceau, from la Muette to l .toile, all the laborers from the surrounding area would flock to Wagram. It was something of a ball for the household help, but others came, too, from Point-du-Jour and La Vil lette, looking for a treat.... 137 These were the homosexual centers in Paris; some second-tier locations existed a s well: the Champs-.lys.es was the in place for a lofty clientele including members

of parliament and men of letters; the English gathered at a tea house opposite the Tuileries; others congregated at the porte Saint-Martin while the Champs-de-Mars was monopo lized by the Italians. The Gaumont cinema was a notorious place for pick-ups, as was t he Berlitz bazaar, on the broad boulevards. And finally, there were several dance h alls in the Bastille neighborhood, especially in rue Lappe, where tipsy sailors and colonial troops could be seen. This was not strictly speaking a homosexual scene, but men could dance together and one could easily find a partner for the night. Daniel Gu.rin describes the atmosphere of this workingman s neighborhood: I was a regular at one of the popular dance halls on rue Lappe, near the Bastill e, where workmen, prostitutes, society women, johns, and aunts all danced. In those relaxed and natural days, before the cops took over France, a chevalier could go out in public with a mate of the same sex, without being considered crazy. From its lit tle 135. Ibid., p.155. 136. Charles-.tienne, Notre-Dame-de-Lesbos, op. cit., p.62. 137. Ibid., p.67. 52

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days loggia the orchestra, dominated by the accordion, carried us away on its tantali zing rhythms. Once in a while some tough would try to start a fight, but not very ser iously; the whores fussed with their chignons. When there was a raid, it was rare and pa ternalistic, the so-called morality brigade was lenient and discreet. We sat in peace and sipped our traditional diabolo.138 However, not all the witnesses shared Gu.rin s enthusiasm. What you see there are little delinquents, not too carefully washed but heavily made up, with caps on their heads and sporting brightly colored foulards; these are guys who, when they fail to make a buck here, will certainly be found hauling coal or other cargo. 139 Night life As a city of homosexual delights, Paris distinguished itself from Berlin by the large number of pick-up joints and prostitution. Although there were practically no pl aces for meeting and socializing, the baths and even homosexual flop-houses were innumera ble. In certain public urinals, also known as tea-houses or tea cups, solicitation wa s unrestrained. The urinals were round, with three stalls; one could discreetly ob serve the activity next door and join in, if one wished. If you were caught, you risked th ree months to two years in prison for offending public decency and a fine of 500 to 4,500 f rancs. Homosexuals mostly circulated around the urinals on the grand boulevards, in the railway stations, at the Invalides, the Champs-de-Mars, the Trocad.ro, and the C hamps.lys.es, in Montmartre, Montparnasse, the boulevard de Courcelles, Edgar-Quinet boulevard, Haussmann boulevard, Malesherbes boulevard, at the Batignolles, P.re-Lachaise, la Villette, les Halles, the Latin Quarter and at the Observatory. Those were places for hunting solo; in the public parks, especially the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes, the well-born mingled with male prostitutes and hustl ers of all sorts; then, too, there was the more romantic Park Monceau, where homosexual couples strolled in summertime, and finally the Tuileries, where quee ns known by their noms de guerre would meet: Mme. de Lamballe, Mme. de Pompadour, e tc.140 According to Daniel Gu.rin, the barge No.., moored at the canal Saint-Martin nea r the Bastille, was a homosexual joint. Lastly, the swimming pools were still good pla ces to try one s luck. Gu.rin especially cites the UCJG pool (Union of Young Christians), on rue

Tr.vise, where visitors would swim naked after exercising or taking a walk, and the one on rue Pontoise, where people would slip, two by two, into the cabins to make lo ve. 141 Male prostitution in Paris was well organized; in contrast to Berlin and London, most of the male prostitutes were professionals and operated within specialized establishments. Even Proust, as early as in A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Tim e) mentioned these male brothels where the most demanding clients could be satisfied. The middle-class customer was reassured by the family atmosphere; he had quite a wide choice, the d.cor was acceptable, and there was relative anonymity. The fear of robbery, aggression and blackmail were also reduced. 138. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, Paris, Belfond, 1972, 248 pages, p.169. 139. Willy, Le Troisi.me Sexe, op. cit., p.162-163. 140. Michel du Coglay, Chez les mauvais gar.ons, op. cit. 141. Cit. in Gilles Barbedette and Michel Carassou, Paris gay 1925, op. cit. 53

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Certain houses were equipped to satisfy the more extreme requests. Maurice Sachs noted, I had not hitherto even suspected that there was any homosexual activity going on there. Someone suggested that I try an establishment on XXX Street which, ope rating under the cover of a public bath, dissimulated an active business in male prosti tution, where soft lads too lazy to seek regular jobs earned money to bring home to thei r wives by sleeping with men, for it is striking that this deviant youth neither d erived pleasure nor became habituated to the practice of these infamous vices.142 Willy also mentions these establishments; one on rue Tiquetonne, in another part of Les Ternes, and another near Saint-Augustin: Having identified a young man whose style is particularly pleasing, one slips so me small change into the young bath attendant s damp hand, and he promptly notifies t he attractive young man that a Monsieur wishes a massage session. And then one is s hut up in a private cubicle with a curtain at the door, and, hey, presto! Your soul mate appears, and sets to work in his capacity as a masseur to restore movement to th e unresponsive member.143 Another place, on rue de la Folie-M.ricourt, was arranged to facilitate sexual exchanges: ...all along both sides of the bath, benches were arrayed around table s in small, separated niches, where patrons sat together in bathrobes, with piano mus ic emanating from a semicircular stage at the back of the room. 144 Many male prostitutes worked independently, in a fairly cohesive world having it s own codes, slang, and signs of recognition.145 Most of the gigolos used noms de guerre, often inspired by show business: Mistinguett, Baker, Greta, Marlene, Gaby, Crawford, o r Mae West. Sometimes they were disguised, and always heavily made up: All the painted youth of the boulevard de Clichy were there, including Messaline, with her dyed hair. 146 Cross-dressers operated mainly at Pigalle, in Clichy, and Rochechouart, but ther e were also some in Montmartre. The rates and the means of payment varied. On the first go, a gigolo could earn 200 to 300 francs a night, but thereafter the tariff mig ht drop to 50 francs; and he still had to pay the hotel a fee, on top of the price of the room . On the other hand, if the customer were rich, the hotel paid a commission to the male prostit

ute. There were subscription systems for timid customers, family men who did not want to be noticed; they could see the prostitute once a week, or twice per month, for exam ple. The gigolos lived together and formed a subculture within the Parisian underworl d. They installed themselves in the promenades of Parisian theaters, where they tar geted their next customers and flaunted their charms: The ladies (as they were called)

142. Maurice Sachs, Le Sabbat [written in 1939, publi. en 1946], Paris, Gallimar d, 1960, 298 pages, p.194. 143. Willy, Le Troisi.me Sexe, op. cit., p.181. 144. Alain Rox, Tu seras seul, op. cit., p.282. 145. For a good description of the milieu, see Fran.ois Carlier, La Prostitution antiphysique (1887; reedited., Paris, Le Sycomore, 1981, 247 pages): The head of the morality brigad e at the Paris prefecture between 1850 and 1870 used various terms to distinguish between prostitutes ( hont euses, persilleuses, travailleuses ) and clients ( tantes, tapettes, corvettes, rivettes ). Francis Carco, J.sus-la-Caille (1914; Paris, Mercure de France, 250 pages), Char les-.tienne, Les D.sexu.s (1924; Paris, Curio, 267 pages), Michel du Coglay, Chez les mauvais gar .ons (1938; op. cit.). 146. Francis Carco, J.sus-la-Caille, op. cit., p.76. 54

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days chatted. Then, as the hour advanced, Olga set off for a date at the steam bath, Titine seduced a strapping man and Birdie readily accepted the first serious invitation presented. 147 Not every male prostitute operated the same way. Along with the beautiful young men strolling the boulevards, there were tougher characters whose main concern w as to make the customer cough up some money, by any means necessary. These boys often operated in pairs: while one was working the urinals, the other lurked, club in hand, ready to jump on the recalcitrant customer. Some carried fake unemployment cards, whic h protected them from arrest for vagrancy. Unlike the gigolos, they were not so much homosex uals as little thugs looking for an easy buck. They would justify their actions by bragging and by denying the sexual aspect of their profession: I took that job be cause I said to myself that it was cleanest or the least dirty, and the least risky. Wha t s the big deal? In any case, robbing these old bastards, I do their kids and their wives a service. 148 The robbed and cheated customer was in a bind: if he filed a complaint, the poli ce would mock him, insult him, and even abuse him, so he was hardly likely to call attent ion to what had happened. In many instances, a guy controlled one or more male prostitutes. He was not up to the level of Charlot-des-Halles, who had eight or ten minors under his contro l, and who disdained him entirely. 149 Commonly, young boys who had not yet been initiated in to their profession would work under the wing of an older male prostitute. A stout b runette, La Marseillaise, ran two pale little apprentices and pocketed their receipts. Bo th minors, Pompom-Girl and Lolotte would trot along nicely in front of her, and she would announce, I have two good-looking boys, here, Mister. 150 Cross-dressers worked the same territory as women prostitutes, who often complai ned of unfair competition. The two types of prostitution were not, however, entirely at odds with each other. Sometimes, a pimp might have both girls and boys, and a prostitute might sometimes get together with a gigolo: How often does a girl fall in love wi th a Jesus? The ladies didn t have any compunction over taking the most ambiguous art ists from the Moulin Rouge as lovers. They were all free agents. 151 This sort of going s on was viewed very unfavorably in the homosexual world, as the butches did not like to see anyone horning in on their prerogatives and having the drips ridicule them. You don t

know Birdie. She cannot stand the mignards. She sees red. When she heard that a woman had deceived her man with an aunt, it was he who felt like a cuckold and who wan ted to be avenged. 152 Social exclusion added to the problems of financial dependence. Gigolos were not accepted; they were scorned by just about everyone, including many women. Theref ore, they were particularly vulnerable to the settling of accounts in the underworld. This was a chauvinist milieu where it was important to affirm one s virility, even one s brut ality; gigolos were suspected of being rats and were not trusted. Paradoxically, for th is reason they were often denounced to the police by thugs looking to put themselves in a good light: He knew Corsica s instinctive hatred for ambiguous couples and, like Corsica , he 147. 148. .39. 149. 150. 151. 152. 55 Francis Carco, J.sus-la-Caille, op. cit., p.151 P tit Louis, cited by Michel du Coglay, Chez les mauvais gar.ons, op. cit., p Ibid., p.239. Ibid., p.134. Francis Carco, J.sus-la-Caille, op. cit., p.104. Ibid., p.65.

A History of Homosexuality in Europe hated Bamboo, Birdie and others who were of the same species but did not show it . Indeed, in Montmartre he satisfied his urge to violence by encouraging the polic e to take action, meanwhile declaring, in the bars: Death to the she-asses and death to the aunts! 153 Also, very often, the gigolo was the designated fall guy, sacrificed wit hout remorse, rejected by the very circle from which he came. His life expectancy was relatively short and he often ended his days in indigence: the trade was profitable only du ring a youth that quickly faded,154 and the hopes of moving over into other criminal se ctors remained slim, since the reputation of such people made them complete outcasts f rom the start. Moreover, gigolos were often addicted to opium and coke, which accelerate d their decline. In the 1920s and 1930s, professional male prostitutes faced competition on their own terrain by unregulated soliciting on the part of young workmen. Andr. Gide, in his journal, mentioned his astonishment at this trend. According to Roger [Martin], n ine out of ten young men who resort to prostitution are by no means homosexual. They do it without any sense of repugnance, but solely for the money, which by the way enab les them to maintain a mistress, with whom they like to go about during the day. 155 The economic crisis may have encouraged temporary prostitution, but it seems that this phenomenon was less widespread in France than elsewhere, perhaps becau se the crisis hit there later.156 Amateur prostitution in Paris is explained not so much by any urgent financial need as by the allure of the good life, expensive gifts, someti mes an introduction into a higher social milieu, and a general atmosphere of sexual license. It is so easy to allow oneself to be caressed by any hand, when one closes one s eyes. And then, without expecting it in the least, one ends up finding that one has developed a taste for it. 157 These amateur male prostitutes were likely to come to grief. Having been introdu ced to another world, the lad soon felt ill at ease at his work place and hoped to e scape from it by becoming attached to a patron. This kind of adventure generally ended in misery, for it was the working-class origin of the boy and his amateurism that s o fascinated the customer. Joining the crowd of professional male prostitutes, painted and ja ded

and spewing slang, the working boy lost his principal attraction: 153. Ibid., p.9-10. 154. An article appeared in La Vie parisienne, 1934, p.1307, showed that some of them managed to get away with it for quite a long time: a young fellow dressed in a navy uniform and beret was the main attraction at a certain homo nightclub in Montmartre. He spoke like a child , and had big eyes. The police put an end to his reign. They asked him for his papers, and he took o ut his military record, saying: I am a war veteran, here is the list of campagns I was in from 1914 to 19 16. The old gentlemen must have fallen out of their seats; the evidence was incontrovertible : the boy was 40 years old! 155. Andr. Gide, Journal, 1889-1939, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1951, 1374 pages, 24 October 1932, p.1144-1145. 156. Germany s industrial output fell, starting in 1929. By spring 1930, the crisi s hit Great Britain. France was not affected until fall of 1931. 157. Ren. Crevel, Mon corps et moi, Paris, .ditions du Sagittaire, 1926, 204 pag es, p.54-55. 56

A Myth is Born: Those Flamboyant Days A child of the poor neighborhoods,... who can no longer stand to look at Nini, n ow that he has learned to appreciate the torso of the young man to whom he has sold himself as a joke, just to try it, ... One day, he throws away his workman s tools A pot of cream softens the face. Now, in the evening, he goes to the dance halls. Foreign ers like places such as Notre-Dame...he quickly learns how to choose the prettiest ties. He has a whole collection of them. He dances well, he sings. He makes an art of it.158 These boys were a mainstay of cosmopolitan Parisian night life. Professional pro stitutes recruited middle-class men from Paris or the provinces, habitu.s with well-defin ed tastes and not very much interested in trying something new and even less intere sted in having their reputations compromised by showing up at trendy places. But amat eurs, workmen, gangsters and sailors on leave were very much in demand. It is they who m the rich foreign tourists, especially the Americans, wanted to meet in order to have a good story to tell when they went home. Proud and trembling with false outrage, they could say that they had had an adventure with a real operator. Ren. Crevel gives us a little vignette: The little scoundrel was shaved so smooth, his neck looked so white it was in a beautiful red scarf, waiting at a table with a glass of nd to help you forget the rain and loneliness of the night,... The teasing and ht include a little English learned from American soldiers during the war. The uld invite the boy to dance. A girl, in love with the lad, insulted him with the foreigner. He caressed her hair and gave no reply to her abuse.159 draped as wine; a frie flirting mig foreigner wo when he left

These were the very lads that the top celebrities of Paris liked to show off and offered to their friends as prized gifts. Cocteau s and Crevel s crowds would spend the evening in trendy nightclubs, forging and demolishing the reputations of young m en filled with illusions. A remarkable beauty, an appealing physique, a reputation for tou ghness brought them fleeting glory on Montmartre, the envy of their peers, and a gold w atch. But callous society men were soon bored and rejected those whom they once had adored . The homosexual life in the countryside is more difficult to research. Toulon was characterized as a charming Sodom, 160 and Cocteau raved about it in Le Livre blanc

(1928): From every corner of the world, men enamored of male beauty come to admir e the sailors who stroll by, singly or in groups, responding to winks with a smile and never refusing the offer of love. 161 Marseilles attracted many homosexuals in search of exoticism and sailors on leave. Stephen Tennant stayed there several times, drawing ideas from harbor life for his drawings and his novel, Lascar. Daniel Gu.rin, embarkin g for Beirut, made a pass at a young fellow and from that point onward was proposition ed continuously, throughout the whole voyage, by all the most virile deckhands. Similarly, Andr. Gide draws an enthusiastic portrait of the town of Calvi: 158. Ibid., p.57-58. 159. Ibid., p.161-162. 160. See Chapter Seven. 161. Jean Cocteau, Le Livre blanc [1928], Paris, .ditions de Messine, 1983, 123 pages, p.56. 57

A History of Homosexuality in Europe In Calvi, every male, grown up or not, is involved in prostitution. Even that wo rd is inadequate, for pleasure seems to drive them more than a desire for profit... At the many public dances, men only dance with each other, and in a very lascivious way . Little boys, from eight years and up, go along with their big brothers when they go off to frolic in love with foreigners, who take them along on the beach, to the rocks, or under the pines; they keep watch in the neighborhoods and sound the alarm in case anyb ody seems to be approaching; they make propositions on their own behalf, or enjoy th emselves as Peeping Toms. Any hour of the day or the night, always ready.162 This makes it very difficult to determine how many homosexual locales there were outside of Paris. Willy solves the problem in one sentence: It would take Bottin to enumerate all the various commercial centers in the provinces that have a thriving trade i n pederasty. 163 This enthusiasm seems suspicious; indeed, while some bars and some hotels in the large provincial towns no doubt accepted homosexuals, cruising was restricted primarily to nighttime and, unlike Germany, there was no organized st ructure to handle the desires of the homosexual clientele. Thus, the main distinction in the 1920s homosexual scene was the creation, in addition to the traditional networks of cruising and prostitution, of quasi-legi timate establishments doing regular business and openly accepting homosexual customers. For the first time, it became possible to show up as homosexuals, to go to specializ ed bars, to come on to one another without danger, at least in the capitals. This sense of s ecurity was tremendously important to expanding the phenomenon: it encouraged contact, allow ed dialogue, facilitated meetings: in the bars, in the dance halls, a community was created. During work hours, homosexuals formed an integral part of society, for the most p art indistinguishable from anyone else performing a job. But, during their free time , they became very distinct, a class apart. 164 At the same time, this sense of security fostered the illusion that society was undergoing a radical moral shift: living without const raint, in a protective cocoon, one sometimes forgot that the external world had changed litt le. In England and Germany, homosexuality remained a crime. For some, the return to law and order in the 1930s was a painful surprise. * **

The 1920s were a flamboyant time. The homosexual imagination is stoked, like everyone else s, by visual stereotypes, evocative names, magical places which by t heir very names are part of the background mythology and become components of homosexual identity. In this construction of the imagination, which is essential, what matt ers is not so much the historical truth with all the insults, ridicule, scorn and exclusion it entails but the power of the symbols, and the power that we still ascribe to them. The s uccess of these founding myths is undeniable. They served as the basis for the homosexual liberation of the 1920s, which resulted in the creation of the German homosexual movement and the emergence of a virtual cult of homosexuality among the English elite; in addition, they served as a reference for the homosexual liberation movements of the Sevent ies. 162. Andr. Gide, Journal, op. cit., 3 September 1930. 163. Willy, Le Troisi.me Sexe, op. cit., p.185. 164. Galileo, The Gay Thirties, loc. cit. 58

CHAPTER TWO LIBERATION ON THE MOVE: THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOMOSEXUAL MOVEMENTS The homosexual apogee of the 1920s is more than just the mythical context. It is no exaggeration to speak of a homosexual liberation in the 1920s, but that is preci sely because the emancipation took concrete forms, from activist groups to networks o f mutual aid. Indeed, while we today usually associate homosexual movements with t he 1970s, they actually came into being far earlier. The first groups, founded in G ermany at the end of the 19th century, had already become fairly significant. They were ma inly geared to repealing anti-homosexual laws, but they also showed ambitions to esta blish a clear identity and a community, and they took on a mission to inform and educate the public. As we will see, the lack of unity thwarted them in achieving these objec tives. The movements had various priorities and were sometimes at odds with each other, and the lesbians mostly kept to the sidelines. Besides, homosexual militancy did not really take hold in England and France before the Second World War. Liberation took different forms in those two countr ies. In England, attempts were made to form homosexual organizations, but they were only a sidebar to the cult of homosexuality which characterized the period.165 And finall y, compared to the democratic and militant German models, France presented an indiv idualistic model, less assertive and centered on exceptional figures. THE GERMAN MODEL: COMMUNITARIANISM AND MILITANCY Germany holds a special place in the genesis of homosexual movements, serving as the cradle of homosexual militancy and a model of organization for other Europea n movements. Since about 1890, German homosexuals tried to enroll public opinion on their sid e; 165. See Chapter Three. 59

A History of Homosexuality in Europe they particularly concentrated their efforts on the abolition of 175 of the Penal Code, which condemned homosexual acts between men. Magnus Hirschfeld, Prefiguring the Militant Identity Magnus Hirschfeld166 was born on May 14, 1868 into a Jewish family in Kolberg, o n the Baltic coast. After studying medicine in Munich and Berlin and after travell ing to the United States and North Africa, he settled in Magdeburg and then in Berlin, in t he district of Charlottenbourg. One of his homosexual patients committed suicide the day bef ore his marriage, and that apparently led him to take an interest in the homosexual ques tion. The subject was in vogue at the time, and Hirschfeld was one of those liberal doctor s who advocated a scientific rather than a criminal approach to homosexuality. He developed a highly complex theory on the origins of homosexuality, which he regarded as innate: a theory which can be summarized by the famous formula, The h eart of a woman trapped in the body of a man. According to his theory, there are inters exual levels, a subtle classification of human beings according to various degrees of hermaphrodism and intermediate sexuality. Hirschfeld published his first book on the subject i n 1896, under the pseudonym Th. Ramien, Sapho und Sokrates. Thirty more followed. Hirschfeld s theories on homosexuality were covered most broadly in his principal work, The Homosexuality of Men and Women (1914) (in English from Prometheus Books, Septemb er 2000, Michael A. Lombardi-Nash, trans.; Vern L. Bullough, introduction), a monum ent at over a thousand pages which elaborated on all the forms of homosexuality. It is densely documented: the articles and interviews are supplemented by questionnaires the d octor distributed to his patients, especially those in the working classes. Homosexual s in Berlin (1908) and Von einst bis jetzt (Then and Now) (1923), are early histories of the German homosexual movement, whereas A Sexologist s World Tour (1933) enabled him to compa re sexual practices and the perception of sexuality in various countries. But Hirsc hfeld was not merely a theorist of homosexuality: he created the first German homosexual movement, the WhK (Wissenschaftlich-humanit.res Komitee, or the Scientific-Human itarian Committee). The Beginnings of the WhK (1897-1914) The WhK was founded in Berlin on May 14, 1897 by Hirschfeld, a doctor, psychiatr ist

and sexologist; Max Spohr, editor; Eduard Oberg, administrative civil servant an d lawyer; and the former officer Franz Josef von B.low. This was a major event in the history of homosexual movements, as it marked the first time that an organizatio n was created with the acknowledged goal of defending homosexual rights. It was declar ed to be politically independent. The Committee had several goals:167 first of all, to secure the abolition of 175, then to inform the public about homosexuality, and finally to i nvolve 166. For a biography of Magnus Hirschfeld, see Manfred Herzer, Magnus Hirschfeld , Leben und Werk eines j.dischen, schwulen und sozialistischen Sexologen, Francfort-sur-le-Main/N ew York, Campus, 1992, 189 pages. 167. Within the WhK, a board of some 70 people discussed and decided the major i ssues; seven of them were elected to an executive committee, of which Magnus Hirschfeld was p resident until 1929. There were also one or two secretaries, who were the only two members to b e paid for their work. 60

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements homosexuals in defending their own rights. WhK was a rational and effective orga nization; it took full advantage of the modern media to promote its cause and to lobby for reforms. In 1897, Hirschfeld launched a petition in favor of abolishing 175. The petition called for the suppression of anti-homosexual laws, except for the use of force, public disturbance, or acts concerning minors below the age of sixteen. Six hundred signatures were quickly collected, including the names of now prestigious artists like Herm ann Hesse, Thomas Mann, Rainer Maria Rilke, Stefan Zweig, Lou Andreas Salome, Karl Jaspers, Georg Grosz, Gerhart Hauptmann, and Engelbert Humperdinck (German compo ser, 1854-1921); politicians such as Rudolf Hilferding, Karl Kautsky, and Eduard Bern stein; sociologists like Max Scheller and Franz Oppenheimer; sexologists like Ri chard von Krafft-Ebing; theologists including Martin Buber and scientists such as Albe rt Einstein. Foreign figures including Emile Zola and Leo Tolstoy signed the petition. Certai n highly-placed homosexuals like Alfred Krupp, however, refused. In 1914, the petition linked the names of 3000 doctors, 750 university professor s and 1000 others. It did not go unnoticed. Hirschfeld managed to interest some le ftist politicians in the cause. August Bebel (a founder of German Social Democracy) made a speech on January 13, 1898, at the Reichstag, calling on the other members of Parliamen t to sign and support the petition. Hirschfeld regarded it as a great success to be receiv ed by Rudolf Arnold Niebarding, head of the Justice Ministry for the Reich. He is supp osed to have told Hirschfeld, at the time: The hands of the government are tied until the public understands that your requests are a question of ethics and not some sexual or s cientific whim. You must educate the public so that they understand what would be the resu lt if the government gets rid of Paragraph 175. 168 The Committee stepped up its campaign; it sent letters to Catholic priests, to members of the Reichstag, officers in the administration, mayors and judges. In 1905, the question of 175 was raised before the Reichstag; Bebel and Adolf Thiele called fo r its abolition, alleging that, according to Hirschfeld s works, 6% of the population was homosexua l or bisexual and that thousands of Germans were likely to be threatened with blackmail. Liberals and conservatives opposed it in the name of moral order and the vitality of the German people; the law remained unchanged. By this date, the WhK

appears to have had 408 members. Hirschfeld was busy on other fronts, as well. He put together international conf erences to disseminate information on homosexuality, published reviews and bulletins on homosexuality and sent them to the commissions charged with reforming the Penal Code in Germany; he also sent them to the public libraries at home and abroad. He pro moted all kinds of information on homosexuality: medical, of course, as well as legal, his torical, anthropological, literary; debates and scientific studies. In 1901, he published a pamphlet entitled Was soll das Volk vom dritten Geschlecht wissen? ( What should people kno w about the third sex? ). It went through nineteen editions and more than 50,000 copies were p rinted. It included a list of famous homosexuals, accompanied by assurances as to homose xuals morality, their desire to be integrated in society, their compliance with the pr evailing laws. The tone was consciously soothing; this was a first attempt to legitimize homosexuality and Hirschfeld had no intention of coming across as a provocateur. WhK publica 168. Cited by James D. Steakley, The Homosexual Emancipation Movement in Germany , New York, Arno Press, 1975, 121 pages, p.31. 61

A History of Homosexuality in Europe tions were always careful not to defy contemporary morals: Nothing could be farth er from our aims than to violate the province of the Church, he wrote in Jahrbuch f. r sexual Zwischenstufen .169 Hirschfeld produced original and innovative works. Anxious to collect all possib le information on homosexuality, he launched a major research project in 1903 cover ing the students in Charlottenburg and metal-workers in Berlin. More than 8000 questionn aires were sent out,170 listing precise questions about sexual practices. Of the stude nts who responded, 1.5% said they were attracted to members of their own sex, and 4.5% s aid they were bisexual. Among the workers, 1.15% declared themselves to be homosexual, an d 3.19% bisexual. Hirschfeld concludes from these surveys that 2.2% of the populat ion was homosexual and 3.2%, bisexual. While this study is open to criticism (the selected sample is not very represent ative of the population as a whole), it marked a new and sociological approach to homo sexuality. A protestant pastor, Wilhelm Philips, in Pl.tzensee, filed charges against him f or the distributing indecent writings 171 and slander on behalf of six student co-plai ntiffs. Hirschfeld reported many cases of homosexual suicides, including one in particul ar at the Charlottenburg technology school, and insisted on the need for information and f or compassion. In the end, he was only fined 200 marks, the court system having thrown out the charges of indecency. The Eulenburg Affair (1902-1907, in which many of the men closest to Kaiser Wilhelm II were accused of homosexuality and possibly treason) was a serious blo w to the WhK, and caused it to lose most of its financial support. In 1910, the new d raft of a reformed penal code proposed extending the prosecution of homosexual acts to les bianism, evidencing the less tolerant attitude toward the homosexual question. Feminists reacted by organizing meetings and by voting in support of a resolution condemni ng the law. Helene St.cker s Bund f.r Mutterschutz und Sexualreform ( Union for the protect ion of mothers and sexual reform ) met with Magnus Hirschfeld in February 1911. Until this point, lesbians had kept their distance from the Committee, but the l ink between activism and legal pressure became too important. In the 1912 elections, the WhK sided with those parties who supported the homosexual cause. It published in serts in newspapers, hailing the possibility of seeing members of the third sex elected

to the Reichstag. The WhK kept at it during the next several elections, working to deve lop a political awareness among its members.172 169. Jahrbuch f.r sexuelle Zwischenstufen, n VI, 1904. 170. 3000 questionnaires were sent to students in Charlottenburg, and 5721 to me tal workers; 1696 students and 1912 metallurgists responded. In 1901, a Dutch medical student , Lucien von R.mer, conducted a comparable survey with 595 students at the University of Amsterdam;h e arrived at very similar results: 1.9 % homosexuals, 3.9 % bisexuals, according to Manfred Herzer , Magnus Hirschfeld, op. cit., p.63. Certain authors, like Richard Plant, mention 6611 questionnaires , with the same results. 171. Cited by John Lauritsen and David Thorstad, The Early Homosexual Rights Mov ement (1864-1935), New York, Times Change Press, 1974, 91 pages, p.22. 172. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know what influence the WhK had on the h omosexual vote. While one faction of the homosexuals already felt a strong sense of identi ty and probably voted accordingly, it is likely that most of them, who were less engged in militancy, voted as a function of other concerns. 62

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements The apogee and decline of the WhK (1919-1933) Soon after this defeat, the Committee had another prime opportunity to fight for homosexual rights, on the occasion of the change of regime. For Hirschfeld, 1919 was a banner year; he founded the Institute f.r Sexualwissenschaft ( Institute for sexua l science ) in Berlin, and bought a building from Prince von Hertzfeldt at 10 In den Zelten. Visitors were greeted at the entryway by the inscription, Dolori et Amori Sacrum ( d edicated to pain and to love ); the WhK slogan was Per Scientam ad Justiciam ( justice through science ). The Institute had two main functions: as a scientific research center, it intended to collect all the existing documentation on homosexuality; and it also comprised a library and a museum. At the same time, it was expected to serve as a center f or homosexuals seeking medical help, or psychological support, or who simply wished to meet friends.173 A hand-picked group of doctors, scientists and politicians atte nded the inauguration on July 1, 1919. Magnus Hirschfeld gave a speech and presented the Institute as the first and the only one of its kind in Germany and in the world, and he unde rscored its political leanings: Our institute can be described as a child of the revoluti on. 174 The Institute quickly became famous abroad and attracted doctors, sex researchers, intellectuals and journalists. Andr. Gide, .douard Bourdet, Ren. Cr evel, and Christopher Isherwood all came to visit. The literature of those days is full of references to the Institute, which seems to have become an obligatory stop for any visitor who knew anything about Berlin. The diplomat Ambroise Got, in L Allemagne . nu (Naked Germa ny) (1923), and the journalist Louis-Charles Royer in L Amour en Allemagne (Love in Ge rmany) (1936) give their French readers lengthy descriptions of the Institute. Royer wa s received by Dr. Abraham, an associate of Hirschfeld, who asked him to fill out a 48-page so-called psychobiological questionnaire. The staircase doubled as a photo gallery. The muse um featured portraits and photographs of famous inverts and transvestites. Vitrines displayed material relating to specific cases: fetishists, sadists, Siamese twins, hermaph rodites. In Hirschfeld s own office hung a portrait of the Chevalier d .on. Royer sat in on some interviews; he met two pedophiles who requested to be castrated. One of the most important WhK publications, the Jahrbuch f.r sexual Zwischenstuf en (Annals for the sexually in-between), was published regularly between 1899 and 1

923. It was the first newspaper in the world focusing on the scientific study of homosexual conduct, and included articles on medical and sociological studies, reports on WhK activi ties and press reviews on homosexuality, biographies of famous homosexuals and literary e ssays on inversion. Jahrbuch published an annual report on the activities of the Insti tute f.r Sexualwissenschaft: in the year 1919-1920, 18,000 consultations were held, for a total of 3500 people (two-thirds of them men), including 30% homosexuals. After 1923, because of inflation and the economic crisis, Jahrbuch f.r sexual Zwischenstufen was no lon ger issued; in 1926, it was replaced by Mitteilungen des WhK (WhK Information), which was publi shed until 1933. 173. Scientific research concerning sexuality extended to four domains: biology, pathology, sociology and ethnology. The reception center was also divided into four sections: Marriage and professional counsel, Psychopathological states and nervous illnesses, Psychological sexual probl ems and physical sexual problems. The medical team was under the direction of Magnus H irschfeld, neurologist Arthur Kronfeld, dermatologist Friedrich Wertheim and radiologist Au gust Bessunger. 174. Jahrbuch f.r sexuelle Zwischenstufen, January-June 1919, p.51. 63

A History of Homosexuality in Europe During the 1920s, Hirschfeld travelled extensively, to conferences in Germany an d abroad, tirelessly spreading his vision of the third sex and agitating for homos exual rights. He made a lecture tour in 1922 in the Netherlands, Vienna and Prague. In 1930, h e went to the United States and China; in 1932, he toured Europe and spoke at several even ts in Switzerland and France. He also continued to fight unremittingly for the aboliti on of 175, making much of the risks of blackmail. Hirschfeld quoted incredible sums: one vi ctims supposedly paid 242,000 marks over the course of several years, and someone from Munich paid 545,000 marks.175 Some victims committed suicide to avoid shaming th eir families.176 To influence public opinion on the subject, the WhK used the cinema. Hirschfeld was involved in the first militant homosexual movie, Anders als die Andern (Diff erent from the Others). The film was commissioned by the producer and director Richard Oswald, who specialized in social cinema with an educational purpose. A press screening was held on May 24, 1919, in Berlin s Apollo-Theater, before it was shown to the public. The l ead role, that of Paul K.rner, was played by Conradt Veidt, the future hero of Das Kabinet t des Doktor Caligari (Dr. Caligari s Office).177 The melodramatic plot means to be edif ying: a famous violinist, a homosexual, is not free to express his love. Persecuted by a blackmailer, he is finally denounced to the police. His reputation demolished, he commits suicide. The moral of the film is underscored by Magnus Hirschfeld, who plays th e part of the understanding doctor who campaigns for the recall of 175 and advocates more s ocial tolerance for homosexuals who are not responsible for their condition. Predictably, the film sparked a public debate. It received many very eulogistic reviews in the press, which underlined its serious approach. But there were also attacks from those supporting the moral order and from anti-Semitic circles. A special s creening took place on July 17, 1919, at the Prinzess-Theater in Berlin, for researchers, writers and various famous personalities. Hirschfeld also received very many letters from bo th celebrities and anonymous sources, expressing variously their support or indignation. In fac t, the film was quite a hit, but incidents took place on several occasions while it was being shown, and as a consequence the police banned it in certain cities, like Munich and Stuttgart. After October of that year, it could not be shown anymore except to doctors or scholarly organizations. In spite of this limitation, the film remains a milesto

ne in the fight for homosexual freedom. Due to its broad distribution in Germany, it was a n important means for disseminating homosexual propaganda and it helped to inform the public about a cruel injustice. WhK also fought to modify 297, which related to male prostitution and which envisaged, in the new draft laws, sentences of up to seven years of forced labor . Richard 175. In n 19 of Mitteilungen des WhK (January 1929), Hirschfeld mentions the case of a man from Leipzig who had to pay first 600, then 200 marks. When they demanded another 264 marks, the victim filed a complaint for blackmail and the thieves were sentenced, one to 3 years in jail and 3 years of loss of civic rights, another to 9 months in jail, the third to 6 month s in jail. Such cases were rare, because the victim usually was unwilling to press charges for fear of bein g condemned in turn on morality charges, and for fear of the inevitable social disgrace. 176. A 1914 questionnaire covering 10000 homosexuals showed that one quarter of them had attempted suicide. 51 % did it out of fear of being arrested, 14 % following a c ase of blackmail, 8 % because of family conflicts, 2 % because of sexual trouble with their wives. 18 % of these suicides were homosexual couples. 3 % succeeded. 177. Tall the information about the film is drawn from Jahrbuch f.r sexuelle Zwi schenstufen, JanuaryJune 1919, p.1-51, which includes a very comprehensive press review. 64

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements Linsert, a communist, published in pamphlet form a compendium of interviews with key people on this question, 297, Unzucht zwischen M.nnern (1929). This adds up to a solid report on the state of male prostitution in Germany,178 and it contains various appeals for modifications to the penal code, from Heinrich and Klaus Mann and Alfred D.blin, inter alia. WhK also continued its parliamentary lobbying. When a new Minister for Justice was appointed (Otto Landsberg, a socialist), Hir schfeld took the occasion to send him a congratulatory letter cum petition,179 asking fo r a new commission to address the question of penal reforms to be made up of doctors , sexologists and criminologists as well as lawyers. Landsberg ensured Hirschfeld of his goodwill but the new draft law of 1919 still condemned homosexuality. Thereafter , each new Minister for Justice received a letter from the WhK and various information packets.180 The Reichstag deputies were also sent reports calling for the remova l of that paragraph and giving scientific explanations of the origins of homosexuality. Fo r the 1924 elections, the WhK sent the deputies a report comprising a history of German law s on homosexuality and listing the many public figures who had signed the petition. M agnus Hirschfeld stressed that some 1 1.5 million Germans were homosexual, that is to sa y about 100,000 voters, and that they would be voting according to the deputies pos ition on 175. WhK therefore asked the various parties to publicly state their positions on the issue. These pressure tactics did not have the desired effect and the WhK tried on seve ral occasions to increase its impact by taking joint actions with other German homos exual movements. In 1922, the writer and lawyer Kurt Hiller, a close collaborator of H irschfeld s, published 175: die Schmach of Jahrhunderts! (175: The shame of the century!), a violent lampoon criticizing members of Parliament. According to him , no political party had yet taken a clear stand in defense of homosexuals. Hiller as ked for SPD to present Magnus Hirschfeld as a candidate in the next elections. This request went without response. In fact, the WhK briefly considered founding a homosexual part y at the national level, which would participate in the elections with the aim of def ending the rights of the third sex. This attempt ended in failure, and Hirschfeld bitterly co mmented, in 1927:

Without going into a discussion of the merits of these efforts and how important the final success would be, we must stress that all the efforts to create a mass organization for homosexuals have, in the final analysis, failed. It is not true that homosex uals form a kind of secret society with all kinds of secret signals and arrangements fo r their mutual defense. With the exception of a few minor groups, homosexuals have almost no feelings of solidarity; in fact, it would be difficult to find another class of humanity that was so unable to organize itself to ensure its elementary rights.1 81 Starting in 1919, the WhK also tried to unite the various German homosexual movements in order to step up the pressure. On the initiative of Kurt Hiller, an action 178. See chapter one. 179. BAB, R 22/FB 21764. 180. Ibid. 21 July 1921, Minister Gustav Radbruch; 29 April 1923, Chancellor Wil helm Cuno; 25 September 1925, Hergt. 16 October 1929, the day that 175 disappeared from the new draft of the legal code, Magnus Hirschfeld sent to the Minister of Justice a new appeal, rega rding issues related to 175 that were still open. 181. Cited by James D. Steakley, The Homosexual Emancipation Movement in Germany , op. cit., p.82. 65

A History of Homosexuality in Europe committee (Aktionausschuss) was founded on August 30, 1920, bringing together th e WhK, Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, and Deutscher Freundschaftsverband, in order to organize the fight against 175. Interested individuals were invited to send donat ions to the lawyer, Walter Niemann, and a separate account was opened at Deutsche Bank. In January 1921, Hiller called for all German homosexuals to join in the fight to a ssert their rights: The liberation of the homosexual can be only be accomplished by homosexua ls themselves. The Action Committee reformulated the old WhK petition and wrote new pamphlets, which it sent in great quantity to the Reichstag deputies. At the same time, the new Minister for Justice Gustav Radbruch, USPD, proposed a new draft law, in which homosexual activity between consenting adults was not condemned. Radbruch was himself a signatory of the WhK petition, and two months after taking office, in December 1921, he received a WhK delegation. Nonetheless, beca use of political instability, Radbruch s draft law never went into effect. The Action Committee also had to contend with internal tensions. Deutscher Freun dschaftsverband, now called Bund f.r Menschenrecht, had a new director, the editor Friedrich Radszuweit; he took a very aggressive stance that led to the successiv e withdrawal of Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, and then of the WhK. In the wake of this failure, Hiller then reached out to heterosexual groups that were seeking legal reforms on sexual matters. In 1925, the Kartell f.r die Refor m of Sexualstrafrechts (Association for the reform of the penal code in regard to sexual issues) was founded, bringing together the WhK and five other organizations.182 In 1927, in response to a new draft law that still maintained the repression of homosexuality, Kurt H iller drafted an alternative (Gegenentwurf)183 that better protected individual rights ; this set off an intense polemic in the press and had the merit of bringing to the public s attention the question of abolishing 175.184 The Association also proclaimed the equality o f women, and called for liberalizing laws relating to marriage and for contracepti ves and abortion services to be made available. Once again, the pleas of homosexuals wer e drowned out in the broader cacophony and the Association failed to make its mark . In 1929, the decriminalization of homosexuality was accompanied by additional riders that irritated the WhK.185 By now, the WhK was slowly crumbling and littl e by little lost its influence. Hirschfeld had to step down, in the face of increasin g criticism from his own adherents, especially his former friend Richard Linsert. He set off

on a new series of travels, which became the basis for his book A Sexologist s World Tour, published in Switzerland in 1933. During the three last years of its existence, the WhK was a shadow of itself. The economic crisis that hit Germany in 1930 and the increasing polit ical tensions did nothing to improve the chances of creating a more tolerant environment;186 a nd 182. At the time of the opening meeting, 19 January 1925, participants in the Ca rtel included the Deutscher Bund f.r Mutterschutz, Gesellschaft f.r Sexualreform, Gesellschaft f.r Geschlechtskunde, Verband f.r Eherechtsreform, WhK and the Department for Sexual Reform of the Institut f.r Sexualwissenschaft. Deutsche Liga f.r Menschenrecht joined soon thereafter. WhK was the only homosexual organization to participate in the Cartel. 183. The editorial commission was composed of Magnus Hirschfeld, Kurt Hiller, Fe lix Halle, Arthur Kronfeld, Richard Linsert, Heinz Stabel, Helene St.cker, Felix A. Teilhab er, Siegfried Weinberg and Johannes Werthauer. 184. The WhK published 55 newspaper and magazine articles relating to the counte r-proposal, in n. 10, 11 and 13 of its Mitteilungen des WhK. 185. See Chapter Seven and the annexes. 66

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements with the loss of its leader, the WhK was left with no clear direction. There wer e no new initiatives undertaken during this period. Assessing Magnus Hirschfeld s record Given his notoriety and his role as a precursor, Magnus Hirschfeld was a lightni ng rod for all sorts of abuse and insults. The very symbol of homosexuality in Germ any, his name became a household word. He was the prototypical homosexual militant, and a t the same time he represented medicine s new supremacy in the field of sexuality. He wa s active on all fronts, and made many enemies. WhK was at its most successful early in the century. After the War, it never qui te managed to re-establish its influential position. WhK celebrated its twenty-fift h anniversary on May 15, 1922, an event commemorated by a booklet published by Jahrbuch f.r sexual Zwischenstufen. Hirschfeld assessed the organization s progress to date. He noted that the task of the WhK had been to research and to educate. The movement had not fail ed in this mission and would continue its work undaunted: All these things are seeds , which must bear fruit; but the harvest is not yet ripe and the time for the harv est and for rest has not yet come. 187 Five years later, at its thirtieth anniversary in 1927, the press (mostly on the left) echoed this commemoration and emphasized what had been achieved.188 An article i n the May 14, 1927 edition of Vorw.rts was eulogistic, but it underlined the principal failure of the WhK: its inability, despite all the pressure exerted, to decriminalize homos exuality. In fact, the Committee s failure was mainly political. Wishing to avoid being tied to any one party, Hirschfeld guaranteed the independence of his organization but depriv ed it of any real support in Parliament. Still, the WhK s nonpartisan stance was only relative. Hirschfeld, who greeted the revolution of 1918 with enthusiasm, was a member of the SPD (Germany s Social Demo cratic Party) and his closest collaborator, Kurt Hiller (1885-1972), who joined the WhK in 1908, belonged to a group of pacifist revolutionaries and was editor of the news paper Das Ziel (The Goal) 1916-1924). Both were anti-Bolsheviks. Another WhK leader, Richa rd Linsert, was a member of the KPD. In addition, because he hoped to spare the pub lic s

sensibilities, Hirschfeld made himself the unwitting accomplice of the most cons ervative movements. He was convinced until the very end that he would be able to win over his interlocutors to common sense and tolerance. He never despaired of convincing th e conservatives, and made repeated, even humiliating appeals to them. As an example, we have a letter which he sent to the deputies of the Bavarian Popular Party (BVP), on J anuary 29, 1925: We request, resolutely, Right Honorable Deputies, that you take all that in to consideration and we hope that your psychological discernment and your love of mankind 186. In 1929, unemployment was at 8.5 %; it reached 14 % in 1930, 21.9 % in 1931 and 29.9 % in 1932 that is, 5.6 million registered as being out of work and probably another m illion undeclared. Politically., March 1930 was the end of the big coalition. When he came to power , Heinrich Br.ning imposed presidential, antiparliamentary government. At the Reichstag elections o n 14 September 1930, the NSDAP had more than 18 % of the votes. The last years of Weimar were m arked by a paralysis of the system. See Detlev J.K. Peukert, La R.publique de Weimar, Paris, Aubier, 1995, 288 pages. 187. Jahrbuch f.r sexuelle Zwischenstufen, January-June 1922, p.5-15. 188. Strongly positive articles were published in Le Vorw.rts, Welt am Montag, W elt am Abend, and S.chsiches Volksblatt, Volksstimme Chemnitz, Berliner Volkszeitung, B erliner B.rsenCourier, Neue Berliner 12 Uhr-Zeitung, and Neue Zeit. 67

A History of Homosexuality in Europe will lead you to rally to our cause.... 189 He was even more diffident in his appr oach to the Nazi party. He became the target of virulent attacks from the far right, who set to work und ermining his public events. In several German towns, including Stettin and Nuremberg, he was prevented from giving his talks. In Hamburg, in March 1920, he was attacked by demonstrators armed with stink bombs and fireworks. In Munich, events took a dra matic turn. He had decided not to avoid the city despite having received threatening l etters; as he stepped forward to give a conference on October 4, 1920, he was attacked, sho ved, and jeered at, the crowd spat at him from above, and he was pelted with rocks; he wa s seriously wounded. Some nationalist newspapers even announced that he had died. The Bayerischer Kurier of October 24 took the occasion to denounce his theories and to warn its readers against his pernicious influence. Deutschnationale Jugendzei tung (Nos 3334) went still further: The bad penny still turns up. The famous Dr. Magnus Hirschfel d was severely wounded during a conference in Munich. It has now been learned that he is expected to recover from his wounds. We are not afraid to say that it is regrett able that this infamous and very impudent corrupter of the people ( Volksvergifter ) has not y et met the end that he so very much deserves! 190 A few days after the incident, Hitl er himself went to Munich and briefly commented on the event. Another incident occurred in Munich in 1921; and in 1922, during a conference in Vienna, a young man shot at him. After 1929, Nazi persecution increased to the oint that it was almost impossible for him to appear in public. Even after his death, he as excoriated as a typical representative of Weimar. In the lampoon Die Juden in Deutschland 1936), published by the Institute for the Study of the Jewish Question, Hirschfeld is eatured in the chapter on Jews and Immorality. p w ( f

Even so, Hirschfeld long believed that the Nazi party might come out in support of the abolition of 175. Prior to each election, he sent letters to sound out the NS DAP s position on homosexuality. Early in 1932, Mitteilungen des WhK published an anon ymous letter from a homosexual member of the SA (Sturmabteilung, Attack Section) under the title National-Socialism and Inversion, which explained that there were many homosexuals in his party and they were tolerated without any problem. Kurt Hille

r responded by citing many examples of Nazi homophobia; he concluded that the NSDA P was on this ground either fundamentally reactionary or profoundly hypocritical. Nonetheless, the letter was used again and again by homosexual movements to convince themselv es that Nazi hostility was only temporary and was intended merely as a sop to publi c opinion. The ultimate failure of the WhK must be viewed in context. The Committee not only had to fight the conservative parties, but also many of the German homosexu al militants especially the second largest German homosexual movement, Gemeinschaft der Eigenen who considered his activities counter-productive and antithetical to the homosexual cause. Moreover, Hirschfeld had to face the scathing irony and the sk epticism of foreign commentators, above all the French, who looked on his work as nothing but fantasy and charlatanism. Willy, who devoted a whole work to the third sex, d this to say: 189. Cited by Joachim S. Hohmann, Sexualforschung und -aufkl.rung in der Weimare r Republik, Berlin, Foerster Verlag, 1985, 300 pages, p.36. 190. Cited by Jahrbuch f.r Sexuelle Zwischenstufen, July-October 1920, p.105-142 . 68 ha

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements His idealism is perfectly combined with a certain cupidity betrayed by all the noisy advertisement of his periodical, his film, and even of his institute and t he consultations given there.... He has an admirable knack for exploiting the perverse curiosity of his contemporaries.191 Some French homosexuals judged his activity harshly; Ren. Crevel s .tes-vous fous? (Are You Nuts?) (1929), is a severe indictment against him. Crevel depicts him u nder the guise of Dr. Optimus Stag-Mayer, an abominable charlatan who specializes in cond ucting absurd operations.192 In sum, Hirschfeld s record as a homosexual militant remains mixed. The Committee never comprised more than five hundred members, and Hirschfeld was constrained to note that the majority of homosexuals were not ready to fight for their right s. Some activists felt that his endless propaganda only served to exasperate the pu blic and made homosexuals a more obvious target for extremists. However, in spite of all his errors of judgment and his appetite for power and honor, it is hard to deny Magnus Hirs chfeld a unique place in the history of homosexual movements. Thanks to him, it became po ssible to discuss homosexuality in Germany, on a scientific and humanistic basis. The i nsults and abuse to which he was subjected clearly show that his adversaries did not un derestimate his power of persuasion and the originality of his combat. Adolf Brand and Der Eigene, An Elite and Aesthetic Homosexuality

Adolf Brand (1874-1945) followed a very different course from that of Magnus Hir schfeld. 193 He had to give up his post as a professor because of his anarchistic opinion s and his association with free-thinkers. An assiduous reader of Max Stirner, he n amed his newspaper in direct reference to that philosopher s principal work.194 To him, ana rchism and homosexuality went hand in hand: as an affirmation of one s right to his own b ody and as a stand against the intervention of the State, the Church, the medical pr ofession and middle-class morals. He cited Nietzsche as an example.195 Brand founded the newspaper Der Eigene, in 1896, but it lasted only for nine iss ues, then ran out of money. In 1898, Brand tried to start over, advertising the newsp aper as the first homosexual periodical in the world. After seven issues, he was fined 200 marks by the County Court of Berlin on March 23, 1900. His partners, Hanns Heinz Ewers and Paul Lehmann, were fined 50 and 150 marks. A third attempt, in January 1903, led

to a new conviction November 1903 and he spent two months in prison for immorality. E ditor Max Spohr had to pay a fine of 150 marks. Publication recommenced, nonetheless, and Der Eigene became a landmark in homosexual history. Brand also published a supplemen t to the newspaper, Eros, and he published many shorter works on homosexuality, poems , news, essays and lampoons; and he published photographs of beautiful young men i n 191. Willy, Le Troisi.me Sexe, Paris, Paris-.dition, 1927, 268 pages, p.47. 192. Ren. Crevel, .tes-vous fous?, Paris, Gallimard, 1929, 179 pages, p.141-142. 193. See Harry Oosterhuis and Hubert Kennedy (dir.), Homosexuality and Male Bond ing in Pre-Nazi Germany, New York, The Haworth Press, 1991, 271 pages. 194. Der Einzige und sein Eigentum. See also Chapter Six. 195. Hansfried Hossendorf, Nietzsche und der Jugend, Der Eigene, n XI/2, 1926, p. 3 4-35. 69

A History of Homosexuality in Europe mannered, homoerotic reviews, like Bl.tter f.r Nacktkultur, Rasse und Sch.nheit, and Deutsche Rasse. Like other homosexual reviews of the time, Der Eigene had the ambition of servin g as a forum on homosexuality, and encompassed scientific, literary, artistic, and hi storical articles, poems, news bulletins and photographs of stunning, naked young men. Ho wever, the general tone strove to be lofty and edifying, and the production quality was high. The leading contributors included Elisar von Kupffer (1872-1942), a homosexual arist ocrat and a follower of aestheticism, and Edwin Bab (1882-1912), a doctor. Der Eigene adjusted its political content according to the times. In 1932, only literary pieces and homoerotic photographs were published, as had been the case in the pu blication s early days, for the political climate was becoming less tolerant. By way of cont rast, the years 1919-1931 are remarkable for the wealth of topics covered, the many philosophical discussions and political views expressed. Like most homosexual ne wspapers, it ran a large section of classified advertisements; they helped make it a succe ss, for they enabled homosexuals to make contact anonymously; some were simply seeki ng friends, others were looking for jobs: Student from good family, 22 years, fair, admires physical and intellectual celerity, seeks a real man, understanding friendship ( reciprocal), encouraging, similar age or an older student. Letter with photograph to be sent to the editor if possible ; Saar region: male, 29, seeks exchange of ideas with distinguis hed men, very pure, 25-20 years, student if possible, living in the Saar, Rhineland or Fr ance. No anonymous replies, (Eros, N 7). The newspaper was condemned regularly for immorali ty, and on January 3, 1922, the County Court of Berlin fined it 5000 marks. In 1903, Brand and Benedict Friedl.nder (1866-1908), a philosopher and biologist , had also founded Gemeinschaft der Eigenen (the Community of special people ), a homosexual association. Among the founding members were Friedl.nder, Wilhelm Jansen the founder of the Jung-Wandervogel, the painter Fidus, the writers Caesa reon, Peter Hille, Walter Heinrich, Hans Fuchs and Reiffegg (a pseudonym of Otto Kiefe r), the composer Richard Meienreis, writer and professor Paul Brandt, Dr. Lucien von R.m er, and the legal counselor Martha Marquardt. After the war, Brand tried to expand his movement beyond Berlin and abroad, without much success. We do not have membership statistics for Gemeinschaft, nor

subscription information for Der Eigene, but the movement does seem to have grown during the post-war period. Like the WhK, the Community of special people actively lobb ied the Ministry of Justice.196 The Ministry was given a massive report on May 29, 1929, with all kinds of documents favorable to the homosexual cause including several issues of Der Eigene and Eros, and various propaganda articles. However, even though several members of Gemeinschaft were also members of the WhK and were contributors to the same periodicals, political and strategic diffe rences, exacerbated by the competition between Brand and Hirschfeld, led Gemeinschaft to attack the WhK. From a theoretical and ideological point of view, the two associ ations were very different. Whereas Magnus Hirschfeld was driven by rationalist and hum ane ideals, Brand held a romantic and antiquated vision of the German culture. The a vantgarde nature of some of his positions on sexuality was contradicted by his reactionary bases: Friedl.nder preached nudity, and was himself a member of a nudist organiz ation since 1893 but his reasons were mainly related to hygiene;197 by the same token, when 196. BAB, R 22/FB 21764. 70

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements he praised pedophilia, he was focusing only on the spiritual and educational asp ect of this relationship and denied its sexual implications. Fascinated by the Greek model, the Community was strongly antifeminist and rejected industrialization and the principal assets of modernity, which it inter preted as signs of decadence. The ideal, they felt, was that of a male community linked by bonds of honor, something like knighthood, which would express its aesthetic sense throug h the veneration of beautiful, heroic young people. These aspirations reprise many of the themes in German romanticism: admiration for the Christian Middle Ages, faith in the humanistic values of the Renaissance , love of nature and worship of friendship, as expressed by Goethe and Nietzsche. The move ment was also close to the philosophy preached by the poet Stefan George, who enterta ined a circle of male admirers bound by a love of Greece and homoerotic relations, as w ell as the exaltation of nature. In fact, the Community of Special People shared some of th e same aspirations as other German movements like Wandervogel. Theorists like Hans Bl.her and Gustav Wyneken had close ties to the Community, with which they shared a elitist and aesthetic vision of homosexuality. The prog ram of Gemeinschaft der Eigenen fits directly in line with this: [It] stands for the social and moral rebirth of love between friends, the recogn ition of its natural right to existence in public and private life, as was the case at the height of its reputation, when it encouraged the arts and shaped the evolution of freed om in Ancient Greece. [Gemeinschaft] will foster, through words and images, through ar t and sports, the worship of adolescent beauty, as was the case during the apogee of Antiquity... [It] naturally stands for the elimination of all laws contrary to t he law of nature. It seeks in particular the abolition of 175, because it constitutes a per manent attack by the State on the right to personal freedom. By the same token, it oppo ses 184 [on obscene publications] and all the restrictions that derive therefrom.198 Gemeinschaft der Eigenen especially refuted the vision of homosexuality that was being disseminated by Hirschfeld. Benedict Friedl.nder was one of the first to d enounce the theory of the third sex, which he considered humiliating and untrue. Similarly , Adolf Brand saw Hirschfeld as being largely responsible for homosexuality s bad image in

Germany. A pamphlet by St Ch. Waldecke, published by Der Eigene, took on the WhK : Das WhK, warum STI zu bek.mpfen und centre Wirken sch.dlich f.r das deutsche Volk? (WhK: why it should be fought and why its activities are harmful for the G erman people).199 He denounced the attempt to label homosexuality a medical problem an d stated that association with the left was dangerous for, in fact, leftist newspa pers had denounced Krupp, Eulenburg and Wyneken. Hirschfeld, he asserted, confused love a nd friendship, pederasty and homosexuality. Brand and Friedl.nder repeated these charges and took particular exception to Hirschfeld s excluding pedophiles so as to make homosexuals respectable, and categ orically rejected the idea of setting a sexual majority at the age of sixteen. This speci al rela 197. Adolf Brand, Nacktkultur und Homosexualit.t, Der Eigene, n VII/1, 1919. 198. Adolf Brand, Die Bedeutung der Freundesliebe f.r F.hrer und V.lker, Berlin, Adolf Brand, 1923, 32 pages, p.5. 199. Berlin, Adolf Brand, Der Eigene, 1925, 18 pages. Most of it comprises a spe ech given in Berlin, 27 January 1925, at the Gemeinschaft der Eigenen. 71

A History of Homosexuality in Europe tionship did not, in their eyes, preclude marriage: most of the leaders of the C ommunity were married and were bisexual. Lastly, the strategic options of the two movements were very different. Brand several times came out in favor of a mass outing of famous homosexuals. In 1905, h e published a lampoon accusing Kaplan Dasbach, the leader of Zentrum (who was savagely opposed to the abolition of 175), of being homosexual.200 At the time of the Eule nburg Affair, as was mentioned above, he called the Chancellor of the Reich, Bernhard von B.low, a homosexual; a lawsuit ensued and he could not show any proof. The WhK d id not support him in these moves. In this unsettled context, the Community of Spec ial People did not hesitate to use anti-Semitic arguments against Hirschfeld; as a Je w he was an unsuitable leader for a movement against 175, since he represented an orienta l point of view on sexuality and love. In the early 1920s, Gemeinschaft and the WhK temporarily set aside their disagre ements and cooperated within the Action Committee in order to prepare a new campaign for the abolition of 175. Like Hirschfeld, Brand felt the need to mobilize his tr oops, for the atmosphere of moral tolerance allowed homosexuals to let down their guard rather than continue their fight. The younger generation which follows us often forgets that we are still in mid-combat . . . 201 This lull was of short duration: in 1925, Adolf Brand started in again on Hirsch feld. The increasing influence of two young authors within the Community, Ewald Tschec k and Karl G.nther Heimsoth, seems to have played a part in this change of attitud e.202 Both were ardent opponents of the theory of the third sex. Number 9 of Der Eigene, 1925, became an attack on Hirschfeld, who was once again subjected to violent attacks, antiSemitic and otherwise.203 In fact, there were contradictory political leanings within the movement and, li ke the WhK, Gemeinschaft had difficulty finding a middle ground. In 1928, Brand ask ed all the parties to state their position on the abolition of 175. In 1925, he had been very disappointed by the immobility of the SPD he had urged his readers to give them their votes, and yet, once they were in power, they had ignored the homosexual cause. Even so , in an article entitled Rightist Parties and Love Between Friends, he recalled that the r ight had always been an enemy to homosexuals and he thus suggested voting for the Sociali

sts, the Communists or Democrats.204 While some members of Gemeinschaft, like Heimsoth or Hanns Heinz Ewers, became Nazi sympathizers, Brand himself seems to have cherished few illusions as to the true nature of the NSDAP, even if he was troubled by the homoerotic resonance of the movement. The sexual revelations about R.hm reinforced his conviction that the N azis were hypocrites who refused to admit what was going on in their own ranks: With t he R.hm trial, the German public will finally have its eyes opened to the fact that the most 200. Brand serait ainsi l un des pr.curseurs de l outing. 201. Der Eigene, n VII/1, 1919. 202. See Manfred Herzer, Die Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, in 100 Jahre Schwulenbewegu ng, Berlin, Schwules Museum, 1997, 384 pages. 203. In the preceding numbers, in 1924 and 1925, he was subjected to anti-Semiti c attacks in B.cher und Menschen by Valentin Schudell (Der Eigene, n VII/8, 1924) and in Freundes liebe und Homosexualit.t (Der Eigene, n VIII/9, 1925), where it was suggested that a Jewish c ommittee was endangering German eros. 204. Der Eigene, n XIII/8, 1928. 72

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements dangerous enemies of our cause are often homosexual themselves, who help, consci ously, through political hypocrisy and lies, to destroy again and again any moral victo ries we may have obtained through all our efforts. 205 In sum, Gemeinschaft der Eigenen offered German homosexuals another model. Elitist and anti-modernist, it associated the worship of male beauty with the de nunciation of contemporary society and it exalted individualism over communitarianism. This criticism, anarchistic and romantic at first, took on increasingly nationalist a nd reactionary tones in the 1920s. At the same time, the movement offered a positive image of male homosexuality, repositioned historically, artistically and culturally, whic h could have been used as the basis for a strong sense of identity, independent of medic al theories and somewhat immune to society s judgment. However, Brand s hostility to the WhK contributed significantly to the failure of the German homosexual movements. By fostering division, by excluding effeminate homosexuals, by defining homosexuality very restrictively, he played into his op ponents hands and obstructed the creation of a strong and unified homosexual movement. Homosexual Magazines and Popular Organizations After the First World War, there was an explosive expansion of homosexual associ ations in Germany.206 The two pioneering movements, the WhK and Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, were joined by a multitude of local or exclusive cliques, with names li ke Freundschaft (friendship), Klub der Freunde und Freundinnen ([male- and female-] friends club ), and Freundschaftsbund ( friendship association ), which transformed the homose xual movement into a mass movement, as far removed from the elitism of Brand as from the scientific vocation of the WhK. Most of these clubs were the result of priva te and local initiatives and were not related to each other. Their intention was to pro vide a social space for homosexuals where they could talk, have fun and exchange thoughts. Man y of them had separate sections for men and women, and it was these associations that gave lesbians the opportunity to organize themselves for the first time. Many of these associations were largely known by their periodicals; most managed to survive only a few years, since mass circulation magazines monopolized the ma rket to such an extent. Der Hellasbote ( Greek messenger ), founded by Hans Kahnert in 1923, targeted both male and female readers. The price, in May 1923, was 300 marks; and it was mainly literary in scope: poems, homosexual news, and readers views on subjects o f their choice. In the June 9, 1923 edition, Ernst Bellenbaum, a reader, suggested that

the best way to influence public opinion would be to have frequent coverage in the nation al press. He proposed regularly sending material on the homosexual movements to the social ist, communist and democrat newspapers. The magazine went out of print in 1925. The number of homosexual periodicals grew tremendously during the 1920s, thanks to the liberalization of the press following the end of war-time censorsh ip.207 Die Fanfare was published from 1924 to 1926, by the writer Curt Neuburger (who had a lso founded an independent club, Internationaler Freund Bund, IFB). He was strongly opposed to the leading homosexual movement, Bund f.r Menschenrecht. In 1927, Pho ebusBilderschau was founded by Kurt Eitelbuss; it published only illustrations. Thes e reviews 205. Adolf Brand, Politische Galgenvogel: ein Wort zum Fall R.hm, 1, p.1-3. 206. On this subject, see 100 Jahre Schwulenbewegung, op. cit. 73 in Eros, n 2, 193

A History of Homosexuality in Europe addressed very different publics: some were high-brow and were intended for a cu ltivated readership, others were more populist; some advocated a return to nature and, us ing sporting events as a pretext, published photographs of naked athletes in suggest ive positions; others were reserved for women and defended the flapper. Addressing a mainstream homosexual public, who were eager to enjoy their sexuality in peace but avid for information on the homosexual community, meeting places and available entertainm ents, the reviews sought to tread a fine line, maintaining their neutrality politicall y and socially. However, the main periodicals of the time, Die Freundschaft, Das Freun dschaftsblatt, Flapper and Die Freundin were in fact official organs of the larger homosexual a ssociations. Der Deutsche Freundschaftsverband On August 13, 1919, Karl Schultz founded the review Die Freundschaft, subtitled Mitteilungsblatt des Klubs der Freunde und Freundinnen (News bulletin of the Club of friends and [female] friends). It was sold openly at newsstands. Number 2 was banned and for a few weeks the publication came out under the title of Der Freund. Die Freundschaft f ound its market very quickly, and in 1922 it absorbed two of its former competitors, Freu ndschaft und Freiheit, published by Adolf Brand, and Uranos, by Ren. Stelter. The editor of Die Freundschaft was Max H. Danielsen, but he was replaced in 1922 by the former Secretary of the WhK, Georg Plock. It was a monthly, published in Berlin at 1 Baruther Strasse. The fact that this was an official publication based in homosexual clubs is atte sted by the fact that Berliner Freundschaftsbund (Association of Berlin friends) was inscribed in the register of associations by the local court on September 28, 1920.208 In fact, Die Freundschaft was a serious newspaper that published fundamental articles on homosexuality, calls to decriminalize it, and stories about the status of homosexuals through t he ages. It constantly recalled the homosexual legacy. The newspaper was copiously illustrat ed with suggestive photographs, but with an aesthetist bent. It was also famous for its classified advertisements, which allowed German homosexuals and sometimes those abroad to f ind one another. These ads, like those for homosexual establishments, brought in mon ey. The first articles were signed pseudonymously. A debate on that subject conclude d that the use of pseudonyms detracted from the struggle to assert homosexual righ

ts, and from then on, most of the writers used their real names. The review was known ab road, and it became the symbol of German homosexuality. Ambroise Got, who visited Berl in and was shocked by Germanic morals, noted that the review Die Freundschaft, desp ite its high price (50 pfennigs), was a big success: It is difficult to get this newspape r, unless you look for it the very day it comes out. In downtown Frankfurt and Berlin, and many other cities, where there are many colony of transvestis [sic], it is snapped up a s soon as it goes on sale, and it is futile to look for it at the newsstands the following day; as for back 207. James D. Steakley tried to draw up a list of these periodicals: Agathon, Di e Bl.tter f.r ideale Frauenfreundschaften, Bl.tter f.r Menschenrecht, Das dritte Geschlecht, Die Ehel osen, Der Eigene, Eros, Extrapost, Die Fanfare, Frauenliebe, Die freie Presse, Der Freund, Die Fre undin, Die Freundschaft, Freundschaft und Freiheit, Das Freundschaftsblatt, Der F.hrer, Gar.onne, Geissel und Rute, Der Hellasbote, Die Insel, Jahrbuch f.r sexuelle Zwischenstufen, Ledige Frauen, Der Merkur, Mitteilungen des WhK, Monatsberichte des WhK, Mundbrief, Phoebus-Bilderschau, Die Sonne, Der Strom, Die Tante, Uranos. Some magazines printed hundreds of thousands of copies , others were very small. 208. WhK fut was registered there on 2 June 1921. 74

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements issues, they are untraceable. 209 Die Freundschaft was a child of the November rev olution. Politically, it came out clearly in support of the Weimar Republic. However, the review was primarily concerned to pull together the incipient homosexual community. Friendship Associations (Freundschaftsvereine) were formed in several large towns in 1919 and later; they offered their members concerts, debates, conferenc es, social afternoons, and sporting events. They often had a conference room, a library, a medical section and a legal aide, and sometimes specific sections for younger people and women. On August 30, 1920, these various associations were unified under the name Deuts cher Freundschaftsverband (DFV), which encompassed Berliner Freundschaftsbund and the Hamburg, Frankfurt-am-Main and Stuttgart sections. Gradually, other clubs became affiliated and the DFV organized congresses to help the various members to meet and discuss militant action. The first congress was held in Kassel on May 27 and 28, 1921, the second in Hamburg, April 15-17, 1922. The DFV sought to oversee all the homosexu al organizations and hoped to lead the militant activity. As it turns out, it quick ly fell into crisis, not having any sway over the earlier movements like the WhK and Gemeinsc haft der Eigenen, which still had influence. In any case, it soon faced competition f rom a new movement that took off on the wings of its charismatic founder. Der Bund f.r Menschenrecht Friedrich Radszuweit (1876-1932) set up a ladies clothing store and a retail business in Berlin in 1901. He became involved in the homosexual movement in 191 9 and, due to his talent as an organizer, was named chair of Vereinigung der Freunde un d Freundinnen, a Berlin-based homosexual club. He renamed it the Bund f.r Menschenrecht (Union for human rights), or BfM, in May 1922. The following year, he succeeded in incorporating the DFV and several other homosexual clubs into it. He split off from Die Freund schaft, which took a dim view of his authoritative methods; the newspaper went on without him until 1933.210 In the meantime, Radszuweit founded many periodicals, and they became the most influential in the homosexual press. These were the Bl.tter f.r Menschenrecht (Pages for human rights), February 1923; Die Freundin (The [female] friend), Sep tember 1924; Die Insel (The island), November 1924; and, Das Freundschafts blatt (The friendship sheet), June 1925. Radszuweit opened a bookshop on August 1, 1923, an d then a publishing house, Friedrich Radszuweit Verlagsbuchhandlung, 9 Neue Jakobstrass e. In

January 1924, he launched a collection of homosexual writings entitled rei f.r Menschenrecht.

Volksb.che

The movement s official organ was Bl.tter f.r Menschenrecht, a monthly (sometimes weekly) review that covered literary and scientific information and defined the association s positions: fighting for the abolition of 175, fighting for the social integration of homosexuals, fighting against blackmail, and calls for free legal help. Das Freu ndschaftsblatt, 209. Ambroise Got, L Allemagne . nu, Paris, La Pens.e fran.aise, 1923, 248 pages, p.103. Also cited by Alain Rox, Tu seras seul, Paris, Flammarion, 1936, 403 pages, p.269. 210. The magazine only lasted one year because it was denounced, apparently by R adszuweit, and registered on the list of pornographic and slimy publications. A meeting organ ized by Danielsen on 4 May 1928 at the Alexander-Palast was attended by some two hundred people; it ended in great confusion after a talk by Brand Adolf, originally entitled 175 and the elections but in which he accused Radszuweit of having denounced the magazine to the authoriti es (BAB, R 22/ FB 21764). The DFV was unable to stand up to the BfM and the power of Radszuweit . 75

A History of Homosexuality in Europe a traditional homosexual review, appeared on Thursdays and cost 20 pfennigs. In addition to traditional medical, social, and literary articles, it carried consi derable political content. Indeed, Radszuweit frequently used the newspaper as his perso nal platform, which enabled him to influence great numbers of homosexuals, many of w hom were not militant. He hoped by this means to sensitize an increasing number of in verts and encourage them to become more politically engaged in the struggle for social recognition. For example, the lead headline on November 1932 was: Should We Vote? Radszuweit made much of the decisive role that homosexuals could play in determining their own fate. Like other homosexual organizations, before each election Bund f.r Men schenrecht sent out questionnaires to various political organizations asking them to state their position on 175 and it encouraged readers implicitly to vote for those parties wh o were favorable to the cause. Nevertheless, it also underlined the ambiguity of the le ftist parties: on November 10, 1932, it denounced an article published in the communist newspap ers Berlin amndt Morgen and Welt amndt Abend, which termed homosexuality a middle-cla ss vice, along with prostitution, sadomasochism and bestiality. Bund f.r Menschenrecht became the largest German mass organization for homosexua ls. Whereas the DFV had succeeded in signing up 2,500 members by 1922, BfM already had 12,000 in 1924 and, in August 1929, it reached its apogee at 48,000, including 1,500 women members. Almost every town in Germany had a group related to Bund f. r Menschenrecht; the addresses published in the group s publications were most often only post office boxes. Affiliates were formed in Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovaki a, and even in New York, Argentina and Brazil. BfM printed more than 100,000 copies of its periodicals every month. Die Insel, priced at 30 pfennigs, hit a record press run of 150,000 . BfM was also active politically. It organized a demonstration in May 1925 agains t the Army Minister, Otto Gessler, for the dismissal of homosexual soldiers from t he Reichswehr. In August 1926, it forwarded a complaint to President Hindenburg regarding the dismissal of homosexual civil servants. BfM also spoke out during the lawsuit ov er 175, seeking to get the case dismissed or to lessen the penalties. Its members were e ligible for legal aid and many of them were defended by the famous lawyer Walter Bahn, who w as active in the homosexual movement. Like the WhK and Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, Bf M peppered the Ministry of Justice with letters, petitions, bulletins and reports.

In 1925, it sent a letter to Justice Minister Frenken, questioning his position on homosexua lity, and reminding him that there were 2 million homosexuals not an insignificant portion of the populace.211 It wrote to the Justice Minister of the Reich and all the Justi ce Ministers of the different L.nder, or states, on April 20, 1925, recapitulating the fundam ental causes of homosexuality and emphasizing the normality of homosexuals.212 On August 27, 1926, it sent the ministry a whole series of booklets on the question and a copy of th e review Bl.tter f.r Menschenrecht and, in 1927, all the deputies were sent the pamphlet, 175 Muss 211. BAB, R 22/FB 21764. Nine questions were posed to the Minister : 1) What doe s the minister think of homosexuality, does he think it is innate or acquired? 2) Does he know that there are 2 million homosexuals in Germany? 3) Does he think that homosexuality endangers public morality? 4) Does he think that 2 million Germans should be marked with infamy, as they cu rrently are? 5) Does he believe that homosexuality can be eliminated, thanks to 175? 6) Does he plan to keep the paragraph in the new draft? 7) Did he remember that in 1910 and 1911 many public figures had been in favor of suppressing that law? 8) What does he think about that? 9) What does he think of the thousands of signatures on the petition? 212. BAB, R 22/FB 21764. 76

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements abgeschafft werden! Denkschrift an den deutschen Reichstag zur Beseitigung einer Kulturschande (175 must be repealed! Calling on the German Reichstag to eliminate a cultural disgrace ). BfM shared the goals of the WhK and Gemeinschaft, but was fundamentally opposed to Magnus Hirschfeld s theories. Like Brand, Radszuweit rejected the notio n of a third sex and refused to equate homosexuals with effeminates. He did, however, publish a periodical specifically for transvestites, Das dritte Geschlecht, whic h included advice on how to dress effectively enough to pass undetected. This heavily illus trated magazine cost 1 mark. Unlike the WhK, BfM took an intolerant attitude toward homosexual minorities. Looking to increase the sense of normalcy and to foster social integration, it r ejected those who did not fit the mold, especially queens, pedophiles and male prostitutes. Furt hermore, BfM s opposition to 175 was more limited than that of Hirschfeld, which prevented them from working together effectively. Thus, on October 9, 1929, Radszuweit sent the Prussian Minister for Justice a list of resolutions that had been adopt ed by the Bund f.r Menschenrecht at its plenary session on September 20 and 23.213 They cl aimed immunity only for homosexual acts between consenting adults, and recommended set ting the age of sexual majority for boys at eighteen years and, inter alia, recommend ed prosecution of male prostitution. The draft law formulated by the Kahl Commission in 1928 was practically identical to this, but it had been vigorously attacked by the Wh K, which preferred the total decriminalization of homosexual acts except where violence w as involved. This difference of views hampered the homosexual struggle, and the governments took advantage of these dissensions to grant only partial reforms. BfM did not g et along any better with Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, which considered itself the refuge of the enlightened. Furthermore, the homosexual movements never really managed to involve the lesbians into their fight, and this only accentuated the divisions. Lesbians, at the fringes of the homosexual movement The beginnings of lesbian militancy in Germany date to the 1920s. Until then, women were ascribed minor roles within the WhK, and Gemeinschaft der Eigenen was strictly a male organization. The proliferation of friendship clubs in Germany all owed the creation of lesbian sections. Most of the clubs accepted both men and women, but the two groups had their own conference rooms and held their own demonstrations. Oft en,

the buildings were reserved on different days for the men or women. BfM was orga nized according to the same schema, and it offered women their own organizations and a wide range of activities; it also published Die Freundin, a well-received magazine th at became the symbol of lesbianism in the 1920s. Die Freundin started out as a monthly, then became weekly; it had a large press run. A supplement for transvestites, Der Transvestit, was eventually dropped. It was pu blished from August 8, 1924 to from March 8, 1933. Its goal was spelled out in Number 3: Die Freundin will defend the equal rights of women in social life. Die Freundin w ill foster ideal friendships by publishing articles by our readers, and we invite every wom an who feels qualified to send articles and works that they feel are suitable. 214 213. GStA, I.HA, Rep.84a, 8101. 77

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The magazine responded to the aspirations of the lesbian public, which sought to be affirmed independently and to be recognized within the homosexual movement as its own entity. Women had their own section within BfM where they could meet togethe r and discuss their problems. However, these sections were often kept out of the movement s main activities: political actions, the fight for rights, and parliamen tary representation; and BfM itself was run by men. Die Freundin was a specifically lesbian newspaper , but it was not written exclusively by women. Like most homosexual periodicals at that time, it offered a range of articles on varied subjects. Historical article s extolling the glory of lesbians of ages past (Rosa Bonheur, Christine of Sweden, Sappho, etc.) predominated; with basic articles on the problems facing lesbians in Germany (loneliness in th e rural areas, work-related problems, confrontations with the police); and cultura l articles (homosexual meetings, homosexual life in foreign countries, and reviews of books , plays and movies likely to interest the homosexual public); then there were scientific /medical articles speculating about the origins of homosexuality, political articles call ing for solidarity, news, and homosexual poems, as well as photographs of attractive young women. In addition to various ads for lesbian establishments and dances and all the hom osexual events of the week, there were several pages of personal advertisements, which were the magazine s main selling point. These ads were not restricted to lesbians; advertisements for male couples and even heterosexuals also ran. They were an immediate success, as they met a real need in the lesbian community. Not every woman was c omfortable going to lesbian establishments and preferred discretion over militancy. By the time No. 8 came out, the classified advertisements took up more than half a page : Berlin, nurse seeks partner to chat at tea time. 215 Transvestite selling a well-stocked la dies wardrobe, very cheap, like new. 216 Cologne: a woman in the professions, brimming w ith life, loves swimming, seeks partner. 217 Modern couple, 38-42 years, with comfortab le house, seeks a similar couple in K.nigsberg to get acquainted. 218 The plight of lesbians outside the city was a frequent topic. Many wrote in to express their anguish and isolation. One such letter dated March 7, 1927, from E lisabeth S., says: How I envy my comrades and my friends in Berlin! It must not be too dif ficult for them to meet a nice girl. There are so many meeting places, caf.s, clubs... My o nly solace is that there are even more women who are abandoned, like me. With longing, I still await

my best friend. 219 A married woman wrote to say that her husband, after having le arned that she was homosexual, allowed her to visit her friend: I wish that other marri ed women, like me, might meet with such understanding from their husbands with resp ect to their homosexual inclinations and thus be able to live in friendship, tying t heir life to that of their friend for eternity. 220 For other women, Die Freundin seemed a life saver, which delivered them from despair: As nobody could understand me or my nature, I have cut myself off from my homeland and my parents. 221 Die Freundin was the definitive reference point for lesbians of the 1920s. 214. 215. 216. 217. 218. 219. 220. 221. 78 Die Freundin, n 3, 1924. Ibid., n 8, 1924. Ibid., n 13, 1927. Ibid. Ibid., n 22, 1929. Ibid., n 4, 1927. Ibid., n 6, 1927, Letter dated 4 April 1927. Ibid., n 7, 1927, Letter dated 18 April 1927.

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements We had only a few cents; we would buy a few clothes and my most urgent desire, in those days we could sometimes go out. ...I would buy Die Freundin as oft en as I could (i.e., seldom). There were classified advertisements there, letting u s know what was going on. In this way we managed to attend a Christmas ball for a few h ours at a lesbian association. There was a large hall with a stage. And choirs... We also went to a homosexual place on B.lowstrasse, once. For an hour or two. That s all.222 Lesbian readers of Die Freundin were modern women, who worked, who were up on all their rights and ready to demand they be respected. Thus, it seemed likely t hat they could be mobilized for specific causes and join an alliance pushing for the abol ition of 175, even though it related to them only indirectly. Bund f.r Menschenrecht used the periodical for its own publicity and tried to recruit new members by expounding its views before a favorably-disposed audience. In No. 10, 1928, an article entitled Homosexual women and the elections tried to guide lesbians to vote for parties on the left. These calls seem to have resonated with very few lesbians. The political message s drew no reaction in the Letters to the Editor, whereas the social and medical ar ticles launched polemics. Looking to mobilize the female public, Friedrich Radszuweit a nd Lotte Hahm, director of the lesbian club Violetta (one of the city s most famous e stablishments) launched a new association, Bund f.r ideale Freundschaft ( Union for ideal friendship ), whose statutes were published in Die Freundin No. 22, May 28, 1930. It is implicitly stated that, while there is a time for fun and games, they must also think about fighting for their rights. By this return to its roots, the magazine exhibited a growing unease in the face of a political climate that was not getting any friendlier, a nd a concern over the continuing passivity of lesbians. In July 1930, for the first time, a police incident at a meeting of Bund f.r Men schenrecht is mentioned. The newspaper echoed the shock that went through the homosexual community and published a long protest against this aggression. In February 1931 , a young woman wrote to testify to her professional troubles. She wore short hair a nd male clothing; her appearance earned her insulting remarks from her customers and the boss demanded that she change her behavior or be fired. She resigned herself to rever ting to a feminine appearance. In 1932, the classified advertisements disappeared, signify ing the end of the publication in the form that first won it its following.

Even so, the newspaper could not make up its mind to face certain questions and it refused to take sides, for fear of putting off some of its readers and attractin g reprisals. In 1928, Die Freundin clearly encouraged readers to vote for the SPD, but it gradua lly backed away from the political aspect of homosexuality. Hitler s shadow weighed on BfM, and Radszuweit was unsure as to what stance to adopt with the NSDAP. His lack of political acumen became cruelly apparent when he decided to publish A Letter to Adolf Hitler, on August 11, 1931, asking Hitler to spell out his views on homosexuality. He recalls certain remarks the Nazi press made with reference to homosexuals ( When we are in power, they will all be hanged or expelled ), but presumes that Hitler is merely misinformed on the subject. He then pleads in an almost humiliating tone on behalf of homosexuals. In fact, he stoops so far as to state that homo 222. Testimony of Gerda M. (1904-1984), who lived in Berlin with her lover since the 1930s, unemployed at the time. Cited by Kristine von Soden and Maruta Schmidt (dir.), N eue Frauen, die zwanziger Jahre, Berlin, Elefanten Presse, 1988, 176 pages, p.162. 79

A History of Homosexuality in Europe sexuality is not a Jewish plague. Anticipating Hitler s possible accession to power, he offers to support him if he agrees to take homosexual interests into account. He goes on to stress how important homosexuals have been within the Nazi party a strategy whic h he supposed, mistakenly, would be to their advantage: I think, Mr. Hitler, that y ou also, in the interest of your party, can accept these requests, and [I wish] that in y our party s platform you will give up any prosecution of homosexual conduct and that, during consultations for the drafting of the new penal code, the deputies of your party will decide t o abolish 175. Several hundred thousands of homosexuals will be grateful to you, ma ny of them being members of your own party. 223 Radszuweit did not receive any reply to his letter. He continued, however, in th e same vein right up until his death, on April 3, 1932. One of his last articles, dated March 30, 1932, is an attack against the left for using R.hm s homosexuality to discredi t him. After Radszuweit s death, Die Freundin stuck to the same line. The 1932 issues attest to a very clear degradation of the situation of German ho mosexuals. Suicides are announced one after another, along with stepped-up police activity and the closing of homosexual establishments. On March 8, 1933, a little more th an a month after Hitler came to power, Die Freundin disappeared. Die Freundin was not the only lesbian periodical. Die Bl.tter f.r ideale Frauenf reundschaften (BiF) had the unique quality of being the only lesbian periodical produced entir ely by women. The other female publications were produced by male homosexual groups which accepted women but did not make the lesbian cause their priority. Many art icles in fact were written by men the height of irony, and proof that, unfortunately, the lesbian community was sorely lacking in cohesion and organization. And then Selma Engler , the editor of BiF, went to join the team at Die Freundin. Deutsche Freunschaftsverband was reconstituted and in 1928 tried to publish a magazine to compete with Die Freundin; Frauenliebe und Leben (Female Love and Li fe) made a brief appearance but did not have much success. The first issue defined the its objectives: [It aims] to serve as a link between homosexuals and heterosexuals; it will addre ss various topics in the fields of science, art, sport, fashion and personal life, include exchanges of opinion. 224 In fact, unlike Die Freundin, Frauenliebe und Leben was aimed not at

the emancipated, even militant, lesbians of Berlin but the modern woman who was interested in female topics, looking for useful recommendations and anecdotes rather than a serious analysis of the lesbian situation in Germany. The newspaper regularly em phasized the things that heterosexuals and lesbians had in common, in order to work towar d a future of mutual tolerance and comprehension. The layout was directly derived fr om that of traditional women s magazines, enlivened here and there with more specific deta ils: photographs of famous lesbians, Sapphic poems, sections on beauty and astrology, exercises designed to help one maintain one s figure,225 and articles on lesbian life.226 Frauenliebe was soon replaced by another magazine, Flapper, which was published from October 1930 to October 1932, with a printing of 10,000 copies. Continuing in the 223. Die Freundin, n 32, 1931, Letter dated 11 August 1931. 224. Frauenliebe und Leben, n 1, 1928. 225. Dr Agnes Shelter, Heimgymnastik f.r lesbische Frauen ( Gymnastics at home, for lesbians ), ibid., n 2, 1928. 226.Dr Eugen G.rster, Hosenrolle und Frauenemanzipation ( Transvestism and women s emancipation ), ibid. 80

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements same vein as Frauenliebe, Flapper was addressed to the average woman, emancipate d and sympathetic to the feminist movement but not necessarily lesbian. German organizations like the BfM are evidence of homosexuals desire to forge a community in the 1920s. While its founder, Friedrich Radszuweit, was adamantly m ilitant, it is by no means clear that all his members and all his readers shared that fee ling. Most homosexuals wished above all to discover the new homosexual scene, to find likeminded people, to be able to socialize with their own kind. They were engaged in this effort in varying degrees: the true militants were relatively few, and the list of names of those who took the lead in the main organizations and published articles in the periodicals shows that. Often, the same people were the motivating force behind two or three periodicals and were the leaders of various organizations and clubs. There were many association members, 48,000 for BfM alone, but far fewer than the readership of the magazines and newspapers. However, the German experience, in spite of its limitations, was exceptional and was evidence of an early awakening of a homosexual identity in E urope in the 1920s. THE GERMAN MODEL AS AN INFLUENCE ON HOMOSEXUAL MOVEMENTS The German model, although unique, did have some echoes in Europe and the wider world, mostly due to the influence of Magnus Hirschfeld. Indeed, one of hi s goals had been to create a worldwide organization with the aim of spreading new ideas on sex and psychiatry, of informing the public and securing rights for sexual minoritie s. The impact of the movement, although limited, allowed for a homosexual awakening in other countries besides Germany and inspired the formation of homosexual movements in some of them, such as England. However, these movements never managed to catch on in a big way and their actions remained largely symbolic. The World League for Sexual Reform: A Homosexual Internationale? In 1921, Magnus Hirschfeld launched a series of world congresses for sexual refo rm, which led to the constitution of a World League for Sexual Reform227 made up of scientists, doctors, and intellectuals who were anxious to encourage the sharing of new idea s. The homosexual question fit in with the general liberalization of sex that marke d the 1920s. Doctors were anxious to improve sexual hygiene, and feminists were callin

g for gender equality and the recognition of female sexuality, the right to divorce, a ccess to contraception and the liberalization of abortion; and psychoanalysts, educators and theorists of all kinds all had a part to play. The medical influence was considerable, and testifies to the new emergence of doctors interested in sexuality. The League chose Berlin as the site for its first congress in 1921, evidence of how important the German movement was in the sexual avant-garde in those days. The League published its newspaper and generally met at Hirschfeld s Institut f.r Sexu alwissenschaft. The League was run by an executive central committee composed of the pres 227. The reports could be published in German, English and French. The League wa s known as Weltliga f.r Sexualreform, World League for Sex Reform and Ligue mondiale pour l a r.forme sexuelle. 81

A History of Homosexuality in Europe ident and five other people. The international committee consisted of deputies ( a maximum of three per country) of the various affiliated countries. Three honorar y presidents had been appointed: Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis and Auguste Forel, which in itsel f makes clear what was the philosophy of the movement. According to Wilhelm Reich, the League included the foremost sexologists and sexual reformers in the world, 228 and included representatives of the Western capitalist countries and the USSR. Indee d, the list of the international committee for the congress of Copenhagen in 1928 shows that an impressive number of countries sent representatives,229 many of them celebrities .230 Membership in the League was open to anyone who worked for sexual reform on a sci entific basis and to associations pursuing similar goals. Each association was represented by a member. At its high point, the League had 130,000 members, divided into var ious affiliated associations. Resolutions were passed by a simple majority. Each indi vidual had a vote; associations could vote for 500 members, but they could not vote for mor e than five choices. The annual fee was as high as 5 shillings, but members were encouraged to give more, if they could. The League s newspaper, The Journal for Sexual Reform, sold f or 12 shillings (9 shillings for members).231 At the first congress in Berlin, the homosexual question was approached from various angles.232 Dr. H.C. Rogge (Dutch) gave a talk on the significance of Stei nach s research into the question of pseudo-homosexuality. Dr. C. M.ller (German) establ ished the linkage between Psychoanalysis and sexual reform and he explained in detail wh y 175 was harmful: The paragraph represents a confusion of social and moral law...ho mosexual activity is not in itself harmful to society; socially harmful excesses can be p ursued in court without calling it an attack on morals. 233 Several other speakers addres sed the abolition of 175, in particular Kurt Hiller in The Law and Sexual Minorities. His s peech concluded with the words: 175 is the shame of this century. The League held its second congress in Copenhagen in 1928. The committee included about thirty members, by then. At this congress, the goals of the Leagu e were explicitly defined and its statutes were revised. The League s goals were expresse d in a general resolution adopted at the end of the congress, July 3, 1928: The international congress for sexual reform on a scientific basis appeals to le gislative

bodies, the press and the people of all countries to help create a new social an d legal attitude (based on knowledge based on scientific research in sexual biolog y, psychology and sociology) towards the sexual life of men and women. Currently, the happines s of an enormous number of men and women is sacrificed to false sexual 228. Cited by Jeffrey Weeks, Sex, Politics and Society, London, Longman, 1989, 3 25 pages, p.185. 229. England, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Russia, Austria, Switz erland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Lithuania, Egypt, Liberia, Argentina, Chile, the British Indies and Malaysia. 230. Norman Haire and Dora Russell for England, Margaret Sanger the United State s, Max Hodann and Helene St.cker for Germany, Victor Margueritte for France, Alexandra Kollonta. for Russia. 231. For information on the League, cf. Constitution of the WLSR, in WLSR, Sexual Reform Congress, Proceedings of the Second Congress, Copenhague, 1-5 July 1928, Levin & Munksgaard, 1929, 307 pages. 232. All these presentations are covered in Dr A. Weil (dir.), Sexualreform und Sexualwissenschaft, Vortr.ge gehalten auf der erste internationale Tagung f.r Sexualreform auf sexua lwissenschaftlicher Grundlage in Berlin, Berlin, Julius P.ttmann, 1922, 286 pages. 233. Ibid., p.144. 82

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements standards, ignorance and intolerance. Therefore it is urgent that many sexual pr oblems (women s place, marriage, divorce, contraception, eugenics, marriage, unmarried motherhood and illegitimate children, prostitution, sexual anomalies, sex murder s, sex education)... be re-examined from a judicious and impartial viewpoint and de alt with scientifically. The League especially called for political, economic and sexual equality between men and women, the liberation of marriage (and especially of divorce) from the tyr anny of the Church and the State, the control of conception, so that procreation may be undertaken only voluntarily, and therefore only with the necessary sense of resp onsibility, the improvement of the human race through the application of the knowledge of eugenics, the protection of unmarried mothers and illegitimate children, a rational attitude toward sexually abnormal people and especially with regard to homosexua ls, both men and women, the prevention of prostitution and venereal diseases. It advoca ted that disorders of the sexual instinct [be] considered as essentially pathological phenomena, and not, as in the past, as crimes, vices or sins ; that only sex acts w hich compromise the sexual rights of another person [be] regarded as criminal ; that sex ual acts between responsible adults, undertaken by common assent, must be viewed as private matters ; and, finally, that systematic sex education be provided. The League was tackling an ambitious, exhaustive and progressive program. It was connected to a legislative platform. It proposed that sexuality was a special fi eld, subject to comment only from scientists and not the government, the Church or public opi nion. Information and education were to be used to bring an end to outdated behaviors, transform people s attitudes and bring about changes in legislation. The question of homosexuality is explicitly addressed in item 6 and indirectly i n item 9. Homosexuality is seen as strictly a private matter; the law has nothing to say, since it does not impinge on the sexual rights of others. Nevertheless, it should be n oted that homosexuals are defined as abnormal, which makes it difficult to improve their p ublic image. This formulation is clearly the result of a compromise between the variou s factions represented in the League. The World League for Sexual Reform did not stop at voicing pious wishes, expressing its views and publicizing the medical and sociological advances in th e field of sexual research. It developed various activities intended to ensure the applicat

ion of the points of its program, as enumerated in the League s statutes. It was to achieve i ts goals by serving as a link between organizations and individuals of all countries which share its point of view, by disseminating scientific knowledge on sexuality, as a combatan t all the forces and the prejudices that bar the road to a rational attitude with regard to these questions. The principal methods adopted were to publish or encourage the pu blishing of technical and popular scientific works aimed at reforming sexuality on a scie ntific basis, to produce an international journal on sexual reform, to conduct an international congress, disseminate propaganda via conferences, collect all the laws and statistics relating to sexuality in every country, and to t in the development of legislation as regards sexuality. draft laws and assis

Obviously, the League saw its key activities as being mainly in the field of inf ormation and education. An intellectual and scholarly organization, it was geared more to reflection than to action. While the prominence of some of its members gave it s ome measure of influence at the government level, and while it could contribute to i nfluencing public opinion through its publications and conferences, it remained invisible o n the 83

A History of Homosexuality in Europe ground. There was no direct pressure paced on the government (petitions, demonst rations, press campaigns). In this, the League was different from, for example, Wilhelm Reich s Sexpol. Speci fically, it did not consider practical measure, for example in the field of contraception . However, it must be said that it was made up of many associations which were, th emselves, active on the ground in confronting the daily problems of homosexuals. The League had an international vocation; it had neither the means nor the structure s necessary for local action. It was rather a coordinating body that defined a political out look shared by the various associations working for sexual reform. The League s third congress was held in London in 1929. It was a great success in terms of audience; 350 deputies took part in it, compared to just 70 deputies wh o had participated at Copenhagen in 1928. Portugal was the only European country not to send a representative. Several participants testified to the importance of the homosexu al question within the League, even if, according to Dora Russell, practically all the presentations were intended to inform or influence public opinion rather than to instigate political action.234 R.B. Kerr addressed the fundamental topic of the sexual righ ts of single people. H.F. Rubinstein gave a talk on Sex, censure and public opinion in England, dealing with the lawsuit against Radclyffe Hall for The Well of Loneline ss (1928). His remarks against the Minister for the Interior, Sir William Joynson-Hicks, we re particularly severe; it was he who had initiated the condemnation of the book. Rubinstein said that, Under his government, the administration seems to take as its goal to refuse any public discussion of the problem of homosexuality. 235 George Ives, in Taboo attitudes, also underscored the role of the press in the treatment of homosexuality: There are certain forms of criminal activity that are not reported by the newspapers and of which most decent women are ignorant and prefe r to remain ignorant, as the Evening News had asserted, for example. During the Radcly ffe Hall trial, Daily Express had expressed its view by saying: There are certain vices in the world, which, since they cannot be treated, must be endured, but in silence. 236 The ques tion of the taboo seems to have been particularly topical, with Bertrand Russell analyzing the taboos on sexual knowledge. He charged that the condemnation of The Well of Loneli ness brought out into the light of day another aspect of censorship, i.e. any discuss ion of homosexuality in the form of fiction is illegal in England. 237 Lastly, H.S. Sullivan talked abo ut

links between homosexuality and schizophrenia in schizophrenia.

Antiquated sexual culture and

By the time of the fourth congress, held in Vienna in 1930, the committee had 2, 000 members. Homosexuality was addressed in several forums; Dr. Fritz Wittels, in Sex ual Distress, explained the increase in homosexuality in Germany as a consequence of the moral rigidity of German women.238 Ernst Toller explored the relationship betwee n 234. Dora Russell, The Tamarisk Tree, My Quest for Liberty and Love, London, 197 5, 304 pages, p.218. 235. WLSR, Sexual Reform Congress, London, 8-14 September 1929, Kegan Paul, 1930 , 670 pages, p.308-309. 236. The Evening News, 12 November 1920, Daily Express, 5 September 1928, cited ibid., p.342. George Ives also cites the Daily News, 25 August 1927, the Pall Mall Gazette, 16 July 1 921, the Star, 7 August 1927, the Daily Express, 8 September 1927. 237. Ibid., p.401. 238. WLSR, Sexual Reform Congress, Vienna, 16-23 September 1930, Vienna, Elbem.h l, 1931, 693 pages, p.45. 84

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements Detention and homosexuality, Elgar Kern spoke about the difficulty of living in women s prisons. Finally, Sidonie F.rst addressed the Problem of the unmarried woman and Dr. Hermann Frischhauf dealt with Some psychoanalytical experiments on young sexual delinquents. The last congress was supposed to take place in 1932 in Moscow; that was cancell ed, and it was held finally in Brno. The 1933 congress was scheduled to be held in Chicago but it did not take place, for the accession of the Nazis in Germany dea lt the organization a fatal blow. The goal of the League had been to convince governmen ts of the rationality of sexual reform; with Europe facing economic depression and a gathe ring threat from fascism, these concerns paled by comparison. The League was finally dissolved in 1935 by Norman Haire and Dr. Leunbach, after Hirschfeld s death. It had succeeded, however, in promoting a new outlook in many different countries, and it had served as a forum for the discussion of homosexuality as w ell as contraception and divorce. Reformist, but progressive, it contributed to chan ging public opinion. It also inspired national initiatives elsewhere, particularly in Great Britain. A Lackluster Performance on the Part of English Activists Toward the end of the 19th century, some marginal homosexual experiments had been tried in England. In the 1890s, George Ives founded the order of Chaeronea, 239 a homosexual secret society whose purpose was to organize a homosexual resistance an d to promote reforms. Lawrence Housman was involved a friend of Carpenter and Wilde; and Montague Summers, future Secretary of the homosexuality sub-committee of the British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology (BSSP); John Gambrill; Franc is Nicolson treasurer of the BSSP; and A.E. Housman, brother of Lawrence, an academ ic and poet. This initiative did not achieve much. English homosexual militancy was characterized in the 1920s by its great discretion. If one excludes the outstanding figure of Edward Carpenter, one finds few remarkable personalities. The only homosexual movement, the BSSP, would have liked to become the British equivalent of the WhK but it was too timid to have any real impact. Edward Carpenter, socialist utopian and homosexual The leading English homosexual activist from the end of the 19th century to the early 1930s was, without a doubt, Edward Carpenter (1844-1929).240 Carpenter was born in Brighton into a well-to-do family. In his autobiography, My Days and Dreams, he breaks

his life into four parts: from 1844 to 1864, he lived in Brighton in a world tha t tried to be fashionable and which detested.241 He was at Cambridge from 1864 to 1874l then, from 239. On Ives and the Order of Chaeronea, see Jeffrey Weeks, Coming Out. Homosexu al Politics in Britain from the 19th Century to the Present, London, Quartet Books, 1979, 278 p ages, p.118-127. 240. Long forgotten by history, Edward Carpenter s role in the history of gay and the socialist movements has been rediscovered. Homage was paid to him in 1944 on the centenary of his birth and articles were published in the Time Literary Supplement, The Spectator, The List ener, and The New Statesman. His book Towards Democracy was reissued. E.M. Forster gave a talk on BBC on 25 S eptember 1944 But, these efforts toward rehabilitation remained without effect until the end o f the sixties. 241. Cited by Jeffrey Weeks, Coming Out, op. cit., p.68. 85

A History of Homosexuality in Europe 1874 to 1881, he was lecturing in the north of England. Beginning in 1881, he de voted himself to the working class and his research on homosexuality. He noted that he could trace his passionate desire for a male relationship back to his earliest childho od, but that this desire could not be expressed, indeed, it did not have any chance of being expressed.242 Carpenter s sexual reformism falls under the broader rubric of a utopian socialism . The sexual question fits into his logic: civilization (defined by access to priv ate property) disintegrated and corrupted man from the inside, and destroyed the unity of his nature. 243 To build a better world, then, would require restoring man to his real nature by placing the body and sex back at the center of human concerns. During the 1880s, Carpenter distinguished himself by his defense of feminism, mo re than anything else, and by his role within the socialist movement in Sheffield. By 1890, the sexual question came to the fore, as much for personal reasons (his relationship with George Merrill began in 1891) as political. His meeting with a wise Indian, Gnani , revealed to him the Hindus more tolerant attitude toward sexuality and he wanted to publicize it. In 1894, he published three essays entitled, Sex Love, Woman, and Marriage, at Manchester Labour Press. In 1896, Love s Coming of Age came out, including a chapt er on the intermediate sex. It had to be pulled off the market, given the repercussions of t he Oscar Wilde trial. In 1902, he published Iolaus: An Anthology of Friendship, A Collect ion of Essays on Homoeroticism; in 1908, The Intermediate Sex; and in 1912, Intermediate Types am ong Primitive People. Several essays on Walt Whitman and Shelley could be added to this list. The writings of his friend Havelock Ellis, and of sexologists like Otto Weininge r and Magnus Hirschfeld, influenced Carpenter in the development of his theory, wi th elements derived from Lamarckian philosophy, Hindu mysticism and the poetry of Walt Whitman incorporated as well. Much of this writing seems very dated, today, but it was highly innovative at the time. Carpenter was the first to call for a liberation of sexual morals and he influenced several generations of readers. What made him unique am ong his contemporaries was that he distinguished sex from procreation. At the same t ime, while not neglecting the sentimental aspect, he maintained that it was vital to rehabilitate the physical pleasure of sex in order to remove shame from the act of love. In T he Intermediate

Sex, he expounded his theory on homosexuality. He refers to Ulrichs s idea ( the heart of a woman in the body of a man) and refutes the notion that homosexuality is a sign of degeneracy. Like others, he seeks to classify uranians in several categori es. He distinguishes extreme cases ( queens, etc.), which he suggests are not very represe ntative of average homosexuals who, he says, are not recognizable physically but who are characterized by a greater sensitivity and a greater emotional complexity (as fa r as males), and (as far as females) a penchant for order and a strong sense of organization. Homosexuality may come in any degree, but it is necessarily instinctive, congenital and inerad icable. For Carpenter, homosexuality can only be acquired if the person is carried away by curiosity, lubricity or a lack of women. However, in his view bisexuality wou ld become standard in the new society. He also strives to demonstrate that uranians are po sitive forces within a nation and he emphasizes their contribution as inventors, profes sors and artists. 242. Edward Carpenter, Selected Writings, vol.1, Sex, reedited., London, Gay Men Press, 1984, 318 pages, p.83. 243. Cited by Jeffrey Weeks, Coming Out, op. cit., p.71. 86

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements Carpenter shows his limitations when it comes to female sexuality. He declares that the division of labor between the sexes is the result of biological differe nces between men and women; that woman is more primitive, more sentimental, more intuitive an d closer to nature than is man. Nonetheless, he advocates social and economic inde pendence for women and calls for a reform of marriage and for birth control options to be made available. Carpenter would not have had such a great and long-lasting effect if he had been only a theorist. He became a model, a prophet for many homosexuals because he prac ticed what he preached. In fact, his private life is closely connected with his writin gs. Constantly seeking a loving relationship that would satisfy him fully, he suffer ed long years of frustration. After various attempts with craftsmen or Socialists (Georg e Hukin, George Adams, Bob Muirhead and James Brown), he met George Merrill, in 1890, in a railway compartment. They never parted. Merrill was twenty years old. He grew up in a working-class family in Sheffield. He was sexually confident and liberated, but his rather vulgar speech and manners shocked Carpenter s friends. Beyond a certain paternalis m on behalf of Carpenter, their relationship rested on a sincere and mutual affection . After a few years, Merrill moved to Millthorpe, Carpenter s home. The notion of two homose xuals living together more or less openly did not sit well with their neighbors, or ev en their friends, but Millthorpe took on a kind of symbolic luster as a kind of hom osexual paradise. The property became a place of pilgrimage for all kinds of working cla ss and progressive homosexual movements who sought to win Carpenter over to their cause . The reception was always very cordial, be it for personalities like Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, political friends like Edith Lees and Olive Schreiner, or the isolate d homosexual in search of a guide. Scandal was never far from their door and Carpenter had to be mindful of his rep utation. In 1909, he was attacked by the puritanical M.D. O Brien, a member of the Liberty and Property Defence League, which published a lampoon entitled Socialism and Inf amy: The Homogenic or Comrade Love Exposed. An Open Letter in Plain Words for a Socia list Prophet. He alleged that there was an international Whitmanian plot afoot that intended to weaken the moral fabric of society.244

Carpenter s influence can be seen in the works of the Bloomsbury group, which placed individual relations at the center of its concerns, in the philosophy of homosexual novel Maurice by E.M. Forster, and even in D.H. Lawrence s writings. Robert Graves wrote to Carpenter from Charterhouse to tell him that Iolaus and The Intermediate Sex had enabled him to understand his true nature. Carpenter s influence was also considerable on the 244. Cited by Jeffrey Weeks, ibid., p.81. A police dossier revealed the existenc e of an inquest on Carpenter; many witnesses provided staggering testimony concerning sexual advanc es supposedly made by Merrill. A young man who spent several weeks with Carpenter revealed tha t he tried three times to have sexual relations with him and confessed to being a homosexual. Giv en these different statements, the Procurator drew the following conclusions: Edward Carpenter is on e of the leaders of a secret organization that is political in nature, whose members are linked b y homosexual practices ; the leaders of this secret and criminal organization have as their goal to destro y civilization ; they recognize themselves by a secret sign: The hand is placed on the thigh, and pushed strongly. Beyond the anecdotal aspect of the famous homosexual plot, which here takes on a particularly ridiculous nature, it is hard to understand why, given the existence of such a file, the po lice remained inactive. It is possible that Carpenter s links to socialist movements raised ques tions about his real goals. Rather than indict him on morality charges, the procurator may have sough t to pin him with a more serious crime national treason, perhaps. Carpenter s book, Homogenic Love, wa s withdrawn from sale, but the sanctions didn't spread to the author (HO 144/1043/183473). 87

A History of Homosexuality in Europe British Labour and Socialist movements, the feminists, and even abroad.245 And l ast but not least, Carpenter served as president of the BSSP in 1914. British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology (BSSP): A timid reformism

Carpenter was active in the only English homosexual movement of the 1920s, the British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology (BSSP), which was founded in Jul y 1914 by former members of Chaeronea. Lawrence Housman was named president, and Edward Carpenter was appointed honorary president for life. The very neutrality of the name shows how hard the group tried to be discreet. Far from flaunting itself as a ho mosexual association, the BSSP sought to hide its affiliation and dissimulated even its t ies with the WhK. In fact, Magnus Hirschfeld had played an essential role in launching the so ciety. In 1912, he had created a British affiliate of the WhK and, the following year, had come to make a speech at the 14th International Medical Congress, held in London. He cre ated a sensation there by exhibiting various diagrams and photographs of men and women who proved the existence of an intermediate sex. This conference was a revelation for ma ny of the doctors who were present, for sexuality and above all homosexuality were very little studied. The BSSP was founded partly to cure this ignorance. The society defined its activities and goals in one of a publication entitled, Po licy and Principles, wherein it sets itself the task of the study of problems and quest ions relating to sexual psychology, in their medical, legal and sociological aspects. 2 46 Additional aims were to educate the public on sexuality and thus to pave the way for the ne cessary reforms. Three working groups were formed. The first was focused on sex education, the second on sexual inversion and the third on heterosexual problems. A private lib rary for members was established; and a sub-committee for libraries to tried to gain acce ss to the British Library s catalogue of private matters, which included a list of works kept out of circulation due to their sexual content. Monthly talks were held for the public at large, throughout the 1920s, and 17 conferences were published in the form of bulletins . Various subjects were addressed, but the study of homosexuality remained the central con cern. The first bulletin stated the question of homosexuality clearly, criticizing the conservative approach adopted by the medical, government and society milieux, which basically

refused to tackle the subject. The second one announced the BSSP s stand in favor of homosexuality, with the publication of The Social Problem of Sexual Inversion, an abridgement of Hirschfeld s famous text, Was soll das Volk vom dritten Geschlecht wissen? The abridged version recommended the liberalization of social and legal a ttitudes with respect to homosexuality, noting that there were efforts underway in Germany to modify the law and the criminal code but offering the opinion that En gland would not be ready for such a move until homosexuality was better understood; [t]herefore, our goal is to discuss and elucidate this question. 247 Several pamphl ets were distributed on the subject of homosexuality.248 A special sub-committee was crea ted and 245. Cited by Jeffrey Weeks, Coming Out, op. cit., p.80-82. The publication de L ove s Coming of Age led, for example, to the formation in Italy of a group dubbed the Union of young men, which discussed and reflected on problems of sexuality. 246. Policy and Principles, BSSP, n 1, 1915, 14 pages, p.3. On la BSSP, see aussi Jeffrey Weeks, Coming Out, op. cit., p.128-143. 247. The Social Problem of Sexual Inversion, BSSP, n 2, 1915, 12 pages, p.3. 88

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements speeches were given by various public figures; Ives, or example, explored the Gre coRoman view of youth and the condition of the adolescent. What influence did the BSSP have? In July 1920, it had 234 members, which seems to have been its average size. Up to forty or fifty people might show up at the meetings and BSSP publications were distributed widely. Still, it is quite unlikely that it succeeded in reaching the general public; its influence was mainly within the progressive intellectual milieux. G.B. Shaw, E.M. Forster, Maurice Eden and Cedar Paul (defenders of birt h control, working within the Independent Labour Party, then the Communist Party), Vyvyan Holland (the son of Oscar Wilde), and the dramatic author Harley Granvill eBarker were members. Radclyffe Hall, Una Troubridge, Bertrand and Dora Russell w ere very much involved.249 The society also had contacts abroad, with Hirschfeld and his colleagues, of course, but also with Margaret Sanger in the United States, the Chicago Society for Human Rights, and the French Society of Sexology. Alexandra Kollonta ., the Russian feminist, was a member of the BSSP s honorary committee in the 1920s. Thus , the BSSP has a mixed record; it managed to spark some discussions of homosexuality i n a difficult environment and it followed a cautious course, looking to educate society in thi s area. However, it cannot claim to have made any practical difference. The BSSP s tuck to a line that was reformist rather than radical, and it shied away from militant act ion. Nevertheless, one might agree with Jeffrey Weeks in noting that until the beginning of the 1930s, it was the principal British organization to deal with homosexuality, and that, in itself, is a kind of achievement.250 THE FRENCH WAY: INDIVIDUALISM COMES UP SHORT Unlike Germany and England, France did not experience the formation of homosexua l movements in this time period. Perhaps the tolerant legal context accounts for their reticence with regard to associations there were no repressive laws on the books that required a concerted fight; but French individualism also played a role. Th e communal approach, more typical for the Anglo-Saxon or Germanic countries, was not part o f the French make up. Asserting homosexual rights was thus left to a few key figur es, who personally identified with the homosexual cause. Marcel Proust, Witness of Days Long Past This is not the place to embark on a complete analysis of Proustian sexuality, b

ut we can take a look at the overall influence his work may have had on the percept ion of homosexuality. His Sodom and Gomorrah can be considered as the starting point in the 248. Lawrence Housman, The Relation of Fellow-Feeling, BSSP, n4; Harold Picton, T he Morbid, the Abnormal and the Personal, BSSP, n12; Edward Carpenter, Some Friends of Walt Whit man, BSSP, n13; F.A.E. Crews, Sexuality and Intersexuality, BSSP, n 14; H.D. Jennings White, Psyc hological Causes of Homoeroticism and Inversion, BSSP, n15. 249. Edith Sitwell refused to support it, declaring that she would never have th ought that there was any need to encourage them [homosexuals], and [that] indeed we have more tha n enough of them now, without making any new ones, (cited by Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant, London, Penguin, 1992, 463 pages, p.151). 250. Jeffrey Weeks, Coming Out, op. cit., p.137. 89

A History of Homosexuality in Europe debate on homosexuality in France.251 Proust does not reveal the central topic o f his work in any brutal way;252 homosexual allusions are sprinkled throughout Swann s Way, W ithin a Budding Grove, and Guermantes, but they drew little attention. In Swann, for exa mple, there is the Sapphic scene between Mlle Vinteuil and her friend. The only reviewer to com ment on it was Willy, who alluded to it in Le Sourire, June 18, 1914, and then with d elight: And mind that you keep this away from young ladies, if you know any who have retained their innocence anything can happen Proust shows us a sentimental sadist, almost a child, moving in with an older friend, a vicious alexandrine wh o enjoys (inter alia) a bad reputation, refuses to close the shutters when they pl ay their games, and says: If anybody should see us, it will be even better. She ends up pic king up the portrait of her complaisant friend s papa off the piano and spitting in his face.253 Within a Budding Grove appeared in July 1919 and won the Goncourt prize on December 10. In L Action fran.aise of December 12, Leon Daudet compares Proust to the great moralists. Most of the reviews are favorable. The Guermantes Way, Part I, was published in autumn 1920. Paul Souday, in the November 4, 1920 issue of Le Temps, refers t o a nervous aesthete, a little bit morbid, almost feminine. Still, there was nothing to indicate what the later reactions would be. The critics were mostly preoccupied with ques tions of form and style, and Proust s talent as a moralist, rather than any hint of immoral ity. It was only upon the publication of Sodom and Gomorrah that the truth burst out into the open when the character of the baron de Charlus, partially based on the coun t Robert de Montesquiou, a Parisian dandy and notorious homosexual, was revealed in full light. Even then, the critics hesitated to tackle the subject head-on. Sodom and Gomorr ah I followed The Guermantes Way, Part II, and Souday, for example, devoted nine-tenths of his May 12, 1921 review to the first volume. Others were more aggressive. Gustave BinetV almer, 254 in Coemedia, May 22, 1921, went on the attack: In 1910, disgusted by the morals which I saw being promoted in certain salons, I imagined what a great man might suffer, whose son would bear the burden of too sumptuous a heredity. In the example here at hand, I have frequently stated my a dmiration for the meticulous genius of Mr. Marcel Proust... but if this monument is to be

crowned by four volumes which study sexual inversion, I think that this is hardl y the proper time... we do not want any more of the aberrations of a false aristocracy (and international, at that) to invade our literature. I detest snobs. Many publications considered it prudent to warn the reader. L Action fran.aise of August 6 noted: Let us mention, finally, that in its last pages the Proust book i ntroduces 251. For everything concerning how La Recherche was received, I relied on the fu ndamental work by Eva Ahlstedt, La Pudeur en crise. Un aspect de l accueil A la recherche du temp s perdu de Marcel Proust, 19131930, Paris, Jean Touzot, 1985, 276 pages. 252. He wrote to his publishers in 1912 to warn them that it would be an indecent book with characters who were pederasts. However, he insisted that this aspect of the book b e kept secret until the final revelation. 253. Cited by Eva Ahlstedt, La Pudeur en crise, op. cit., p.30. 254. Binet-Valmer, a novelist and journalist, had himself published a homosexual novel, Lucien, which was quite a success. He was also an ardent patriot, decorated during the w ar, and vice-president, then president, of the Ligue des chefs de section, an association of war veteran s. 90

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements the first chapter of the continuation. Its title is such that we hesitate to pri nt it in these pages, never mind the subject matter. What a rage to defy all conventions! 255 Even so, not all the critics were unfavorable. Paul de Bellen, in La Libre Parol e, July 1, was very positive, but his position did not have anything to do with acceptance of homosexuality: To repress vice, it is necessary to have the courage to denounce and show it as being odious. It was left to Roger Allard, in the September 1 NRF, to emphasize t he innovative aspect of the subject. He saw this as a date in literary history, which breaks a spell, the aesthetic spell of sexual inversion. With Sodom and Gomorrah II, published in May 1922, reviewers had to stake their positions. It became difficult to avoid the subject and, in fact, there was cert ainly no conspiracy of silence regarding this work. Still, some critics worked brilliantly in the sph ere of euphemism and allusion, and often relied on their readers imagination to appre ciate what was going on.256 Proust was even congratulated on the absence of obscene de tails. Souday, in Le Temps of May 12, 1922, noted that the book is more discreet than i ts title suggests: Mr. Proust avoids making us eye-witnesses to repugnant scenes. He does not directly describe the corrupt excesses of these perverts, but studies their psyc hology through their vice. This is very bold, and in essence not too interesting, but i s useless rather than truly scandalous. Moreover, in spite of the rather off-putting title , Proust has taken care not to devote all seven or eight hundred pages to this antiseptic and repellent study, which in sum remains episodic in this volume and all its precur sors. And indeed, that is all that it deserves: it is even more than one would have wi shed. In fact, Souday, like many others, admires Proust in spite of his chosen subject matter, which interests him not at all it seems shocking and repugnant to him, nd he concedes to refer to it only indirectly, allusively and morally, i.e. allowing t he judgment of vice through the description of the hero s misfortunes. The work may have raised uestions about Proust s objectivity, but no one made any allusion to his private life. At his time, only Proust s closest circle of friends was aware of his homosexuality and ew suspected him of having direct involvement in the subject matter. Rumors about his sexual orientation may have been whispered here and there, but were made public only af ter his death. a

q t f

Proust died on November 18, 1922 and the remainder of his writings were publishe d posthumously. From this point onward, the attacks became more and more acute, against both his work and his person. Lucien Dubech authored a particularly viol ent article published on April 25, 1923, in the Revue critique des id.es et des livr es, asking: Do You Read Marcel Proust? He himself did not read him; he compared his writings to porn ography, and suggested that they reflected a foreign influence. The Captive was published in February 1924. Some reviews were positive, especial ly Souday s, but Franc-Nohain, in L .cho de Paris, sees Proust as a sick person and a porn ographer. Le Mercure de France took an original stance; Rapha.l Cor, in an article signed Bergotte, calls for tolerance for homosexuals. It cannot be insignificant that thi s gesture comes in connection with a volume dealing with lesbians, a less shocking subject for the 255. Signed Orion, the collective pseudonym of Eug.ne Marsan and Lucien Dubech. 256. Only Binet-Valmer, in Coemedia, Roger Allard in NRF and Andr. Germain in Le s .crits nouveaux used the term inversion. 91

A History of Homosexuality in Europe public than male homosexuality. Albertine disparue (1926) (English translations exist, entitled The Fugitive, or The Sweet Cheat Gone) was not so well-received: Proust was not forgiven for the sudden inversion of Saint-Loup. The release of this title more or less coincided with the first rumblings about Albertine s real gender and Proust s morals. The year 1926 was a defining year for hom osexuality in literature in any case: Gide brought out Les Faux-Monnayeurs (The Counterfeit s) and drew thunderbolts from Souday. Time Regained was first published in serial i n the NRF in 1926, but arrived in the bookshops only in November 1927. The book was greete d as a great literary event. By now, one could speak of homosexuality directly; the deb ate was focused on the moral question and how it related to the arts. Proust s talent was broadly recognized, but the question of inversion continued to pose a problem. In fact, he was condemned for having broached the subject, and he was held responsible for start ing a homosexual trend in literature. Some remained resolutely hostile, such Louis Reyna ud in La Crise de notre litt.rature (1929): Proust, we repeat, is a sick and deprave d intellectual. He brings us the feelings of a sick and abnormal being, a very particular psycho logy case from which others will find perhaps nothing worth retaining. Thus, studying how Proust s writings were received in the French press makes it plain what a fundamental role Remembrance played in instigating a public debate on homosexuality in France. Before him, the subject was scarcely discussed. His example opened the door to homosexual writings and discussions. Even if he had relatively few r eaders, the polemic reached such scope that the subject matter became quite public. Simp ly mentioning his name or his works was enough to evoke certain images, among cultivated people. But, how original was Proust when it comes to homosexuality and what was his impact on the French homosexual population? Indeed, if one studies the description of homosexuality as it is given throughou t Remembrance, Proust seems to be firmly rooted in times gone by. His experience o f inversion is typical of the end of the 19th century. Despite the enlightened medic al theories, it was still charged with a very heavy sense of shame. According to George Painter,257 Proust was probably not conscious of his inclinations until the age of twenty, when he experienced ardent friendships for platonic comrades alternating with cr ushes on girls.

His relationship with Reynaldo Hahn marked a decisive stage in the identifying process; he understood that his friendships were only the sublimation of a repre ssed desire and he also discovered shame: he had to lie to his mother, to hide a trut h that could have killed her. Thus, in Proust, one does not find acceptance of homosexuality much less homosexual pride. The slow maturation of his characters seems modeled on hi s own painful process, and seems to be an ultimate fight to deny the obvious and to tr y to stick to an ideal and fictitious normality, precisely that of the narrator. The evolut ion of Proust s sexuality shows a progressive loss of illusions in love and a turn toward carnal satisfactions; by the same token, his search for an ideal friend gradually disso lves into a search for a sexual partner. The young aristocrats whom he admired, like Antoine Bibesco, were replaced by young working class boys, like Alfred Agostinelli, and then gradually gave way in the final years to the professionals at Albert Le Cuziat's secluded house, the h.tel Marigny, rue de l Arcade in Paris. This gradual decline looks lik e a met 257. George D. Painter, Marcel Proust [1959], Paris, Mercure de France, reedited 1985, 2 vol., 464 and 515 pages. 92

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements aphor of Proustian homosexuality: inversion is vice, and it can only turn out ba dly. Any attempt to color it with noble and generous feelings is only a fraud; it must do n the face of brutal sex, unhealthy perversion, prostitution. The reader also suffers one disi llusionment after another, as the characters with whom he sympathizes plunge deeper and deep er into the abysses of vice and corruption. The final revelations of Albertine s double li fe seem to mark the ultimate stage of a reality test: even the charming lesbians prove they are damned; their innocent games give way to perversions equal to those of Charlus a nd their degradation is illustrated perfectly by Vinteuil s profaning of the photograph. Th e homosexual commits his first crime by betraying his parents; this original sin cannot be er ased. There is a kind of predestination in this: born into vice, the invert has no cho ice but to show his vice. Thus, as innovative as Proust s work may be, from the point of view of homosexual theory it remains more representative of late-19th-century thought than that of the interwar period. His decision to make the narrator heterosexual may be logical from the p oint of view of his work, but it sets up a certain confusion as to whether the author himself is homosexual. Proust transcribed, in a striking yet fictionalized way, the usual l ine used by sexologists on those rare occasions when they dared to touch upon the subject of homosexuality. The meeting between Charlus and Jupien, which serves as a revelation to the narrator, reads like a botany or zoology treatise. Homosexuality is compared to a n incurable disease and inverts are constantly associated with Jews, whose dark des tiny and bad reputation they share. Proust incorporates a number of other prejudices that were in vogue early in the century, like the readiness to charge people with tre ason and conspiracy. In his anxiety to provide a meticulous description of the homosexual world, he gives examples that end up looking more like a list of cautions. He reinforce s the notion that homosexuals are very numerous but go undetected by the ordinary popu lation an impression that is confirmed as revelations mount, indicating that most of th e characters in the novel, who had hitherto been above suspicion, exhibit dubious proclivities: ...these exceptional beings, for which we feel so sorry, are actually a whole cro wd, as will be seen in the course of this work, and for a reason which will be revea led only at the end; and they themselves complain of being rather too numerous than too few. 2

58 Proust heads off any accusations in advance; he neither encourages nor supports the formation of a homosexual movement, because he is persuaded that it must fai l. [B]ut one would in any case like to avoid making the same disastrous mistake tha t happened when the Zionist movement was encouraged, by which I mean creating a sodomist movement and rebuilding Sodom. The sodomists, as soon as they got there , would leave the city again so as not to be considered part of it; they would tak e wives and entertain mistresses in other cities, where they would enjoy every sort of p roper entertainment. They would only show up in Sodom when they were in dire need, the way hunger drives the wolf out of the woods in other words, things would continu e to go on as they do now in London, Berlin, Rome, Petrograd and Paris.259 Proust s severity misled some of his critics. The chapter on Sodom was considered moral and scholarly. Jacques Rivi.re himself, who did not yet know Proust s 258. Marcel Proust, Sodome et Gomorrhe I, A la recherche du temps perdu, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1988, t.III, p.32. 259. Ibid., p.33. 93

A History of Homosexuality in Europe true nature, was delighted by the tone of the work: I have heard a distorted noti on of love being promulgated too often not to feel a delightful sense of ease in hearing so meone speak about it in such a healthy, balanced way as you. 260 Andr. Gide harshly judg ed Proust s descriptions, which he felt painted too nice a picture of vice, uncontrol led passion and excessive images of perversion: We have yet, this evening, to speak o f hardly anything but uranism; he says he reproaches the indecision which led him to round out the heterosexual part of his book by transposing to the girls side all that his hom osexual memories contained that was gracious, tender and charming, so that he had nothin g left for Sodom but the grotesque and the contemptible. But he takes great offense whe n I say that he seems to have wanted to stigmatize uranism; he protests; and I understan d finally that what we find deplorable, a laughing matter or an abomination, does not appe ar repugnant to him. 261 Gide is also hostile to Proust s Platonic references, which eq uate homosexuals with the original androgyne : Even worse: this offending of the truth is likely to please everyone: the heterosexual, whose warnings it justifies and who se loathings it flatters; and the others, who will now have an alibi and who will b enefit by their scant resemblance to those whom he portrays. In short, given the general t endency to cowardice, I do not know any writing which is more likely than Proust s Sodom t o encourage wrong-headed thinking. 262 In fact, it was the aunts tragic destiny that first fascinated Proust, their myster y, their flagrant perversion. A standardized homosexuality, uniform, undifferentiat ed, and militant like the Germans , managing to integrate into society more or less, would have interested him very little. His work has the merit of crudely exposing to the ey es of the public, for the first time, the vicissitudes of homosexual life, its codes and i ts pitfalls, its passions and its dramas, its flaws and its beauties. Proust, a guilt-ridden homosexual, persuaded that he belonged to an accursed race, could not propagate a positive image of homosexuality, much less pass a pre cursor of homosexual militancy. According to Gaston Gallimard, Andr. Gide accused Prous t of setting the question back by fifty years. Proust is said to have answered: For me, there is no question only characters. 263 Still, Proust s extraordinary impact on French public opinion is undeniable: for the first time, inversion became a trendy topi

c, one that could be discussed, commented on, and analyzed ve terms. And that was a fantastic revelation. Andr. Gide, A Militant Homosexual?

even if not necessarily in positi

Andr. Gide, constantly cited by French homosexuals, is a very ambiguous figure. Indeed, just like Proust, Gide built his view of homosexuality on his own person al experience. Gide was not a militant homosexual in a strict sense: he did not fight for homos exual rights, and he did not found any movement or create a magazine for them. However, by agreeing to go public on his sexuality, by publishing Corydon, by pu blicly acknowledging his pederasty, he found himself in the position of a spokesman or a representative for French homosexuals. He neither wished for it nor saw it coming; but it fell to 260. Cited by George D. Painter, Marcel Proust, op. cit., p.388. 261. Andr. Gide, Journal, 1887-1925, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1996, 1 840 pages, May 1921, p.1126. 262. Ibid., 2 December 1921, p.1143. 263. Cited by Marcel Erman, Marcel Proust, Paris, Fayard, 1994, 286 pages, p.227 . 94

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements him because, at least at first, there really was no one else who might have fill ed such a role. As a consequence, French homosexuals identified with Gide s thoughts on a wide sca le, despite the fact that his ideas were quite specific and not readily applicable t o most of them. Moreover, this completely eliminated lesbians from the field of reflection , as they were of no concern to Gide. Proust had briefly brought the Gomorrahns out of the closet; Gide sent them back. Like Proust, Gide had a before and after. 264 Before Corydon, Gide had a reputation as an austere moralist, which he owed to his Protestant origins and his interest in ethical problems. The book Strait is the Gate (La Porte .troite) (1909) was even considered rigid, cold, and depressing due to its merciless vision of Christian morals. The Immoralist (L Immoraliste) (1902) was very well-received and Michel s attraction to young boys was prudently left unmentioned, except by Rachilde, who made witty allusions to Gide s sexuality in the July 1902 Le Mercure de France. Sa.l, presented at the Vieux-Colombier Th eater in 1922, drew a sharper reaction. Several critics reproached Gide for choosing a n improper subject, but their tone remained moderate since the episode was drawn from the B ible. It was Corydon (1924) that definitively established Gide as a homosexual writer. Since 1895, Gide had been keeping a file entitled Pederasty, in which he collected

information on the subject with the aim of writing a scholarly work on the quest ion. It was apparently in 1908, during a trip to Bagnols and England with Gh.on, Copeau and Schlumberger that he wrote the first two dialogues. On May 22, 1911, a first ver sion of Corydon, including the first two dialogues and part of the third, was published anonymously in Bruges under the name of C.R.D.N. Only twelve copies were printed. On March 5, 1920, 21 copies were published anonymously. It was only in May 1924 that Cory don appeared in its final form. In his journal, Gide explains that he delayed publishing this text for so long i n order to avoid disappointing those who were dear to him. Now, he feels more matu re, more sure in his mind, and ready to reveal his thoughts. He also intends to resp ond to Sodom and Gomorrah, which irritated him deeply, and to Remy de Gourmont s book, Na tural Philosophy of Love (Physique de l amour). An essay on the sexual instinct, publish ed in 1903,

included a chapter on the question of aberrations. His principal influences were H irschfeld, Moll, Krafft-Ebing, Raffalovitch, Havelock Ellis and Freud. He feels an urgent need to reveal to the world his true nature, even if it means ruining his reputa tion: I cannot wait any more... I have to obey an internal need, more imperative than an ything! Understand me. I need, need, to finally dissipate this cloud of lies in which I have hidden since my youth, since my childhood... I am choking in it! 265 The work is composed of four dialogues, in which Dr. Corydon266 encounters a heterosexual visitor, who plays innocent. The first two dialogues discuss homose xuality in nature, and the latter two speculate about its social consequences. In fact, this fundamental work sheds light on both Andr. Gide s personality and the French model of homosexu ality. The Eulenburg trial serves as a pretext for the meeting between Corydon and his interlocutor. He has known Corydon for a long time, but he had kept his distance out of 264. Here I refer to Eva Ahlstedt s book, Andr. Gide et le D.bat sur l homosexualit. , Paris, Jean Touzot, 1994, 291 pages. 265. Cited by Roger Martin du Gard, Notes sur Andr. Gide (1913-1951), in OEuvres compl.tes, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1983, t.II, 1 432 pages, p.1375. 266. Corydon was the name of one young shepherd who was in love with another, in Virgil. 95

A History of Homosexuality in Europe moral compunction. Now, he decides to question him in order to understand uranis m better. His prejudices are clear from the very start of the visit: he is surpris ed not to find the apartment decorated in a more feminine style, but notes the presence of a ph otograph reminiscent of Michelangelo and a portrait of Walt Whitman. Gide uses this chara cter as a herald of normality. Instinctively recoiling from homosexuality, he grudgingly a dmits the cogency of certain arguments. He learns to understand Corydon better, in the course of the discussion, respects him and admires his courage, but he cannot overcome his innate hostility. He learns tolerance, but not approval. In the first dialogue, Corydon expresses his desire to write a Defense of pederas ty ; he wishes there were a martyr for the cause, somebody who would advance ahead of the attack; who, without fanfare, without bravado, would brave reprobation and insul t; or better, someone of such prestige and probity that reprobation would be forestall ed 267 Here, we recognize the ambition of Gide, himself. Corydon then gives a dramatic recollection of his first awakening. He rejected o vertures of love from his girlfriend s brother, who then commits suicide. This drama led hi m to look into the subject. Gide, like his contemporaries, intended to pique his r eaders interest and, to get around any sense of distaste or contempt, drew on their com passion and pity. However, this introduction is misleading: Gide and Corydon are not pos itioned as victims. They are proud of their orientation and are rather persuaded of thei r superiority. Corydon immediately drew lines. Now, there was only talk of normal pederasts and not, like the doctors, of shameful uranists, plaintive and ill. Already, a lar ge portion of homosexuals were judged and kicked out. Gide s dialogues relate only to his own passion: pederasty. On other matters, he shared the prejudices of heterosexuals. Clearly, such a limitation played a fundamental part in the definition of homosexuality i n France. Unlike in Germany, which had militant movements for the great mass of homosexual s as well as for pederasts (Der Eigene), the former had no real defenders in France. Gide was the proponent of an elitist, aristocratic, intellectual homosexuality. His model was Platonic, his references, Greek. To explain the origins of homosexuali ty,

Corydon plunges into natural history first, as medical works do. Then he attacks the notion that homosexuality is a vice against nature. Heterosexuality, he suggests, is a matter of habit and not of nature, for everything in our society and our education heads us in that direction. If homosexuals persist in their inclinations in spite of a ll the inducements otherwise, it is because their passion is dictated by nature. The third dialogue considers homosexuality in the cultural context. Gide contrasts the natural and superior beauty of man to the artificial and false allure of woman. He draws parallels betw een beauty and art, and associates the exaltation of male beauty with historical per iods of glory and ostentation, and the celebration of Venusian qualities with the centurie s of decline and decay. Lastly, the fourth dialogue looks at the pederast s place in so ciety. The male having far more resources than can be directed to the reproductive function , he seeks alternative outlets for his desire. In a monogamist society, prostitution or adu ltery are the only other options. Corydon proposes a historical, healthy and noble solution, t hat of ancient Greece. Again, like most of homosexuality s defenders at that time, who so ught to bolster their remarks with lists of heroes and men famous, Gide evokes the last brilliance of Sparta and the Sacred Band of Thebes in support of his thesis. Lacedaemon is not just a 267. Andr. Gide, Corydon [1924], Paris, Gallimard, reedited 1991, 149 pages, p.2 0. 96

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements random example: the city embodied the warlike spirit, courage, and virile force, the characteristics most diametrically opposed to those popularly ascribed to homosexuals. Gide pleads, here, for his own way of life. His relationship with Marc All.gret was t hus copied on the Greek tutelary and pedagogic model. The fourth dialogue ends with this de monstration. The visitor leaves without a word by no means convinced, but with no arguments left. What are we to conclude? Gide was not a zealot. His defense of pederasty was moderate; and in his other books, he always stressed control and measure, and no t abandonment to instinct. However, given the author s social position, the works are courageous . One might even say there is some bravado, an almost puerile will to lay bare his heart, at last. Gide set to work to rehabilitate homosexuality and fell into a long tradition th at was well represented in Germany by Adolf Brand s group, Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, and teachers like Gustav Wyneken. The general tone of his essay exudes a clear sense of superiority. Pederasts are intellectuals, artists, aesthetes, who know how to distinguish tru e beauty and who care more for the heart than the body. Is Gide s work original, the n? For France, it was, since no one else there was really defending homosexuality, and Proust s works remained under wraps. However, such work was already well underway in Germany and England, and Gide was hardly innovative if we compare him to Hirschf eld, Carpenter or Brand. His originality was in the use of the sophisticated and dida ctic form of the dialogue, which makes the explanation more pleasant to follow. One might well ask whether Gide s work was in step with its time. Gide started out early in the centu ry, precisely when his foreign neighbors were publishing their essays. By 1924, Corydon seems rather obsolete. Pederasty was not at the heart of the issue during the inter-wa r period; on the contrary, what was needed was recognition of homosexuals in general, inverts, pederasts, sodomites or what-have-you, without distinguishing between the different types and tendencies. For all the anonymous homosexuals, Corydon may have offere d some consolation, but hardly any hope. Few could see themselves in this portrait of a moral, even moralistic, pederast who justifies his vice on the basis of artistic taste an d pedagogical concerns. Gide was extremely distressed upon the book s release; he was apprehensive over the public reaction and expected to be pilloried: When it comes to Corydon, I com pare myself to that caricature by Abel Faivre, depicting a man lying across the train

tracks, his head on the rail, waiting for the train that will slice him in pieces. He pulls out his watch and exclaims, Sapristi! The Express is late! 268 This concern was matched by a certain impatience and a more or less conscious will to provoke things. In August 1924, he was particularly chagrined by the lac k of publicity given his book: Corydon is on sale, but almost nobody knows it, for it is not bei ng promoted by reviews nor in the bookshops. 269 Actually, Corydon was received fairl y coolly. The courage of the author was appreciated, but no one dared pass judgmen t on his theories. Most critics did not feel qualified to discuss the question. Jean de G ourmont was the most virulent; in the Mercure de France of October 1, 1924, he said Corydon was an 268. A letter from Andr. Gide to Dorothy Bussy, 26 December 1923, in Corresponda nce Andr. Gide/ Dorothy Bussy, January 1925-November 1936, Paris, Gallimard, Cahiers Andr. Gide, 1981, t.II, 650 pages, p.448. 269. Id., 4 August 1924, ibid., p.476. 97

A History of Homosexuality in Europe apology for pederasty and that Gide wrote the book to make people talk about him. I n the Journal litt.raire, L.on Pierre-Quint noted that the work seems quite dated,. .. Andr. Gide, intending to give us a scholarly and philosophical work, has given us a wo rk in the style of the poet in J[ean]-B[aptiste] Rousseau. 270 Willy was openly scornful: The dialogues of Corydon, heavily scented with the laboratory and hospital, are hardly likely to excite the salacity of one s colleagues and then, even if they contain some clever remarks here and there, one senses the aggressive intolerance of the Great Writer who, a s part of an insulted minority, has the impression that it, and only it, now represents Tr uth, the Beautiful, and the Healthy. 271 Among the most violent reactions was that of Fran.ois Nazier, who published The Anti-Corydon, an essay on sexual inversion, in 1924. A parody of Corydon, it sta rts with a dialogue between Sappho and Casanova. Diogenes, Alcibiade, Lucien de Samosate, Verlaine, and Rabelais are all invited to speak, in turn. Nazier s main quarrel was with Gid e s lack of originality and especially his militant and pontificating tone: Corydon is onl y a demonstration, a shocking one, tis true, of the strange fury of proselytism that, like a sacred delusion, overtakes the sectarians of reverse love. 272 Corydon s influence could still be felt until the end of the 1920s. A famous artic le by Marcel R.ja, entitled, The revolt of the cockchafers, was published in the Mercure de France on March 1, 1928, making direct reference to the book. The article is an anti-homosexual lampoon, the cockchafer or maybug symbolizing the inverts who were multiplying so rapidly in literature. The person who was responsible for this situation is i ndicated clearly: Corydon, or rather Andr. Gide, having declared without the least nod to decency that homosexuality, far from being a monstrosity, a vice, is the most normal, th e most advisable thing in the world, and having tried to prove it to us by conclusive r easoning, it is Andr. Gide whom we fight courteously, but relentlessly. Even homosexuals themselves sometimes greeted Corydon with reserve. Klaus Mann noted in his journal: Many judicious elements, not much new; on the whole, i t s rather moving; and especially: It is dangerous to establish a clear distinction be tween normal pederasts and inverts, since the line is fluid and even the individual may fi nd himself on one side and then the other (as Gide himself proves); the only differ ence is more a question of quality than of predilection. 273

After Corydon, Gide ignored the advice of his friends, who recommended prudence, and placed himself right at the center of the debate on homosexuality. The Count erfeiters was published in February 1926. The book presents two homosexuals, .douard, a pe derast, and the count Robert de Passavant, an invert according to Gide s classification. The two men are competing over the friendship of a young boy, Olivier Molinier. .douard embodies all qualities of the pederast according to Gide: attentive, discreet, a nxious to educate and protect the elect of his heart, fearing to be rejected by a carefree youth keen for pleasures; in his quest, he is paradoxically encouraged by the child s mother, who wishes for a sure guide for her son; pederasty receives the ultimate imprimatur here: I 270. Journal litt.raire, n12, 12 July 1924, p.12. 271. Willy, Le Troisi.me Sexe, op. cit., p.109. 272. Fran.ois Nazier, L Anti-Corydon, essai sur l inversion sexuelle, Paris, .dition s du Si.cle, 1924, 126 pages, p.11. 273. Klaus Mann, Journal. Les ann.es brunes, 1931-1936, Paris, Grasset, 1996, 45 2 pages, 10 and 12 July 1932, p.76. Corydon was translated into German in 1932 and published by Deutsche Verlagsanstalt. By contrast, it was not publishedin England until after the war. 98

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements understand how precarious a boy s purity can be, even if he seems to be well prote cted. Moreover, I do not believe that the purest adolescents make the best husbands la ter; nor even, alas, the most faithful, she added with a sad smile. Finally, the example of their father has made me wish for other virtues in my sons. But I am afraid they may f all into degrading vice, or get into bad company. Olivier is easily led. You will have th e courage to restrain him. I believe that you will be able to do him good. He only listens to you. 274 The only evocation of sexual intercourse between .douard and Olivier is summariz ed in two lines, and even then a certain puritanical reserve is felt: Next to you, I am too happy to sleep. He wouldn t let me leave until morning. 275 The criticism was more abundant now and came from the popular press; opinions remained divided. The literary qualities of the book were acknowledged, but ther e were too many homosexual characters. Some started to suspect that Gide s obsession was becoming less controlled. Many found the book so tedious that they doubted it co uld have much of an impact, but others worried about the readers reaction. Paul Souda y summarized the general feeling in Le Temps (February 4, 1926): Oh! there is nothing crude here, as far as the words themselves. Everything is v ery discreet, cloaked, and a very innocent reader might conceivably get through it w ithout understanding what is going on. However, it is only too clear. Really, it become s unbearable, especially with this serious tone and this insipid sentimentality. F rom that perspective, it is ridiculous! Let s quit talking about the Ancients! Morals have changed! This article inspired a survey on homosexuality in literature, in the review Les Marges. The results were published on March 15, 1926. The review s editorial commi ttee had put together a questionnaire which was sent to several writers. They were as ked if the preoccupation with homosexuality had developed after the 1914-1918 war and whether the introduction of homosexual characters into literature could have a h armful effect on morals and the arts. Most of the authors agreed on the development of homosexual literature since the war, although some, like Michel Pay, recalled that during t he Belle .poque Sapphic literature was very widespread. Some, like Gerard Bauer, sa id that Marcel Proust was like the Messiah for these people and, with a kind of genius, r eleased

them from their bondage. Others blamed psychoanalysis; and still others said that literature only mirrors the evolution of society. Henri Barbusse saw the development of hom osexual literature as proof of the degeneracy of society and attributed it to a declining phalanx of intellectuals. He issued a call to young people to purify their minds. Andr. Billy blamed nervous exhaustion from the war, sports, the extreme cerebral quotie nt of all contemporary art. Charles Derenne only saw it as nothing but snobbery and fun, even though he himself would condemn inverts to be whipped and sent to hard labor . Clement Vautel thought it was just a means of shocking the public. In fact, most saw very little danger in it, and they merely sighed or made fun of it. Jean Cassou did n ot express any interest in the question; Andr. Billy and Pierre Bonardi said people should be allowed to write whatever they wanted; and Fran.ois Mauriac cautiously explained that th ere 274. Andr. Gide, Les Faux-Monnayeurs, Paris, Gallimard, 1926, 499 pages, p.398. The mother's attitude recalls that of Mme de Bricoule in Les Gar.ons by Henry de Montherlant, who pref erred her son have relations with his schoolmates rather than hanging around with loose girls. 275. Ibid., p.403. 99

A History of Homosexuality in Europe was nothing to condemn nor to tolerate. Ambroise Vollard, as a good Catholic, di d not read such works and Leon Werth, who found all that quite repugnant, also abstain ed. However, there were some zealots who decided to clean up this scourge, be it through censorship or, if it came to that, why not an auto-da-f.? I could not hav e noticed the expanding presence of homosexuality in literature, because I immediately des troy any book that might reflect such a thing, declared Charles Derenne. Robert Randau als o asked that homosexuals be kept from spreading the microbe of their special litera ture. Others, like Charles-Henry Hirsch, recommended that doctors ally with legislator s to choke off this disgusting aberration. Camille Mauclair exclaimed: Imagine the sexua l practices between two men and try not to vomit! He concluded, in a gripping way, unconsciously revealing how public opinion linked homosexuality and foreigners, treason and national threat: We got over Boches, we will get over the pederasts. George Ma urevert called for a return to order, a national rejuvenation: When France has become again what she ought to be with the help of a strong man, if need be these wicke d morals will disappear on their own. He added: Men make the laws, but women make the morals, as La Bruy.re said. The day when a good, honest Frenchwoman ejects a flamboyant fag from a salon or stops an overdressed dandy at the door, with a hand in his f ace, the morals will change overnight. And the men will make the laws. The satirical m agazine Fantasio published a report on the survey on April 15, 1926, and underlined, rig htly, the novelty of the debate. The sentence was clear, nevertheless: We have had enou gh of literature full of pederasts. Gide reached an apogee in the revelation of his homosexuality by publishing If I t Die An Autobiography (Si le grain ne meurt) in October 1926. Writing to the critic E dmund Gosse to justify his attitude, he said: Dear friend, I have a horror of lying. I cannot hide under that conventional cam ouflage that systematically disguises the works of X,... Y,... and so many others. I wro te the book to create a precedent, to give an example of frankness, to enlighten some , to reassure others, to force public opinion to take account of things that are bein g ignored or that one tries to ignore, to the great detriment of psychology, moral s, art... and society. I wrote this book because I would rather be hated than to be admire d for

being something that I am not.276 If It Die is a valuable testimony; in it, Gide confesses his homosexuality, and analyzes its progression and his homosexual awakening. At times, Gide seems to want to apologize for his vice; other times, he glorifies it and takes pleasure in shock ing the reader with salacious anecdotes. He retraces the course of how his homosexuality unfold ed, evoking his first concerns at school, the abrupt revelation that he was differen t: I am not like the others! I am not like the others, 277 he acknowledged to his mother. But it was in Tunisia that he first experienced pederasty with young Arab boys like Ali and At hman: On the threshold of what we call sin, would I still hesitate? No, I would have be en too disappointed if the adventure had ended in the triumph of my virtue which by now was contemptible to me, a horror. 278 276. 277. 372 278. 100 16 January 1927. Cited by Eva Ahlstedt, Andr. Gide, op. cit. Andr. Gide, Si le grain ne meurt [1926], Paris, Gallimard, coll. Folio, pages, p.133. Ibid., p.299. 1986,

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements By yielding to the call of the flesh, Gide diverged from his Protestant educatio n and gave in to pagan values. Anxious to show that homosexuality is not a burden, he presents his adventures in an idyllic way. His attempts at seduction always result in suc cess and a complaisant partner, especially in North Africa. Gide moves in a world that is l argely fantasy, where his homosexual desire is always divined, foreseen, fulfilled, wit h no obstacle barring his road, not even his own scruples. The press received If It D ie with mixed reviews; several writers praised Gide s courage and sincerity but others, li ke Souday and Gourmont, reproached him for showing his dirty laundry. Henri de R.gn ier in Le Figaro was very unfavorable. And after Fran.ois Porch., L Amour qui n ose pas dire son nom (Fran.ois Porch., the Love which dares not say its name) (1927) was published, the attacks against Andr. Gi de began in earnest. Pierre Li.vre s article in Le Divan, July-August 1927, was incendiary: So that we categorize the works of Andr. Gide among those things which are so corrupted by their ending that they are debased and destroyed in their entirety and to the very core. This is a draught that we do not want to drink anymore, because t he last mouthful leaves a horrible aftertaste. It is a romantic supper at the end of whi ch the criminal warning makes us forget all the foregoing pleasures: You have been poiso ned, Ladies and Gentlemen ... It is this pleasure [of perverting] that, in combination with his love of children which we will not deign to grace with the name that he has borrowed from the Greek fills him with such indulgence for these vicious kid s, petty thieves, poachers, assassins, tricksters, and cheats whose baser instincts he flatters, and a seductive and rotten troupe of which peoples his works like a choir of evi l cherubim. His novels may legitimate homosexuality, and Corydon remains the landmark book of the inter-war period as regards homosexuality, but it would be an overstateme nt to claim that Gide was a militant. His discourse remains that of an intellectual wh o defends his singularity from a certain height. His argumentation principally aims at sho wing that homosexuality is legitimate, that it must be tolerated, and also that the homose xual is a solitary being, one who chooses his own way and who is thus to some extent super ior to the others.

Gide was indignant at his contemporaries the front line:

cowardice; they let him fight alone at

X and T keep repeating that they have had enough of pretence, that they are resolved from now on to speak frankly, to face up to the public, to burn their s hips, etc. But they do not burn anything. The courage they take pride in is a courage that does not cost them anything of that which they still hold onto. And, in the new book that they give us, they take great care that their confessions are of such a kind and are so speciously dissimulated that only the very astute can read between the li nes; so that they do not have anything to retract if they convert later on or if they th ink they have a chance of getting into the Academy.279 But he never managed to hide his own feelings of guilt, which are plain in his c onfessions to Roger Martin du Gard; he confides that he is the product of generations of Puritanical Protestants and concludes: I pay for them, I am their punishment. 280 279. Andr. Gide, Journal, 1889-1939, Paris, Gallimard, coll. 1991, 1374 pages, 8 December 1929, p.960. 101 Bibl. de la Pl.iade,

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Inversion, An Isolated Attempt at a Homosexual Review

There was no homosexual movement in France during the inter-war period. However, a homosexual review did exist, fleetingly, on the German model. (This w as not the first French homosexual periodical; Marc-Andr. Raffalovitch and Jacques d Adelsward-Fersen had already founded Akademos in 1909. 281) Inversions was creat ed by Gustave Beyria and Gaston Lestrade in 1924. Beyria was born in 1896; he was an unmarried office worker. Lestrade was born in 1898; a postal worker, he lived wi th a 24yearold Swiss tapestry maker, Adolphe Zahnd. What is most striking about it is that it was such a marginal initiative; it had nothing to do with the Parisian homosexual cliques. The publication had no liter ary godfathers, and neither was it an emanation from the medical community. Of course, it echoed the theories then in vogue, but it was not the publishing organ of any sp ecialist in homosexuality. In fact, the only French homosexual review was the work of perfec t unknowns and it received no external aid. It was published anonymously, at 1 rue Bougainville. Its high price (1,50 F) made it a luxury, which few could afford. It was sold at newsstands, but one could also subscribe and even receive it in a discreet wrapp er. Only five issues were published before it was banned. The first issue came out o n November 15, 1924. Inversions called itself not a review on homosexuals but a rev iew for homosexuals. We want to cry out to inverts that they are normal and healthy beings , that they have a right to live their lives fully, that they owe nothing to a mor ality created by heterosexuals they do not have to standardize their impressions and their fee lings, to repress their desires, to conquer their passions. Various authors in homosexual circles contributed to the review, such as the theo rist of androgyny, Camille Spiess, and the writer Axieros; but no leading light parti cipated. Inversions was directly inspired by the Greek model and, like Der Eigene in Germany, made frequent references to Antiquity. The review owed much to the Germ an movements: it communicated the scientific discoveries of Hirschfeld and sexologi sts from across the Rhine. And, like the German periodicals, it offered a varied panorama of subjects relating to homosexuality. The first issue included an article on the Oscar Wild e trial, medical commentary, an article on inversion in pigeons, a book review and the traditional classified advertisements, very modest (they disappeared in No. 2). Starting wit

h No. 3, the review was going to be called Urania, which would draw less attention . That change never took place, because an investigation was already underway for offen ding public morality. By No. 4, the German influence is strongly felt, especially in an article by Numa Praetorius on homosexuality in Germany. There was also a survey for readers : Has Inversions outraged your good morals? In your opinion, does the investigation ag ainst this review constitute an infringement of your freedom of thought and the freedom of the press? What is your opinion on homosexuality and homosexuals? Several public figu res responded, expressing a tolerant opinion on homosexuality, for example Suzanne d e Callias (M.nalkas), Claude Cahun, Henry Marx, Havelock Ellis, Camille Spiess and 280. Roger Martin du Gard, Notes sur Andr. Gide, loc. cit., p.1373. 281. In the previous centuries, France had known seen fledgling homosexual organ izations come and go, in particular the Ordre de la Manchette, inthe 17th century, and the Sec te des Ebugors (an anagram of bougres ) in the 18th. Under the Second Empire, an association called th e Soci.t. d .miles use dto meet in a house in the Grenelle neighborhood. See Claude Courouve , Les Homosexuels et les Autres, Paris, .ditions de l Athanor, 1977, 155 pages. 102

Liberation on the Move: The Golden Age of Homosexual Movements George Pioch, a close relative of Eugene Armand. The review was banned after tha t, but it managed to publish another issue under the name of L Amiti. (Friendship). Most not ably, it included an article by St Ch.Waldecke, one of Adolf Brand s and Der Eigene s collabo rators. 282 The periodical attracted sarcastic remarks from its competitors. With the exception of L En-dehors, Eugene Armand s anarchistic publication, the other newspap ers reacted very negatively; Fantasio in particular attacked Inversions. Under the h eadline, Let s be French! Long Live Women, for Heaven s Sake!, it gave vent to a standard conde mnation of inverts, which it repeated from then on. It proclaimed its clear opposition to the Anglo-Saxon gangrene and asserted the French heterosexual tradition. 283 As fo r La Lanterne, it suspected Germany of having a hand in it.284 The disappearance of Inversions did not make any waves. Willy, in The Third Sex, makes an ironical reference to this French misadventure: I do not deplore the dis appearance of Inversions, which was too dumb to be believed; but in the end, we should ask, all the same, what the public wants: that everyone be left in peace, or that all delinquents should be locked up, without distinction. 285 Except for Inversions, there is no trace of any French homosexual militancy. Thi s odd fact was noted at the time, especially by German observers. Numa Praetorius (a pseudonym of Eugen Wilhelm), in his article, In connection with homosexuality in France, in Jahrbuch f.r sexual Zwischenstufen in 1922, devoted five pages to the subject. He supposed that there must be fewer homosexuals in France than in Germany, and he suggested that the absence of anti-homosexual laws and the feminine mythology (specific to France, according to him) must be factors. Similarly, in The Third Sex Willy obs erves: This ornamental sword of Damocles [175] allows fagots who are conscious and organized to make themselves out to be martyrs, to make claims, and even to attract significa nt numbers of heteros to support them. 286 Also, while France did have an organized homosexual subculture, there was no militancy, and French homosexuals remained determinedly individualistic. That is certainly due to the more favorable social climate than in the neighboring countries, but it also had to do with a certain political immaturity. Discussions on homosexuality remained confined to the literary sphere, consideration to be a private sphere u

nlike that of political writing or social lampoons. It was only because there was so little discourse that Marcel Proust and Andr. Gide came to be seen as the heralds of the homosexual cause. Talking openly abou t homosexuality was already a militant act. The French homosexual intellectuals did not present a united front; Proust and Gide defended opposing theories and Jean Cocteau, ano ther outstanding figure on the French homosexual scene, squared off against Gide.287 Far from helping French homosexuals advance, the visibility of homosexual personalities s erved as 282. Gilles Barbedette and Michel Carassou mention the existence of the review I nversions in their work, Paris gay 1925, Paris, Presses de la Renaissance, 1981, 312 pages. S ee also AN, BB 18 6174/ 44 BL 303 and Chapter Seven. 283. Fantasio, n 427, 15 November 1924. 284.La Lanterne, 19 November 1924. 285. Willy, Le Troisi.me Sexe, op. cit., p.108. 286. Ibid., p.58-59. 287. Homosexual rivalry, stirred by the quarrel around Marc All.gret, is reflect ed in books from those days, such as Les Monstres sacr.s de Cocteau (1919) ou Les Faux-Monnayeurs de Gide (1926). 103

A History of Homosexuality in Europe a handicap, reinforcing the idea of a vice reserved to an intellectual elite or stuffy sensationseeking middle class, and paralyzing anonymous initiatives. * * * Were the 1920s the golden age of homosexual movements? To some extent, yes. Many homosexual associations were formed and it was the apogee of German militan cy. However, this success was tempered by other failures and shortcomings. Throughou t the profusion of periodicals, and lobbying efforts, what is striking is the discorda nce of the voices, the disagreement and the competition between the principal leaders, the lack of a common platform or even of a common definition of homosexuality. The exclusion o f lesbians, whose impact within the movements was almost nil, is another proof of how fragme nted the German homosexual community was. These divisions were surely one of the main reasons for the political failure of the movements. Moreover, in an environment of increasing sexual liberation, in which the homose xual subculture flourished, securing rights seemed like just one more tedious and formal consideration. This shallow approach had no repercussions under Weimar, b ut it took on a tragic significance after 1933. Still, we should not undervalue the at tempts at organization and the assertion of rights. As precursors, these movements were co urageous, generous and vivifying. They testify to the precocity of the aspirations to form a community, which took their first concrete forms in Europe, and a diverse approa ch to the problem. Already in the inter-war period, there were many ways of affirming oneself as a homosexual or lesbian as a militant protestor, as in Germany, through subve rsive integration, as in England, or via sensual individualism, as in France. 104

CHAPTER THREE AN INVERSION OF VALUES: THE CULT OF HOMOSEXUALITY The militant groups are certainly the most recognized aspect of the homosexual liberation movement of the 1920s. However, if we are looking to explain the homo sexual apogee, its cultural impact, its resonance in public opinion, we must look at a phenomenon that is less well-known but is perhaps more representative of the novelty of the period: the propagation of a model of homosexuality in the British upper classes , and especially among the intellectuals. Although closely tied to the development of the German homosexual scene, the cult of homosexuality 288 was specific to England, and particularly to the years 19 191933. The traditional aversion to homosexuality gave way, in certain sectors of the so ciety, to a tolerance that soon shifted into approval, and then to adulation. Homosexua lity was spread in the public schools, the universities, and the intellectual circles. It became a fashion, a life style, a sign of recognition in certain classes and certain circ les. The cult of homosexuality in England was the basis by which homosexuals gained entry into ce rtain British institutions and began to permeate the literature, thereby imperceptibly molding the society. Of course, this does not mean the triumph of the forces of progress, or toleranc e for homosexuals as a group. Moreover, very few lesbians were part of this and there was very little parallel in France and Germany. However, in spite of its limits, the cult of homosexuality did constitute a unique subversive phenomenon in the traditional institutions an d the affirmation of a positive difference. In fact, the counter-reaction, which d ates from the mid-1930s, was never complete because this pro-homosexual climate had caused an upheaval in the education of at least two generations of young men. 288. Noel Annan uses this expression in his book, Our Age: English Intellectuals between the Wars: A Group Portrait, New York, Random House, 1991, 479 pages. In my view, it perfectl y reflects the state of mind of the time, at least among the British upper class and intellectuals. 105

A History of Homosexuality in Europe SEDUCED IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS The public school289 was commonly held to be a den of vice where homosexuality was the rule (at least until the introduction of co-education in the Sixties). T his is not limited to England; other European boarding schools and religious colleges also had a naughty reputation, usually associated with a confined group engaging in promisc uity. However, the English public school has certain distinctions. First, it is basica lly the only form of schooling available for the middle- and upper classes. (In France or Ger many, there are more options available.290) These children are principally raised in b oarding schools and live only among their schoolmates. They spend little time with their parents, except during the holidays; and they have almost no contact with the external wo rld, particularly girls.291 Then, as we will see, the hierarchical and self-managed operation of t he school encourages special relations to form between the pupils. Lastly, the Engl ish public school often regards homosexuality as normal and the pupils, at various times, m ay consider it the latest fashion to boast of their homosexual relations. This topic is comm on in British literature, even though school headmasters and educational authorities o ften try to refute it.292 Thus, the phenomenon of best friends often goes beyond mere frien dship, and it would be foolish to pass it off as a minor thing. The public school large ly determines the pupils future life; it is both a model and a reference. By making homosexual experimentation a standard part of adolescence, it encouraged greater tolerance toward homosexuality in adulthood. By disseminating a cult of homosexuality among the e lite, it set the stage for more open homosexuality. 289. The public schools system is composed of two levels. The nine biggest ones provide entr.e to the upper class and the future .lite of the nation. Seven are boarding schools: Winchester (founded in 1382), Eton (1440), Westminster (1560), Charterhouse (1611), Harrow (1571), Rugb y (1567), Shrewsbury (1552). Two are day schools: St Paul s (1509) and Merchant Taylors (1561). Mo st of the public schools were founded more recently; they are for youngsters of the middle class and their graduates tend to become executives and middle managers in business, administration and the lib eral professions. The best known are Cheltenham (1841), Marlborough (1842), Rossall (1844), Radley (1847), Lancing (1848), Epsom (1853), Clifton (1862), Haileybury (1862), and Malvern (1865). To get a sense of the influence of the public schools, we can take one example: in 1937, 19 ministers

out of the 21 in Chamberlain s cabinet came from a public school. The public schools are in any case the privat e preserve of a tiny privileged minority, which Tawney estimated at 3% of the families in 1939 (cited in Fran.ois B.darida, La Soci.t. anglaise du milieu du XIXe si.cle . nos jours, Paris, .diti ons du Seuil, coll. Points histoire, 1990, 540 pages). 290. Antoine Prost thus recalls that in France, at the end of the 19th century, the boarding school model was largely but not exclusively used in private establishments, and was no t common for public lyc.es. Besides, the boarding schools were more for children from the cou ntryside than the city. And finally, affluent families could always pay for a tutor. See Histoire de l enseignement en France, 1800-1967, Paris, Armand Colin, 1968, 524 pages. 291. Here, I am going to study mainly homosexuality among boys, but I will also touch on this question in the girls schools. The problem there was nearly identical, anyway. Fo r this survey I rely on the book by John Gathorne-Hardy, The Public-School Phenomenon, 597-1977, Lond on, Hodder & Stoughton, 1977, 478 pages. 292. See Rennie Macandrew, Approaching Manhood, Healthy Sex for Boys, London, Th e Wales Publishing Co, 1939, 95 pages, p.67. 106

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality The Public Schools, Fostering the Cult of Homosexuality The public schools are for youths from about ten to eighteen years old. The boarding school system is used for almost all pupils, who spend six years living in an exclusively male milieu for most of the time. Such living conditions, at the age of full sexual awakening, are hardly helpful to one s development as far as sex and love. While heterosexual encounters might be possible during the holidays, the boys do not a lways take advantage of the opportunity. There is a very strict code of honor in force in the public schools, and the boys tend to scorn girls or, at least, to ignore them. T hus, it is no surprise that romantic or erotic friendships develop within the schools. The public schools were always dens of sexual iniquity. In Eton, in particular, the dormitory where 52 pupils slept was well-known for the sexual frolicking and per secution that went on; parents were strongly advised not to send their children there, if their health was fragile.293 Throughout the 18th and the 19th centuries, orgies and torture were commonplace in the schools. In the 1920s and 1930s, the situation began to change. However, a palpable erotic excitation continued to haunt the corridors. When ind ividual rooms began to be assigned, first by Dartington and Eton, this only further enco uraged sexual activity. Robin Maugham describes his life at Eton in 1929, in his autobi ography, Escape from the Shadow. 294 Homosexuality was in fashion to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the school and the year. All it took was for enough of the boys in one class to have reached sexual maturity, and they would quickly promote such practices. Quentin Crisp no tes that, in his public school, it was customary to have an orgy on the eve of the l ast day of every quarter. Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson remembers the atmosphere in the corri dors of Beomonds, and writes of a scene in the locker room where a crowd of admirers watched an older boy masturbating against a younger one.295 Cecil Beaton entered Harrow in January 1918 and stayed there until 1922; he says the situation varied from dorm itory to dormitory; in some, there was little sexual activity, and in others bad behavior w ent on openly. Beaton himself acquired a bad reputation, because he was so good-looking that everyone assumed he was extremely sexually active. He says that he was calm, wea k and

rather effeminate, avoided sports, dressed with care, and tried to look beautifu l in order to please himself; but that because of his good looks he was thought to be a little whore. Everything he did was seen as reinforcing that view, and he became ill as a resu lt. While other people were sleeping around, his only partner was Gordon Fell-Clark.296 A class like that might be followed by one that is more reserved, or even hostile to hom osexuality. What was different about the inter-war period, and especially the years 1919-193 3, is that homosexuality seems to have been everywhere, then. One witness of the ti me says that he had fun at school; he got along well with his mates; at that time, it was seen as a good thing to be homosexual. Almost all the boys had sexual experiences together. 2 97 At 293. Shelley was tortured there and all his life suffered physical and psycholog ical consequences from it. See John Gathorne-Hardy, The Public- School Phenomenon, 597-1977, op. c it. 294. Robin Maugham, Escape from the Shadow [1940], London, Cardinal, 1991, 472 p ages. 295. Dennis Proctor (ed.), The Autobiography of G. Lowes Dickinson, London, Duck worth, 1973, 287 pages, p.53. 296. Cited by Hugo Vickers, Cecil Beaton, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985, 6 56 pages, p.23. 107

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Oundle, in 1920, when Director Sanderston asked who had been passing notes to th eir classmates, half of the school stood up. To paraphrase an alumnus: There was an enormous amount of sex, enormous. I had my share of it, but I would have liked even more. You passed somebody a slip of paper: Would you like t o go for a walk with me on the moor? If he agreed, one could be pretty sure that he would be obliging. The boys adored carrying notes from A to B, if they lived in different houses. One did not have much time. We had to hurry. There was an ideal moment to make love, between dinner and study time. One could slip into the study hall with somebody who had caught one s eye.298 Homosexuality in the public schools could take many forms, including the most brutal. G. Lowes Dickinson speaks of cruel events at Charterhouse. In Wellington , in the 1930s, young boys were violated. In Bedford, during the same period, an alumnus admits that he and his comrades masturbated regularly another pupil, New. One day they noticed two live electric wires hanging from the ceiling, and practically burned the boy s penis off: ...there was a terrible flash and he howled. I swear to you that his p enis changed color. I still hear his cries today. Other practices were less dangerous. J.R. Ackerley describes how the older boys would make passes at the younger ones, sitting on their beds, evening after even ing, whispering and masturbating. He says that one clever fellow had opened the seams of the pockets in his trousers, so that his hands or those of one of his obliging peers , would have direct access to the treasure.299 It is impossible to know what proportion of boys had sexual intercourse; John Gathorne-Hardy suggests that 25% of them made love on a regular basis. Romantic friendships were formed, as well as erotic crushes. Indeed, the fear of being ca ught, added to timidity, and a strict separation by age group made sexual intercourse diffic ult. John Betjeman says: The only thing that held me was love. I never would have dared to touch anybody. I thought that I would go to prison or hell. 300 Often, and naturally, th e boys were still too young, too shy, or too frightened to perform the act, even with a boy whom they loved. In a letter to a friend, the writer and critic Cyril Connolly recall s a failed experiment: I have spoken to you, I believe, of my fatal repression our last nigh t in the bathroom, and how timid and awkward I was when he tried to embrace me. 301 These differences in conduct only represent different stages in sexual evolution . Precocity and promiscuity in the schools often went side by side with the purest chastity,

sometimes maintained out of very lofty sentiments the desire not to sully the pu rity of a budding love. In these cases, love relationships were copied on the heterosexu al model. One of the boys should be younger, beautiful, and of another social class, if po ssible. He needed to be protected and to some extent played the part of the girl. Above all , the relationship between the young boy and his elder was to remain chaste. It was not the ful 297. Dudley Cave, in Walking after Midnight. Gay Men s Life Stories, Hall-Carpente r Archives, London, Routledge, 1989, 238 pages. 298. Cited by John Gathorne-Hardy, The Public-School Phenomenon, op. cit., p.163 -164; and in the following anecdote (p.164). 299. J.R. Ackerley, My Father and Myself [1968], London, Penguin, 1971, 192 page s, p.70-71. 300. Cited by John Gathorne-Hardy, The Public-School phenomenon, op. cit., p.166 . 301. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, The Brideshead Generation, Evelyn Waugh and hi s Friends, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989, 523 pages, p.23. 108

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality fillment of desire that mattered, but the innumerable difficulties that stood in the way of winning over the chosen one. The relationships that sometimes cropped up between pupils and teachers may also be seen in this light. T.C. Worsley notes that while he was assistant headm aster at a famous public school (which he does not name), there too, a majority of professor s were definitely homoerotic to a greater or lesser degree. 302 Worsley, a homosexual him self, described the situation facing the faculty when it came to their loves or their desires: It was a weakness in my position because I had less control over my expressions than [my most prudent colleagues]; but perhaps even more because I was conscious of it. It was not that I had any real reason to feel guilty, since I did not hav e any physical desire for any of the boys, even for those with whom I finally fell in l ove. And it was the same for my other colleagues in the same situation. We eventually discovered that only one of them had acted scandalously.303 Indeed, it seems that, while a significant proportion of the teachers in the pub lic schools were homosexual, most never satisfied their inclinations with their pupi ls. Worsley supposes that the overall homoerotic climate in the school tempered the urge: The generalized homoeroticism that I discovered in the organized sports rituals s atisfied my inclinations sufficiently so that I kept them pure . 304 In the girls schools, the pattern was fairly similar, although somewhat attenuate d. Also, since there were fewer such schools, we have fewer memoirs; scandals were extremely rare and it is difficult to draw any conclusions. Sexual intercourse s eems to have been much rarer than among boys, even though each school had its share of l esbians. However, no scenes of debauchery have been described that would compare to those evoked above. The most widespread phenomenon seems to have been the crush, when a girl (between the ages of eleven and fourteen) fell in love with an older girl w ho did not reciprocate. As among the boys, these romantic friendships were patterned on the heterosexual diagram. The older girl represented the boy; but she could also embody a heroine or the absent mother. The younger girl showed her affection by carrying her books and notepads, leaving candies under her pillow or making her bed. There would be end less

discussions analyzing how the older girl dressed, how she talked, the gestures s he made; but each girl kept secret her personal contribution to the worship of the loved one. The relationships were perfectly innocent: a smile, a simple hello was enough to mak e a younger girl happy for a week. It seems that sexual intercourse would have rathe r signified a failure in the process in love, which consisted in large part in identifying w ith the loved one. Differences in age and authority intensified the desire. By the age o f fifteen, it was more common to have a crush on one of the mistresses, and the pupils vied fo r their favors: Signorina is part of Miss Julie s clan. Fancy, Yes, says another, the German mistress is a widow! But she is in Miss Cara1 s clan! 305

the first one answers.

302. T.C. Worsley, Flannelled Fool. A Slice of Life in the Thirties, London, Ala n Ross, 1967, 213 pages, p.74. 303. Ibid., p.75. 304. Ibid., p.89. 109

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Teaching seems to have attracted a significant number of homosexuals, female as well as male. In England, as in France and Germany, teachers were supposed to be unmarried. Many of the women were in teaching because they had not managed to ma rry, and sometimes their attitude expressed a sense of revenge, fear and hostility to ward men. But, for their pupils, they represented an example of social success, which incr eased their prestige. That partly explains the frequent sense of fear and dislike for men th at girls raised in public schools expressed in those days. When they left school, they as ked their favorite mistresses to write to them. This they readily did, and often took the opportunity to go on giving advice aimed at enabling them to face the outside world without succumbing to its temptations. Ambiguities in the System The attitude toward sex in the public schools reflects deep-seated institutional hypocrisy. It seems that, in spite of all the Puritanical and repressive speeche s, a certain laissez-faire attitude prevailed. Homosexuality among teens was seen as benign, almost an obligatory rite of passage in one s sexual life.306 Even so, the post-Victorian moralizing frenzy reached its heights in these establishments. The director of Charterhouse , for example, would make obscure and alarming references to the sexual vice [masturbat ion]. 307 The obsession with masturbation reached dizzying proportions: sermons were devoted to it, boys prayed to be delivered of it, and they were obliged to be confessed on this subject. Some schools set up highly complex systems to counter any tempt ations; at Rossall, the Masters were not permitted to be in a room alone with a pupil fo r more than ten minutes, and even then they had to leave the open door. The older boys had to keep away from the younger ones, and they were all under constant surveillance. Anything that related to sex was severely repressed. Works that were considered dangerous , such as D.H. Lawrence s writings, were censored. Queenswood, a women s college, banned Gone With The Wind in the 1930s and the pupils mail was read. T.C. Worsley s headmaster at Marlborough once told him that he might see a kind of white matter running from his intimate parts; Don t worry, he said, it s just a kind of disease, like mea sles.308 School authorities were often very severe in dealing with what they regarded as major crimes. At Lancing, Tom Driberg was denounced to the director by two littl e boys whom he had tried to seduce; he was deprived of his position as prefect309 and w

as isolated for the rest of the quarter. In fact, forbidding romantic friendships only made them more appealing; it was a game that broke the routine of school life. And for tha t reason alone, there was little likelihood of breaking them up. Quentin Crisp relates th e outcome of a homosexual scandal in his school: one night, one of the boys walked from on e end of his house to the other, to get to his friend s bedroom. The two boys could have met without the least risk at any time of day in a secluded spot; but desire is stok ed by the atmosphere of challenge, of danger. The boy was caught., and he was thrashed in front of 305. See Olivia, by Olivia (pseudonym of Dorothy Bussy, sister of Lytton Strache y and close friend of Gide), Paris, Stock, 1949, 148 pages, p.26. 306. See Chapter Five. 307. Dennis Proctor (ed.), The Autobiography of G. Lowes Dickinson, op. cit., p. 54. 308. T.C. Worsley, Flannelled Fool, op. cit., p.47. 309. An older schoolmate, responsible for discipline; see below. 110

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality the whole school. Instead of being chastened, he was lionized. A fan-club develo ped around him and he became all the more desirable. The administration had to expel him in order to put an end to it. While he was a pupil at Lancing, Evelyn Waugh tried to start a discussion on the subject of homosexuality. As an editorial in the school newspaper, he published a fictitious conversation between a visitor and a schoolboy like him. He wanted to show that passionate friendships between pupils were not necessarily disruptive or corrupt ing, and that the authorities were wrong to intervene in an area that did not concern the m. A few years before, his brother Alec had launched a great offensive against the public schools through his acclaimed novel, The Loom of Youth (1917).310 In a le ss wellknown work, Public-School Life. Boys, Parents, Masters (1922) he gives a very de tailed description of homosexuality in the public schools, defends romantic friendships and denounces the hypocrisy that surrounded the subject.311 Noting that the system o f the public schools is (in this respect) contrary to nature, he says that one must ex pect results contrary to nature. He calls the time spent in public school a phase of sexual t ransition; and says that most of the active immorality in the schools takes place between fif teenand sixteen-year-old boys; not, as is frequently imagined, between the younger a nd older boys. He says that, like everything else at school, homosexuality has to conform to rules; there are rules for everything, and friendships, like personalities, must fit th e mold. It is the endless talk about homosexuality that keeps interest alive and ensures that the phenomenon will be reproduced. Waugh also highlights some neglected aspects of homosexual life in the public schools. First of all, having 18- or 19-year-old boys in some of the houses can only create a difficult climate, for at this age sexual impulses more definitely demand physic al satisfaction. Then, romantic friendships can have harmful consequences for the younger boys. A young one who becomes the friend of an older boy finds himself suddenly propel led to the top of the school hierarchy; he gets to know other boys in the upper forms, and he receives various privileges; boys in his own form become jealous or hate him, an d he loses contact with reality. When his guardian leaves the school, he finds himself alon e and unwanted. Moreover, constantly separating love from sex can cause trouble for th e lads

later in life. To change this situation, Waugh became an advocate of coeducation ; he called for a freer discussion of these subjects, and for better public informati on: There is so much ignorance to dissipate; the ignorance of the mothers, the ignor ance of the fathers who have not themselves been in public school, the conspiracy of silence among the pupils, alumni and masters. We make too much of immorality, an d at the same time we do not pay enough attention to it. The headmasters assure us that it only crops up occasionally, but their attitude is like that of a doctor who s uspects his patient has a grave illness and simply goes on observing him, looking for si gns. These attempts to start a discussion of homosexuality were not the only ones and it wasn t only the pupils who were concerned. Worsley, as an assistant headmaster, wi th the assistance of some young teachers, prefects, and pupils, tried to fight the reactionary 310. Loom has many meanings : not only a weaving apparatus, or to appear, but, in Old English, penis. 311. Alec Waugh, Public-School Life. Boys, Parents, Masters, London, Collins Son s & Co, 1922, 271 pages. 111

A History of Homosexuality in Europe spirit of the older teachers, whom he called the Old Guard. One Hoffman, in part icular, promulgated such an insidious, oppressively suspicious atmosphere that it was na useating. Hoffman looks at each boy as if he thought he was expecting a baby! 312 The Old Guard would make examples of those pupils suspected of homosexuality. The atmosp here at the college was noxious, charged with rancor and suspicion and poisoned by denunciations and accusations of sexual misconduct, calls from parents in tears expulsions in the wake of anti-vice campaigns. Worsley was fully aware of the ambiguity of the situation and recognized that to defend the pupils was hardly any better than seeking to condemn them at all cost s. In the end, he admitted to himself that the grounds for his moral indignation at Hoffma n s attitude toward sex could reasonably be considered suspect.313 Initially, his qu arrel was with the relentless inquisition to which the faculty subjected the pupils, and t he despotic control which they exerted. During a council debate over repealing the rule requ iring school caps to be worn while inside the college, Worsley learned that the Old Gu ard was resolutely opposed to repealing it because the caps had different-colored ribbon s indicating which dormitory the pupils belonged in, which enabled them to catch boys who were talking with pupils from other dormitories. The director of the college was upset to find out that there was a law prohibiting pupils from different houses or dormitor ies speaking to one another. The cap-wearing rule was repealed at once and it was announced that all the pupils of the college could speak to each other freely. O n another occasion, a sexologist was invited to speak in the college. The feeling of outrag e that that produced was extraordinary. But what made the question even more outrageous was that when the sexologist arrived, it turned out to be a woman! 314 In any case, the public schools were clearly one of the main forums for spreadin g, discussing and understanding homosexuality. This preoccupation with homosexualit y was so overwhelming that school authorities sought to continue to influence thei r pupils even after they left school. When Cyril Connolly left Saint Cyprian, he was subj ected to the usual exhortation on the seed from the chaplain and the director, the gist of which was: We were departing for a world of temptations.... We were to name any boy wh o had tried to get into our beds, we were warned never to go with a boy from anoth er school, never to become friends with a boy more than a year and a half older tha n us and,

and

above all, not to play with ourselves.315 Given this apparent desire to maintain a high level of morality in the public schools, the rampant homosexuality must give us pause. In Eton, the director Wil liam Cory was certainly an adherent of the cult of beauty, especially when it came to the individual, the particularly fine young man. He allowed himself some very romantic friendshi ps with certain pupils. Some schools, and not only the public schools, were regular training grounds in homosexuality. Valentine Ackland, briefly attending the Domestic Training Colleg e of Eastbourne, a professional school, was plunged into an entirely lesbian universe . The director was butch and the other teachers encouraged crushes and affairs.316 312. T.C. Worsley, Flannelled Fool, op. cit., p.101. 313. Ibid., p.107. 314. Ibid., p.132. 315. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, The Brideshead Generation, op. cit., p.23. 316. See Valentine Ackland, For Sylvia: An Honest Account, London, Chatto & Wind us, 1985, 135 pages, p.68. 112

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality In most cases, it seems that as long as there were no scandals, liaisons and sex ual intercourse between pupils were tacitly allowed, even approved, by those in char ge, who saw their job primarily as training gentlemen who would be respectful of British traditions and loyal citizens of their country. This respect was learned early on, at the p ublic school, and was reflected in the attachment the alumni felt for their school and the formation of what in adulthood would be the old boy network, a kind of guild, which allowed graduates of the big schools to identify each other, to stay in touch, a nd to help each other enhance their careers and social positions. This friendship-loyalty b ond neatly prefigured the future attachment of the pupil to his fatherland, England. In tha t sense homosexual relations, whether based on deep love or physical passion, between bo ys who would later be called upon to run the country together, or at least to work towa rd the same goal according to the ideals which were inculcated during school, could wel l be an asset. They helped to weave a stable social fabric. The most obvious symbol of the tacit social acceptance of homosexuality in the name of social cohesion is the institutionalization of the system of fag and pre fect.317 Originally intended to protect young people from pressure from the older boys, i t soon became a form of slavery that included sexual aspects. This was reinforced by th e fact that the public schools followed a self-management scheme whereby the prefects were responsible for handling interpersonal conflicts and discipline, with the master s and the directors not intervening directly. This inevitably led sometimes to excesses. The boys were enormously dependent on each other; they learned management skills and developed a sense of responsibility, but were still bound by diffuse erotic feelings, as shown by the memoirs of the very frank Christopher Isherwood. He re counts his elation when, for the first time, he had an office and two fags to clean it. The fags were two new boys named Berry and Darling; he had great fun calling out, Berry, Darling! and admits that he was as little suited for authority as most of his com rades, in fact less so than many, and despite having begun with the friendliest intentions , soon became unstable, taking offense at imaginary signs of treason. His mood shifts u pset his fags, and generally, he says, he acted like any low level manager. Office holders at that school could beat their fags and were rather encouraged to exert that privilege. 318 On the whole, the school directors attitude toward homosexuality seems to have

been particularly hypocritical. Sex becomes all the more desirable when it is la den with so many prohibitions. Public school boys were obsessed with sex, reflecting the fun damental contradiction which is at the heart of the post-Victorian system: Nobody must masturbate and yet everyone does it; thus, everyone must become an idiot and yet nobody does so; homosexual attraction is a sin, however it is widespread, and cannot be stopped, even among eminent professors. 319 Did the homosexuality that was practiced in the public schools between 1919 and 1939 induce homosexuality in the pupils? That is a difficult question. It was pr ecisely those alumni who had experienced intense homosexual relations, and then married, who savagely denied being homosexuals. A Hailesbury alumnus recalls: Oh yes, there we re 317. A fag is a young student who has to obey the orders of an older boy (the pr efect); he performs household duties and various services. The system was widespread in the the publ ic schools from the beinning of the 19th century following the wave of reforms inaugurated by Dr Tho mas Arnold at Rugby. 318. Christopher Isherwood, Lions and Shadows, London, Methuen, 1985, 191 pages, p.26-27. 319. John Gathorne-Hardy, The Public-School Phenomenon, op. cit., p.92. 113

A History of Homosexuality in Europe tons of sex. Does that make you a fag? certainly not. The most active person tha t I knew at that time became a formidable womanizer. 320 In the same vein, Alec Waugh, in Pleasure (1921), depicts a romantic friendship that is nearing its end; passage into adulthood and entry into society entails marriage and heterosexuality; woe to an yone who failed to realize that school was only a brief interlude. Each one had to co me to terms with what was coming. They would forget their friends, would fall in love with a girl, and all the rest would turn out to have been just a stupid prelude.321 However, the list is long of those who first discovered their future homosexuali ty or bisexuality through their experiences at school.322 It seems reasonable to co nclude that, if the public schools did not actually produce homosexuality, they at the very least sensitized boys to any latent homosexual inclinations; and so they enabled many boys to clearly determine their sexual identity. The main problem lay in the world outsi de that condemned homosexuality; once they became active members of society, alumni ofte n had difficulty owning up to what they may have liked to consider youthful indisc retions. No.l Blakiston, in his letters to a former friend at Eton, Cyril Connolly, striv es to prove to him that their relationship was always normal and that they were never homosexua l. Yet when Connolly married, at the age of,323 he admitted that, of course, the problem is that I am still homosexual, emotionally. 36 This, certainly, contributed to the lack of c omprehension that prevails between the two sexes, and partly explains the frequent failure of marriage and the sexual dissatisfaction among the bourgeoisie. The boys regrets a re sometimes echoed by the fears and regrets of the girls. According to Martha Vici nus, many women seem to have found a more complete love during their adolescence than any they ever feel for a man. 324 Institutional ambiguity with regard to adolescent homosexuality had twofold cons equences: having accepted homosexual practices at a given age, it becomes more difficult to resist them later on; moreover, those pupils who had homosexual experiences t ended to keep on having them in the future, or at least to consider them favorably. The men of the British upper class are homosexual in everything except their sexual life. 325 It shows in their lifestyle: together in their clubs, hunting, in the City, they live in an exclusively

male environment that recreates as far as possible the atmosphere of the public schools. If homosexuality became a fashion in the 1920s, if homosexuals had a chance to expr ess themselves more freely, it is primarily because many members of the leading clas ses were secretly allied with them. 320. Cited by John Gathorne-Hardy, ibid., p.164. 321. Alec Waugh, Pleasure, London, Grant Richards Ltd, 1921, 320 pages, p.44. 322. Among the famous examples from this period are W.H. Auden, Christopher Ishe rwood, Stephen Spender, E.M. Forster, Cyril Connolly, Cecil Beaton, J.M. Keynes, Goldsw orthy Lowes Dickinson, Lytton Strachey and Bertrand Russell. 323. Cyril Connolly, A Romantic Friendship, The Letters of Cyril Connolly to Noe l Blakiston, London, Constable, 1975, 365 pages. 324. Martha Vicinus, Distance and Desire: English Boarding-School Friendships, 18 70-1920, in Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus and George Chauncey Jr. (dir.), Hidden from Hist ory, London, Penguin Books, 1991, 579 pages, p.219. 325. A testimony cited by John Gathorne-Hardy, The Public-School Phenomenon, op. cit., p.178. 114

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality Paradise Lost: The English Model The cult of homosexuality, as we have seen, started in the British education sys tem, which, in point of fact, tolerated homosexual practices. It was bolstered, above all, by the exaltation of adolescent love affairs, and mythologized by the literature of pub lic schools and the memories of the alumni. This is uniquely British. Indeed, various first-hand accounts exist, telling of homosexual practices in th e boarding schools in France and Germany, but adolescent loves were not cherished as dearly and homosexuality was considered, at best, as an obligatory rite of passa ge, and at worst as a disastrous consequence of an education system mired in vice. To under stand better what was different about the English model, we can take a closer look at what was taking place in the neighboring countries. In France and Germany, as in England, education experts did warn that boarding schools were dangerous, and fostered homosexuality. In Germany, surveys were con ducted in the schools to try to determine how widespread homosexuality was. In 1928, a synthesis was published by the National Ministry for Education, entitled, Sittlic hkeitsvergehen in h.heren Schulen und ihre disziplinare Behandlung (Attacks on morals in the secondary schools and their disciplinary treatment). The survey was conducted be tween 1921 and 1925, with a population of 552 pupils 467 boys and 85 girls. A total of 36 boys acknowledged having had homosexual experiences; no girls. That is a very weak re sult, but of course one must take account of the undeclared cases. The authors of the research distinguished two different groups: that of older boys who took the active role, going out with younger boys who were passive. For the most part, they did not have sex but only mutual passion, kisses, and caresses. Then, there are the boys who were victims o f seduction by an adult, who were lured by gifts (theater tickets, alcohol, etc.). These conclusions were repeated in 1936 by Gerhard Reinhard Ritter in Die geschlechtliche Frage in DER deutschen Volkserziehung (The sexual question in German popular education). It called the rate of homosexual acts in colleges very high, but suggested that thi s represented only acquired, not real, homosexuality. Indeed, it is difficult to determine how widespread homosexuality was in the French and German schools, for alumni accounts on this subject are quite rare. H owever, there are a few reports that seem to substantiate the claim. Golo Mann, in his m

emoirs entitled A German Youth, speaks quite naturally about his early loves: One day, a t school or in the yard, I saw Erika and Klaus with a boy whom I liked enormously, without k nowing why. But from then on, I was in love, without knowing the cause and without even knowing the word.... It was my first love for the bigger kids in the playground, and it was not to be the last. 326 Even though the school was co-ed, the officials were terri fied that any homosexual activity might take place. The headmaster, Kurt Hahn, was a close t homosexual himself; he carried out a virtual Inquisition against what he termed p romiscuity and which was considered to start when a pupil put a hand on the shoulder of another. In the spring of 1925, a new pupil arrived at the boarding school and G olo fell vaguely in love. The headmaster was suspicious and forbid to them to go bicyclin g together for Pentecost. For Golo Mann, the adolescent years did not cause any real problem or raise any question; it was a normal and transitory phase. But others were permanently scar red by 326. Golo Mann, Une jeunesse allemande, Paris, Presses de la Renaissance, 1988, 412 pages, p.27-28. 115

A History of Homosexuality in Europe their experiences in school. The novelist Ernst Erich Noth was at the center of a tragedy at the College of Steglitz. G.nther Scheller shot and killed the apprentice cook , Hans Stefan, on June 27, 1927, and then committed suicide. Scheller was seeking reven ge for being supplanted in the favors of a rich patron who was known to invite his prot .g.s on trips to Paris. Noth himself had been known to take advantage of his charms: I wa s considered a pretty boy; perhaps I was. The caresses of the old man were not always innocen t, but his infirmities prevented him from lavishing more specific favors on me. 327 F or Noth, homosexuality was acceptable and profitable: And yet, in spite of the very prudish public discourse, pederasty was already an indisputable reality in Germany at th at time. Since the third grade, we already knew that some of our peers, all sons of good families, were making pocket money by regularly visiting some old Berlin degenerates. 328 Su ch accounts, although extreme, do tend to indicate that homosexual experiences were relatively widespread in German schools. The French were not left behind. In Le Livre blanc (The White Book) (1928), Jean Cocteau depicts a scene at the Condorcet College, in Paris: The senses were awake ned and flourished unrestrained, and grew like crab grass. There were only perforate d pockets and soiled handkerchiefs. He notes, however: But Condorcet was a college of extern alities. These practices did not go as far as falling in love. They hardly went beyond th e scope of a clandestine game. 329 In Les Enfants terribles (The Terrible Children) (1925), he evokes a schoolboy s emotions: This love was all the more devastating as it precede d knowledge of love. It was a vague, intense feeling, for which there was no remed y a pure desire without sex and without any goal. 330 In like fashion, in The Sabbath Maurice Sachs tells of his education in a school that was run according to the English method. Sachs felt a chaste love for his captain, t hen he was wised up by one of his buddies. Another one granted him favors in exchange for a tennis racquet. The general atmosphere recalled that of the boarding schools a nd the cadet academies: A great wave of sensuality swept through the school. A luxurious surfeit washed over everybody, in every grade level, and it is no exaggeration to say that out of a hundred pupils, more than fifty were making love with each other. Only the very youngest

were exempt, or some boys of solid virtue voluntarily kept away from these games . The older ones went after the younger ones. Sometimes we d go, eight or ten at a t ime, to roll around and fondle each other in the hay in a barn.331 As elsewhere, the vice was ignored, even tolerated by the school authorities for a while. Then, like a thunderbolt, they made a clean sweep.332 327. Ernst Erich Noth, M.moires d un Allemand, Paris, Julliard, 1970, 506 pages, p .57. 328. Ibid., p.98. 329. Jean Cocteau, Le Livre blanc [1928], reedited, Paris, .ditions de Messine, 1983, 123 pages, p.22-23. 330. Jean Cocteau, Les Enfants terribles [1929], reedited, Paris, Grasset, 1990, 130 pages, p.19. 331. Maurice Sachs, Le Sabbat [written in 1939, publi. en 1946], Paris, Gallimar d, 1960, 298 pages, p.35. To the French, England is a prime example of depravity in the schools. In La Libert. ou l Amour! (1924), Robert Desnos presents a scene of lesbian sadism in a British boarding s chool, HummingBird Garden, where the mistress enjoys whipping the girls. 332. Violette Leduc was thrown out of school for having a sentimental and sexual relationship with one of her comrades, Isabelle. See Violette Leduc, La B.tarde, Paris, Gallima rd, 1964, 462 pages. 116

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality It was surprising that the authorities seemed not to see a thing. One day, somet hing came to their attention and they suddenly undertook a major clean-up campaign. I had, as it was considered at the time, the honor of appearing pretty high up o n the list of pupils who were dismissed, and we were sent home with such remarkabl e courtesy that our parents, fortunately, were easily deceived... I think the reas on for this indulgence lies in the fact that more than one of our teachers, and particu larly the English ones, were guilty.333 So, homosexuality was hardly absent from French or German schools. However, it would be too much to say that there was a cult of homosexuality. Indeed, there i s an essential difference between the educational institutions of the three countries : in France and Germany, there were boarding schools and there was no co-education;334 but t he boarding school was not the only form of schooling. Consequently, most pupils sp ent less time alone together; they had the restraining influence of their families; and t hey stayed in contact with society. Special friendships might have developed, but a cult of hom osexuality would not be likely to evolve, since that presupposes the existence of a microsociety, partly independent of adults and controlled by a system of codes that t he pupils were held to, under penalty of being snubbed and excluded. One might hypothesize that day schools, by releasing pupils from the authoritative influence of the group, only allow for the formation of those homosexual friendships that were inevitable, i.e. bet ween boys who would have been homosexual whatever the circumstances. Boys in a boarding sc hool who try out homosexuality, in imitation, or out of social pressure, simple curio sity or to gain confidence, do not have the opportunity in a more open school system. Thus, homosexuality has less chance to develop on a large scale and to have a lasting impact on a whole generation. That would especially explain the contrast between French homo sexual individualism the result of personal homosexual experiences and free of any group influence and the English cult of homosexuality, resulting from a shared h omosexual culture and homosexual history. An examination of the literature is particularly convincing in this respect. The public school novel is almost a genre of its own, in English literature; and, al ong with works aimed at teenagers directly, one finds accounts intended for the nostalgic adult. By emphasizing the group spirit, fair play, the latent homoeroticism of a unisex soci ety, the

author allows the reader to identify easily. The reader internalizes his homosex ual experience as an obligatory rite of passage, a decisive test that proves his integration in to the society. French literature, and incidentally German literature, are strikingly d ifferent. Neither considers the homosexual experience as anything but a rupture of solidar ity, an assertion of the ego, a will to set oneself apart. The reader, even if he recogn izes himself in the novel, relives an incidence of rejection, either radical or disguised (a pen chant for secrecy, codes, messages, etc.). Homosexuality can never constitute a common ref erence in adult society. It is concealed and considered to have been a unique experienc e. We can verify that hypothesis by reviewing a whole series of literary works. In Germany, the novel The Cadets, by Ernst von Solomon (1933) transposes the vocabu lary, conventions, and rules identical to those of the most sexually emancipated Engli sh public schools onto a Prussian military academy:335 333. Maurice Sachs, Le Sabbat, op. cit., p.35. 334. Except for some experimental schools, like Wyneken s at Wickersdorf. 117

A History of Homosexuality in Europe There was a new boy in the barracks. Emil Tillich was the smallest boy in the company, but his limbs were nimble, his eyes full of life and he was well formed . A nice rabbit, said Gloecken and I hated him for it. It was the first time that suc h a remark had annoyed me. I spat back, You, you always think of those things right away. But he was only expressing the general opinion. Everybody liked Tillich.336 The arrival of the pretty new boy led to all sorts of changes in the behavior of his comrades: rivalries intensified, each one tried to outshine the others and to sp end as much time with him as possible. Goslar went out of his way to have the boy in his swi mming class.337 The narrator, Schmidt, was in love with Tillich, but was afraid that G oslar had already monopolized him. He soon discovers otherwise: During a walk, outside the institution, he simply took my arm. At first, that fr ightened me. He held my arm so calmly that at first I thought maybe he had no ulterior motive. And then, this took place on the little paved path that went around the meadow and which, by a hallowed tradition, was reserved for pupils of the upper classes. If Tillich was walking there, it became obvious to everyone that I had him. He could not have been unaware of that. 338 [From then on, the two boys had a perfectly traditional romantic friendship. In the pupils honor code, a system equivalent to that of the English fags and prefec ts was semi-official.] He bore the seal of my friendship. If somebody hurt him, he was attacking me. Of course, there were no secrets between us, except with regard to feelings which a delicate modesty kept us from revealing. It is true that he had to polis h the buttons of my uniform, to keep my things in order and to give me his larger slic e of bread during recreation. That was well-established tradition. But, in exchange, I was always there when he needed me. 339 [Schmidt, like many public school boys, wants to preserve his love from any sexu al temptation, any risk of moral debasement. The character of Goslar allows him to create a revealing contrast between this penchant for chastity and the sexual te nsion that reigned inside the school.] Obviously, there remained the possibility of kis sing. But between desire and realization stood a wall... Goslar, for his part, did not seem to suffer from any such inhibition. I found his behavior coarse, low, proletarian, as we said in such cases. He maintained a noisy cheerfulness with respect to Tillich, grabbing his buttocks during exercises and, during work, never passed by his chair withou t

giving him a friendly cuff on the ear.340 It all ends in disillusionment; Schmidt discovers that Tillich has been deceivin g him from the very beginning with Goslar and avenges himself by humiliating him. The system goes on, just the same. As Gloecken observes: A true rabbit is afraid of any lasting ties. 341 In the homosexual micro-society of the school, a young boy, if he is pretty, if he has the good luck to be appealing, has a considerable advantage ov er his com rades. Far from being a victim of the system, he is the principal beneficiary an d reserves 335. See also Robert Musil, Les D.sarrois de l .l.ve T.rless [1906], Paris, .ditio ns du Seuil, 1960, 260 pages. 336. Ernst von Salomon, Les Cadets [1933], Paris, Correa, 1953, 277 pages, p.167 -168. 337. Ibid., p.169. 338. Ibid., p.171. 339. Ibid., p.172. 340. Ibid., p.173. 341. Ibid., p.174. 118

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality the right, when he grows older, to have rabbits in his turn.342 In the end, it is romantic boys like Schmidt who suffer most from the ambient cynicism. Another German work, The Child Manuela, or Girls in Uniform (1934) by Christa Winsloe, is quite representative of the existence of homosexuality within the bo arding schools.343 This book was made into a play and then a movie. Christa Winsloe was clearly inspired by her personal experience. She was sent as an adolescent to an institu tion for noble girls in northern Germany. In the book, written in a simple and straightfo rward style, the young Manuela is sent to a military college for girls, when a scandal breaks out: she is believed to have fallen in love with a young man. In fact, she loves his mother. At the boarding school, the atmosphere is charged with secret passions. Pupils wear loc kets engraved on the inside with the initials of a professor, in a heart pierced by a n arrow. At the same time, pupils are falling in love with each other, offering gifts and ex changing notes. Manuela falls passionately in love with the most popular mistress who, in turn, is not insensitive to her affection but hides her feelings. In the end, Manuela rev eals her feelings to the whole school during a costume ball. The scandal is enormous. The director speaks of abnormal feelings, and upbraids the teacher, saying: And do you know what the world our world thinks of this kind of women? Manuela is isolated from her comrades and her teacher; in desperation, she throws herself from the w indow. Miss von Bernburg holds her in her arms one last time as she lies on the paving stone. In fact, compared to the English works, German works relating to homosexual loves at school depict a more morbid and sadistic atmosphere. The ties between t he boys are clearly established in terms of power and competition, and those who struggl e to keep their loves pure are bound for disillusionment. In the girls schools, the strict rules relentlessly prevent any personal expression and deny the pupils any right to tenderness and freedom. This depressing and negative presentation of the situation in the schoo ls explains why no cult of homosexuality developed; readers who could have found an y childhood memories in these books were not encouraged to recall them in positive terms. This situation is less striking in France, where the majority of homosexual writ ers evoked their adolescent years in a context other than the boarding school. They were more sheltered. Furthermore, the education system placed its emphasis on intelle ctual

prowess and not on sports. Relationships between boys were not based on physical violence and brutal games. Lastly, French literature dealing with homosexuality in the schools was generally not written by homosexuals seeking to regain the happiness of their lost loves, but on the contrary by those who opposed homosexuality and who sought to discredit the type of education that fosters it. The most famous work in France was Claudine . l .cole (Claudine at School) (1900); that came before the era we are looking at, but it still has quite an impact. Un like other French authors, Colette did not approach the subject from a moralistic and morbi d angle. The adventures of Claudine and her friends are shown as normal, amusing, part of the accepted adolescent amorous adventures, a prelude to more lasting attachments to men. Only the relationship between Aim.e and Miss Sergent turns sinister, precis ely because the director is no longer a girl and she places Aim.e in a perverse, soc ially unac 342. See also, in 1929, Classe 22 by Ernst Gl.ser and Alf by Bruno Vogel. 343. This novel, first adapted for the theater by its author in 1931, was follow ed by a movie that was a big success the same year and was published only in 1934. 119

A History of Homosexuality in Europe ceptable situation. Unlike the English novels, the book aimed above all to titil late the reader and for that sole purpose makes many a Sapphic allusion.344 The account that comes closest to the English cult of homosexuality is that of Henry de Montherlant, in his very fictionalized book, Les Gar.ons (The Boys). Mo ntherlant relates his adolescence at the college of Sainte-Croix, in Neuilly, from January 1911 (when he was admitted) to March 1912 (when he was thrown out). This short episode made a lasting impression on him and he recalled it time and time again. He brings it u p once in La Ville dont le prince est un enfant, a play that was written in 1929 (but only published in 1951).345 His memory of this period sounds quite like the English accounts: Love made the college fabulous. 346 Montherlant developed two themes in The Boys: adolescent love and the fascinatio n which it exerts on adults. The heart of the work is the relationship between Alb an de Bricoule and Serge Souplier, which fits into an extremely precise and codified protocol. The school of Our-Lady-of-the-Park is divided into groups of boys classified according to various aesthetic criteria and their stage of sexual awakening. Those who were pa rt of this coterie, which they called the Group, all wore their ties outside of their ja ckets, as a rallying sign. But Louchard, who was not part of them, started to wear his tie o n the outside, too. Then everyone in the clique put theirs back inside. 347 Lists of prot .g.s were circulated, and were known even to the professors who maintained this atmos phere of homoeroticism: Binet said to Salins: Brulat as a prot.g., what an idea! How could you choose him, with his big ears! When one takes a prot.g., one chooses o ne with lovely, sweet little face. I asked him: And you, Sir, did you have little prot.g.s when you were our age? He replied: Oh! Me, I had tons of them! 348 The system was classic: An older one is going with a younger one? OK. But two of the older boys together?... Revolting, or rather, unthinkable. 349 Love often took the form of torture : the older boys made martyrs of the younger ones to prove their interes t in them. The whole school seemed to be centered around love affairs: After studies ( or before), the only occupation and the only concern, at Our-Lady-of-the-Park, were these friendships. 350 The atmosphere was permeated with sex, and everything that happen ed all day had erotic overtones: And this Park vocabulary! One would think we were talking about the shows at the Moulin-Rouge. Couldn t you speak a little different

ly? Everyone talks like that here, the abbots and Profs as well as the kids, as you v ery well know. 351 Alban and Serge become friends; it all starts in a relatively traditional way: a dmiration, kisses, caresses; they are baptized the ideal couple. In this closed adolescent 344. On Claudine, see Chapter Five. 345. Montherlant reprised this work in 1947, encouraged by the publication of Am iti.s particuli.res by Roger Peyrefitte (1943); similarly, Les Gar.ons, which he had been working on since 1919, did not come out until 1969. 346. Cited by Pierre Sipriot, Montherlant sans masque, t.I, L Enfant prodigue, 189 5-1932, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1980, 500 pages, p.39. 347. Henry de Montherlant, Les Gar.ons, Paris, Gallimard, 1973, 549 pages, p.187 . 348. Ibid., p.26. 349. Ibid., p.35. 350. Ibid., p.91. 351. Ibid., p.294-295. Montherlant gave estimates that don't appear to conflict with the English examples: a little more than a third of the whole were part of the protection, and in some years it was close to half. 120

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality world, complications inevitably originate from the few adults who maintain conta ct: Alban s mother clearly savors her son s revelations, vicariously enjoying the erotic thrill of the unhealthy situation. But the abbots in particular maintain this noxious clim ate. They tolerate close friendships, but only to the extent that they do not interfere wi th their authority or encourage any emancipation the of young people. Like Alban s mother, they enjoy it all from the sidelines, and the palpitations of the boys reverberate in them and disturb them deeply. Adolescent homosexuality becomes a problem only when it rev eals adult homosexuality: the abbot de Pradts is in love with Serge Souplier, and wor ks hard to keep from admitting it. He convinces Alban that his love (for Serge) is impur e, that he must keep the moral well-being of his little friend in mind. Soon, the situation is reversed: Virtue came back into fashion. Lastly, when Alban and Souplier are found closeted together, the wheels start to roll: Pradts gets Alban expelled, but the superior , who knows what Pradts is up to, throws out Souplier, as well. The d.nouement is edifying, for it perfectly sums up the cult of homosexuality. The scandal at the institution is revealed, and the abbots are dismissed and replace d by newcomers. The new generation at Park will not be protected. Alban discovers girls, and his situational (or occasionel ) homosexuality comes to a sudden end. Adolescence is a closed world to which it is impossible to return: The abbot de Pradts replied to the superior, who told him to find Souplier one day: It will be too late, and to Alban : The kids, it s over so quickly. So it was all a question of age. 352 Still, Montherlant does not leave the question of adolescent homosexuality as merely a rite of passage; he shows that, consciously and unconsciously, it affec ts one s future life: De Pradts tore up the photographs of Serge. Alban went out of his wa y not to pass in front of his house. Linbourg preferred not to have to see kids around. La ter, they all send their children to Park, just as all those English fathers send their ch ildren to the same public school that they knew. Homosexual relations in the religious schools are a fairly traditional topic. Da niel Gu.rin, at Bossuet, relates that he also discovered, as a result of an indiscreti on, that certain abbots and their favorite pupils exchanged rather thorough embraces, in a dark little room close to the vault. 353 In Le Cahier gris (1922), Roger Martin du Gard makes

veiled allusions to a romantic friendship between Jacques Thibault and Daniel Fo ntanin; there is no sign of the licentious atmosphere of the boarding schools, here. The young boys, candid, sincere and passionate, exchange fervent poems and oaths of eterna l loyalty. They do not even suspect they are doing wrong. It is the abbot who, discovering the book, condemns the relationship as sinful: The tone, the content of the letters, alas!, did not leave any doubt as to the nature of this friendship. 354 Cheap popular novels exploit the theme of special friendships at religious schoo ls, implying that they are a hotbed of perversion. This set of themes is part of a l ong anticlerical tradition; some examples would be Adolescents: moeurs coll.giennes, by Jean Rode s (1904), Antone Ramon by Am.d.e Guiard (1914), Les Adolescents passionn.s by Albe rt Nortal and Charles-.tienne (1927), and L Enfant de choeur by Ren. .tiemble (1937). Rodes states in his foreword that he does not intend to criticize only church schools but the en tire school 352. Ibid., p.469, and 484. 353. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, Paris, Belfond, 1972, 248 pages, p.71. 354. Roger Martin du Gard, Le Cahier gris, in OEuvres compl.tes, Paris, Gallimar d, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1981, t.I, 1 403 pages. 121

A History of Homosexuality in Europe system and the very foundation of our moral system. His novel takes place at a c ollege in Gascogne; it is run by Jesuits who follow the British style. Special friendships d evelop as a result of such an abnormal education and the de-virilizing scholastic program. The characters are caricatures and the tone is melodramatic. The romantic machinatio ns are observed by a chaste pupil, who severely condemns the system and quits the schoo l, complaining of the strange doctrines that rule at Saint-Vincent, according to which kissing a woman is an unpardonable shame, an offense infinitely worse than same-sex licent iousness. 355 L Enfant de choeur (The Choirboy) develops the same theme. The hero, Andr. Steinde l, makes friends with another new boy, Maurice. The older boys jump in, immediately : Ah hah! That s a good one! Already taking rabbits. You are way ahead of yourselves. T hat s not allowed.... Only big kids are entitled to rabbits. 356 The system very quickly pulls them apart. Andr. becomes the rabbit of a bigger boy and, by Christmas, Maurice had slit open his left pocket. 357 Andr. becomes a choirboy with Maurice; they make lo ve in the sacristy. In 1924, the climate changes: new students are no longer violated, and there is less rampant vice. The author indicates that the homosexual fad was related t o the relaxation of morals and the loss of parental authority after the war. The situa tion would return toward normal within a few years. In Antone Ramon, the institution is given as St. Francis de Sales of Bourg; the 13-yearold hero, Antone Ramon, falls in love with an older boy who takes him under his wing . Due to a series of misunderstandings and some malicious maneuvering on the part of some of their comrades, plus the opposition of George s parents, he loses his frie nd. He then sinks into more and more degrading conduct. The book ends with his accident al death, which comes as the just desserts for the sins he has committed. Nortal and Charles-.tienne s book was a frontal attack on religious schools. The foreword sets the tone: The calm of a friendly interview would be far preferable to the confessional booth where the ecclesiastic, by the pall of his very breath, by hi s perfidious questions, can create an incendiary vice, can ignite a full-blown debauchery. 358 The three heroes, pupils at St. Allaix college, run by the Fathers, are described as near caricatures

fair, slender, delicate. They are rivals for the attentions of Jean-Louis Massia s, a feral, feline-like dissolute, with destructive inclinations. In the study hall, thoughts of debauchery permeate the air, flitting through everyone s minds, brutal, fast, flee ting, and shameful. The book obligingly renders the details of the complex relations betwee n the boys. One, who is ugly, contents himself with looking at photographs of beautifu l young men. Another, called pet, rabbit, or Jesus, is under Massias s thumb. Their relationshi starts with a love letter, whereas, generally, this kind of union begins with a pummeling or a stinging cuff on the ears. 359 The competition was relentless: B.got kissed me on the neck and Bahier went after me in the urinal. 360 The atmosphere i s noxious; Page and Massias sleep together, but after the holidays Page is replace d by 355. Jean Rodes, Adolescents: moeurs coll.giennes, Paris, Soci.t. du Mercure de France, 1904, 219 pages, p.211-212. 356. Ren. .tiemble, L Enfant de choeur, Paris, Gallimard, 1937, 251 pages, p.25. 357.Ibid., p.45. 358. Charles-.tienne and Albert Nortal, Les Adolescents passionn.s, Paris, Curio , 1928, 253 pages, p.13. 359. Ibid., p.37. 360.Ibid., p.45. 122

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality Ferrari. Massias is also secretly in love with his male cousin. Fernand sinks in to sex and promiscuity; his health and his grades suffer. There are rapes and other attacks ; the boys are expelled; some fail their baccalaureates. When Massias tells his cousin he l oves him, the other condemns him, saying: I was born normal, not every schoolboy is full of vice. He has read medical books in his father s library and understands what s wrong with Massias. He offers to take him to the doctor, but Massias defends his own point of view, citing Oscar Wilde, Jean Lorrain, Pierre Lou.s, Rachilde, Proust, Gide and Havel ock Ellis! During a night of drinking, Massias sleeps with his cousin. The book ends, after some further adventures, with Massias committing suicide. Once more, adolescent homos exuality is shown as the result of the corrupting influence of a misguided teaching estab lishment that fosters an unhealthy environment. The pupils have only two possible choices: to give themselves up to vice and sink into prostitution, or to die. Thus, in France and Germany, the school years left a sense of disillusionment. A dolescent loves left an aftertaste of betrayal, vice and guilt. Those who were confirmed homosexuals hardly wished to revive such memories; and those who turned to women , in adulthood, preferred to forget such wayward behavior. In England, by contrast, t he literature celebrates the adolescent years and definitively associates the cult of homosexu ality with that of the public school. The teen years are depicted as pure and free, an ideal of friendship that can never be found again. After the passionate attachments that formed at school, adult loves will always appear to lack the spontaneity and enthusiasm of youth. The cult of the public school was also widespread as regards girls. Starting in 1902, alumnae of Roedan would come back to the school on weekends; they d wear their old uniforms, and act as if nothing had changed. Other public schools would hold eve nts where the school anthem was sung and girls would talk over the good old days. A literature developed on this theme, as well, albeit to a lesser extent. Enid Blyton publish ed a dozen works on the subject.361 Angela Brazil had a successful series celebrating the days spent at public school.362 Her tales of friendship between schoolgirls, and some times teachers, include kissing scenes and na.ve jealousies. It is hard to say whether any readers identified with characters called Lesbia Ferrars or Lesbia Carrington, The Lady L avender, or were attracted by titles like A Terrible Tomboy.363 Gillian Freeman suggest t

hat although Angela Brazil s writing was based on her own memories of youth and person al experience, she was not conscious of the sexual implications of her novels. But, for the reader, the atmosphere of the schools seems heavily charged with eroticism and s entimentality. That thousands of readers saw themselves in such descriptions does indicate that , 361. One wonders why the novels of Enid Blyton were in such disrepute in France, in contradiction to her phenomenal success in the bookstore. This literature is centered around j ust one theme: life in autarky of children or teenagers (The Club of the five, The Clan of the seven, etc.). Police schemes serve as a pretext for a survey of adolescent mores, in a closed world, made up of secrets and codes. Even more striking are the scenes directly dedicated to life in boarding school (the Mallory School cycle, The Two Twins). In each book, exclusive relationships are formed that pro voke jealousies typical of love; relations between the girls are sensual, passionate. The subversive cha racter of this literature is obvious: it develops feelings in the reader which cannot be manifested in the French school system, which doesn't encourage the formation of a team spirit and the development of a homoerotic climate founded on admiration. 362. Gillian Freeman, The Schoolgirl Ethic. The Life and Work of Angela Brazil, London, Allen Lane, 1976, 159 pages; Rosemary Auchmuty, You re a Dyke, Angela! Elsie J. Oxenham and the Rise and Fall of the Schoolgirl Story, in Lesbian History Group, Not a Passing Phase. Reclaimin g Lesbians in History, 1840-1985, London, The Women s Press, 1989, 264 pages. 123

A History of Homosexuality in Europe however much real sexual activity was going on, such passionate attachments betw een girls were far from uncommon. The subversive aspect of these works cannot be ignored; these novels were very unpopular with school directors. In 1936, a novella about St. Paul s in London was severely denounced by the principal, Ethel Strudwick, who then announced at morn ing prayers that she would collect all the Angela Brazil books and burn them.364 Public school and the homosexuality that was implicitly linked to it took on mythic connotations in the English culture, gaining legitimacy and glorification . Christopher Isherwood accurately traces the process of idealization that occurs in adulthood , noting that gradually, in absolute secrecy, he started to develop a cult of the public school. Not that his own progress through school had been marked by anything particularl y romantic, heroic, dangerous, or epic. Rather, he concocted a fantasy in which he was an austere young professor called in unexpectedly to head up a bad house, surrounded by scornful detractors and declared enemies, and that he set himself to combat the delinquency and moral decay, severely repressing his own romantic feelings for a younger boy and, finally, triumphing over all the obstacles, having passed the test, and eme rged a 365 man. The myth and the idealization reach their climax in the imagination of Isherwood and his friend Edward Upward, then in his relations with W.H. Auden. With this l ast, he imagines heroic sagas, whose heroes would be the alumni of their school. For Aud en and Isherwood, adolescent sexuality is the referent, the ideal, and at the same time the symbol of an immaturity which they sought to preserve as long as possible: Their friendship was deep-rooted in the memories of schoolboys and the nature of their sexuality was adolescent. They had slept together, without roman ticism but with much pleasure, during the ten last years, every time the occasion prese nted itself, as they now did. They could not see themselves in quite the same terms as before, however, sex had brought an additional dimension to their friendship. They were aware of that and it bothered them, a little in fact, sophisticated adults were embarrassed by their sexual partners from school.366 Cyril Connolly also recalls how his experiences at school prefigured the rest of

his love life. At the age of 30, he looks back on his youth at St. Cyprian: The boy that I loved during my last three years at [school] was small, brunette, vigorous, good at sports... His type kept turning up throughout my life, giving me trouble... At t he age of 12, 363. In 1936, Lord Berners amused his friends in London by publishing a satire e ntitled Les Filles de Radclyffe Hall, by Adela Quebec. The book is a double parody: on the one hand , it describes relations between girls at a college, caricaturing the schemings of Angela Brazil, but in a spicier style; and the name of the boarding school is, obviously, that of one of the best known British lesbians: John Radclyffe Hall; and then, it proves to be a rigorously exact transposition of ev ents and relations in love concerning well-known homosexuals, notably Cecil Beaton and Peter Watson. C ecil Beaton actually succeeded in having nearly all the existing copies destroyed. See Hugo Vickers, Cecil Beaton, op. cit., and Adela Quebec, The Girls of Radclyffe Hall, printed for the author f or private circulation only, London, 1935, 100 pages. 364. Reprted by Gillian Freeman, The Schoolgirl Ethic, op. cit., p.19. 365. Christopher Isherwood, Lions and Shadows, op. cit., p.47-48. 366. Christopher Isherwood, cited by Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden, a Biography , London, Allen & Unwin, 1981, 495 pages, p.63. 124

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality the four types to which I was sensitive had already appeared.... the Faun, the R edhead, the Extreme Blond, and the Brunette Friend.367 When the boys separated, at the age of 18, they exchanged addresses and promised not to forget each other. They should not have worried on that score; they never forgot. Several years later Connolly went to the theater with a friend, and suddenly not iced a man with a ruddy face and a white moustache, and looked at him long and hard. In the taxi going home, he suddenly burst into tears, saying: At... school... he smelled ... of tangerines. 368 A symbol of lost youth, fleeting love, and vanished dreams, homosexuality thus became the ideal of a generation. The public schools contributed substantia lly to the creation of the myth. TWO GENERATIONS OF HOMOSEXUAL INTELLECTUALS In England, the cult of homosexuality was propagated by many intellectuals who, for the most part, had experienced public school life personally. When they went on to university, the high point of British homosexuality, it only reinforced their te ndencies. Their many personal accounts, in the form of novels or autobiographies, dissemin ated the mythical view of the 1920s as years of homosexual liberation, unique and never t o be repeated. The First Homosexual Generation: Precursors The first homosexual generation grew up at Cambridge, and then went on to form the Bloomsbury Club. This was a meeting ground for intellectuals who valued huma n relations and combated the Victorian spirit; they made themselves known by their militant pacifism during the First World War and their political, economic and moral libe ralism. This generation of intellectuals, born in the 1880s, played a central role in ch anging how homosexuality was looked upon in England. By 1919, they were the role models for the next generation. Cambridge and the Apostles For this first generation, Cambridge was the symbol of the cult of homosexuality . The majority of the professors encouraged male relationships, which they practic ed themselves more or less openly. A.E. Housman was a famous poet praising pedophile loves. Hi s poem, A Shropshire Lad (1896), was a kind of touchstone for homosexuals during the

inter-war period. The philosopher C.G. Broad expressed a clear penchant for Scan dinavians. D.A. Winstanley, a professor of Victorian history; Gaillard Lapsley, a medievali st; H.O. Evennett; F.A. Simpson; Andrew Grew; and the economist A. C. Pigou (who too k his prettier students along with him for hikes in the Alps); A.F. Scholfield, the li brarian; professor of ancient history F.E. Adcock; and, finally, the vice-chancellor himself, J.T. Sheppard, were also known. The most famous figure was Oscar Browning, professor of 367. Cited by H.Carpenter, The Brideshead Generation, op. cit., p.22. 368. Cited by John Gathorne-Hardy, The Public-School Phenomenon, op. cit., p.180 . 125

A History of Homosexuality in Europe history, tutor to E.M. Forster, and a former director of Eton, but who was fired in the wake of an enormous homosexual scandal.369 The tendency was appreciably the same among the students. It is fair to say that , from 1895 to approximately 1910, Cambridge was as idyllic a setting for homosexu als as Oxford was in the inter-war period. One observer noted that: in Cambridge there is, considering the nature of the business, an unusual number people of such a [homosexual] temperament, although they are not always consciou s of it; and I do not doubt that besides the relations between the young people themselves, relations of a personal nature with obliging professors may be the b est thing that Cambridge has to offer.370 However, whereas Oxford looked to the triumph of aestheticism and proclaimed the glory of homosexuality, Cambridge was characterized by its discreet toleranc e, good taste, and restraint. The students, if they were homosexual, regarded this prefe rence as an almost intellectual choice and very often kept their sexuality within a framewor k of asceticism and chastity. The adoration of boys was asserted as a philosophical i deal derived from the Greeks; it was idealized to the point of removing any sensualit y and any concrete sexual implication. These ideas had a lasting influence on the first ge neration which on the basis of such premises could defend homosexuality as a noble activi ty, an ideal of purity and abnegation as opposed to heterosexual debauchery and the shameless quest for pleasure. At the same time, this attitude did nothing to fac ilitate a liberation of morals; the ideas were tolerated but the acts were not. The first reflections on homosexuality were developed by those who went on to become the founding members of the Bloomsbury Club and who were, at the time, members of the Apostles, a secret society founded in 1820. Many of its members a re now famous: Bertrand Russell, Desmond MacCarthy, Leonard Woolf, Lytton Strachey, E.M . Forster, H.O. Meredith, Clive Bell, Thoby Stephen and J.M. Keynes. In addition t o intellectual concerns, most of the Apostles also shared a taste for boys. After Keynes was elected to join the Apostles, students came to be recruited more for their beaut y and charm (Arthur Lee Hobhouse) than for their intelligence (although Rupert Brooke combined both). Bertrand Russell noted that homosexual relations became common, whereas they hitherto had been unknown.371 A theoretical basis for homosexual love was developed in tandem with this new trend, and that was decisive in the expansion of the cult of homosexuality. Love of boys

was defined as the highest form of love (higher sodomy) that one could experienc e, women being inferior in body and spirit. E.M. Forster wrote, in Maurice, I feel t he same thing for you as Pipa for her fianc., only far nobler, deeper, more absolute; ne ither sensuality nor medievalism disincarnate, but a particular harmony of the body and soul of which I think women can have no idea. 372 Here, we find Platonic themes renewed, a n apologia for masculine relations that defines homosexuality as the final stage i n intel 369. Cited by Noel Annan, Our Age, op. cit., p.102. 370. Cited by John Gathorne-Hardy, The Public-School Phenomenon, op. cit., p.146 . 371. See Robert Skidelsky, J.M. Keynes, Hopes Betrayed, 1883-1920, London, Macmi llan, 1983, 447 pages. 372. E.M. Forster, Maurice [written in 1914], Paris, Christian Bourgois .diteur, 1987, 279 pages, p.97-98. 126

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality lectual and aesthetic development, the only choice for a man of taste. The Apost les theories were tinged with misogyny, which exasperated Virginia Woolf. While their influence was liberal, in the sense that they removed the shame from homosexuali ty, their actions were consistent with a conservative masculine and patriarchal framework. The Apostles tended to see a link between intelligence and homosexuality. The perception of homosexuals changed, little by little; and after the war, the new generation internalized this model and had no further qualms about asserting its homosexual ity as a positive thing. Deprived of female company and generally living in a closed world, students at Cambridge organized their life around male friendships. This helped them preserv e some sense of their childhood and isolated them from a world which they perceived as hostile. Swithinbank said that, at college, emotions and desires were directed almost exc lusively toward the male sex. [He] did not know anyone, in other words, who ever gave any thought to women. That does not mean that there was much sex ; that was looked down

on with a disapproval that was not entirely free of envy on the part of those wh o repressed their desires out of timidity or virtue.373 Sentimental friendships were the prevailing trend; homosexuality was more a myth that an act and the first generation certainly could not be accused of indulging in unfettered sexuality. The school years remained highly evocative in the homosexual imaginat ion; the final chapter of Maurice recreates that eternal nostalgia: To the end of his life, Clive was never sure of the exact moment when [Maurice] departed and, over the y ears, he came to doubt that he had ever left. The blue room radiated gently, the ferns undulated and, with Cambridge in the distant background, he seemed to see his friend makin g signs to him sign, haloed by the sun, among the confused rumor and the perfumes of the May trimester. 374 Bloomsbury March 1905 is the accepted date for the foundation of the Bloomsbury Club, since it was then that Vanessa, Thoby, Adrian and Virginia Stephen launched their Thursda y soir.es at 46 Gordon Square, in London. It is more difficult to pin down when th e Club dissolved, but we can date it to roughly 1931 (when Lytton Strachey died) to 193

4 (when Roger Fry died). It would be hard to draw up a complete list of the group s member s, for some maintained fairly loose ties throughout the entire period, and some took an active part for a limited time. Still, we can name the most essential active members: L eonard and Virginia (Stephen) Woolf, Vanessa (Stephen) Bell (her sister) and Clive Bell (Va nessa s husband); Adrian Stephen (their brother), Lytton Strachey, James and Marjorie St rachey, E.M. Forster, David Garnett, Desmond and Molly MacCarthy, Roger Fry, Duncan Gran t, Saxon Sydney-Turner, J.M. Keynes and Francis Birrell.375 The meetings were informal, friendly get-togethers to discuss painting, literatu re and life in general. The very idea of men and women discussing such things toget her freely was already avant-garde. But Bloomsbury also went on to develop a theory of sexu ality 373. Bernard Swithinbank, cited by R. Skidelsky, J.M. Keynes, op. cit., p.104. 374. E.M. Forster, Maurice, op. cit., p.279. 375. According to the list given by Quentin Bell in Bloomsbury [1968], London, W eidenfeld & Nicolson, 1990, 127 pages, p.15. 127

A History of Homosexuality in Europe and human relations which questioned the moral foundations of the Victorian Era. They were influenced by the Neo-Pagans, whose followers had been students with them i n the same colleges. Virginia Woolf had caught everyone s attention by skinny-dipping in a pond with Rupert Brooke at Cambridge and going camping with him without a chaper one. The influence of Edward Carpenter can also be felt. E.M. Forster had met Carpent er and Merrill at Millthorpe. According to Forster, Carpenter exerted a magnetic influence on him and Merrill, by touching his lower back, gave him a new erotic s ensation that left a lasting impression.376 They were up on all the latest sexual theories: Lytton Strachey, Virginia Woolf, Vanessa and Clive Bell had read and discussed Havelock Ellis; and all of them ha d felt the influence of G.E. Moore, whose book Principia Ethica would be used as the basis of their ideas. For Moore, state of mind was more important than action or achievements. Since love is generally considered a very positive state of mind, it becomes almost sy nonymous with a successful life (the good life). The innovative aspect of Moore s philosoph y lay in the difference he delineated between what is good from the human perspective and what is good from the moral perspective. This distinction was re-examined by Bloomsbury, which always put the human considerations first. Consequently, the C lub repudiated both politics and accepted sexual conventions as symbols of hypocrisy ; it replaced religion with skepticism; it rejected material success in favor of glor ifying art; and it rejected the ineluctability of the First World War by defending the pacif ist cause. Most of the men in Bloomsbury were homosexual and at least one woman, Virginia Woolf, had lesbian tendencies.377 Homosexuality could not have failed to be a fr equent topic of discussion. Bloomsbury promoted very free speech when it came to sexual ity, regardless of gender differences or any question of decency. Vanessa Bell noted that one could speak about intercourse, sodomy, fellatio or a cat, without raising any ey ebrows.378 And Virginia Woolf seconded her, saying that sexuality penetrated the conversati on regularly, with the word pederast coming up all the time; copulation was discussed with the same fervor and freedom as the question of what is good. 379 Virginia Woolf frequently complained about the superficial nature of certain meetings, where the men amused themselves describing their conquests in terms of visits to a urinal. Still, this freedom of language was revolutionary and, by taking aw ay the

shock value, by looking at homosexuality as a personal and not a social matter, Bloomsbury denied the dangers of perversion and the need to isolate homosexuals. The following generation took this teaching to heart. As Virginia Woolf saw it, There was nothing one could not say, nothing one could not do at 46 Gordon Squar e. It was a great progress in civilization. Pederast loves may not be a subject of par amount importance (if one is not a member of that brotherhood); but the fact that one c an mention them openly leads to the fact that there is nothing wrong with them if t hey are kept private. Also, many customs and convictions were revised. Indeed, the Bloom sbury 376. This encounter inspired him to write Maurice. Francis King, E.M. Forster, L ondon, Thames & Hudson, 1978, 128 pages. 377.Ottoline Morrell s daughter remembers that epoque in these terms: I do not reca ll ever meeting a man who was sexually normal at my mother s. 378. Cited by Robert Skidelsky, J.M. Keynes, op. cit., p.248. 379. Virginia Woolf, Instants de vie [1976], Paris, Stock, 1986, 273 pages, p.24 0-241. Virginia Woolf s remarks, in her Journals, cited by Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures: The Li fe of Stephen Tennant, London, Penguin, 1992, 463 pages, p.152. 128

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality that was to come would prove that one can play many variations on the topic of s exuality and with such happy results that my father himself would have hesitated before t hundering the single word he considered the only one appropriate for a pederast or an adul terer; which was: Scoundrel!380 But the tolerance was not only verbal in Bloomsbury. While the Club did not exactly consist of sexual anarchists, it was still very much the creator of an e xtremely relaxed way of life. Homosexuality or bisexuality was standard, accompanied by a frequent change of lovers or partner-swapping. Honesty of feelings took precedence over jealousy. Most members of Bloomsbury had extremely active and agitated sex lives , which they discussed among themselves in detail. Keynes, for example, had had several affairs at school (in particular with Dilwyn Knox, Bernard Swithinbank and A.L. Hobhouse), then he conceived a passion for Duncan Grant. Grant initially had been the lover of L ytton Strachey (who had, himself, coveted Hobhouse). Grant subsequently left Keynes fo r Hobhouse, then for David Garnett. The same David Garnett had had a fling with Keyne s, who then kept up a parallel liaison with Francis St. George Nelson (seventeen years) and Francis Birrell. Dora Carrington, who was in love with Lytton Strachey, married Ralph Partridge, with whom Strachey was enamored, and they lived together in an eterna l triangle. It is useless and basically impossible to draw an exhaustive diagram of the vari ous connections which linked the members of the group; but it is quite obvious that such nonconformity influenced young people like Christopher Isherwood who came to vis it. Even those who had less turbulent love lives all the same followed their inclina tions freely. E.M. Forster, who had been in love with H.O. Meredith in school, had his first sexual experience in India with Mohammed el-Adt, a tram driver; then, he had sev eral flings, in Alexandria especially; in London, he lived with a police officer, Bob Buckingham, for several years. Forster s example illustrates another aspect of the Bloomsbury message. Homosexual liberation must not to be limited to unbridled sexuality; the purity of homosexu al feelings must be confirmed. In Maurice, Forster expresses what thousands of boys had hitherto felt, without daring to acknowledge it: He vaguely visualized a face, h

e vaguely heard a voice saying to him: Here is your friend, and he awoke bedazzled a nd bewildered by tenderness. He would have been willing to die for such a friend, h e would have accepted that such a friend should die for him; they would have made any sa crifice for each other, not caring about either the world or death; nothing could have s eparated them, neither distances nor obstacles. 381 For this reason, Maurice can be regarded as the manifesto of a generation. Writt en in 1914, it was published only after Forster s death 1970. But the book circulated among homosexuals and was recognized as the expression of their desire to be free to f ully exercise their love. For the first time, male homosexuality was described withou t shame nor remorse and without either punishment or separation at the end of the road. T wo together can defy the world, that was the general idea.382 A new feeling had been born: pride. 380. Virginia Woolf, Instants de vie, op. cit., p.241. 381. E.M. Forster, Maurice, op. cit., p.22. 382. Ibid., p.149. 129

A History of Homosexuality in Europe At the end of the novel, Maurice and Alec give up their bourgeois life, their ca reers and their social aspirations, to live their love completely. This happy end, ful l of hope, nonetheless leaves the reader unsure. Maurice does not guarantee that their love will succeed; it merely heralds a new age where such a love will be possible. Also, t he message which Bloomsbury bequeaths to homosexuals is balanced, but rich in hope. It stre sses the importance of the individual and the sacred character of human relations. Only co nnect, wrote Forster: we must recreate the bond between the body and the soul, which Vi ctorian morals had so efficiently severed. By celebrating the wisdom of the body and the regenerative power of love, Bloomsbury opened the way to more radical combat. Ho mosexuality became the symbol of a generation. The Second Homosexual Generation: The Apogee To summarize the entire generation of the 1920s and 1930s in just three names ma y seem bold, but given the works of W.H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood and Stephen Spender, it may be justified. They embodied the common attitude of the intellect uals of their epoch,383 and that of most of the middle- and upper-class homosexuals as w ell.384 They described their experiences and their opinions in their novels (Isherwood), their poems (Auden), and their autobiographies (all three). The amount of dissimulatio n or alteration (even involuntary) of which their testimony might be accused is, in i tself, indicative of the era, its desires and its fears. In that, their accounts are irreplaceable . Christopher Isherwood was born in 1904, W.H. Auden in 1907 and Stephen Spender in 1909. The years 1919-1939 are those of their youth, their first sexual intercourse and , at least until 1933, of their exploration of Germany, which was to mark them deeply. For Bloomsbury, sexual nonconformity was closely tied to rejection of Victorian soci ety. The succeeding generation did not have this reference mark, and therefore it would b uild its design of homosexuality on new values. The Succeeding Generation The succeeding generation wanted above all to claim the legacy of Bloomsbury and in particular that of E.M. Forster, whom Isherwood met in 1932. My England is tha t of Edward Morgan, 385 he would say. Isherwood read Maurice. Although he was bothered by the use of certain euphemisms (to share, rather than to make love, for example), h e was

impressed and felt indebted to those who had fought these earlier battles for hi m. He credited Forster with the miracle of producing this novel in the age when it was written, the ability to get beyond the jungle of prejudices of the pre-war period and managing to express in words such inadmissible opinions. 386 And when Forster humbl y asked him what a member of the generation of the 1930s might think of Maurice an d whether he found the novel dated, Isherwood answered him: Why shouldn t it be 383. Noel Annan, Our Age, op. cit., p.98-135. 384.For anonymous homosexual testimonies, see Kevin Porter and Jeffrey Weeks (ed .), Between the Acts. Lives of Homosexual Men, 1885-1967, London, Routledge, 1991, 153 pages . 385. Christopher Isherwood, Down there on a Visit, London, Methuen, 1962, 271 pa ges, p.134. 386. Id., Christopher and his Kind [1929-1939], London, Methuen, 1977, 252 pages , p.99. 130

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality dated? 387 The book announced, indeed, that a happy ending is possible for homosex ual loves; thenceforth, it was only a question of proving it. The succeeding generation would take a more advanced position on homosexuality. It not only wanted to be frank about its homosexuality, it was proud of it. The sentiment was, Who wants to be encumbered with women? They re no fun. They think only of themselves. Our best moments were those that we spent together, weren t they?388 The issue was not to be able to advertise everywhere a practice that was still criminal in England, but to stop making a mystery of it. Auden s and Isherwood s fri ends and parents knew their inclinations. When their first works were published, some part of the well-read public also found out.389 Not content with admitting their homosex uality, the members of the rising generation aspired to change society. In Down There on a Visit, one of the characters describes, tongue in cheek, the kingdom which he hopes to found one day. There, he thought, it would be impossible to legalize heterosexuality right off the bat there would be too many protests. Maybe after twenty years or so, the resentment would die down. In the meantime, officials would close their eyes to heterosexua l acts committed in private; and there might even be special bars in certain parts of t own for people afflicted with such proclivities. Of course, care would have to be taken to protect innocent foreigners from straying in by mistake and getting upset by what they s aw. And for anyone who did wander in, in error, We will have a psychologist on hand to ex plain to him that such people exist, that it is not their fault, and that we must feel compassion for them and try to find a scientific means of reconditioning them. 390 From now on, homosexuals had only one battle to fight: their own. Anyone who refused to help them was regarded as an enemy. Isherwood commented that Girls are what the State and the Church and the Law and the Press and the Medical Professi on approve and command me to desire. My mother approves of girls, too. She silently , brutally asks me to marry and give her grandchildren. That is the will of Almost Everyone , and their will means my death. MY will is to live according to my nature, and to find a place where I can be what I am... But I must admit this even if my nature made m e like them, I would still fight them in one way or another. If boys did not exist, I w ould have to invent them. 391 From now on, homosexuals were a symbol of society s oppression of minorities. Homosexual liberation and the liberalization of morals became part o f a larger

game plan that questioned the domination of the middle-class. On the eve of the war, homosexuality became political.392 One of the first pillars of middle-class (i.e., patriarchal, conservative and auth oritative) morality to be called into question was the family. Auden s and Isherwood s relation s with their mothers were already strained. And then, they were constantly expressing their contempt for family, using one of their favorite weapons, deris ion, which they wielded against that respectability that is so dear to the bourgeoisie. One of the forms this would take was the factitious marriage, whose only purpose was politi cal. Auden married Erika Mann (daughter of Thomas Mann) in order to obtain a passport for 387. Ibid. 388. Christopher Isherwood to one of his friends, Waldemar, in Down there on a V isit, op. cit., p.156. 389. On this topic, see Norman Pittenger, Wystan and Morgan, in Gay News, n 156. 390. Christopher Isherwood, Down there on a Visit, op. cit., p.83. 391. Id., Christopher and his Kind, op. cit., p.17. 392. See Chapter Six. 131

A History of Homosexuality in Europe her to leave Germany; David Gascoygne did the same with a German girl named Ingr id, and John Hampson married Erika Mann s friend, the actress Therese Giese. But it was their unbridled sexuality that was the most severe attack on family values. While sentiment may not have been entirely absent, the search for partne rs specifically for sexual ends became more prevalent, and more open. Auden s behavior in this sense is typical: at Oxford, he would spend entire evenings downtown seeking par tners and, upon his return, he would treat his stunned but secretly envious friends to clinical accounts of the experience. He would report on the fellatio (his preferred form of sex) in detail, in order to liberate his audience, to show to them that the sense of gui lt can be overcome. Following his example, the new generation rehabilitated sexual pleasur e the greatest taboo still attached to homosexuality. However, it is difficult to free oneself from secular prejudices; while they were free in their attitudes, the new genera tion still had to fight doubt. Auden s position vis-.-vis his homosexuality was not always cl ear. In 1922, he fell in love with one with his comrades, Robert Medley, when he was 15 years old. In his public school, Gresham, the code of honor was very strict on this point; an d one may assume that at that time he was not completely sure of his feelings. From th en on, his detachment, even his cynicism, alternated with phases of remorse and doubt. In 1 927, he wrote that he still felt that there was something indecent in sharing homosexual relations. And even in 1933, he noted: Homosexuality is to a certain extent a bad habit, lik e sucking one s thumb. 393 In spite of these periods of depression, his concerns remai ned quite circumscribed and his friends saw him as the apostle of their liberation. Auden didn t feel at all ashamed or guilty about his sexual preferences. He felt guilty only on those occasions where, according to him, he had shown himself to be heartless, c ruel or negligent.394 In the 1970s, Christopher Isherwood would become a very active member of the homosexual liberation movement in the United States; he seems to have been actin g out of a guilty feeling that he should have done more during the inter-war period. I sherwood deeply regretted that he had not been more explicit in his first autobiographies and novels, had not publicly announced his homosexuality. Installed in Santa Monica, having lived to see the blossoming of the homosexual community in San Francisco, he set to

work to correct the errors of his youth and to analyze the homosexual experience s of the earlier days. Other members of his generation never really did come to terms wit h their condition and went as far as to repudiate it. Stephen Spender would complain of c hoking in this world of pederasts, and he ended up marrying, in 1939, when the homosexua l cult was over. Oxford Everyone in Oxford was homosexual at that time. 395 Such a generalization is undoubtedly exaggerated, but Oxford (much more than Cambridge) certainly went through a great period of homophilia between the wars. Since Oscar Wilde, the un iversity had always seen waves of effeminate young men, dressed in the fashions of the pr eceding century, posing in their rooms filled with blue porcelain. In the 19th century, Oxford s 393. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden, op. cit., p.105. 394. Norman Pittenger, Wystan and Morgan, loc. cit. 395. John Betjeman, cited by Noel Annan, Our Age, op. cit., p.113. 132

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality theatrical companies had made a specialty of farces featuring young men disguise d as women. However, after the war, No.l Annan noted that homosexuality has become normal. Evelyn Waugh is one of the more striking examples of the homosexual trend in Oxford in those days. Isaiah Berlin remembers having seen him on a settee of the Club of Hypocrites kissing a friend, and Christopher Hollis knew him to have had at leas t two major homosexual relationships, one with Richard Pares, the other with Alastair Graham.396 However, Waugh married upon graduating from the university and claime d, afterwards, to hate homosexuals. Nevertheless the implications of this universit y homosexual activity are undeniable.397 While homosexuality continued to be illegal under English law, it suddenly became the ideal for cultivated youth. The heterosexual poet Louis MacNeice comments that he discovered that, at Oxford, homosexuality and int elligence, heterosexuality and musculature went hand in hand. He remained an outsider, and turned to drinking. As in the public schools, homosexuality was encouraged by the relative restricti on of the students, who spent most of their time at the university. But in the inte r-war period, homosexuality was fashionable, too; it was a choice. Students could go i nto town, and some were known to pick up waitresses; moreover, there are female colleges a ffiliated to Oxford, which could have facilitated heterosexual relations. That such relati onships did not materialize can be attributed to the fact that heterosexuality carried n egative connotations, it was scorned as vulgar and degrading. One writer observed that, to run after the easy petticoat catalogued you irremediably. Romantic love affairs, eve n prudent physical experiments disastrous, preferably outside of the university and during the holidays were tolerated, and might even earn you a certain respectful considerat ion. But the mere mention of the female colleges that were already popping up in the univ ersity could render you ridiculous.398 In fact, the cult of homosexuality in Oxford is clearly linked to an omnipresent misogyny, a contempt for woman, born mainly of ignorance and fear. This educatio n given by men to men, without contact with any aspect of the female world, guaranteed t he cohesion of the elite, bonded by shared experiences and goals. From the day they entered public school, the pupils were encouraged to get rid of the only notable female influence that could block the educational process: that of the mother. The public school substituted

maternal protection by the protection of a bigger boy, with or without sexual co nditions, thus institutionalizing homosexuality to some extent. Upon their arrival at university, these boys had little desire to confront the female universe that wa s so deeply foreign to their rites and their childish myths. This public school past often h ad a strong influence on the sexual orientation of the students at Oxford; and to that a dis creet but 396. Christopher Hollis, Oxford in the Twenties, Recollection of Five Friends, L ondon, Heinemann, 1976, 136 pages; and Fran.oise du Sorbier (dir.), Oxford 1919-1939, Paris, .ditions Au trement, s.rie M.moires, n 8, 1991, 287 pages. The character of Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revi sited would be modeled on Alastair Graham (Evelyn Waugh, Return to Brideshead, Paris, Christian Bourgois .diteur, 1991, 429 pages). 397. Waugh himself admitted in an interview addressed to a specific public: Have you had homosexual experiences? Yes, first at school, and even later. You mean that you fell in love with another boy. But surely that happens frequently, when one is young. Yes, but the school years mark you for the rest of your life. I have always lived at the edge of homosexua lity, and I have always been influenced by it, (in Gay News, 14-27 June 1973). 398. J.M. Stewart, in Oxford 1919-1939, op. cit., p.23. Les femmes ont .t. admis es . Oxford in 1920; elles ne le seront . Cambridge qu in 1947. 133

A History of Homosexuality in Europe ongoing incentive was added. Graham Greene arrived at Oxford after going through Berkansted, a day school, and thus he had not imbued the homosexual culture of his comrades; he kept himself at a distance from these milieux, but he was conscious of the strangeness of his situation. Perhaps, he wrote, this was really just my naivety .... That never appealed to me or interested me . Evelyn Waugh used to tease me . He claimed that I had missed a lot by not going through a homosexual phase.399 As in the pu blic schools, homosexuality was encouraged by certain professors; at Oxford, professo rs F.F. Urquhart and Maurice Bowra were known for their talents as go-betweens. Bowra, f or example, having learned of Cyril Connolly s interest in Bobbie Longden, expressed his approval to him and let him know that his friend spent time in certain dubious p laces; he advised him to invite him along to an isolated spot on the Oxford campus. Anthon y Powell found that the university authorities were indifferent to homosexuality bu t disapproved of heterosexual interest. 400 The younger generation s attraction to homosexuality can be also understood as a reaction to their parent s generation, which had condemned Wilde and then kept sil ent on this type of subject. John Betjeman was corresponding with Lord Alfred Dougla s; his father found out and subjected him to a sermon along these lines: He said: You ha ve received letters from Lord Alfred Douglas. I could not deny it. Do you know what k ind of man he is?... He is a fag. Do you know what fags are? Fags are two men who pu t themselves in such a state of mutual admiration that one of the two sticks his prick up the other s bottom. What do you think of that? 401 Above all, homosexuality, as well as literature and art, would be used to distin guish a certain faction of the avant-garde, young people in the know, up on all the la test trends of modernity. Alan Pryce-Jones summarized the situation, saying: It was chic to b e a fag, the way it was chic to know a little something about dodecaphony or the Nude Des cending A Staircase by Duchamp. 402 At Oxford, indeed, homosexuality was not only a practice, it was also a way of s eparating the college into two mutually detesting clans: the heterosexual athletes (the hearties) and the homosexual aesthetes. Stephen Spender sums it up To them, my interest in poetry, painting and music, my lack of interest for sports, the ecce ntricity of my clothing and my personal appearance were signs of decadence.403

In fact, the aesthetes were pleased to accentuate the originality of their costu me and practiced affecting poses in response to what they regarded as the brutishne ss and the coarseness of the athletes. In this play-acting, one can distinguish the ori gins of a homosexual identity and a disguised rejection of the conformist bourgeois societ y. And Spender adds that he became affected, wore a red tie, cultivated friendships out side of the college, became a bad patriot, declared himself a pacifist and a socialist, a geni us. He hung reproductions of Gauguin, Van Gogh and Paul Klee paintings on the walls. An d when the weather was fine, he made a habit of sitting on a cushion in the courty ard, reading poetry.404 The athletes, for their part, painted an ironic and afflicted picture of those whom they regarded as degenerates. One of them recounts that when he met o ne of 399. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, The Brideshead Generation, op. cit., p.111. 400. Ibid., p.113. 401. Ibid., p.81. 402. Ibid. 403. Stephen Spender, World within World [1951], London, Faber & Faber, 1991, 34 4 pages, p.33. 404. Ibid. 134

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality them and asked him his name, the pretty young man answered: Fran.ois Capelle. In f act, his name was Frank Curtis. He wore a pink jacket, a tuxedo waistcoat and purple trousers, which was hardly common, even in those days. And when he asked him whi ch college he was going to, he said: My dear, I don t even remember, really. 405 The center of aesthetic and homosexual activity was the Club of Hypocrites, wher e young men danced together in spite of prohibitions. Evelyn Waugh explains that i ts members were known not only for their drunkenness, but also for the flamboyance of their costumes and their manners, which were in certain cases obviously homosexu al.406 The George Restaurant was also a meeting place for Oxford homosexuals during the inter-war period. The most flamboyant homosexuality at Oxford was embodied by tw o aesthetes, Harold Acton and Brian Howard, who had already been together in Eton from 1918 to 1922. Their homosexuality was aggressive, pretentious, and based primari ly on style, posing, effect. Similarly, their aestheticism was intended to be a philosop hy of life, a literary and artistic viewpoint, and not solely a sartorial caprice. Acton and Howard were at the avant-garde of an Oxonian aestheticism which strove to be in touch w ith the modern world and not locked up in a dusty fin-de-si.cle cult. In distinction to their comrades, who concentrated on cultivating their uniqueness while never venturing beyond their own rooms and by associating only with certain carefully selected people, they met enormous numbers of people and made a name for themselves through their social t alent and their journalistic or poetic writings, and they organized a propaganda campa ign for their movement. Martin Green describes them as children of the sun (Sonnenkinder) who refused to grow up after the war and who embodied all the adolescent arrogan ce at the heart of the Oxonian homosexual myth.407 Evelyn Waugh saw Brian Howard as an incorrigible homosexual, and his total lack of shame frightened him. The aesthetes made no mystery of their homosexuality, but it was not so much that as their affectat ions and the sense of their artistic superiority which earned them the hatred of the athl etes. And if the hostility between the two camps frequently led to the ransacking of the aest hetes rooms by tipsy athletes, it was more a means of defense against a lifestyle and sexual orientation that was beginning to submerge them than a witch hunt organized against the untouchables. Homosexuality may still have been under attack, but it was already recognized.

However, the climate of license and permissiveness often placed the university i n a difficult position. The scandals and the expulsion of certain pupils for offendi ng decency caused waves of hostility in the national press, which called Oxford a den of deb auchery and effeminates and implied that the majority of students were actually little wom en with made-up faces and precious gestures. 408 Between approximately 1930 and 1933, there was a sudden proliferation of writing s devoted to Oxford; some paint a severe portrait of a life characterized by lazin ess, drunkenness and vice, whereas others set out to defend, often apologetically, their dear Alm a Mater calumniated by philistines. In the first category, one may cite Oxford in the MeltingPot, by P.H. Crawfurth Smith, and Letter to Oxford, by T.E. Harrisson. The forme r does not 405. Sir Isaiah Berlin, in Oxford 1919-1939, op. cit. 406. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, The Brideshead Generation, op. cit., p.79. 407. See Martin Green, Children of the Sun: A Narrative of Decadence in England af ter 1918, London, Constable, 552 pages; and Harold Acton, Memoirs of an Aesthete [1948], reedited. , London, Hamish Hamilton, 1984, 416 pages. 408. Isis, 14 and 21 October 1925. 135

A History of Homosexuality in Europe refer directly to the students supposed homosexuality, but emphasizes the decaden t atmosphere of the university and the lack of virility in everything they do: Let me repeat that the entire atmosphere of Oxford is foreign to labour and to study. It is un healthy, it is superficial, it is saturated with sex. 409 Harrisson, for his part, establishes a clear distinction between Oxford, the place (which he venerates), and the students, who enjoy dishonoring this sanctuary of culture. In his chapter Oxsex, he focuses particular ly on homosexuality and paints an appalling picture of the students sex life, rife with masturbation and perversion.410 He links this phenomenon to the public schools (as he must): When one says Harrow, one says perversion. It is one of the principal by-product s of general public schools; and certain people are so seriously bitten that they never recover from a sexual hydrophobia [?]. Oxford is full of perverts at least 20%, in my opinion. That is not counting the masturbators, who are the British standa rd. Some of the more outstanding perverts learned their tricks at Oxford.411 [One ma y note that his inveighing against homosexuality is tinged with a vague argument against modernity and the cultivated elite:] Evenings for perverts are a charact eristic of the university. The details are not printable, but I hope to publish them soo n. Homosexuals and lesbians... flourish, particularly within the super-intelligents ia.412 Oxford alumni tried to clear their university of these attacks. Some, like Edwar d Thomas, in Oxford, stayed away from potential litigious subjects and contented t hemselves with ardent panegyrics, saying things like: What an incredible thing it is to be a student at the university of Oxford! Other than being a great poet or a financie r, there is nothing so absolutely fine available to a man! 413 Others employed all their talen t to defend the practice of homosexuality at Oxford. Terence Greenidge, in Degenerate Oxford?, in 1930, justified the basically homosexual life and feelings as a unique and en riching experience in a young man s life. He denounced the popular press for promoting sca ndals, asserting that it has already been mentioned that the popular press preferred th e athletes, and those are the students who are favorite heroes for the writers of magazine ar ticles, as well. 414 By contrast, the aesthetes were qualified as decadent and degenerate. Greenidge may have preferred the homosexuals, but he endeavored to play down the extent of homosexual practices at Oxford, bearing in mind the fact that rela tions between men (other than platonic) were illegal. He claimed that, in any event, r

omances at Oxford were often not pursued in any way that could generate conflicts with t he penal code, for the simple reason that the students were immature enough to see value in platonic affections. Strange things may occasionally occur, he acknowledged, among those who come from too emancipated a public school. And perhaps some among us have read Havelock Ellis and learned to see sex calmly and clearly.415 He even declined to speak about homosexuality, preferring the term Romantism. The attraction of a man for a man, I will call it Romantism. One word is always preferable to two the expressi on 409. P.H. Crawfurth Smith, Oxford in the Melting-Pot, London, The White Owl Pres s, 1932, 24 pages, p.22. 410. T.E. Harrisson, Letter to Oxford, Reynold Bray, The Hate Press, 1933, 98 pa ges, p.24. 411. Ibid., p.27. 412. Ibid., p.28. 413. Edward Thomas, Oxford, London, Black A. & C., 1932, 265 pages, p.103. 414. Terence Greenidge, Degenerate Oxford?, London, Chapman & Hall, 1930, 245 pa ges, p.40. 415. Ibid., p.90. 136

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality romantic friendship is too heavy, and I do not approve of s too sinister and suggests more than is at question. 416 homosexuality, for it seem

Greenidge finds three justifications for the Romantism at Oxford: the boys are beautiful, Oxford is so original a city that conventional frivolities with conven tional girls simply would not do, 417 and, finally, the authorities keep the two sexes separate : To invite coeds to take tea at the college is in any event too difficult... There a re always the complicated rules of chaperonage, and consequently one must invite a whole troop of girls or none at all. 418 As for the girls in town, it is far too dangerous to pursue a relationship with one of them to any degree whatsoever. The critics seem to keep an exact lis t of all the ladies of Oxford who could be suspected of entertaining romantic disp ositions. If you are seen speaking with one of these ladies, your university career is in danger. 419 Greenidge also describes the more or less apparent homosexual culture which reigned at Oxford. He mentions that the college magazines often published love p oems addressed to students. Like everyone, he recalls the athletes aggression of the a esthetes, the shouts You, dirty aesthetes, you love men, 420 but he is right to bring out the ambiguity of these relationships. Very often, indeed, an aesthete was in love wi th an athlete and the athlete admired the aesthete. Such complementary friendships cou ld be beneficial. Homosexuality then served as a cement between different individuals, different ways of thinking. It helped preserve the unity of the college, and in a certain way it is the very spirit of the school: Students who are not entirely lacking in person al charm and few are see no harm in lunching with one admirer, taking a long walk in the countryside with another, dining in some comfortable club at the university with a third and, perhaps, finishing the day with a whisky bottle in the company of a fourth. 4 21 Greenidge, in fact, hardly knows which side to take. He wants to defend Oxford against the charges of perversion, but he cannot deny the facts. Moreover, he is endeavoring to get the public to see the positive aspects of this peculiar feature in Oxonia n life, but without shocking sensibilities. That leads him to make some contradictions a nd compromises. Thus, he says that he is in favor of coeducation, as the only way to end Romantism; which he thus ends up exposing. In the last lines of his book his fragmented outlooks appears most clearly, in s entences

that recall the end of Maurice and that once again illustrate the permanent impr int left on a generation by these university years tinged with homosexuality: When I contemplate the arid years which I spent since I left Oxford, alone in this old and tedious Bloomsbury and trying without much success to become an important actor, I can only go on eternally playing the role of Cyrano de Berger ac, I can only go on eternally regretting my dead friend and my lost happiness. 422 And so, Oxford in the 1920s became a myth, the symbol of the triumph of homosexu ality in England. Alumni-turned-writers sought to describe the happiness of their yout h; examples include Christopher Isherwood s Lions and Shadows, Stephen Spender s World 416. 417. 418. 419. 420. 421. 422. 137 Ibid. Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., p.95. p.96. p.97. p.92. p.105. p.245.

A History of Homosexuality in Europe within World and, especially, Evelyn Waugh with Brideshead Revisited the book th at most successfully disseminated the mythical image of Oxford as a homosexual paradise. Waugh captures the very essence of Oxford, the romantic passions (between Charle s Ryder and Sebastian Flyte), the unrestrained aestheticism and flamboyant homosex uality (Anthony Blanche) and the nostalgia for adolescence (embodied by Aloysius, the t eddy bear that Sebastian refuses to leave). Beyond the idyllic picture of a place tha t a whole generation would struggle to regain, he offers us a life-like description of hom osexual life in those years. Love comes first and foremost,423 and the rivalry between the at hletes and aesthetes is reported with humor,424 but homosexual pride in particular is displ ayed for all to see with panache, irony and lubricity. The character of Anthony Blanche,425 facetious and extravagant, allows Evelyn Waugh to describe with a great flourish the cult of homosexuality that suffused the Roaring Twenties: At the age of fifteen, to win a bet, [Anthony Blanche] allowed himself to be dressed as a girl and taken to the big gaming table at the Jockey-Club in Buenos Aires; he had occasion to dine with Proust and Gide, and knew Cocteau and Diaghilev wel l. Firbank sent him his novels, embellished with enthusiastic dedications; he cause d three inextinguishable vendettas in Capri, practiced magic at C.phalonie; got in to drugs and underwent detoxication in California, and was cured of an OEdipal comp lex in Vienna.426 This passage touches all the literary and society landmarks of the homosexual world in the inter-war period. Homosexuality, for the elite, was more than a sex ual proclivity; it was a style, a way of life. In a scene where he is confronted by the athletes, Anthony Blanche shows his tot al lack of inhibition, his lack of complexes, and his natural affirmation of his ho mosexuality and ends up defeating his adversaries: He was approached by a horde of some 20 young people of the worst kind, and what do you think they were chanting? Anthony, we want Anthony Blanche, in a kind of litany. Have you ever seen anyone declare himself so, in public?... My ver y dear fellows, I said to them, you resemble a band of very undisciplined lackeys. Then on e of them, a rather pretty bit, honestly, accused me of sins against nature. My dea r, I

said to him, it may be that I am an invert, but I am not insatiable, even so. Com e back and see me some day when you are alone. 427 The character of Anthony Blanche428 embodies the cult of homosexuality; confront ed by a hostile or disconcerted society, the invert no longer hides his true nature. Once more, the contrast with the neighboring countries is great. In France, for example, there was no establishment that could entertain the myth that homosexuality was intel 423. For me, life at Oxford began with my first meeting with Sebastian, (Charles R yder s confession in Return to Brideshead, op. cit., p.35). 424. Stephen Spender describes similar episodes, in World within World, op. cit. , p.34; as does Christopher Isherwood, Down there on a Visit, op. cit., p.93. 425. He might be compared to the character of Ambrose Silk, in Down there on a V isit. 426. Evelyn Waugh, Return to Brideshead, op. cit., p.61. 427. Ibid., p.64-66. 428. Evelyn Waugh based this character on Brian Howard. 138

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality lectually superior, the way Oxford and Cambridge did.429 Of course, there are so me personal accounts reporting on homosexual experiences in the universities, but they are individual cases which one cannot equate with a widespread social phenomenon. Da niel Gu.rin describes drinking with a good-looking neighbor who was a fellow student at the Saint-Cyr Military Academy and the rough-housing, pillow fights and wrestling th at verged on more, and the arousal that resulted.430 The teacher training colleges were strongly associated with homosexual conduct, and sometimes they were presented as hotbeds of lesbianism. Thus, in Claudine in Paris (1902), Ana.s continues her exploits and describes how it is done: Nothing specia l, she is with a third year student...As you know, the dormitories are composed of two lines of open cubicles, separated by an alley for monitoring . Ana.s found a way to go and find Charrelier almost every night, and they were never caught. 431 The Advanced Teacher Training School of S.vres was also supposed to be a breeding ground of homosexual friendships. Several old novels mention it, includ ing Les S.vriennes (1900), by Gabrielle Reval, and Jeunes filles en serre chaude (1934) by Jeanne Galzy. L Initiatrice aux mains vides (1929), by the same author, presents the emotional v acuum that overcomes a young educator, once her school career is finished. The years spent at S.vres come to seem like an enchanted time, where hopes could still flourish. Antoine Prost points out that these girls were in a very uncomfortable situation , in any case: the young high school graduates disembarked in a provincial town where there was nobody to welcome them. Their dubious status kept them apart from the townsp eople, who viewed them with suspicion because of their independence and their culture. Only strong personalities could survive there, without sinking into depression. Simone de Beauvoir, having been appointed to a school in Rouen, was the object of attentio n for a number of her pupils, in particular one Olga Kosakiewicz, a 17-year-old White Ru ssian who would go on to become Sartre s lover. In 1936, in Paris, Simone de Beauvoir and Olga went to bars for women and posed as lesbians, even while denying there was any erotic component to their relation ship.432 However, they are a special case, and not very appropriate for generalization; t heir example is not enough to show that the university years could claim to be a deci sive moment in the process of forming one s identity nor to have much to do with spread ing a

cult of homosexuality in youth. Conversely, for many English students, Oxford of fered a real environment of homosexual freedom; Evelyn Waugh says that during those year s he experienced an extreme homosexual phase which, for the short period that it laste d, was without constraint, emotionally and physically. 433 Former students retained trace s of their youthful experiences. Cyril Connolly has described the mentality of this n ew English elite as adolescent, with a spirit of school [camaraderie], affected, co wardly, sentimental and, in the final analysis, homosexual. 434 429. In 1921, a pacifist bulletin, La Jeune Europe, published by some students i ncluding Pierre Brossolette, was banned after the third edition because of an article on homosexuality in boa rding schools. In fact, the kind of relations with girls that was acceptable in the sc hool from 1924 onward recall those of the Oxford students with regard to women s colleges: coldness and mistrust. See JeanFran.ois Sirinelli, G.n.ration intellectuelle, Paris, PUF, 1994, 720 pages, p.21 2. 430. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.155. 431. Colette, OEuvres compl.tes, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1984 , t.I, 1686 pages, p.323. 432. See Deidre Bair, Simone de Beauvoir, Paris, Fayard, 1991, 854 pages. 433. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, The Brideshead Generation, op. cit., p.124-125 . 139

A History of Homosexuality in Europe However, real homosexuals understood very quickly upon their departure from the university that they did not have any place yet in England. In their quest f or new pleasures and freedom, they sought a place that would welcome them. Hints and echoes reported by friends returning from holidays, or something read in the scandal sh eets, gave them reason to think that happiness lay in Germany. From this point until 1933, the history of English homosexuality would follow the German model. Escape to Germany For Christopher, Berlin meant boys.435 Germany is the only place for sex. England isn t worth a thing.436 In homosexual mythology, foreign lands have always held a great fascination. The y seem to offer men who are often considered pariahs in their native land the poss ibility of escape or rebirth. It is simply easier to enjoy a satisfactory sexual experience abroad, where the weight of social strictures seems more distant. For this reason, the c olonies became very fashionable at the end of the 19th century. This probably originated with the military: France s Africa Army was famous for its homosexual practices, symbolized at the highest level by Marshal Lyautey. By the same token, many of the imperial procon suls of the English colonial army married extremely late (like Milner, Layard, and Baden Powell), or not at all (like Rhodos, Gordon, and Kitchener). Most of them were s urrounded by a circle of favorites. Similarly, explorers like Stanley and Edward Eyre alwa ys chose young men to be their companions on each expedition. This phenomenon was not limited to the army. The lure of the exotic, and the rumors (strongly colored with colonialist attitudes) of willing natives, contrib uted to making the colonies seem like safe and discreet homosexual paradises. A French b ook, L Amour aux colonies (Love in the Colonies) (1932), by Anne de Colney, describes h ow easy homosexual relations were in certain regions. First, the Asian countries: Pederas ty, an exceptional act in Europe, is accepted in Chinese mor.s as well as prostitution and opium, and that at all levels of the social caste. This characteristic is explain ed by resort to racist theories. Thus, the Annamite is a civilized old man, who has all the fl aws inherent in a refined mind. This kind of justification fended off any reproach wi th regard to Europeans practicing sexual tourism and taking advantage of their dominant po

sition. Asia did not have a monopoly on homosexuality. The Arab is a born pederast. 437 This type of talk found an echo with certain homosexuals, who developed the myth of foreign lands that were open to homosexuality. Often, a stay in the colonies see ms to have been a revelation. J.R. Ackerley, who was posted to Bombay in 1923, noted that t he court of the Maharajah was the scene of homosexual orgies. These discoveries led him to berate his own country for its sexual hypocrisy, noting that he liked to see men and boys holding hands when they walk, or standing with their arms around each other s shoulders, [as he had also seen in Egypt and in other Mediterranean countries]. But the 434. Ibid., p.443. 435. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and his Kind, op. cit., p.10. 436. Stephen Spender, Le Temple [1929], Paris, Christian Bourgois .diteur, 1989, 310 pages, p.24. 437. Anne de Colney, L Amour aux colonies, Paris, Librairie Astra, 1932, 214 pages, p.14, 45 and 92. 140

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality English would find that unmasculine in the extreme (or worse); and, he hinted, t he Scots were still more hopeless.438 Those who were caught up in a scandal in their country of origin tended to retre at to the colonies. Robert Eyton, vice-chancellor of St. Margaret s, Westminster, exi led himself to Queensland in 1900 after a major scandal.439 In the 1930s, two-thirds of the men posted to Malaysia were homosexual. Many were indicted after a Chinese male prostitute spilled the beans; deportations and two suicides followed.440 Tangier also attra cted many visitors in the 1930s Bohemian intellectuals and homosexuals. Stephen Tenna nt explains this fascination for the city that symbolizes exoticism and expatriatio n. It is curious, he says, but here so close to Spain just thirty miles away the sea is warmer, and the sun is burning. The spirit of Africa, which one breathes, which radiates in the streets which is exhaled by the ground and the sidewalks, is strangely pl easing to me.441 Homosexual tourism was born in the colonies. For the foreigner, everything was easier: the fear of being recognized disappeared, and legislation could not reac h him. The exoticism of the place added to the eroticism of the situation. Gide eulogized t hese easy relations. There were boys all over, blossoming in the sun, with gilded skin, ma rvelously complaisant, always available, free of prejudices and inhibitions.442 Boys were passed from hand to hand. In the company of Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, Gide discove red that the trade in boys was organized for the purpose of satisfying demand from f oreign visitors; one wonders whether he really was unaware that this was prostitution i n disguise, that he believed in the spontaneity of the boys who were offered to him.443 In I f It Die and AMYNTAS: North African Journals, money is never mentioned. However, tipp ing or baksheesh was commonplace and pederasty is directly associated with those who have money. The colonizer, in his financial superiority, is sure to obtain satisfacti on one way or another; consequently, he goes out of his way to show that money plays no part i n his relations. The reader himself loses his faculty of judgment and Gide is an accom plice in that, for he makes a show of his weaknesses, his shortcomings, his hesitations. But, while he may question his sexuality, he never doubts his choice of partners. Like Gide, Montherlant evokes life in Algiers as a continuous source of sexual

adventure. He tours the Jardin d Essai, and Bab-el-Oued, and goes to the cinema lo oking for yaouleds, Arab adolescents, whom he renames with his liking: The Thorny Rose of Blida, Jasmine of Belcourt, Gen.t of M.d.a, He who opens the doors of the sky. According to Montherlant, the North African colonials came to fulfill their fant asies in Algiers for all sorts of reasons: there was the French dream : to conquer, control, exploit; the artistic dream : dancers, jasmine, young men; and the human dream : assimilation, justice, fraternity.444 438. Cited by Peter Parker, A Life of J.R. Ackerley, London, Constable, 1989, 46 5 pages, p.74. 439. Ronald Hyam, Empire and Sexuality: The British Experience, Manchester, Manc hester University Press, 1990, 234 pages. 440. Ibid., p.109. 441. Cited by Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures, op. cit., p.295. 442. Andr. Gide, Si le grain ne meurt [1926], reedited., Paris, Gallimard, coll. Folio, 1986, 372 pages. 443. See on this subject H.di Khelil, Sens, jouissance, tourisme, .rotisme, arge nt dans deuxfictions coloniales d Andr. Gide, Tunis, .ditions de la Nef, 1988, 172 pages. 444. Cited by Pierre Sipriot, Montherlant sans masque, t.II, .cris avec ton sang , 1932-1972, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1990, 505 pages, p.30. 141

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Beyond the colonial experience, the Mediterranean countries were attractive in general. There again, the place is idealized, made legendary. Italy was particul arly celebrated, by E.M. Forster and others; his novels, like A Room with a View, contrast an Ita ly bathed in sunlight, open to love, to an England that is Puritanical, sad, and da rk. But the context remains strictly heterosexual. It was in his novellas, many of which wer e published only posthumously, that Forster expands on the idea of Italy as a homosexual par adise. 445 Like the colonies, Italy was often selected as an adoptive homeland after variou s scandals drove one out of his country of origin. Douglas Norman, a friend of J.R . Ackerley, had been convicted of committing a moral offense on a sixteen-year-old minor; he exiled himself to Florence, where he could satisfy all his inclinations freely. J.R. Ac kerley, who had barely disembarked from England, was flabbergasted to hear Norman s descriptio n of the young waiter standing before them, with the invitation, When can you join us? 4 46 Ackerley visited Florence, accompanied by an Italian guide who was a friend of Douglas Norman, Giuseppe Pino Orioli, J.R. Orioli claimed that the Florentines wor e gabardine trousers with the aim of displaying their attributes, and one of his f avorite games was to stare at a young man, raising his gaze from the trousers to the fac e, with the aim of obtaining an erection. However, while the lads were often obliging, they did not wish to embark on a serious relationship: after a night with his lover (who swor e eternal fidelity), Orioli followed him and discovered that he went into a brothel. Colonial and Mediterranean loves relate more directly to the first homosexual ge neration, that of Wilde, Gide, and Forster.447 They preserve strong elements of Victoriani sm, especially with regard to their sexual choices: the object of desire is a young adolescent, even a child. Moreover, the relations are always venal, and the soci al and economic superiority of the visitors is constantly asserted. In Germany, the second homos exual generation began to go with their own peers, with males of the same age, without the contrast of exoticism or any other clear differentiation. The young lover wa s no longer inferior, even if money continued to play a part since the lovers were often male prostitutes or working boys who tacitly agreed to be being kept. Even more important, young Germans represented the former enemy. Therefore, sexual liberation was min gled

with social provocation. In this sense, escaping to Germany played a major role in the process of homosexual assertion. So Germany, too, seemed like paradise to the English homosexual. Artistic innova tions could be enjoyed along with the pleasures of the sun, flirtation, and sex. At le ast until 1933, Berlin was hot and became a very fashionable place. Charlotte Wolff, a doctor and lesbian, noted: Berlin, with its reputation as the most permissive city in Euro pe, had become a paradise for homosexuals. They came from all over the world, but partic ularly from England, to enjoy a freedom which their own country denied them. 448 By the e nd of the 1920s, a number of homosexual intellectuals, writers and artists were stayin g there, inter alia Christopher Isherwood, Brian Howard, W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Mic hael and Humphrey Spender, T.C. Worsley, Francis Bacon, Wyndham Lewis and John 445. See for example Un instant d .ternit. et autres nouvelles, Paris, Christian B ourgois .diteur, 1988, 305 pages. 446. Peter Parker, A Life of J.R. Ackerley, op. cit., p.55. 447. Si le grain ne meurt, written in 1919, partially published in 1921 and in i ts entirety in 1926, relates events that happened as early as 1893. 448. Charlotte Wolff, Hindsight, London, Quartet Books, 1980, 312 pages, p.72. 142

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality Lehmann. Isherwood lived there uninterruptedly from 1929 to 1933. Stephen Spende r spent six months a year in Germany between 1930 and 1933. Hamburg and Munich were also homosexual meeting grounds. Germany is surrounded by a mythical aura that quickly extended beyond specific locations. The publicit y for Isherwood s second book, The Memorial (1932), plays up this sinful reputation: In the deliciously prohibited world of Berlin of 1928, a World War aviation ace fin ds love in the muscular arms of his German lover. 449 Germany was an eye-opener for English homosexuals. Isherwood says that his first visit to Berlin was short, a week, ten days but sufficient; it was one of the de cisive events of [his] life.450 They discovered that they were not alone, but belonged to a world community that was standing up for its rights. A visit to the Hirschfeld Institu te was a revelation for Isherwood. For the first time, he saw his tribe. Hitherto, he had a cted as if homosexuality were an intimate way of life that he and his friends had discovere d for the first time. Coming from a privileged background and having lived until then in a restricted circle, he discovered how Hirschfeld was fighting for the abolishment of 175, the help he was providing for men who could not express their sexuality, and the hostility to which many were subjected by the Nazi Party. Once he overcame his initial res erve, Isherwood, like many others, took up the cause and joined the nascent homosexual movement.451 But Germany was not only the battlefield where this conflict was being played ou t, it was a playing field in general. Post-war England still found it difficult to throw off its Victorian prejudices, but in Germany the body was coming into vogue. Stephen Spe nder discovered sun worshipping there: the naked body, healthy, shamelessly exposed. According to him, the sun was one of the primary social forces in Germany. Nudity is the democracy of the New Germany, the Weimar Republic. 452 The heroes of the time were the naked, bronzed boys basking in the sun around the public swimming pools, or along the lakes and rivers. The sun had healed the war wounds, and that made them even more conscious of the beauty and the frailness of the body. The idea of sin seems to have been dissipated by memories of the great inflation of 1923; the only goal now was to live from day to day and to take advantage of what is free: sun, water, friendship and bod

ies. But it was not easy for these Englishmen to meld into this universe free from prejudice s. Spender, for example, remarked that at first he was so nervous, so inhibited and complexed by his physique that it kept the young Germans from behaving with him as they did among themselves. However, he soon blended in, and found that all one had to do was undress. 453 In Germany, English homosexuals found both repose and exhilaration. In a country where homosexuality was seen as natural, they no longer had to hide or, converse ly, to show off; in the many entertainment spots that were offered, they learned of the existence of a whole homosexual lifestyle, conceived solely for male pleasure. They discov ered easy sex and love expressed in broad daylight. There was a compete confusion of value s and 449. Cited by Paul Fussell, Abroad, British Literary Travellers between the Wars , Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1980, 246 pages. 450. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and his Kind, op. cit., p.10. 451. According to anecdote, Isherwood visited the Hirschfeld Institute with Gide , who seems not to have apreciated the display of clinical cases. 452. Stephen Spender, Le Temple, op. cit., p.65. 453. Id., World within World, op. cit., p.109. 143

A History of Homosexuality in Europe nothing was really important. The boys looked feminine, the girls took on a masc uline allure and the sex of one s partners didn t matter: I was grabbed by the waist, by t he neck, I was kissed, embraced, tickled, with my clothes half off, I danced with g irls, boys, two or three people at the same time. 454 Lasting passions were born, between Isherwood and Heinz, Spender and Joachim, Auden and Pieps, Brian Howard and Toni. The Englishmen were fascinated by the be auty, the strength, the gleaming health of these boys, and also by their ease. In thei r novels and their autobiographies, they would try to express the admiration and desire that they inspired in them.455 The German boys appeared to be something right out of a hom osexual fantasy: 16 or 17 years old, tanned, with longish blond hair. They seemed like h ooligans with disarming smiles, and beneath their innocent airs they hid considerable experience. They were very proud of their bodies, which they built up by various exercises and which they liked to show off in rough-housing. The English male submerged himself in this physical force, from which he drew an energy that he was lacking . In the confrontation of these bodies, two nations met and understood each other briefly . The Germans had strength; the English had will. Otto is only a body, Peter is only a head. Otto moves with fluidity, without effort. His gestures have the wild, unconsciou s, grace of an elegant and cruel animal. Peter [has only a] will . 456 But Germany was more than sun and s sensations far less innocent than pederasts. There are 170 male brothels under een a rugby player and Josephine Baker. water, and Berlin was reputed to offer visitor these vacation pleasures: Berlin is a dream for

police supervision . [My friend is] a cross betw D.H. Lawrence would pass for a choir boy. I am

covered with bruises. 457 The young Englishmen sometimes had trouble recognizing t hat they were dealing with male prostitutes, they created such a friendly and conviv ial relationship: Either Heinz did his job very well, or he sincerely liked me. We spent ten days happy together making a tour of the city and going out on excursions oh, German excursions! to the surrounding lakes. 458 The relationship was in fact very simple : I like sex and Pieps likes money; it is a good exchange, W.H. Auden would soberly observe. There was also an element of danger, and that rendered this form of sexual pleas ure more exciting: John Layard is quoted as describing his friend Wystan as liking to be mistreated a little : It happened once in my room. It started with a pillow fight, but ended

up with fists; then they made love. Wystan did not much like to be seen this way .459 For T.C. Worsley, and for other homosexual English who never or almost never had sexual intercourse in their home country, the German male prostitutes were a godsend and a revelation. He says that:

454. Christopher Isherwood, Mr Norris Changes Train [1935], London, Chatto & Win dus, 1984, 190 pages, p.48. 455. Ibid. 456. Id., Adieu . Berlin [1939], Paris, Hachette, 1980, 246 pages, p.99. 457. W.H. Auden, cited by Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden, op. cit., p.90. On the nature of prostitution in Berlin, see Chapter One. 458. T.C. Worsley, Flannelled Fool, op. cit., p.130. 459. John Layard, cited by Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden, op. cit., p.90. 144

An Inversion of Values: The Cult of Homosexuality one could judge [his] lack of experience by the surprise, the skepticism that h e showed, when one of [his] colleagues . [told him] that there were places in Germa ny Munich for example where boys offered their services for a modest sum. Guys who gave out! Did such a thing really exist? [He] arranged to leave for Germany for the upcoming holidays.460 Distance, combined with the liberal attitude and the skill of the German boys, g ot them over their own taboos. The English intellectuals initiated sexual nomadism. W.H. Auden, for one, started to draw up suggestive lists in his journal.461 When Hitler put an end to the liberal and carefree Germany of the Weimar Republic in 1933, English homosexuals cherished the memory of practices and sexu al experiences which they decided to continue in their own country: After Berlin, ev erything was different. 462 At the same time, they were unable to be reconciled with their home country and become perpetual travellers and refugees. Isherwood, Howard, Spender, John Lehmann, Auden were eternally uprooted, drifting from one country to another to preserve a sexual freedom that was, in fact, nonexistent even in thei r new adoptive homes. When Heinz, Isherwood s lover, was arrested in 1933 by the Nazis a nd convicted of perverse sexual practices, he was accused of having committed repre hensible acts with his friend in fourteen different countries, in addition to Germany. The future of the English homosexual struggle was forged in the German crucible, through the experiences of an adventurous youth whose hours of happiness were al l the more precious since they were halted by repression and the war. Germany thus has its place in the cult of homosexuality which defines the years 1919-1933. To the myt hic dimension, it added the joy of liberation fully experienced, which proved that h omosexuality was not universally condemned to secret nor to frustration. The role Germany played in the homosexual consciousness is understood more intuitively through the homage paid by W.H. Auden in six of his poems. Despite h is poor command of the language, he wrote most of them in German; they evoke the Berlin caf.s, the one-night stands, and the holidays in the sun with eroticism and tenderness, and humor: Es regnet auf mir in den Schottische L.nde Wo ich mit Dir nie gewesen bin

Man redet hier von Kunst am Wochenende Bin jetz zu Hause, nicht mehr in Berlin So kommt es inner vor in diesen Sachen Wir sehen uns nie wieder, hab dein Ruh:

Du hast kein Schuld und es ist nichts zu machen Sieh immer besser aus, und nur wenn Du Am Bahnhof mit Bekannten triffst, O dann 460. T.C. Worsley, Flannelled Fool, op. cit., p.124. 461. The boys I had in Germany: 1928-1929: Pieps/ Cully/ Gerhard/ Herbert/ an unk nown transient/ a stranger from [the name of the bar is illegible]/ a stranger in Cologne/ stran ger from [the name of the bar is illegible]/ Otto/I regret [name illegible]. He wasn t nice and was very dirty. The others were great (cited by Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden, op. cit., p.97). 462. Christopher Isherwood interviewed in Gay News, n 126. 145

Als Sonntagsbummelz.ge fertig stehen Und Du einstigen willst, kuk einmal an Den Eisenbahn die dazwischen gehen. Sonst, wenn ein olle Herr hat Dich gekusst Geh mit; ich habe nichts bezahlt; Du must.463 * * * Ronald you know, is like most Englishmen, By instinct he s a sodomist but he s frightened to know it So he takes it out on women.464 The cult of homosexuality was an original and complex phenomenon that concerned primarily the British male elite. Women had little part in it and one cannot tru ly speak of a cult of homosexuality in France and Germany, even though traces of qu asiinstitutionalized homosexual activities may exist. It is very difficult to analyze this phenomenon. First of all, it testifies to t he sexual liberalism that began to be seen after the First World War. The death of thousan ds of young men on the battlefields traumatized the cadets, who set about celebrating the beauty of their school-fellows and reveling fully in the hallowed years of their adolescence. The works of the Bloomsbury intellectuals and the second generation, that of Auden, allowed more open discussion of sexual questions; homosexuality was no lo nger taboo and, in certain sectors of society, it was no longer accompanied by shame and remorse. The cult of homosexuality made it possible for many homosexuals to expr ess their sexuality more freely, without fear of being stigmatized and rejected. A w hole generation became familiar with this sexual practice; it would be more tolerant and more understanding. The compelling experiences of youth would render unacceptable to the adult those prejudices based on ignorance and fear. Nevertheless, limits to the tolerance were clearly perceptible: outside of a restricted and protected milieu, the British homosexual, even if he came from th e elite, was at the mercy of the dictates of society, and that explains why they fled to Germany. We must not exaggerate the changes taking place in British society. While the cu lt of homosexuality had to do with a greater sexual freedom, it was also a symptom of an identity crisis among the English youth, which sought to disavow the Victorian g eneration

that generated the war and to establish a new values system. The boys lived in a closed environment, all male, and that was their only frame of reference. Woman was an unknown being, almost an enemy imposed by society s morals. Homosexuality was 463. Septembre 1930. Literal translation: It rains on me in the Scottish lands/ W here we were never together / One speaks of art here at the weekend, / I am at home. I am not anymore in Berlin. / / It always happens like that in these matters / We will never meet again, be calm : / You ve done nothing wrong and there is nothing to do/ Become more and more handsome, and onl y / / If you meet some friends at the train station, oh then / When the Sunday buses are ready to leave / And you want to get on, watch / The big trains that go between them. / / Otherwise, when an o ld gentleman kisses you / Leave with him; I didn't have to pay. Go ahead. 464.D.H. Lawrence, Pansies.

touted as a sexuality of subversion, a sexuality that could be substituted for t he patriarchal model; it was a fraternal sexuality that protected its members and created unbreakable bonds. It was also a rebellious adolescent sexuality that disputed a nd destroyed. Outside the mainstream and proudly so, it could not really contribute to any lasting transformation of British morals, but it did secretly wear away at their foundations. In its sexual dimension, the cult of homosexuality must be considered as the pro ud assertion of a difference finally assumed; but it must also be understood as the symbol of a total rejection of society, a deeply political act. The inversion of moral value s and bourgeois traditions presaged more radical upheavals, like the turn to communism on the pa rt of certain homosexual intellectuals.465 The years of homosexual liberation can be summarized in the impressions of an American writer who lived in France, Julien Green. He experienced both the Anglo -Saxon and Latin trends. In an American university he saw the equivalent of a cult of h omosexuality, or in any case the diffusion of a liberal homosexual model. His literary activit y brought him into contact with the French homosexual elite, while his travels in Germany brought him experiences similar to those of the British homosexuals. His mixed c ultural background kept him from identifying with any particular milieu; and he constant ly tried to reinterpret his experiences in the light of Catholicism. All the homosexual h opes and illusions of the inter-war period show in him. Klaus Mann summarized this comple x personality in his journal: ...it is astonishing how he keeps any hint of his private life fr om creeping into his books; he maintains a strict compartmentalization: There is ano ther Me who writes my works. To recover, he writes homo texts every day. [He is] incredibl y passionate and at the same time [has a] cold relationship with all that is sexua l . He shows me pornographic works by Tchelitchev: heroic pyramid of vice. 466 465. See Chapter Six. 466. Klaus Mann, Journal. Les ann.es brunes, 1931-1936, Paris, Grasset, 1996, 45 2 pages, 27 March 1933, p.132.

PART TWO UNACKNOWLEDGED FEARS AND DESIRES: AMBIGUOUS SPEECH AND STEREOTYPED IMAGES HOMOSEXUALS BECOME COMMONPLACE DURING THE INTER-WAR PERIOD Private faces in public places Are wiser and nicer Than public faces in private places. W.H. Auden, Collected Shorter Poems, 1927-1957 149

A History of Homosexuality in Europe 150

Chapter Four CHAPTER FOUR AWAKENING: WORKING TO CONSTRUCT A HOMOSEXUAL IDENTITY In the 1920s and 1930s, references to homosexuality were everywhere. Scholarly, artistic, anecdotal, or moralistic, they all add up to show that the collective imagination of the time was fascinated with homosexuality. The often-caricatured images that we re current were balanced by representations developed by homosexuals themselves. Th e process of forging an identity was underway. The homosexuals and lesbians were o n their way to asserting their singularity. The homosexual identity, unlike the homosexual act, is a historical phenomenon. It is not universal, but temporal; it is not induced, but constructed. Therefore, i t supposes the creation of a specific environment and an awareness that enabled homosexuals to define themselves as a group.467 The origin of the homosexual identity is difficult to pin down. At what moment c an one say that a person recognizes himself as a homosexual? Is it simply that time when he accepts his sexual preferences, when he calls himself homosexual, or is it only wh en he asserts his membership in a homosexual community, as a political statement? Just as it is hard to say when one person takes on the identity of a homosexual, it is hard to say when the homosexual identity was created at all. Indeed, the date varies, depending o n the country, the region (the notion of a homosexual identity emerges earlier in majo r cities than in rural areas) and the social class. (An intellectual can more readily def ine himself as homosexual simply because he will have access to the debates on the question of homosexuality, to medical writings, and so forth.) Depending on how you look at it, the theorists of homosexuality have assigned a wide range of dates to the birth of the homosexual identity.468 For some, the pr esence of homosexual signals in clothing and language, and the existence of meeting places, are enough to mark the existence of a homosexual identity.469 If we take that view, the homosexual identity must have existed from time immemorial, since one can find h omosexual codes, camouflaged to a greater or lesser extent, in every society and every era .470 Others say that the homosexual identity could only have been constituted very re cently, with the beginnings of gay militancy in the 1970s.471

467. The question of the homosexual identity is at the heart of homosexual histo riography and raises many questions. Here and in the following notes I list some of the works that shed light on the topic: Salvatore J. Licata and Robert P. Petersen (dir.), The Gay Past: A Collec tion of Historical Essays, New York, Harrington Park Press, 1985, 224 pages; David F. Greenberg, The Constr uction of Homosexuality, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1988, 635 pages. 468. For a discussion on this topic, see Kenneth Plummer, Homosexual Categories: Some Research Problems in the Labelling Perspective of Homosexuality, in Kenneth Plumm er (dir.), The Making of the Modern Homosexual, London, Hutchinson, 1981, 380 pages, p.53-76. 469.Mary McIntosh proposes that the 17th century was seminal period in creating the homosexual identity in ENgland. See The Homosexual Role, ibid., p.30-44. 470. See for example, in Amour et sexualit. en Occident, Paris, .ditions du Seui l, coll. Points histoire, 1991, 335 pages: Maurice Sartre, L homosexualit. dans la Gr.ce antique ; Pau l Veyne, L homosexualit. . Rome ; Michel Rey, Naissance d une minorit.. 471. John Marshall, Pansies, Perverts and Macho Men: Changing Conceptions of Male Homosexuality, in Kenneth Plummer (dir.), The Making of the Modern Homosexual, op. cit., p.133155. 151

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Most historians of homosexuality, however, agree to date the emergence of a homo sexual identity to the end of the 19th century, when the term homosexual came into wider use, doctors defined homosexuality precisely, and condemnations of homosex ual acts were definitively inscribed in the laws of the European countries.472 This is a sound view; however, various nuances must be taken into account. The first homosexual generation was deeply marked by the medical theories and the sc andals of the turn of the century. Bonded by their shared status as social outcasts, th ey remained very much affected by public opinion and had difficulty in asserting any positiv e image of themselves. In fact, only a male elite was truly capable of asserting a homosexu al identity. By comparison, it was easier for homosexuals of the second generation to identif y themselves as such. They integrated more easily into the nascent homosexual scene, and they were less at the effect of moral judgments. A lesbian identity appeared, based o n a certain number of female models in particular. Consequently, a homosexual community was formed, unified by a shared a culture and frame of reference but that did not ne cessarily induce a feeling of solidarity. THE MEDICAL MODEL: AN IDENTITY IMPOSED FROM OUTSIDE The homosexual identity was built around different definitions of homosexuality, arising from the abundant turn-of-the-century medical literature, among other so urces. Since the theories varied, it is certainly hard to say what was their effect. Ho wever, the arrival of the doctor on a scene that had been reserved for the judge was certai nly significant. By inventing the new field of perversions, 473 psychiatry created types, and the homosexual was one of them. A new creation as far as other people were concerned , the label was news to homosexuals themselves, too they were now reduced to a single sexual characteristic, generally represented as a disease, if not proof of degenera cy. Other preexisting identifying characteristics became blurred, like the social bo nds that were formed by socializing at the same places, the knowledge of certain codes, t he wearing of certain signs. If they survived the medical shock, they became accessori es to the development of a new round of definitions that pretended to be globally a pplicable. However, the extraordinary variety of the definitions that were proposed, and th e contradictions that they revealed, not to mention the extreme confusion of the vocabulary, all contributed to muddying the waters and that left homosexuals the opportunity to

build their own identity, personally and to a large extent independently. The Doctors Intrude Until the end of the 19th century, the field of sexual perversion had remained t he prerogative of the courts of justice. The law punished acts like sodomy, but did not rec 472. See Jeffrey Weeks, Coming Out. Homosexual Politics in Britain from the 19th Century to the Present, London, Quartet Books, 1979, 278 pages, and Sex, Politics and Society, London, L ongman, 1989, 325 pages. 473. The term perversion was used for the first time in 1885 par Victor Magnan, in a communication on fetichism. 152

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity ognize a particular criminal status. But then, the psychiatrists began to take a n interest in sexual perversions. Now, the criminal was defined by his perversion: he was a ho mosexual, pedophile, sadist, or fetishist. But he was also a victim (of heredity, his genes, his education), which meant he was not responsible. He no longer belonged in the dock, but at the doctor s. Until the mid-19th century, reports on trials and collections of jurisprudence h ad provided the bulk of the scientific knowledge on homosexuality.474 However, the la w did not define specific categories of perversions nor of perverts; it used fuzzy but defamatory terms, which were intended to encourage the reader to recognize the horror of th e act without being able to describe it precisely. The medical study of homosexuality arises from this incapacity of the law to def ine homosexuals and thus to work out a specific repressive strategy. The most famous work of the time, Psychopathia Sexualis (1885) by Krafft-Ebing, is subtitled: A medico -legal study for the use of doctors and lawyers. Krafft-Ebing was a professor of psychiatry at the University of Vienna and a medical examiner for the courts. Similarly, Tardieu s pioneering work in France, Pederasty (1857), testified to a new interest in homosexuality a nd paved the way for other books which sought to define the homosexual criminal books lik e La Prostitution antiphysique (1887) by Fran.ois Carlier. Tardieu based his conclusi ons on the study of 205 individuals whom he had examined with a maniacal care, looking for s igns of pederasty. 475 His research was conducted in the guise of forensic medicine and was intended to enable a more effective monitoring of homosexual locales that had be en linked to robbery, prostitution and blackmail. Following Tardieu, many doctors took an interest in homosexuality. While it may have been studied first as a demonstration of hysteria, it soon spilled over int o the realm of mental illness and came to form its own distinct category, with its own chara cteristics, internal classifications and symptoms. The new researchers relied on the precedi ng works, and they often based their speculations on existing depictions of homosex uals, if they were not content merely to roughly summarize earlier analyses. Havelock Ell is notes, for example, that he knew many doctors who had never encountered a case of sexua l inversion. Thus, research on homosexuality, even though it made spectacular stri

des in the late 19th century, rested on a very narrow base. The picture remained very b lurry, despite the outpouring of books and articles. The theorists of degeneracy were the first decisive influence. At least they denie d the criminal basis of homosexuality, while insisting on its innate character; but th ey did not offer any but a very negative model, centered on the concepts of perversi on and degeneracy, which so deeply marked the first generation. Thus, Carl Westphal, a yo ung Berlin neurologist and the first psychiatrist to study inversion on a scientific basis, asserted (just like Johann Ludwig Casper) that homosexuality was a congenital di sease and not a vice. According to Arthur Schopenhauer, male homosexuality was provide d by nature as a means of regulating the birth rate. Albert Moll, a neurologist, was more circumspect: in his principal work, Die kontr.re Sexualempfindung (1891), he clearly distingu ished innate homosexuality and acquired homosexuality; however, he regarded the 474. See Jean Danet, Discours juridique et perversions sexuelles (XIXe-XXe si.cl e), Nantes, universit. de Nantes, 1977, 105 pages. 475. For example, the infundibuliform deformation of the anus is a sign of active ped erasty. 153

A History of Homosexuality in Europe latter as exceptional.476 The baron von Schrenck-Notzing gained a name for himse lf in 1892 by claiming to have cured homosexuality by hypnosis. The uncontested expert in homosexuality was Richard von Krafft-Ebing. In Psychop athia Sexualis, he distinguishes four stages in the constitution of a homosexual perso nality, from the simple perversion of the sexual instinct to the belief in sex changes. He also distinguishes four stages of homosexuality: the psychosexual hermaphrodite, who preserves some traces of the heterosexual instinct; the homosexual; the effeminate; and th e androgyne. Only Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, himself a homosexual and the inventor of the concept of uranism ( the heart of a woman in the body of a man), stood out. He agitated for the decriminalization of homosexuality, initially under the name of Numa Numantius, then under his own, and asserted that homosexuality was not a disease but a simple se xual variation which was of no more consequence than the color of one s hair.477 His de finition of homosexuals as a third sex, which he tried to define through a complex classifi cation system, met with an extraordinary success and was picked up by Hirschfeld. In France, Brouardel, Lacassagne, Chevalier and Raffalovitch studied homosexuali ty. Raffalovitch published a major work in 1896, Uranism and Unisexuality. Neverthel ess Jean Martin Charcot (1825-1893) and Victor Magnan (1835-1916) were the first Frenchmen to abandon the criminal model of homosexuality in favor of a medical a nd pathological model. They authored the first publication on the subject, Inversion du sens g.nital et autres perversions sexuelles, initially published in numbers 7 and 12 of the Archives de neurologie in 1882. Their theories were still being discussed in the inter-war period.478 French psychiatrists looked at sexual inversion primarily as it related to hyste ria, and homosexuality was studied only in relation to neurosis; this bias skewed the ir conclusions in an inevitably perverse and pathological direction. Homosexuality was only an isolated symptom of a general disorder, degeneracy. However, the discourse was mor e innovative than one might expect; Charcot based his work on the study of a case which he describes in close detail; the patient, a man of 31 years, had been attracted to boys since his childhood, he practiced Onanism up to the age of 21, and would have liked to

dress as a woman. Charcot notes that he was not in any way effeminate, that he was large, quite well-built, and cultivated a certain military style. He was consulting the physicia n not because he suffered from his homosexuality,479 but because he had been prone to hysterical attacks since the age of 15. For Charcot, he was quite a unique sexual anomaly, 476. Albert Moll did an about-face in 1936 in his autobiography, Ein Leben als A rzt der Seele. There, he claimed that homosexuality is as a rule the result of unhealthy sexual experi ences and that only a small fraction of homosexual cases are innate. This reversal enabled him to welc ome the repressive measures of the Nazi regime. 477. And they tried him just because of the color of his hair (A.E. Housman, about the trial of Oscar Wilde). 478. Freud was inspired by Charcot s studies on neuroses, which he carried further . In his book Le Centenaire de Magnan (1935), Claude Vurpas recalled his studies of sexual inv ersion. Similarly, various works at the popular level made much of it such as Invertis et homosexue ls by Dr GeorgesSaint-Paul (preface by .mile Zola), published in 1896 and re-pri nted many times (Paris, .ditions Vigon, 152 pages) and De l inversion sexuelle . la d.termination des sexes by Dr H enri Allaix (Le Chesnais, Imprimerie moderne de Versailles, 1930, 10 pages). 479. He never actually acted upon it, which is a recurrent phenomenon in the cho ice of examples offered by doctors as though it were more tolerable to present imaginings rather than actual experiences. 154

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity but that was only the most salient sign of a much more serious psychopathological state. He prescribes what is a fairly classic treatment for that era (putting him in to uch with a woman, physical and moral hygiene, cold showers, bromide), but only the hysteria was regarded as disabling. Since homosexuality was considered to be innate, the subj ect was not responsible. As a mental patient, he could not be regarded as a criminal. Female homosexuality does not seem to have stirred the interest of more than a very finite number of doctors. In fact, the number of medical models offered to lesbians proved particularly restricted, which perhaps helps to explain the delay in crea ting an identity. Moreover, the poverty of the analyses is striking a consequence of a l ack of interest on the part of both doctors and the public (lesbianism was not condemne d by law), and also of the low number of cases observed. Krafft-Ebing, the first to t ake a closer look, had distinguished four types of female deviants in his Psychopathia Sexualis : women who do not betray their abnormality by their external appearance or by their men tal characteristics, but who nevertheless are responsive to approaches by masculine-looking women; women who prefer to wear masculine clothing; women who pretend to be men; and, finally, the last stage of degenerate homosexuality. The only female attribu te remaining to the woman of this type is her genitals: her thinking, feelings, act ion, and external appearance are those of a man. 480 According to this analysis, true lesbian s are those who most resemble men, and any masculine aspiration in clothing or behavio r is a symptom of lesbianism. Such assertions were still a mainstay after the War, promulgated by such writers as Mathilde de Kemnitz, in Erotische Wiedergeburt (1919); Dr. Caufeynon, in La P erversion sexuelle (1932); and Andr. Binet, who claims, in La Vie sexuelle des femmes (1932), that c omplete inversion is rare in women; more often, one observes bisexuality. 481 Similarly, A lbert Chapotin, after having described lesbians as having, accentuated facial features, breasts of the virile type but with nipples very elongated and erectile, thighs of the m ale type, contralto voices, affirms: What one euphemistically calls light inversion is very fr equent among women, marked and well-developed inversion is rarer. 482 Erich Stern, Julie Bender and James Broch still considered it worth publishing articles in Zeitschr ift f.r Sexualwissenschaft (in 1920, 1921 and 1929, respectively) tending to prove that lesbianism did exist.483

Countering the theory of innate homosexuality was the view of a congenital anomaly susceptible to being treated. This was very much the minority view, but interest in it was renewed in the 1930s and was exploited and encouraged by the Nazi power. Steinach was the leading proponent of this view; from his experiments on rats, he deduced that it was possible to cure homosexuality by a surgical operation on th e testicles. His research was periodically seconded by German doctors, for instance Dr. Josef Kirchhoff, in Die sexuellen Anomalien (1921); and Heinz Schmeidler, in Sittenges chichte von 480. Krafft-Ebing, cited by Esther Newton, The Mythic Mannish Lesbian: Radclyffe Hall and the New Woman, in Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus and George Chauncey Jr. (dir.), Hidden from History, London, Penguin Books, 1991, 579 pages, p.287. 481. Andr. Binet, La Vie sexuelle de la femme, Paris, L Expansion scientifique fra n.aise, 1932, 240 pages, p.183-184. 482. Albert Chapotin, Les D.faitistes de l amour, Paris, Le Livre pour tous, 1927, 510 pages, p.18 and 183. 483. Erich Stern, Zur Kenntnis der weiblichen Inversion (1920), Julie Bender, Zur F rage der Homosexualit.t der Frau (1921), James Broch, .ber Tribadie: eine Jungfrau als Kons ulatssekret.r (1929), in Zeitschrift f.r Sexualwissenschaft, vol.6, 7 and 15. 155

A History of Homosexuality in Europe heute, die Krisis der Sexualit.t (1932). In Zum Problem der Homosexualit.t (1921 ), Dr. Otto Emsmann weighed the various medical theories on homosexuality and emphasized Steinach and Schrenck-Notzing s research: homosexuality could be cured either by implanting healthy sexual glands, by the transplantation of healthy testicles, o r by hypnosis. Nevertheless, in the most serious cases such treatment would not suffice; in tho se cases, the will of the patient is the determining factor in the success of the t reatment. At the first congress of the World League for Sexual Reform, the fight between t he psychiatric and the organic approach was at the heart of the discussions. Dr. Ro gge and Haag gave a presentation on the significance of Steinach s research for the questio n of pseudo-homosexuality. Here, the explanation lay in the sexual glands of both sexe s being present in one individual. Dr. Weil, speaking on Proportions of the body an d intersexuality of forms as expressed by internal secretions (!), asserted that homosex uality is primarily constitutional, as did Dr. Schwarz, who maintained that homosexuality could be modified by injecting hormones. Medicine at the Service of Homosexuals

As a counterpoint to the new psychiatric theories, certain doctors were gaining renown (in public opinion as well as in homosexual circles) for the originality of their analyses and the progressive stance they took. The most famous was obviously Mag nus Hirschfeld. We will not recapitulate his hypotheses here, as they are covered in Chapter Two; but it should be stressed that his theory of the third sex was an essential p art of the foundation of the homosexual identity, since, in a way, the latter was built upon it and as a reaction to it. Indeed, the theory could apply only to a fraction of the ho mosexual population, those who felt feminine, the heart of a woman in the body of a man. Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, in a letter to his friend Frederick Schiller, devot es a good ten pages to an analysis of his homosexuality according to the theory of th e third sex, saying that It is a curious thing to have a feminine soul captive in a man s body, but it seems that that is my case. This physical impulse, however, has never been the k ey to my relations with men, because on the spiritual plane I have a still more urgent need to preserve my independence and my self-respect, and I have had in fact as much to

give as to receive.484 Still, the theory of the third sex posited the bases of a powerful homosexual identity, autonomous and assertive, since as a group apart from society in gener al homosexuals would have to unite to claim their rights and to make the world recognize their difference. However, as we have seen, this view was severely criticized by the p roponents of pederasty, who situated homosexuality in the Greek tradition and vigorously d enied any femininity. Misogynists, they looked on homosexuality from the historical and cultural, but also the political, point of view. This view was defended in Germany by Adol f Brand and Hans Bl.her, and in France by Andr. Gide. Hirschfeld s theories were promoted in his books, which became bestsellers. They were translated into French and English, sometimes in digest form in order to be more 484. Dennis Proctor (ed.), The Autobiography of G. Lowes Dickinson, London, Duck worth, 1973, 287 pages, p.10. 156

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity accessible to the general public; and they had considerable impact. Another figu re, however, was also important, for the construction of the homosexual identity as well as for the evolution of public opinion, in particular in England. Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) was the most influential sexologist of the inter-war period. He was close to the radical socialist faction which emerged in the 1880s , and associated with leading figures of the new left like H.M. Hyndman, Eleanor Marx, Edward Aveling and the first Fabians. He was familiar with the works of Hirschfeld and Freud, with whom he disagreed, rejecting in particular the notion that sex is at the ba sis of all human behaviors. There are certain psychoanalysts, he said, who, when they recog nize signs of homosexuality, accept them, as most people do, as signs of homosexualit y. But when they see the opposite, even a strong antipathy, they also take that as a si gn of homosexuality, the reaction of a repressed desire. Heads, I win; tails, you lose, they seem to say.485 For his part, he preferred a personal approach of medicine and worked st arting from accounts which were spontaneously brought to him by his correspondents and visitors. Unlike other doctors, Ellis was very familiar with homosexuality. He had strong friendships with recognized homosexuals like J.A. Symonds and Edward Carpenter ( who brought him several homosexual autobiographies, including his own). His wife Edi th Lees was a lesbian, and left him to live with women. His biographer, Vincent Bro minates, raises the question of whether Ellis himself was not a repressed homosexual; he did not have any sexual intercourse with men, but all the women in his life complained a bout a lack of virility, about his scant sexual desire. His main work, Sexual Inversion (1897), was inspired by Symonds. Sexual Inversion was definitely a landmark for homosexuals in the 1920s; it pres ented homosexuality under a more positive rubric than its contemporaries, affirming th at is was an inborn characteristic and refusing to regard it as a disease. Right in his intr oduction, Ellis justified his view: I realized that in England, more than in any other coun try, the law and the public opinion combined to place a heavy criminal burden and a severe so cial stigmatization on the expression of an instinct which, for the people who have it, frequently seems natural and normal. 486 In its form, the work is not very original, citing p receding works and listing animals, countries, and civilizations that were known to exhib it homosexuality; but then Ellis presented many cases of homosexuals who and this is what was new were not neurotic. Its limitations were many, however: sexual practices ar

e scarcely documented, and sodomy, although some examples are presented, is largel y avoided no doubt because it was a crime according to English law and because in his quest to rehabilitate homosexuals in public opinion, Ellis wanted to marginalize certain types (sodomites, cross-dressers, queens), who in any case had difficulty find a place in the incipient homosexual community. Also, the analysis of lesbianism appears les s relevant, perhaps because of personal reservations having to do with his wife and also because few female cases were studied. Ellis charts Sapphism along a scale which starts with passionate friendship and ends in active inversion. He states that, the princi pal characteristic of the female invert is a certain degree of masculinity. Ellis bui lds the 485. Cited by Vincent Brome, Havelock Ellis, Philosopher of Sex, London, Routled ge & Kegan, 1979, 271 pages, p.220. 486. Havelock Ellis and J.A. Symonds, Sexual Inversion [1897], New York, Arno Pr ess, 1975, 299 pages, p. XI. 157

A History of Homosexuality in Europe lesbian couple on the heterosexual model. The pseudo-lesbians eterosexuals who have been seduced by true homosexuals, suggesting that, are in fact really h

These women are different from the average normal woman in that they are not disgusted and do not repel advances from members of their own sex. Their faces m ay be unattractive or even ugly, but they often have a good figure, which is more i mportant for the inverted woman than the beauty of the face. They are affectionate by nature... and they are feminine. One might say that they are among the elite of the women whom the average man would reject. This must be one of the reasons why they are open to homosexual advances, but I do not think that it is the only one ...They seem to have a natural preference, although not precisely sexual, for women rath er than men.487 That is a pretty negative description. However, it formed the basis for separati ng true and pseudo lesbians, two models which turned out to stay with us for a long tim e and they influenced the identifying process profoundly. Sexual Inversion was published in Germany in 1896, but the English edition ran i nto trouble. In the maelstrom of the Oscar Wilde trial, the 1897 edition had to be r evised and Symonds name was removed. The second edition was immediately withdrawn and the book was banned. The lawsuit proceeded without any scandal, but the book was cla ssified as obscene. It was then published in the United States. The publicity generated by the lawsuit had positive consequences: hundreds of homosexuals wrote to Ellis to share their experiences with him. He then used this documentation as the basis for fur ther research. Moreover, the book became the main reference work on homosexuality prior to the Second World War, and Hirschfeld noted that Sexual Inversion was very important f or the homosexual question in Germany. The spirit of the book was so noble and scholarl y that we preferred it to Kontr.re Sexualempfindung de Moll. From this point, the name of Havelock Ellis became very popular in Germany. 488 In England, Ellis had more influence tha n Freud; moreover, his attentive and sympathetic treatment of homosexuality enable d him to influence people who would have remained insensitive to a purely medical approach.489 Psychoanalytical Shock Psychoanalysis brought about a major shift in the concepts, the approach, and th e

way of thinking about homosexuality; it created a shock by its method as well as by its conclusions and played a part in shaping the identifying process.490 Freud did n ot start from scratch, however; in Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905), he pay s homage to the 487. Ibid, p.87. 488. Cited by Vincent Brome, Havelock Ellis, Philosopher of Sex, op. cit., p.95. 489. A surprising number of books have been devoted to him and they show a profo und sense of admiration: in 1926, Havelock Ellis. A Biographical and Critical Survey, by Isaa c Goldberg; in 1928, Havelock Ellis, Philosopher of Love, Houston Peterson; in 1929, Havelock Ellis in Appreci ation, under the direction of Joseph Ishill, who compiled a panegyric based on celebrities opinions on Ellis f rom the likes of H.L. Mencken, Edward Carpenter, Henri Barbusse and Thomas Hardy. 490. Clearly, Freudians have made immense contributions in many domains and, equ ally clearly, we do not intend to present here a complete history of psychoanalysis or psychoa nalytic theory between the wars. 158

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity research of his predecessors Krafft-Ebing, Moll, von Schrenck-Notzing, L.wenfeld , Eulenburg, Bloch and Hirschfeld, and he uses their inventory of examples as well .491 However, he draws very different conclusions: where they say innate, he says acquired ; and he counters their biological explanations with the hypothesis of seduction in childhood: the homosexual is neither a criminal nor a congenital ment al patient, he is a neurotic: the predisposition to homosexuality arises in a man f rom the discovery that the woman does not have a penis. If he cannot give up the penis as the essential sexual object, he will inevitably be turned off by a woman. She may ev en represent a threat, if the absence of the penis is perceived as the result of mutilation ( castration anxiety). Freud goes much further in his analyses: he establishes a parallel between neuro sis and perversion. [N]eurosis is so to speak the flip side of perversion. 492 Accordin g to him, symptoms of inversion can be found in the unconscious life of all neurotics (especially the hysteric).493 In fact, neurosis is the product of the repression of perverse tendencies. This theory unfortunately opened the door to many erroneous conclusions, for Freud s readers were quick to equate neurosis and perversion. As regards female homosexuality, Freud initially paid it relatively little atten tion; later, he filled in with several psychoanalytical cases.494 The genesis of femal e homosexuality is symmetrical to the male; castration anxiety still plays an essential role, fo r, if the girl does not accept her lack of a penis, she will struggle to assert her mascul inity.495 Freud insists that it is almost impossible to cure homosexuals; he does not even s eem to think it desirable. He notes that most of the people who come to consult him do so primarily for social reasons. The women are generally brought in by their families, who ab solutely want to marry them off or who fear a scandal. According to him: Psychoanalysis is not going to solve the problem of homosexuality. It must be satisfied to reveal the psychic mechanisms which lead to the decisions governing the choice of the object and to trace how these mechanisms relate to instinctual drives. 496 What did Freud contribute to the study of homosexuality? First of all is the imp ortance of method: all conclusions are drawn from interviews with patients; this process was already used by other doctors, but Freud systematized it and transformed it by the practice of analysis. Then, Freud refuted the old concept of degeneracy, the ide

a of innate homosexuality and, finally, the myth of a psychic hermaphrodism. He made the poi nt that the most complete psychic virility is compatible with inversion. 497 According to h im, inverts go through an intense phase of fixation on their mothers during childhoo d, and then, identifying with her, they take themselves as sexual objects (in the narci ssistic way 491. Furthermore, Freud went to Salp.tri.re to learn from Jean Martin Charcot. 492. Sigmund Freud, Trois essais sur la th.orie de la sexualit. [1905], Paris, G allimard, 1987, 211 pages, p.81. 493. On this topic, see the chapter Les fantasmes hyst.riques et leur relation . la bisexualit., in N.vrose, psychose et perversion (1894-1924; Paris, PUF, coll. Bibl. de psychanaly se, 1992, 303 pages). By the same token, Freud maintains that the parano.ac is struggling with homosexual tendencies. 494. See the chapter Sur la psychogen.se d un cas d homosexualit. f.minine, in N.vrose , psychose et perversion. 495. Helen Deutsch worked out a different psychoanalytical theory of feminine ho mosexuality: for her, giving birth and motherhood were at the heart of the feminine homosexua l relationship and originated in a pre-oedipal attachment to the mother a hypothesis that is in sta rk contradiction to the Freudian orthodoxy. 496. Sigmund Freud, N.vrose, psychose et perversion, op. cit., p.270. 497. Id., Trois essais sur la th.orie de la sexualit., op. cit., p.47. 159

A History of Homosexuality in Europe of young boys, they seek someone similar to themselves whom they will love as th eir mother loved them). Freud insists that all men are capable of making a homosexua l choice, as that is formulated in the unconscious. The heterosexual choice also d epends on a complex process and thus is no more natural than the other one. There exists, according to him, a considerable proportion of latent homosexuality in heterosexuals. He g oes on to distinguish the absolute invert, whose sexual object can only be homosexual; the amphigene, that is, in fact, the bisexual; and the part-time or occasional homosex ual, who may have homosexual relations only because of circumstances. In fact, Freud tended to think that mankind was originally bisexual;498 and in so doing he raised ques tions about the foundations of patriarchal society and opened the gate to all kinds of minority movements. Indeed, if sexual attraction comes in all gradations, if anyone is li kely to be attracted by a member of his or her own sex, it becomes difficult to condemn hom osexuals unilaterally. The Freudian theory was picked up by many disciples, who always did not follow his conclusions to the letter. Whatever the validity of the Freudian analysis as to the causes of homosexuality, it had the merit of not stigmatizing inverts and of quest ioning the idea that heterosexuality = normality. Those who popularized his work often fo rgot this detail, including Sacha Nacht, who claimed that the invert is impotent vis-. -vis women, before he is homosexual. 499 The Austrian psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Al fred Adler, in Das Problem der Homosexualit.t (1930), blames the feminist movements f or spreading the plague and affirms that homosexuality is a temporary and unnatural expedient that is not well understood on behalf of men who have difficulty accept ing female independence.500 Freud s successors developed divergent theories on the homosexual question. For Wilhelm Reich, homosexuality is a purely social phenomenon, a question of educati on and sexual development; 501 it only develops when normal relations between men and women are impossible or difficult. 502 The best means of avoiding it, therefore, i s coeducation and the practice of sexual relations whenever desired. Reich called for the decr iminalization of homosexuality, a disease which he said caused great suffering to the individual. He did, however, believe it possible to cure some of them by followi ng a suitable psychic treatment. Reich is the only psychoanalyst to consider the homo sexual

question in its social dimension, while giving it a political significance: Many young proletarians, because of their poverty, are also led to give themselv es to homosexuals from wealthier backgrounds. Thus, in politically reactionary circ les, such as among nationalist students or among officers, homosexuality plays a role which is not insignificant and which is very closely related to the strong impri nt of moral and sexual inhibition in these milieux.503 498. Freud sems to have borrowed this theory from a doctor in Berlin, Wilhelm Fl iess. For the renewed interest in the theory of androgyny, as it was initially proposed by Pla to, see Chapters Five and Six. 499. Sacha Nacht, Pathologie de la vie amoureuse: essai psychanalytique, Paris, Deno.l, 1937, 198 pages, p.155. 500. Alfred Adler, Das Problem der Homosexualit.t, Berlin, Verlag von S. Hirzel, 1930, 110 pages, p.65. 501. Wilhelm Reich, La Lutte sexuelle des jeunes [1932], Paris, Maspero, 1972, 1 48 pages, p.90. 502. Ibid., p.89. 503. Ibid., p.90. 160

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity Carl Gustav Jung was not much interested in homosexuality, either. Like Freud, when he explained that homosexuality corresponded to an infantile phase of sexua l life, Jung claimed that it was a resurgence of a primitive phase of humanity. He calle d it psychological immaturity, and thus a behavioral disturbance. Psychoanalysis would enable the homosexual to mature psychologically, to pass from a state of individualism to social integration. Freud met stiff opposition in France.504 The usual hostility ignited by his theo ry of initial seduction was intensified by a fundamental hostility to any idea of German and Jewish origin.505 Moreover, the French, proud of their own psychiatric discoveri es, were not much inclined to recognize any other authority. The pioneers of French psych oanalysis thus set out to diminish the role of the initial seduction and to emphasize inst ead that of the imagination. Angelo Hesnard, a member of the French Society of Psychoanalysis,506 was particu larly interested in homosexuality.507 He borrowed heavily from Freud,508 but he worked from a broad variety of sources, as much medical (Havelock Ellis, Magnus Hirschf eld) as artistic (he cited Proust, Margueritte, Binet-Valmer, Miomandre, Carco, Gide, Po rch.). However, his approach remained conventional: he opposes the Freudian analytical rigor with the usual recitative tone, descriptive, more sociological than scientific a nd, following the example other works of the time (except those of Freud), he begins his disco urse with a history of homosexuality through the ages. While in broad outline he follows t he Freudian theory, he distinguishes certain telling points: he sees the homosexual as disgusted by sexuality, a chaste sensibility offended by female sexuality. According to him, homosexuals have completely dissociated tenderness and sensuality: The homos exual only seldom obtains complete satisfaction. 509 Such an assertion is based on his unilateral interpretation of sexuality according to heterosexual terms: ....the a bsence of complete satisfaction which only normal intersexual relations can give, the only ones that conform to the physiology of the respective organs develops the unsatisfied sexual appetite to the point of exasperation. 510 On lesbianism, he puts forward the nove l idea of a female predisposition to homosexuality: Woman is, in the psychogenetic sense, o riginally homosexual. The normal adult woman is a being who has had to triumph over her 504. Freud began to be tranlated into France in 1922; the Soci.t. fran.aise de p

sychanalyse and the Revue fran.aise de psychanalyse were launched in 1926. 505. Poincar. s Minister of Education is quoted as saying, in 1928: I am told that German youth have been poisoned by Freud. Freudism is nordic phenomenon. It cannot take hold in France (cited by Marcelin Pleynet, La Soci.t. psychanalytique de Paris, in Olivier Barrot and Pa scal Ory [dir.], Entre-deux-guerres, Paris, Fran.ois Bourin, 1990, 631 pages). 506. There were nine founding members: Princess Georges of Greece (n.e Marie Bon aparte), Evg.nia Sokolnicka, Angelo Hesnard, Ren. Allendy, Adrien Borel, Ren. Laforgue, R odolphe Loewenstein, Georges Parcheminey and .douard Pichon. This group was formed rather tardily, as psychoanalytical societies had existed in Vienna, Zurich, Budapest, Berlin, London, and the Unite d States since 1914. 507. This subject features prominently in L Individu et le Sexe. Psychologie du na rcissisme (Paris, Stock, 1927, 227 pages), Psychologie homosexuelle (Paris, Stock, 1929, 208 pages) and T rait. de sexologie normale et pathologique (Paris, Payot, 1933, 718 pages). 508. According to Marcelin Pleynet, Hesnard practiced a moderate anti-Freudism; h e saw Freud as no more than one scholar among many; see Marcelin Pleynet, La Soci.t. ps ychanalytique de Paris, loc. cit. 509. Angelo Hesnard, Psychologie homosexuelle, op. cit., p.109. 510. Ibid., p.113. 161

A History of Homosexuality in Europe original homosexuality to arrive at the result, which is harder for her than for the man, of sexual development, heterosexual and in accordance with the rules. 511 In conclusi on, he draws a facile parallel between lesbianism and frigidity; the lesbian is in fact only seeking simple body contact, not specifically genital in nature, and may have somewhat s adistic tendencies.512 In fact, the Freudian influence in the design of the homosexual identity is para doxical. Freud was mostly known through those who popularized, and often distorted, his thought, particularly in France. Certain countries (like England) were littl e influenced by Freudian theory for, in fact, the biological theories dominated. In Germany, the psychoanalytical movement was divided since the mid-1930s. Moreover, psychoanalysis did not liberate homosexuals. On the contrary, it imposed on them an external explanation of their condition, an obligatory model which they could hardly contest, since all their protests could be dismissed by the no tion that it was unconscious. Lastly, categorizing homosexuality as an arrested stage of deve lopment could hardly be considered as favorable. However, there was a fascination with psychoanalysis during the inter-war period , especially among French intellectuals, thanks to the influence of Evg.nia Sokoln icka, a student of Freud, and the Nouvelle revue fran.aise group where she met Paul Le Bourget.513 Andr. Gide notes in his journal how much the Freudian revelations matched his own concept of homosexuality: Freud. Freudism... For ten years, fifteen years, I have been [homosexual] withou t knowing it.514 [Analyzing his own case, he resorts to characteristic medical jargon:] No, I do n ot believe by any means that my particular tastes could have been transmitted by he redity: [these are] acquired characteristics, non-transmissible. I am this way because I was thwarted in my instincts by my education, and the circumstances... what I im agine, you see, is that I must have inherited an inordinately demanding sexuality, whic h was thwarted, repressed voluntarily by several generations of ascetics, and of w hich, to some extent, I am now subjected to the built-up pressure.515 In 1921, he read the Introduction to Psychoanalysis and participated in six psyc

hoanalysis sessions with Evg.nia Sokolnicka; she had opened a salon in Paris in the autumn of 1921, and already was seeing a number of Parisian intellectuals, including Ro ger Martin 511. Ibid., p.198. 512. Ibid. the same kind of assertions show up in the work of other psychoanalys ts, like Ren. de Saussure in his book, Les Fixations homosexuelles chez les femmes n.vros.es ( Paris, Imprimerie de la Cour d appel, 1929, 44 pages). Saussure Saussure especially insists on the desire for a penis and the feeling of castration, and the notion that women see the vulva as a wound. 513. On this topic, see Jean-Paul Nordier, Les D.buts de la psychanalyse en Fran ce, 1895-1926, Paris, Maspero, 1981, 274 pages; and Marcel Scheidhauer, Le R.ve freudien en France, 19 00-1926, Paris, Navarin, 1985, 227 pages. Bergson s influence was a determining factor in arousing the lite rary world s curiosity about psychoanalysis. 514.Andr. Gide, Journal, 1887-1925, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1 996, 1840 pages, p.1170-1171. Gide seems to have learned about Freudism through his friend, Dorot hy Bussy, the sister of James Strachey, who translated Freud into English. 515. Avril 1921, cited by Roger Martin du Gard, Notes sur Andr. Gide (1913-1951) , in OEuvres compl.tes, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1983, t.II, 1 432 pages, p.1374. 162

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity du Gard, Jules Romain and Jules Schlumberger. Gide gives a hilarious report on t hese meetings in his journal.516 The best example of the influence of psychoanalysis in homosexual intellectual circles comes from England, at the very center of the Bloomsbury Club. James and Alix Strachey were indeed the official translators of Freud s works into English and th ey contributed largely to its recognition in Great Britain. Both had a history of homosexual activity. Alix, born Sargant-Florence, suffered from neurotic disorders; she was a friend of Rupert Brooke, and had done her studies at Bedales, then at Cambridge. She had h ad romantic friendships with several women, without actually engaging in the act, i tself. A nervous breakdown brought her to Vienna, for analysis by Freud, then to Berlin, and Karl Abraham. James Strachey was the brother of Lytton; he was in love with Brooke, l ike so many others, while he was studying at Cambridge, and he became a member of the Apostles and sacrificed to the homosexual fashion of the moment. Thereafter, he dismissed the sexual experimentation of his youth, joking that they divided their time between sodomizing one another and listening to the Appassionata being massacred b y Donald Tovey.517 He was in love with Alix, and explained his choice as follows: W omen are hateful, except for one delicious young lady at Bedales who resembles a boy. 5 18 James Strachey is the perfect example of the young man from a good family but who asso ciated with Bohemians, who rejected his homosexuality but still could not face women. H e thus chose a woman who was, herself, androgynous, and who was likewise unable to clea rly define her sexual identity. It is interesting to note that it was precisely thes e two pure products of their time and their background who were charged with promoting Freu d s work in England. Their writings, universally recognized, are regarded as the bes t interpretation of Freudian thought. As a result of their social origin and their social ties, t hey brought psychoanalysis into the most brilliant intellectual circles of England, thus contributing to its adoption in a country that had been quite closed to these new techniques. Medical theories also played an essential part in the process of crafting an ide ntity. Traces of these theories crop up throughout the homosexual literature of the tim e. Radclyffe Hall based the book The Well of Loneliness on Krafft-Ebing s and Havelock Ellis s th eories. Proust s oeuvre is an admirable digest of the latest medical theories; Proust read the

principal authors and managed to weave in, almost imperceptibly to the unsuspect ing reader, a whole series of specific signals suggesting homosexuality. In In Searc h of Lost Time, he expands on the hypothesis of the third sex so dear to Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and Magnus Hirschfeld; he also evokes psychiatric and Freudian interpretations, Carp enter s theories, Walt Whitman s homosexuality and the Greek tradition. Having boned up on the medical literature, many homosexuals sought to explain their own cases in li ght of the most recent discoveries. Medicine had granted them the right to speak about homo sexuality, and by discussing the theories, homosexuals took back some of the right to defin e their own identity. From now on, the struggle to define their identity started with scientific compr ehension. To be homosexual involved a host of questions which could only be answered by reading specialized works: Medical books were the only thing that existed in grea t 516. Andr. Gide, Journal, 1887-1925, op. cit., 17 March 1922, p.1173. 517. Perry Meisel and Walter Kendrick, Bloomsbury/Freud. James et Alix Strachey, Correspondance 19241925, Paris, PUF, 1985, 395 pages, p.31. 518. Ibid., p.37. 163

A History of Homosexuality in Europe number. We got Hirschfeld s books, but ended up limiting our readings to clinical cases; to get them, these books, I called myself a doctor, and I hid them under my bed. 5 19 The idea of a hypothetical treatment for homosexuality was in the air and homosexual s discussed this possibility among themselves. Virginia Woolf reported that when she discuss ed it with E.M. Forster, he said that Dr. Head could convert sodomites. Would you like to be converted? asked Leonard Woolf. No, certainly not, Forster answered.520 Moreover, the meeting between patient and doctor was very often disappointing. The homosexual who had expected to find help from his doctor ran into distrust a nd incomprehension: [The doctor] had not read scientific works on the question. Ther e weren t any, back when he was attending hospitals, and those that had appeared mor e recently were in German, and therefore suspect. Temperamentally opposed to these morals, he endorsed society s verdict, i.e. his condemnation was of a religious na ture. One would have to be completely depraved, he felt, to turn toward Sodom, and when an individual who was morally and physically fit confessed this penchant to him, he spontaneou sly cried, Nonsense! 521 Michel Foucault showed that medicine and psychiatry were the disciplines best positioned to authoritatively explore the territory of sexuality.522 Psychiatry claimed to hold the key to sexual knowledge: it could diagnose and even cure. While the jud ge could only consider delinquents, the doctor could meet all sorts of deviants. As Jean Danet said, According to all the evidence, then, the law and psychiatry are obviously competi ng to impose their own form of control over the perverts. 523 The medical discourse was tending toward an emancipation movement in favor of homosexuals, but it was destructive at the same time. Instead of perceiving the doctor as an external agent in the service of the dominant power, homosexuals thought they could rely on him as an ally, an accomplice, even a savior. Instead of calling for the abolition of anti-homosexual laws in the name of justice and equal rights, homosexuals pleade d irresponsibility. Without necessarily realizing it, they sided with the medical men on this and contributed to their victory. BEING HOMOSEXUAL: PROCLAIMING AN IDENTITY The homosexual identity is more than a set of medical clich.s. In the slow proce ss of forming one s identity, other factors come into play: the social environment, c ontact

with the homosexual scene, individual experience. To be homosexual means, first of all, to define oneself as such, to recognize one s uniqueness and to try to accept it. Dep ending on the case, this identity may by accepted very early on, or maybe only as a result of a long and painful process. There must be as many identifying constructs as there are i ndi 519. Testimony of Andr. du Dognon, recorded by Gilles Barbedette and Michel Cara ssou, in Paris gay 1925, Paris, Presses de la Renaissance, 1981, 312 pages, p.60. 520. Cited by Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant, Lond on, Penguin, 1992, 463 pages, p.161. 521. E.M. Forster, Maurice [written in 1914], Paris, Christian Bourgois .diteur, 1987, 279 pages, p.178. 522. Michel Foucault, Histoire de la sexualit., t.I, La Volont. de savoir, Paris , Gallimard, 1976, 211 pages. 523. Jean Danet, Discours juridique et perversions sexuelles, op. cit., p.46. 164

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity viduals, but the study of first-hand accounts indicates that there are certain c onstants and certain standard patterns, beyond the whims of individual fate. Homosexual confessions proliferated.524 They are often presented as justificatio ns: whether they were memoirs intended for publication, collections of personal corr espondence, or private diaries, the author sought to explain what made him different. If the same individual had been heterosexual, he would not likely have considered it us eful to explain to the reader what he thought was the key to his sexual orientation. As a homosexual, however, he feared that his proclivities would be misunderstood. By relating how he came to realize that he was a homosexual, he has a chance to emphasize the in nate nature of his sexual preference and to wipe out any suspicion of perversion. Mor e rare were the militant homosexuals who testified in order to advance their cause and who did not hesitate to be provocative. Reading these personal accounts, one can evaluate the degree to which each indiv idual accepted his situation; of course, that varied enormously according to the perso nality and his education. Age, too, played a big part. Homosexuals of the first generat ion (born in the years 1870-1890) rarely felt serene about their inclinations, but t hat was less and less true for the following generation (born between 1900 and 1910). Even if we adjust for the a posteriori revisions that one might expect to have crept in (even in g ood faith), the accounts are instructive as to the image that the writer wished to project. An Early Revelation For many, the revelation of homosexuality came quite early, generally during childhood. Maurice Sachs says, I passionately wished to be a girl, and I was so unaware of how grand it was to be a man that I went so far as to piss sitting down. Even better! I refused to go t o sleep before Suze [his nanny] had sworn to me that I would wake up to find my sex had been changed ..As this occurred when I was about four years old, one would have to believe that since my earliest childhood I had inclinations which very especiall y predisposed me toward homosexuality.525 Sometimes, homosexuality was revealed during an initial sexual experience, which might be precocious. Generally, the younger boy is initiated by an older boy. Ma

rcel Jouhandeau had his first experience at the age of eight, with a 19-year-old employee who showed him his sex; at the age of ten he had his first pleasure with a boy of th e same age, who masturbated him. Thereafter, he had many revelations at school.526 Most of the authors obligingly relate all the details of their youthful adventur es. This will to peg their homosexuality to a remote, almost indefinable past, has t o do with the individual s need to attach his sexuality to his most profound sense of self; it also corresponds to the influence of medicine, and in particular of psychoanalysis, as deciding 524. The written testimonies essentially come from the middle and upper classes. Among the oral histories, some concern the working class, but they are rare. We have no re ports relating to the peasantry. One must hope that new archives will be discovered that will enable u s to balance this presentation. 525. Maurice Sachs, Le Sabbat [written in 1939, published in 1946], Paris, Galli mard, 1960, 298 pages, p.21-22. 526. See Chapter Three. 165

A History of Homosexuality in Europe factors in the construction of the sense of identity. When inversion is defined as innate, or as the consequence of an OEdipal complex that was handled poorly, the homosexual seeks at all costs to fit his personal experience into a general outline. This initial stage, recognition by his peers, is fundamental. Homosexual Discomfort This first awakening is, however, seldom positive. Most of the writers admit the ir discomfort. Recognized homosexuals whom one might have thought would have no com plexes acknowledge fighting every minute against their inclinations. The photographer Cecil Beaton acknowledged as much, even while admitting that his friendships wit h men were more marvelous than with women. He was never in love with a woman and [he di d] not think that [he] ever would be in the same way as with a man. [He was] really a terrible, terrible homosexualist and [he tried] so much not to be. 527 Hans Henny Jahnn met Gottlieb Harms, his great love, at the age of fourteen at t he Sankt Pauli school in 1908. He fought his sexuality until 1913. After their weddi ng, in July of that year, they still could not reconcile their physical desires with th eir spiritual aspirations: We talked it over. He told me that having lain together with me made him insane . He perceived me, my man, as if I were a prostitute sick with desire. He felt disgust for my body and my soul . Now, I am dirty and sinful, and he is, too. And we cannot purify ourselves. 528 Somerset Maugham was haunted all his life by the thought that his homosexuality might be publicly revealed. He always discouraged biographers and requested that his letters be burned after his death. After going through Cambridge, he met John Br ooks and discovered Capri in 1895, the year of the Oscar Wilde trial. The scandal upset h im and he understood that it would be impossible to go on as a homosexual and maintain a p rofessional career as well: I tried to persuade myself that I was three-quarters normal and o nly one-quarter homosexual whereas in fact the opposite was true. 529 Until the end of the First World War, he tried to pursue heterosexual relations, but his male friends hips always won out. Thus, although he married Syrie Bernardo in 1917, he lived with his secretary, Frederick Gerald Haxton, whom he had met in Flanders in 1915. The marriage was a failure and Maugham held Syrie responsible. From 1920 on, Maugham was exclusiv ely

homosexual and he had relationships with various young writers and journalists w ho visited him, like Godfrey Winn, Beverley Nichols and Alan Frank Searle. However, within the Moorish villa where he received his friends, the homosexuality remained hidd en. For some, recognizing their homosexuality or, at least, bisexuality was absolute ly impossible. D.H. Lawrence wavered between a violent aversion for the homosexual act, which he expressed particularly in his contempt for Bloomsbury, and an irresisti ble attraction for the myth of virile friendship, which appears many times over in h is writings, in particular in Women in Love. Astute people were not deceived; Viole t Trefusis noted that it was not difficult to guess, judging from the relations between Birk in and Gerald, what kind of man is Mr. Lawrence. He betrays himself at every turn. 530 In fa ct, 527. Cited by Hugo Vickers, Cecil Beaton, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985, 6 56 pages, p.40. 528. Cited by Friedhelm Krey, Hans Henny Jahnn und die mannm.nnliche Liebe, Berl in, Peter Lang, 1987, 458 pages, p.423. 529. Confided to his nephew, Robin Maugham, cited by Robert Calder, Willie. The Life of W. Somerset Maugham, London, Heinemann, 1989, 429 pages, p.68. 166

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity it seems that it was the war that awoke D.H. Lawrence to the fear of being homos exual. He was haunted by images of the war, by the thought of rape. He acknowledged a v iolent hatred of sodomy and complained of nightmares on this subject; however, he did n ot find sodomy with a woman revolting. Talking with Bertrand Russell, he told him that h e could not bear the odor of Cambridge, which he associated with decay and depravity. He explained to David Garnett that [he] simply could not bear it [love between men] . It is so bad... as if it came from some internal slime a kind of sewer!531 However, he se ems to have managed to consummate his love for a farmer, William Henry Hocking: one fin ds an echo of this relationship in Kangaroo.532 Lawrence has a very ambiguous vision o f homosexuality: for him, as for Bloomsbury, it is the highest form of love, which goes beyond simple sexuality and must lead to a total, mystical fusion of the two partners, but at the same time sexual intercourse between two men appears impure to him, perverse, ag ainst nature, the female body being naturally more beautiful than the male body. These t wo themes are constantly opposed in his life as in his work, and prevent any comple te satisfaction. T.E. Lawrence ( Lawrence of Arabia ) is also an excellent example of maladjustment to sexual reality. He was attracted by men but never went beyond platonic enthusiasm and he restrained desires which he judged unhealthy. Confronted by ho mosexual advances at Oxford, he affected not to understand. His friend, Vyvyan Richards, evokes this episode with bitterness: There was in him neither flesh nor sensuality of any kind: he quite simply did not understand. He accepted my affection, my sacrifice, in fact, finally, my ent ire subordination as if they were his due. He never showed in the least way that he understood my reasons or guessed my desires.533 The most painful episode of his life, his capture and rape by the bey,534 accent uated his feeling of shame and guilt. His repulsion with respect to sexuality was life long, and never found a solution. In a letter to a friend in 1937, he described himself as a chaste bachelor ; he does not deny the restrictive nature of his situation, but says he p refers it to friendships which can be easily transformed into sexual perversions. Barracks life is odious for him because of the libidinous climate that reigns there and he expres ses indignation at the vulgar carnal instincts. However, at other times, he savagely denies the existence of homosexual relations within the army: the men are too dirty, there, and physically too close for any one to be attracted to the others; and they wish to stay in go od

shape. His attraction to young RAF aviators does not seem to have been fulfilled in any specific physical action. The difficulty of accepting oneself as homosexual shows up differently, dependin g on the individual. Some manage to overcome their fears and their anguish, someti mes with outside help. Such was the case of the composer Benjamin Britten: until the age of 530. Letter dated 19 July 1921 . Vita Sackville-West, in Violet Trefusis, Lettre s . Vita, 1910-1921, Paris, Stock, 1991, 509 pages, p.493. 531. Cited in Brenda Maddox, The Married man: A Life of D.H. Lawrence, London, S inclair-Stevenson, 1994, 652 pages, p.203-204. 532. Similarly, in Le Paon blanc, the bathing scene is an evocation of his frien d Alan Chambers, and Femmes amoureuses recalls his friendship with amiti. avec Middleton Murry. 533. Cited in Jeremy Wilson, Lawrence d Arabie, Paris, Deno.l, 1994, 1 288 pages, p.84. 534. See T.E. Lawrence, Les Sept Piliers de la sagesse [1926], Paris, Payot, 198 9, 820 pages. 167

A History of Homosexuality in Europe 26, he did not have any sexual intercourse and expressed the greatest reserve wi th regard to any physical relations. His friends W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, ver y liberated, badgered him with advice, without much success. In one of his poems, Underneath an Abject Willow, written in March 1936, Auden evokes Britten s physical loathing and urges him to get into a loving relationship. The death of his mothe r in 1937 seems to have been truly liberating for Britten; released from maternal judgment , now he could live for himself. In 1937, he met the tenor Peter Pears, who was three yea rs older than him. Pears had had several adventures in Lancing, his public school, and th en at Oxford, and he had no trouble accepting his homosexuality. However, the two men s friendship took a long time to mature; Pears finally seduced Britten during a tr ip to America, to Grand Rapids, in June 1939. After that, they stayed together. Their relationship was patterned after the adolescent model of the public school: Pears was the dominating lover, uninhibited and physical, whereas Britten was more dependent, anxious and romantic. In a different way, J.R. Ackerley s inability to find satisfaction shows in his unending quest for the ideal friend. Despite his years of wanton sexual activity, totaling 200-300 conquests, Ackerley was still driven by a romantic faith in absolute lov e which he summed up by saying, Incapable, it seems, of finding sexual satisfaction in lo ve, I started a long quest for love through sex. 535 Like many other homosexuals of his time, he thought that other homosexuals were not real men and that they consequently were not desirable. A heterosexual, on the other hand, would constitute a valuable conque st. Ackerley tended to believe that the men who agreed to sleep with him must inevitably love him, whereas most of the time it was a casual fling, for them, an adventure with no future, easier to manage than a mistress. Forster and Daley constantly tried to draw his attention to this contradiction, without success: When one wants to give a normal young man long kisses on the mouth (ugh!) and to entertain him with endless romantic speeches on eternal love (you and I u nder the arbor, oh my love, etc.), one must recognize that there is little chance a s oldier who offers himself in a pub for 10 shillings a go will fit the bill.536 Ackerley s very explicit autobiography seems to have been undertaken partly in order to confront these problems.537 The rejection of homosexuality could be even more violent. Marcel Jouhandeau could not reconcile his spiritual aspirations and his sexual life. His book De l a bjection is a terrible testimony of self-rejection: Rot! I am nothing but flesh. Is this all th

at so many, so noble, promises have amounted to? 538 The recognition of a broken life and career is 535. Cited by Peter Parker, A Life of J.R. Ackerley, London, Constable, 1989, 46 5 pages, p.117. 536. Ibid., p.119. 537. Ackerley also suffered from premature ejaculation. 538. Marcel Jouhandeau, De l abjection, Paris, Gallimard, 1939, 156 pages, p.130. Jouhandeau went hrough phases of self-acceptance and disgust. Thus, in Chronique d une passion, pu blished in a private edition in 1938, then re-released in 1949, he rejects the judgment of society, a nd notably of the Church: After the Father's departure, I retract into myself, I correct my confess ions, I regret them: that is this disorder that he spoke of? What was so serious about it? What was s o bad, after all, about disturbing an order that is, itself, so artificial, so miserable as the conjugal or der? All night long I cursed myself for having calumniated homosexuality in my last book; it doesn't n ecessarily lead to abjectness, when sentiment plays a part, (Chronique d une passion, Paris, Gallimard , 1964, 223 pages, p.135-136). 168

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity added to this feeling of dirtiness and failure. Homosexuality becomes the major sin which determines all one s existence. Asserting Oneself Homosexuality is not inevitably experienced as a burden. Harold Nicolson seems to have expressed his homosexuality without any major difficulty. He managed to maintain a traditional family life, a diplomatic career and homosexual relations hips, in parallel, with perfect serenity. Unlike many of his friends, he never expressed the least attraction for men of the working class and preferred the company of young intel lectuals of the same social background as his. For him, homosexuality was only one aspect of his personality, a part of his life that was amusing, distracting, that it was best not to take too seriously and which there was no need to brag about.539 Rare, however, are the homosexuals who can completely accept their sexuality and their lifestyle, and who dare to assert it. Daniel Gu.rin, in his Autobiographie de jeunesse (1972), lists many flings that entailed no heart palpitations nor romantic illus ions: The contact of naked bodies, which the Church and my education had made seem dramatic, was nothing more for me than a hygienic formality, like drinking and e ating... what s more, the skins which I dared to rub belonged to the proscribed sex. Taboo was routed. Freedom triumphed. I tasted pleasure in its pure state, withou t mixing in either sensitivity, nor intelligence, nor self-respect. I was not emba rrassed anymore by what had become for me mere accessories (the fumbling and small talk of sublimation), and I sought the essential. The essential: a young naked body in f resh bedclothes.540 Quentin Crisp is the best representative of the flamboyant homosexual and his course throughout England in the 1920s and 1930s is rather unique. He recalls hi s youth in his autobiography, The Naked Civil-Servant (1968), which is as impertinent and f unny as he was himself. While he is quite critical of the homosexuals of his era, he also h as trouble seeing himself in a positive light: I looked on all heterosexuals, even the lowli est, as superior to every homosexual, even the noblest. 541 However, Crisp s assessment of homosexuality was not unilateral. Thus, while he could not prevent himself from feeling a sense of inferiority personally, he did not intend that others, especially heter osexuals, should think the same way. When he heard that one of his friends had been engagi ng in

thievery, he noted: I did not object to these crimes because they were against th e law. My very existence was illegal. I was embarrassed by their pettiness and angry becau se, if I were apprehended in relation to one of them, the snow-white image of the homosex ual, which I had been working on intermittently, would have been sullied. 542 Indeed, Crisp took it upon himself to educate the public about homosexuality. Rather than try to fit into one of the prevailing models, he decided to reinforc e his singularity by exposing it publicly: 539. See James Lees-Milne, Harold Nicolson, a Biography (1886-1929), London, Cha tto & Windus, 1980, t.I, 429 pages. 540. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, Paris, Belfond, 1972, 248 pages, p.168. 541. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant [1968], London, Fontana, 1986, 217 p ages, p.68. 542. Ibid., p.44. 169

A History of Homosexuality in Europe I became not only a confirmed homosexual, but a blatant homosexual. That is, I submitted my case not only to the people who knew me but to those who were compl etely foreign, as well. It was not hard to do. I wore make-up at a time when, even on women, eye shadow was a sin.543 This will to assert himself before all the world led him to display his differen ce under every circumstance and to face up to all affronts. He said that what he wa s looking for, in a regular job, was the opportunity to interact with the heterosexual world in order to be accepted as a homosexual. This evangelical zeal was the sole motive for all that [he] did.544 For the same reason, Quentin Crisp also liked to make a spectacle. One can only picture him, in the 1920s, on this suicide mission to make the man in the street accept the flagrant homosexual: With a weary voice, [the police officer] beseeched [the cro wd] to circulate. I was excited, exhausted, and annoyed by the crowd, but, as it had no t yet torn me to pieces, I was not frightened. Because I believed that I could educate them , I was happy.545 Homosexuals did not build their identity on single experiences. One can, however , find recurring arguments in their speeches, which Quentin Crisp summarizes rough ly as follows: Soon I learned by heart almost all the arguments which could be raised in the climate of the time against the persecution of homosexuals. We were not harming anyone; we could not help it; and, although it was not necessarily irrefutable f rom a juridical point of view, we had enough to deal with, already. Certain speakers w ent so far as not only excusing our sin but glorifying it, by designating it a source o f national culture. The great names of history since Shakespeare were recited one after ano ther like the beads of a rosary.546 It was through these exercises in self-justification that homosexuals built a common identity in the inter-war period. It required a fundamental reversal of p erspectives. Crisp remarked that: By this process I managed to transform homosexuality from a burden to a cause. 547 The homosexual identity was built with, and against, the ot hers. There was, however, a considerable difference in perspective between the first g eneration of inverts, who often had lived their homosexual lives in secrecy, even in shame , and often without achieving sexual fulfillment, and those who were twenty years old in the 1920s or 1930s, who benefited from medical advances, better social visibilit

y, greater sexual opportunities and the example of other activists engaged in the cause. 543. 544. 545. 546. 547. 170 Ibid. Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., p.73. p.50. p.30. p.33.

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity A Generational Example: Thomas and Klaus Mann The example of Thomas and Klaus Mann enables us to study a member of the first and second generation in parallel. Both were homosexuals, but they experienced t heir sexuality in very different ways and one may read their stormy relationship as a metaphor of the construction of the homosexual identity in first half of the 20th century . Thomas Mann had a very difficult relationship with his sexuality; he always trie d to restrain his instincts, either through continence, or through marriage.548 At the age of 25, he fell in love with Paul Ehrenberg, a young painter who reminded him of one of his first schoolboy infatuations (Armin Martens, who became Hans Hansen in Tonio Kr. ger). Ehrenberg was a ladies man and he did not respond to Mann s overtures. Indeed, Thom as was always attracted by men who could not satisfy him, men who were his exact opposite: fair, with blue eyes, heterosexual, lacking in artistic sense. He desi red them because he aspired to be like them, to join the normal world. Four years later, in 1905, he married Katia Pringsheim, who fascinated him. However, his journals from 1918 to 1921 reveal that he had great difficulty in overcoming his homosexual desires. For in stance, in May and June 1911, he stayed in Venice with his wife and her brother Heinrich; a nd it was there that he met the Polish family and the beautiful adolescent who would be us ed as models for Death in Venice. The young boy cast a spell on Thomas Mann, who made no secret of his enthusiasm: My husband was very much struck by him. He immediately had a weakness for this adolescent, whom he liked extraordinarily, and he did not st op watching him on the beach, him and his comrades. He did not follow him all over Venice, no, but the boy had fascinated him and he often thought of him. 549 When Mann publ ished his novella, he indirectly acknowledged his homosexuality. His character Tadzio also represented an evolution on the sexual level: he is not a grown man, but an adolescent. From now on, Thomas Mann recognized his true sexuality by his taste for young beardless lads, whom he seduced and dominated. Thomas Mann s journal allows us to follow his psychological evolution fairly closely; all his failures, misgivings, and desires are there. He wanted to make his marriage succeed, but was only too conscious of his handicap: Approached K[atia]. Am not v ery clear on my state on this subject. Certainly it can hardly be a question of true impotence, but rather confusion and the usual unpredictability of my sex life. No doubt, ther

e is a weakness that might be exacerbated, as a consequence of desires that go in the o ther direction. What would happen if I had a boy under my hand ? In any case, it would b e unreasonable to allow myself to feel depressed by a failure whose reasons are no t new to me. Not to be concerned, good humor, indifference, and self-confidence are the a ppropriate behaviors, if only because they are the best remedy. 550 The disorder increased as his son Klaus reached puberty; his androgynous beauty made him desirable. In his journal, Thomas makes many allusions to the ambiguous charms of his child: In love with Klaus these days. Elements for new Father and So n (July 5, 1920). Charmed by Eissi [Klaus], pretty enough to be frightening, in the bath... Eissi was reading in bed, and his tanned chest was bare, which disturbed me (July 25, 548. For this analysis, see Marianne Kr.ll, Les Magiciens. Une autre histoire de la famille Mann, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, 1995, 398 pages. 549. Katia Mann, cited by Marianne Kr.ll, ibid., p.174. 550. July 1920, ibid., p.190. 171

A History of Homosexuality in Europe 1920). Read a story of Eissi s yesterday, imprinted with a heart-rending melancholy , and criticized it at his bedside while lavishing caresses on him which pleased him, I believe (July 27, 1920). I heard some noise in the boys room and surprised Eissi, complete ly naked, in front of Golo s bed doing silly things. Strong impression of his startli ng and already almost virile body, what a shock (October 17, 1920). The father s feelings for the son are very ambiguous and the family s biographers, Gerhard H.rle and Marianne Kr .ll, judge that his desire had a destructive effect on the son.551 Klaus Mann was aware of his father s attraction to him, and that he kept it hidden ; he himself already felt homosexual inclinations, but saw in his father s attitude only dissembling and confusion. This false situation influenced his own course toward identificat ion; he took the opposite tack, provocative, assertive. In 1926, he married Pamela Wedekind, who was probably his sister Erika s lover; at the same time, Erika marri ed Gustaf Gr.ndgens, a homosexual actor. They would divorce in 1929. These fictitio us marriages, willfully grotesque, may be seen as a denunciation of the paternal example, of h is falsely proper life, his concessions to normality. Marriage did not make any sen se, it did not represent the truth, so one might as well make it completely ridiculous. Thu s, all that his father kept under wraps, Klaus exposed in an outrageous and grandiloquent wa y, and as a consequence attracted the paternal disfavor. Thomas Mann discovered his dou ble, lubricious and wanton, the side of his personality that he had always refused to recognize in the name of moderation and propriety. Klaus Mann was aware of his homosexuality from an early age; in 1921, he fell in love with various schoolmates. He was 16 years old when he met Uto Gartman: I did not dare to understand the warnings and the signs of my destiny. 552 Then he read Wild e, Whitman, Rimbaud, Verlaine, and Stefan George. He did not make any secret of his homosexuality, and he did not hesitate to tackle the question in his writings. H e mingled with all the homosexual intelligentsia of the time, Cocteau, Sachs, Green, Gide, Crevel, Auden, Spender, Isherwood, and Forster, but he preferred not to discuss the subj ect in public and did not mention it in his correspondence with close relatives. Nevert heless, his sexuality very quickly became known to the general public, since he and his sist er Erika

were involved in many scandals. Together they plunged into the shady swirl of Be rlin and Klaus quickly found himself torn by two strong impetuses: the desire for freedom associated with homosexual pleasure, and guilt stemming from his bourgeois education. The loose morals of Berlin in the 1920s led to instability more than to fulfillment. What can one fight, what can one stand up for, when everything is possible, when everythi ng is allowed? We could not deviate from a moral standard: there was no standard. 553 This lack of purpose explains why he did not engage in German homosexual movemen ts: Pr. Magnus Hirschfeld invited me, with the greatest civility, to make a speech in his Institute on the role of eroticism in modern literature. Der Eigene paid me ho mage in the most compromising way. 554 His privileged situation seems to have dimmed his judgment, for a time; he did not realize that other homosexuals were not enjoyin g this 551. 5 May 1932: I dreamed about the Magician s secret life as a homo (his liaison with Kruse [Werner Kruse, a musician]) (Klaus Mann, Journal. Les ann.es brunes, 1931-1936, P aris, Grasset, 1996, 452 pages, p.208). 552. Klaus Mann, Le Tournant [1949], Paris, Solin, 1984, 690 pages, p.164. 553. Ibid., p.161. 554. Letter to Erika Mann, 1926, cited by Stefan Zynda, Sexualit.t bei Klaus Man n, Bonn, Bouvier Verlag, 1986, 156 pages. 172

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity kind of freedom; thus the letter which he sent to Stefan Zweig after the publica tion of La Confusion des sentiments: Thank heaven that a destiny as horrible as that of the professor is no longer possible today or is at least no longer inevitable. 555 His friend, the edi tor Fritz Landshoff, felt that this attitude was explained by too great a certainty of the acceptance of homosexuals, not by an egoistic lack of awareness: The equal rights of homosex uals were so obvious to him that he did not believe that it had to be included as an a genda item for the homosexual combat. 556 This attitude would change radically in 1933, w hen Klaus realized that homosexuals were among the first targets of Nazism. The crumbling of values went hand in hand with the banalization of the act of lo ve and of sexual choice. Mann was fully aware of the charge of decadence associated with the Berlin liberation. His romantic aspirations found no outlet in casually walt zing from partner to partner: They are all well matched, it doesn t matter. This girl is just as well suited to this young man as to any other, and if the young lady has pretensions (perhaps s he has a special relationship with her horse or her chef), the two young men hup! hup! can manage very nicely and have plenty of fun without the girl at all 557 His novel Pious Dance (1925), very representative of the social environment in t hose days, was the first openly homosexual novel in German literature. It draws an op pressive picture of German youth, drifting, trying to find meaning in sex, drugs or art; most of the characters are homosexual, like Miss Barbara, strong and virile, flaunting her rel ationship with a pallid dancer who often spends the night with her, or Petit-Paul, hopelessl y in love with the hero, Andr.as, who is himself enamored (in vain) of Niels, a gi golo. Disappointments in love end in suicide or in a slow decline, as evoked in the so ng that Andr.as languidly sings in a basement cabaret: And now we re walking the street A red scarf at our neck, Walking, walking the street, And really, who gives a fuck! Soon, we ll collapse, No one lasts long this way,

It s straight down hill, to rack and ruin And then comes Judgment Day! 558 After he finished his number, he is mobbed by bourgeois gentlemen filled with desire for his dubious beauty. Thomas Mann took his son s public confession very badly; however, at the same time, he was giving himself up in complete abandon to a 17-year-old boy, Klaus H euser, 555. Letter to Stefan Zweig, September 1927, ibid., p.58. Underlined in the orig inal. 556. Cited by Stefan Zynda, ibid., p.87. 557. Ibid., p.167. 558. Klaus Mann, La Danse pieuse [1925], Paris, Grasset, 1993, 272 pages, p.107. 173

A History of Homosexuality in Europe and revealed his feelings to Klaus and Erika. Curiously, he warned Klaus-Eissi n ot interfere in his concerns: he most particularly did not want his affair to be kn own; on the other hand, he seems to have been boasting that he, too, was able to give in to passion, as Klaus s example had convinced him to throw himself into the swirl of life. One get s the impression that father and son influenced one another, without ever arriving at an accord: Eissi is invited to keep out of my affairs .[and not to rock the boat]. I am alread y old and famous; why would you be the only ones to sin because of that?... the secret and almost silent adventures of existence are the greatest. 559 Thomas Mann s love for Klaus Heuser wa s apparently one of most significant in his life. It was the ultimate fulfillment, the experi ence he had wished for all his life, the unique abandonment to his deepest instincts: [Th is experience] was the unhoped-for realization of something I had longed for all my life, happin ess as it is recorded in the book of humanity even if not in that of practice and because its memory means me too. Writing, finally, was the only means of fully realizing his homosexuality, for K laus Mann as for his father. Several of his works depict young women in homosexual re lations. In Flucht in der Norden (Escape to the North), the heroine, Johanna, a girl who r esembles a boy, stands in for Klaus Mann. The tale evokes his trip to Finland in 1932, when he fell in love with a young landowner, Hans Aminoff. In Pathetic Symphony, he pays homage to Tchaikovsky; significantly, he modifies the ending so that Tchaikovsky does not die of cholera but commits suicide. In fact, in most of his novels, homosexuality is pr esented as a very dismal thing: death or suicide seems to lie in wait for the hero. Thus, in The Volcano, Martin Korella (another disguised portrait of Klaus Mann) has relations with Kik jou, but cannot save him from destruction. All around him, his homosexual friends were co mmitting suicide, most notably Ricki Hallgarten and Ren. Crevel.560 Thomas Mann did not help his son to accept his sexuality, and the latter absorbe d to a degree many homophobic prejudices. In his journal, he recalls an extremely revealing dream: I was followed by the police at a seaside resort, for various reasons: Euk odal, my homosexuality... But they were hoping, thanks to my homo relations, to obtain so me information on the position of the Austrian army. 561 However, Klaus was not reall

y conscious of his doubts and mixed feelings, and he held dear the myth of complete liberati on and fully asserted sexuality. He was obsessed with his relationship to his fathe r and, in his journal, he compares the homosexual identity of each generation. Tonight, reading Wagner, noted that the theme of seduction is very characteristic for the Magician [Thomas Mann] contrary to me. The motif of seduction: romanticism music Wagner Venice death sympathy with the abyss pederasty. The repression of pederasty as causes of this motif (going beyond the seduction of Nietzsche; see Wagner). Different for me. Primary influence: Wedekind

George. Concept of sin didn t have it. The cause: lived fully. Pederasty. Intoxication (including that of death), always accepted with recognition as exal tation of life; never as seduction. 562 559. Cited by Marianne Kr.ll, Les Magiciens, op. cit., p.239, as well as the fol lowing citation. Italics in the original. 560. In La Mort difficile, Ren. Crevel had already depicted the fatality of love based on sex. His hero Pierre, a homosexual cocaine addict, falls in love with a sensual young man , Arthur Buggle (who is attracted as much by men as by women), and commits suicide when he abandons h im. 561. Klaus Mann, Journal, op. cit., 24 March 1932, p.64. 562. Ibid., 4 April 1933, p.134. 174

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity Thus, according to his own interpretation, for the first generation homosexualit y was a seduction, an external influence, which one could resist, one could fight ag ainst. It is associated with negative images death, downfall. Therefore it was necessary t o stifle one s feelings and, at least, to hide them from the world. For the second generati on, on the other hand, homosexuality was not a sin, nor an external seduction, but a consti tutive principle of being, to which one must give oneself up, which one must assert. Ho wever, the idea of death remained present, associated with drugs or suicide. Haunted by paternal rejection, by his failures in love, the disastrous demise of his friends, Klaus Mann gradually went down. The Nazi repression that came crashing down on homosexuals and the Berlin life of his youth reinforced his fears and bitterness. He traveled, he fo ught, he wrote, but failure dogged him. After several suicide attempts, he finally died on May 21, 1949. The long road t o recognition came to a dead end: the suicide of Klaus Mann, symbol of Berlin s golden age, test ified to the failure of a dream: that of homosexuality recognized, militant, affirmati ve; and to the retreat of homosexuals back to the private sphere, where his father h ad lived. DEFINING ONESELF AS A LESBIAN AN IDENTITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION

There is a problem in defining the lesbian identity: is it simply a variation on the homosexual identity, or is it something distinct? Some might even ask whether it exists at all. Before the 1920s, lesbians never formed a coherent group. While the 19th ce ntury did include some lesbian lifestyles,563 they were either evanescent (no sexual inter course, strong sentiment without recognition of the nature of the desires), or they were extremely peripheral: the aristocratic or financial periphery like Natalie Barne y s circle, the social periphery the Sapphic loves among prostitutes, or peripheral experien ces, like the Ladies of Llangollen, a lesbian couple who served as an example for fol lowing generations and who gave credence to the idea that lesbianism could be admitted and accepted. Since the 1920s, thanks to the creation of the Berlin scene, to the propagation of lesbian models disseminated by public figures, and to changes in women s roles in society, a lesbian identity began to take shape. Homosexual women, like homosexual men, c ould

live out their sexuality in a very different way. And similarly, the lesbians of the second generation had more opportunities to express themselves than those born at the t urn of the century. However, the reality of the lesbian experience did not match that o f homosexual men, and most of the time they had nothing to do with each other. Admittedly, le sbians were very much in the minority; but they had the benefit of legal tolerance, eve n though a particularly wild set of anti-lesbian themes was promoted during the in ter-war period. Moreover, they could pass as normal in social settings, for they were of ten thought of as old maids. This relative lack of danger means that they were under no pressu re to form an interdependent and militant lesbian community, so that in the inter-war period the lesbian identity was in an earlier stage of formation than the homosexual id entity. 563. See Lilian Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men, New York, Morran & Cie, 19 81, 496 pages. 175

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The Dominant Model and Alternatives At the end of World War I, Sapphism was marginalized and reduced in its definiti on to a particular type of women: the masculine lesbian (butch, mannisch). Whereas the model of the effeminate invert had been rejected and denied by homosexuals, the model of the masculine lesbian would be retained as a symbol not only by the pub lic, but by lesbians themselves, and for many long years this meant that they were associ ated with medical cases one could only look upon with pity. This restrictive representatio n of the lesbian is a direct consequence of the medical discourse, and of the influence o f certain famous lesbians, in particular Radclyffe Hall. However, this image was not accep ted everywhere and certain women succeeded in developing a different model, in terms of both appearance and conduct. Radclyffe Hall Marguerite Radclyffe Hall must have been the most famous lesbian of the inter-wa r period; she was known as John (1880-1943).564 Just like Stephen Gordon, the poetes s and novelist Radclyffe Hall embodied the heroine of her book, The Well of Loneli ness (1928) the image of the lesbian in the eyes of the public. Her life and manners may hav e shocked proper English society, but one cannot say that John led a scandalous ex istence. Beginning in her adolescence, she developed romantic friendships with two of her cousins, but it was her meeting with Mabel Batten Ladye, a woman of great beauty, mature, and married, that was the turning point. John was then a very lovely you ng woman who dressed rather severely (but still as a female, until about 1920), and wore her ash-blonde hair long. Ladye introduced her to the existence of a lesbian world, and in particular to the salon of Winaretta Singer, Princesse de Polignac. In 1915, John also met Una Troubridge, likewise married, with whom she would spend the rest of her life. Sh e was more feminine than John; Una never wore men s clothes. Thus, the two women typical ly embodied the lesbian couple such as it was defined in those days by Havelock Ell is and the majority of sexologists: a true lesbian, Radclyffe Hall, who was identified wi th the man, and a seduced lesbian, playing the traditional role of the woman, Una Troubri dge. This life match was satisfactory and Radclyffe Hall (unlike, for example, Vita S ackville-

West), did not go on chalking up conquests. Only Evgenia Souline, in the late 19 30s, disturbed the arrangement between John and Una. The name of Radclyffe Hall remains associated with the image of the lesbian in t his period largely because she embodied the New Woman to the extreme, and because her principal book, The Well of Loneliness, drew the attention of British society to Sapphism and opened the eyes of many people who had been completely unaware of the very exist ence of lesbians. Radclyffe Hall took to wearing men s clothing more and more, after 19 20: very strict tailoring, ties, men s hose with garters, heavy shoes with flat heels, and gaiters, with a pipe or cigarette without filter. In 1930, she tried wearing trousers. Finally , she had her hair cut extremely short. She socialized with the smart lesbian set: Natalie Bar ney, Romaine Brooks, Renata Borgatti, Mimi Franchetti, Marchesa Casati, and also Edy Craig s more circumspect circle in Rye. 564. See Michael Baker, Our Three Selves: A Life of Radclyffe Hall, London, Hami sh Hamilton, 1985, 386 pages. 176

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity Radclyffe Hall s first poems and novels touch on the topic of lesbianism only indi rectly. They show a strong autobiographical influence; After Many Days refers implicitly to her relations with Ladye and Una. The novella Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself and the novel The Unlit Lamp are particularly revealing. However, The Well of Loneliness remains p aramount: in it, John endeavors to recount the painful destiny, from childhood to maturity, o f a young invert who has always felt that she is different from the other girls. Judging f rom its repercussions among lesbians as well as the broader public, this novel may be taken as the bes t representation of the New Woman. Stephen Gordon is a model; thanks to her or because of her lesbians of the inter-war period wanted to be masculine. The book seems to have been inspired by a reading of Havelock Ellis s Sexual Inversion: Joh n recognizes himself in that description of the congenital invert. The portrait which she tra ces of the heroine, Stephen Gordon, was very much influenced by the medical model, but is also based on personal experience. It has been said that such a book could be written only by an invert, as only they would be qualified enough through personal knowledge and experience to speak in the name of a misunderstood and misjudged minority. 565 Hall also read many authors who dealt with homosexuality, like Clemence Dane, Rosamund Lehmann, Natalie Barney, Colette, Liane de Pougy, Willy, Proust. She di d not model her books on them, however, for she wished to display her own vision of th e lesbian. She thus eschewed adolescent loves, which society finds easier to excus e, and focused on adult homosexuality. Armed with good intentions, Hall wanted to awake n the public to the painful fate of the invert. To achieve that objective, she did not h esitate to exaggerate and draw an apocalyptic picture of a life of suffering, frustration a nd sacrifice. Hall summarizes the heroine s childhood through a series of medical banalities. He r parents wished for a boy, and they baptize her with a boy s name; as a child, Step hen likes neither dresses nor long hair, and falls in love with the maid. Her mother does not love her, and her father, who suspects the truth, spends his time reading medical wor ks, such as Ulrichs and Krafft-Ebing. Upon reaching adulthood, she is more or less shunne d in the local community; she repulses one suitor, then falls in love with a married woma n (who initially responds to her advances, then, frightened by the girl s passion, reveal s everything to her husband). A scandal erupts; Stephen is driven out of the house and leaves

for France. There, she achieves literary success and discovers the Parisian lesbian community, at the side of Valerie Seymour (a pseudonym for Natalie Barney). When the war br eaks out, she signs on with the ambulance corps and distinguishes herself brilliantly . She meets a girl, Mary, and falls in love. They settle together in Paris and live in harmony for a few years; but Mary finally falls for a man and Stephen sacrifices herself for h er happiness. Beyond the melodrama, certain points are worth mentioning. First, the congenital invert looks masculine. One passage basically says, That night, she stood looking in the mirror; and even at that moment she detested her body with its muscular shoulders, small, compact breasts, and the s lim hips of an athlete. All her life she would have to drag along this body like a m onstrous weight imposed on her spirit.566 565. Una Troubridge, cited in Gay News, n 148. 566. Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness [1928], London, Virago Press, 1982, 447 pages, p.187. 177

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The difference is physical, it is visible, it is immediately apparent to a casua l observer: It is my face; there is something wrong with my face, 567 she notes. Step hen does not think there is any hope of fitting in; she is shut out by her body, and then by her sexuality. The only solution is exile; there, life is easier, but it is also depressing and humiliating. Going out with women, lesbian bars, everything is only makeshift since public li fe is prohibited. Love itself is fleeting; Stephen suffers for not being able to ma rry Mary, not being able to offer her either security or public recognition. If she sacrifices herself, it is because she knows that only a man is able to guarantee her honor in the eyes of society. In that, Radclyffe Hall ratifies the separation between the masculine lesbian, t he true lesbian, whose destiny is inevitably dismal, and the pseudo-lesbian, femini ne, romantic, who can always revert to the traditional role. The two women who share d her life were both married. One may suppose that she felt she was in direct competit ion with the men and that to supplant them in the heart of her friends would be a fitting revenge and proof of her true virility. The masculine lesbian is the one who must take o n the challenges and face the external world. This very traditional understanding of the couple, copied on the heterosexual model, shows clearly that Radclyffe Hall took in the prejudices of the external world and perpetuated the concept of male domination. Her lesbianism is not feminism. In fact, John regarded himself as a man captive in a woman s body; she regretted that she did not receive the regard that is due to one of her true nature. Therefore, her attire and her conduct were intended to reveal her t rue identity to the world. Moreover, like Una Troubridge, she openly acknowledged he r lesbianism in society and professed only scorn for lesbians who were ashamed to show themselves. This distinctive attitude does not mean, however, that Radclyffe Hal l accepted her sexuality easily. The fatalism which underlies her novel is the con sequence of a very profound sense of guilt and inferiority, reinforced by her adherence t o the Catholic religion. For John, inversion was certainly not a natural thing; it was a disease, a mark of destiny, which made her a being apart. In describing Stephen Gordon this way, in showing her difficulty in adapting to society, Radclyffe Hall voluntarily places lesbians in a marginal position. By t

aking up the cause of masculine lesbians, Radclyffe Hall not only ratified the classification s of the sexologists, but she posed a cruel choice to the pseudo-homosexuals: from now on, they had to come out in public in order to get themselves accepted as lesbians (and thus risk derision and exclusion), or savor the sweetness of their romantic friendships wi thout ever knowing what view of womanhood to identify with.568 Hall s vision of lesbianism is at the foundation of a very powerful sense of identity, for it rests on the accepta nce of difference and exclusion. By making lesbians unique, she reinforced the bonds between them and called for solidarity based on their shared fate. Even long after her death, Radclyffe 567. Ibid., p.71. It is interesting to note that, to bolster her theory of physi cal predestination to homosexuality, Radclyffe Hall had the oortraits of her as a child touched up. On one of them, where she was shown with her face framed by long blond curls, she had the bottom repai nted to show her hair very short, like a little boy s. 568. This question is at the heart of modern feminist historiography. The Well o f Loneliness is reexamined from the perspective of its influence on the lesbian identity; the faulty assimi lation between lesbianism and masculinity is criticized briskly. For a discussion on this topic , see Lilian Faderman and Ann Williams, Radclyffe Hall and the Lesbian Image, in Conditions, n 1, April 1 977; Lilian Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men, op. cit., p.322-323; Anne Koedt (dir.), Ra dical Feminism, New York, Quadrangle Books, 1973, 424 pages, p.240-245. 178

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity Hall enabled thousands of young women to recognize themselves as lesbians, to fo rge a system of references. However, while The Well of Loneliness may be held to be th e symbol of one generation of lesbians, there were other models which refuted the assumption of masculinity. Natalie Barney and Colette The Parisian lesbians were first to reject the vision of the New Woman. They exemplified the Sapphism of the aristocratic and intellectual milieux, mixing Gr eek references into the French erotic tradition. Natalie Barney is the best representative of t his trend.569 With Ren.e Vivien, she tried to found a school of poetry to the glory of Sappho at Mytilene, then founded a lesbian salon at 22 rue Jacob, dubbed the Temple of friendship. In fact, the rediscovery of Sappho played an important part in the cr afting of the lesbian identity; she appeared to be the requisite model in antiquity, at a time when homosexuals were making constant references to the Greek example to justify thei r existence. Natalie Barney and Virginia Woolf even undertook to learn Greek in or der to better understand the poetess. Natalie Barney s refuge, a cult hang-out during the Belle Epoque, continued to ill uminate the lesbian world of the inter-war period. Rich, good-looking and famous lesbian s mingled there, enjoying a precious and cosmopolitan atmosphere: Young women, transported by literature and champagne, danced like mad in each other s arms, remembers Matthew Josephson.570 Janet Flanner, who was a regular there, summariz es these get-togethers as introductions, conversations, tea, excellent cucumber sand wiches and divine little cakes baked by Berthe, but the result was a new place of rendez vous for women who were enamored of each other or who simply wished to see each other again.571 Barney s salon thus created a specific, although restricted, lesbian cul ture and identity. The visitors love lives were the main topic of conversation; sexual fre edom was extensive and homosexuality, at last, was not interdicted. When someone asked Na talie Barney about one of her new conquests, she replied: Do I love her? God in heaven, no, we made love, that s all. 572 Natalie Barney s declaration was regarded as the basis of future lesbian combat: I do not feel any shame; one does not reproach the albino for having pink eyes and white hair, why should anyone hold me accountable for being lesbian? It is a question of nature; my homosexuality is not a vice, it is not deliberate and does not do any harm to

anybody. 573 To Barney s great credit, she rejected any definition of lesbianism imposed by society, and in particular by the medical world. She was hostile to the theories of the third sex and to the idea of a woman that is half man, and she rejected compassion and the status of victim. At the same time, she remained on the periphery of lesbianism according 569. Much has been written about Natalie Barney; particularly interesting are Ge orge Wickes, The Amazon of Letters, Natalie Barney, London, W.H. Allen, 1977, 286 pages; and the remarkable work by Shari Benstock, Women of the Left Bank, Paris 1900-1940, Austin, University of T exas Press, 1986, 518 pages. 570. Cited by Lilian Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men, op. cit., p.369. 571. Ibid., p.370. 572. Ibid. 573. Ibid. 179

A History of Homosexuality in Europe to Radclyffe Hall, because she rejected provocation and the strategy of exclusio n. For her, acceptance meant integration into the rest of society and not the formation of s eparatist groups. Nevertheless, the elitist atmosphere of her salon, her dilettantism, her tendency to consider homosexuality as a game of love and a good excuse for intrigues, make h er more of a hold-over from the 1900s rather than a representative of modernity. Barney was 43 years old in 1919, and hardly resembled the Amazon. However, her influence remai ned strong throughout the inter-war period. Her New thoughts of the Amazon wonderfully illustrates her concept of female lov es and her taste for a lascivious woman, fully given over to passion, completely de tached from man (materially as well as physically): They came to us with burning hands, 57 4 she confided. Barney contrasts the idea of the Butch with the extreme sophistication of an aristocratic femininity: I travel as badly as a basket of raspberries. 575 She look ed down on women who took on a more masculine style. She herself posed as a nymph, sport ing long hair floating freely and tunics modeled after antiquity. She cautioned agai nst confusing radical thought with radical appearances, the latter being only a pale substitut e of the first. According to her, masculine women were only a passing fashion, having more to do with society s aspiration to androgyny than any real lesbian movement; they eve n contribute paradoxically to the standardization of the genders and the victory of masculine values. Thus, her lesbian theory is also a feminist reflection. Natalie Barney was one of the first to affirm lesbian sexuality as a form of lib eration for women. As lesbians, they retained control of their own bodies, and no longer needed to fear the violence of the heterosexual act and childbirth. This counter-model, while it has the advantage of not reducing the lesbian to a medical anomaly, offers littl e grounds for claiming rights or asserting differences. It is an individualistic, even ind ependent, model and would be preferred by women who were already free socially and financi ally. On the other hand, it seems to have had no impact on the main population of lesb ians, who were indifferent to Greek tradition and who were in no position to impose on those near and dear to them a scandalous and sumptuary mode of life. Colette, who frequented Barney s salon, however, managed to detach herself from

Sapphic mythology and build a modern image of woman. She thus embodied a model o f lesbianism that the general public could grasp, in her widely disseminated novel s as well as in her private life (which was full of scandal). Colette separated from Willy in 1905 to be with a woman, Missy, i.e. Mathilde de Morny. The lesbian scandal was exacerbate d by the women s appearance: Missy was a masculine lesbian, 42 years old. Colette wa s 32. With Missy, she discovered lesbian nightclubs in Paris like Palmyre, on place Bl anche. She made a spectacle at Natalie Barney s, dancing naked as Mata Hari. At the Moulin Rouge, January 3, 1907, she danced a mime with Missy, Dreams of Egypt : Colette was naked, Missy embraced her, and the scandal was enormous. In 1929 and 1930, like so many others, she was in Berlin, sizing up the distance between Parisian lesbianism an d German militancy. In 1932, she wrote the subtitles of Girls in Uniform for the film s pre views in France. Colette felt the need to clarify her position on lesbianism after The Well of Lo neliness was published. Like many others, reading the book dismayed her; she also wrote t o Una Troubridge to explain her position: One who is abnormal must never feel abnormal; quite 574. Natalie Barney, Nouvelles pens.es de l Amazone, Paris, Mercure de France, 193 9, 215 pages, p.198. 575. Ibid., p.122. 180

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity to the contrary. 576 It was in response to Radclyffe Hall that ure and the Impure. It caused her great pain to write that book: It makes , she declared to Lucie Delarue-Mardrus.577 Sapphism, which had been dic form in her novels, is displayed here under a cruel light. She Juans, the goules, the lesbians out for conquest and pleasure, restless she published The P me vomit, of course presented in a lu denounces the Don and incapable of true

feelings: There can never be enough blame put on the casual Sapphos, those of the restaurant, the dance hall, the Blue Train (Le Train bleu was a posh rail link to the Rivier a) and the sidewalk, those who are merely provocative, who laugh instead of sighing. 578 Such a woman leaves only disaster in her wake; thus, her credits consist of despairing y oung girls, young women committing suicide under her window, broken households, and sometimes bloody rivalries. 579 This condemnation of the lesbian way of life must be placed in its context, however: that of very liberal Paris during the inter-war period and relating onl y to a narrow segment of society that could shrug off criticism. Colette is an eye-witn ess of her milieu. Her reproaches are not limited to flirtation and sexual nomadism. The pr incipal danger which threatens lesbians, according to her, is that of masculinization; o n this point, she agreed with Natalie Barney: You understand, a woman who remains a woma n is a complete being. She does not lack anything, even with regard to her friend. B ut if she gets it into her head to want to be a man, it is grotesque. What could be more r idiculous, and sadder, than a ... fake man? 580 In spite of this denigration, Colette admired unusual personalities. She draws u p an intriguing portrait of the Chevaliere, a determined and influential butch who is p erfectly comfortable with her masculine side and who makes no concessions to fashion. She leads a solitary life, outside of time and without any lover, for her aspiration s are too far apart from those of the new wave. This lack of solidarity between the generation s testifies to the fragility of the lesbian community. Colette contemptuously notes that the se women who are so sure of themselves, so open, suddenly become discreet and confo rmist as soon as their social position is at stake. Love affairs are only acknowledged privately: Only one dared to say, ma l.gitime ( my wife ), 581 and they have no stomach for scandal when it cuts too close to them: It is not that I am hiding it, the viscount ess of X

briefly explained,

... it is just that I do not like to make a show of it . 582

The Pure and the Impure, a book that was celebrated for its tolerance and its si ncerity, is undoubtedly a deeply lesbian book, a book about the love of women. But it is also a critique, sometimes indulgent, often severe, of the circumscribed Parisian world, the meanness and superficiality of those lesbians who had made it and who did nothin g, despite their position, to advance the lot of other women. 576. Cited by Herbert Lottman, Colette, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Folio, 1990, 496 p ages, p.295. 577. Ibid., p.296. 578. Colette, Le Pur et l Impur [1932], Paris, Hachette, 1971, 189 pages, p.123. 579. Ibid., p.109. 580. Ibid., p.112. 581. Ibid., p.78. 582. Ibid. 181

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf Perhaps the most modern counter-model and most relevant to contrast to Radclyffe Hall is that of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. The two women greeted Th e Well of Loneliness with considerable reservation. They considered it not only po or in form, but also dangerous in its premises. In fact, Virginia Woolf s and Vita Sackville-W est s lives and loves are evidence that a lesbian model could exist that was different from the one asserted by sexologists and the militant lesbians, and that it was valid. Ho wever, it was largely obscured by feminist historiography, because it was incompatible wit h the very strict definition of the lesbian identity as it had been formulated: starti ng with selfsufficiency with respect to men, a self-sufficiency which often meant the comple te rejection of men. Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, and Violet Trefusis were married. Their meetings, their exchanges of often passionate letters, and their sexual in tercourse conducted with discretion and reserve were closer to the model adopted or dreamed of by the anonymous lesbians than to the hard-hitting arrogance of Radcl yffe Hall. Vita Sackville-West certainly did not conform to the prototype of Stephen Gordon . True, she too had dreamed since her earliest childhood of being a boy, but that came out mainly in an extraordinary vitality, an exuberance mixed with authoritarianism. If she preferred men s clothes (they were more practical), she leaned toward riding breec hes and gaiters, not Radclyffe Hall s tuxedo. And if she regretted that she was not a man, it was above all because she could not inherit the family palace. By no means did V ita consider her masculine traits as symptoms of a congenital inversion. In her love affairs, s he showed all the enthusiasm of a seductress, a magnetism intended to bend her conq uests to her whims. Vita was aware of her deep nature very early on; she seduced her childhood frien d Violet Keppel. In a journal that she was keeping at the time,583 she describes h er conquest in detail, with a striking freedom and absence of guilt. On November 11, 1918, t he two women left on a journey to Paris; there, Vita (who was going by the name of Juli an), dressed as a boy. During the day they went visiting, and they ended the night in a hotel, on

their way to Monaco. According to Vita, It was marvelously amusing, especially as one was always likely to be discovered. For her, there was no difference between homo sexual love and heterosexual love, and there were certainly no moral implications. She was perfectly frank about her sexual passions and her needs. I took her along [to my room], I treated her savagely. I made love to her, I possessed her, I made fun of her, I simply wanted to hurt Denys [Violet was engaged at the time to Denys Trefusis], even if he wou ld never know it. 584 Not until March 15, 1919 did Vita agree to join her husband, Harold N icolson, for a peace conference. On June 16, 1919, Violet married Trefusis; that very night , Vita created an incident at the hotel and took Violet. The following days were terrib le; Denys and Violet stayed in separate rooms during their honeymoon in France. Returning to England, Violet took up again with Vita and planned a new escapade to Monaco, in October-November. After a new scene with Denys in February, Violet was separated from 583. This journal was published by her son Nigel Nicolson in 1973 in Portrait of a Marriage (Portrait d un mariage, Paris, Stock, 1992, 319 pages). 584. Vita Sackville-West, cited by Lilian Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men, op. cit. 182

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity Vita by her family, who banded together to put an end to the scandal. By then, V ita began to lose interest, having learned that Violet had slept with her husband. Both women presented their versions of this adventure in novels. Vita SackvilleWest started to write Challenge ( Ceux des .les ) (1924) during their escapade in P aris and Monaco. It was at the same time a self-justification, the vision of what her lov e for Violet could have been, and an account of suffering. Likewise, Violet Trefusis tried to justify her behavior in Broderie anglaise (1935); the book, written in French, was not trans lated into English. Rather than rewrite the history of a love affair, Violet sought to exam ine the reasons for its failure and the personalities concerned. Virginia Woolf had a different fate. Her childhood was painful: she lost her mot her, Julia Stephen, then her sister Stella was 13 years old. After a first period of insanity, she was sexually accosted by her half-brother, George Duckworth.585 She fell in love with two women, Madge Waugham and Violet Dickinson; but Vita Sackville-West was her great flame. She was already over forty, and had been married to Leonard Woolf s ince 1913 when she met Vita for the first time. Virginia Woolf had always been very retice nt with respect to sexuality, and her love of women was closely related to the softness that it offered in contrast to male brute force. Woolf herself said that the vague and u nreal world, without love, heart, or passion, without sex, that is the world that [sui ted her] and that [she was] interested in.586 Even her husband, for whom she felt a deep tend erness, did not inspire any physical desire in her. However, she was aware of her lesbian inclinations and when she met Vita, in 192 2, she was dazzled by the elegance and self-assurance of the young woman. I love her and I love to be with her, in her splendour. 587 To Virginia, Vita represented woman, an d to Vita, Virginia represented the writer; their relationship was built on these ima ges. In her letters to her husband, Harold Nicolson, Vita Sackville-West reveals the feeling of tenderness mixed with protection which she felt with regard to Virginia. Nevertheless, she struggled to avoid getting into a physical relationship, which she feared might have consequences for Virginia s mental health. Woolf did have some physical experiences with Vita Sackville-West, but that was not the basis of their relationship. Sackville -West soon began to seduce other women again, but she continued to see and to love Woolf. Woolf wrote Orlando (1928) for Vita a kind of dreamed autobiography of Vita

and a lesbian anthem. Orlando is a young aristocrat who, after many adventures, finds himself transformed one day into a woman. From then on, time is abolished, and h e/she traverses the centuries, in love alternately with men and women. Orlando casts a very different image than The Well of Loneliness. In lieu of fate and the separation of the sex es, Woolf displays the glory of the androgyne, the confusion of the genders, the negation of categories: As Orlando had never loved anyone but women and since it is human nature to hesitate before adapting to new conventions, though a woman in her turn, it was a woman whom she loved; and if the awareness of belonging to the same sex had any effect on her, it was to revive and deepen her formerly male feelings.588 The book is a satire of the precise constructs of sexologists and a celebration of beauty and of sex whi ch resist 585. For detail on this period in Virginia Woolf s life, see Instants de vie [1976 ], Paris, Stock, 1986, 273 pages. 586. Letter from Virginia Woolf to Madge Waugham, June 1906. 587. Louise de Salvo and Mitchell A. Leaska (ed.), The Letters of Vita Sackville -West to Virginia Woolf, London, Hutchinson, 1984, 473 pages. 588. Virginia Woolf, Orlando, Paris, Stock, 1974, 351 pages, p.178. 183

A History of Homosexuality in Europe being used throughout the centuries. Whereas powers dissipate, dynasties die and countries are devastated, Orlando lived on, always beautiful and always loved. Woolf thus affirmed the historical vocation of the lesbian (who is not an invention of the 1920s but is one of the many faces of woman), her scorn for oppressive powers and her ambitio n to live serenely within society, despite being different. For Woolf, and as Sackville-We st had shown so well, Sapphism was good luck, not bad; an additional reason to live and love: It is certain that she collected a double harvest, the pleasures of life were incre ased for her.... She exchanged for the rigor of trousers the seduction of the petticoat, and so k new the joy of being loved by both sexes. 589 Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West had wanted to prove that what was valid for homosexuals was also valid for lesbians. They lived out their inversion freely , with discretion but without fear. They proved that Sapphism could fit into society, b ecause lesbians were women like others. But lesbians of the inter-war period did not ra lly around the model of Orlando, although the book resonated here and there.590 In choosing Radclyffe Hall as their emblem, most lesbians set themselves in reaction against society. They gained an identity, but lost any chance of integration. Individual Answers Reading the accounts of lesbians who lived in the inter-war period, one is struc k by the ignorance that prevailed. The scarcity of meeting places does not explain it fully. Lesbians, like other women, suffered from a want of information on sexuality. Many account s confirm the existence of indubitable lesbian tendencies, and sometimes they were acted upon, in parallel with a total ignorance of the significance of such practices a nd with the pursuit of normal marital activity. Ignorance Like a good many others, Rachel Pinney discovered that she was a lesbian by reading The Well of Loneliness in the 1930s. She had had a fling with a woman at the age of eighteen at Bristol University, without being particularly affected by it. She h ad married out of conformity and only came to understand that she was lesbian during the fi rst days of the war. Similarly, Charlotte Wolff, a German Jew who became a doctor special izing in female sexuality, acknowledged her long sexual ignorance; she considered that he r good

fortune. Unconscious of being different, she lived freely: Neither Ida [her frien d] nor I had ever heard the term homosexual and we did not know anything either about love between two people of the same sex. We enjoyed our relationship without any fear s or labels, and we did not have any model for making love. 591 Homosexuality was often an abstract concept that young women did not think of as having anything to do with their day-to-day experience. 589. Ibid., p.239. 590. A woman has written to tell me that she has to stop and kiss the page when she reads O[rlando]: I imagine she is of the same race. The percentage of lesbian is on th e rise in the United States, all because of you (Virginia Woolf to Vita Sackville-West, February 1929 , in Vita SackvilleWest/Virginia Woolf, Correspondence, Paris, Stock, 529 pages, p.379). 591. Charlotte Wolff, Hindsight, London, Quartet Books, 1980, 312 pages, p.26. 184

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity When did I recognize myself as a lesbian? It is a concept which came to me only very late. I lived as I was without saying, I am a lesbian. That kind of problem d id not affect me. I had [girl] friends, I was attracted to women and I had been, I beli eve, from my early youth... I had what now seems like a great amount of experience, withou t any difficulty, because I basically did not realize, I did not ask questions, I live d like that because I wanted to, that s all.592 In the same way, B insists she was completely unaware: I always had fancies for others apprentices in the couture houses down the street... It was my mother who figured out what that meant.593 Pat James remembers that at the age of thirteen she understood her inclinations, and was not troubled about it: I did not even wonder what was going on, I did not feel different, I did not eve n think about it. I just wasn t much interested in boys that way.594 This ignorance of sexuality particularly affected the lesbians of the first gene ration, born in the mid-19th century. And it was not only the uneducated women who misse d defining themselves as lesbians. The English writer Vernon Lee (Violet Paget, 18 56-1935) had female relationships all her life, without drawing any conclusion; the limit s of a good Victorian education and the negation of the body kept her from the realization: Vernon was homosexual, but she never could face sexual realities. She was perfec tly pure. I think that it would have been better if she had admitted it. She went through a whole series of passions for women, but they were all perfectly correc t. She avoided physical contact. She was completely frustrated.595 Charlotte Mew, an English poetess born in 1869, had a series of disastrous loves : she was passionately attracted by a young woman, sought to give her her support, to show her love to her, but did not know how to go about it; finally she was rejec ted by the young lady, who refused to consider going further. This pattern was repeated wit hout any solution.596 The relationship between Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby was more complex, but also revealing. They met in Somerville College, one of the female c olleges at Oxford, in 1919. After completing their studies, they shared an apartment; and w hen Vera Brittain married George Catlin, Winifred continued to live with the couple. Thei r friendship ceased only when Winifred died. However, neither of the two women saw the

592. Testimony of A., recorded by Claudie Lesselier, in Aspects de l exp.rience le sbienne en France, 19301968, m.moire de DEA de sociologie, Paris-VIII, under the direction of R. Castel, Nove mber 1987, 148 pages, p.57. 593. Testimony of B., ibid., p.56. 594. Pat James was born in 1921; since the age of 8, she worked at the market. M emoir recorded in Suzanne Neild and Rosalind Parson, Women like us, London, The Women s Press, 19 92, 171 pages, p.57. 595. Irene Cooper Willis, heir and friend of Vernon Lee, cited by Burdett Gardne r, The Lesbian Imagination (Victorian Style): A Psychological and Critical Study of Vernon Lee, New York, Garland, 1987, 592 pages, p.85. 596. For further details, see Penelope Fitzgerald, Charlotte Mew and her Friends , London, Collins, 1984, 240 pages. 185

A History of Homosexuality in Europe relationship as lesbian. On the contrary, Vera Brittain, a notorious feminist, t ook care in her memoirs to deny it. She also took the trouble of editing out of her letters any tendentious allusion. Winifred Holtby was less reserved in her writings. She contested Radclyffe Hall s definition of lesbianism, which she refused to regard as pathological; and she r efuted the presumed linkage between celibacy and frustration. Vera Brittain, on the contrar y, adopted a traditional vision of sexual relations: marriage is essential, and cel ibacy is a source of neuroses for women. Brittain s position is also symptomatic of a conflic t between feminists and lesbians, with feminist concerns always coming first. The case of Edith Sitwell is even more unusual; her strange physique was not attractive to men and she never had any sexual adventures. In addition, she was surrounded by homosexuals, notably her brother Osbert, and she fell in love with the Russian painter Pavel Tchelitchev, also homosexual. Observers of the time took h er for a lesbian, although she never had relations with women. She found Wyndham Lewis s ca ricature of her in The Apes of God (1930) and her portrait as a lesbian by No.l Coward revolting. It is difficult to determine, here, whether this was a case of homose xuality that was never accepted or simply an inability to face sexuality in general, a result of a difficult childhood and significant physical complexes. Assuming an identity Still, it would be a mistake to believe that most lesbians kept their loves plat onic, without daring to give physical expression to their sexuality. Natalie Barney ra cked up many conquests and she is considered to have had more than forty lovers, not cou nting casual flings. Many lesbians gave full expression to their attraction for the fe male body and their pleasure in making love. The tell-all book by Djuna Barnes, L Almanach d es dames (The Almanac of ladies) (1928), hails the female pleasures in a devilish satire of the Parisian lesbian microcosm. Djuna Barnes arrived in Paris in 1919 with her friend, the Am erican sculptor Thelma Wood. She did not regard herself as lesbian: I am not lesbian. I only love Thelma, she replied to an insinuation by Ottoline Morrell.597 Marguerite Yourcena r also lived out her homosexuality very freely. In the 1930s, she led a dissipated life including many love affairs, until she met the American academic Grace Frick, in 1937, wit h whom she shared the rest of her life. She was a regular on the Paris lesbian scene, a

t the Th. Colombin, rue du Mont-Thabor, and Wagram, 208 rue de Rivoli, and she was a mains tay of the local night life. The most remarkable example is definitely Vita Sackville-West, whose extraordina ry vitality we noted above. Her life was marked by a series of scandalous episodes, like her flight with Violet Trefusis, and she was considered responsible for bre aking up several marriages, including that of Dorothy Wellesley. Other affairs were pursu ed with the tacit agreement of her husband, including with Mary Campbell and Virginia Wo olf. A veritable Dona Juana, Sackville-West took one lover after another, without the l east scruples. The list includes Rosamund Grosvenor, Margaret Voigt, Hilda Matheson, Evelyn Irons, Christopher St John, and Gwen St Aubin, inter alia. Her marriage with Harold Nicolson was a perfect incongruity in English high society of the inter-war period. Both were homosexual, and both pursued their af fairs in 597. Cited by Shari Benstock, Women of the Left Bank, op. cit., p.245. 186

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity parallel, without any concerns and without denting their deep attachment to each other. Sackville-West was also sympathetic to the news that her elder son, Ben, was hom osexual. She wrote him a long letter, in which she managed to reconcile the defense of homosexuality with an apologia for marriage, the gist of which said, But Daddy was wrong on one point: that doesn t bother me. What would bother me, is if you believed that that will inevitably keep you from what you c all all the happiness and joys of marriage. Remove that idea from your head immediately. Two of the happiest married couples that I know, whose names I must conceal out of discretion, are both homosexuals. For you undoubtedly know that homosexuality exists among women as well as men. And then, look at Duncan [Grant] and Vanessa [Bell]; they are not really married, but have lived together for years, which am ounts to the same thing. They love each other as Daddy and I do, although Duncan is compl etely homosexual. Therefore, you can see that it is not necessarily an obstacle to our kind of happiness.598 Violet Trefusis s letters to Sackville-West reveal a bubbly temperament, a great emotional freedom and total abandon to sexual desire. There is no sign of the re serve which one might expect from a well-bred young lady. In her letters, Violet often calls Vita by a man s name, whether Julian, Dimitri or Mytia, and she boldly makes the most c ompromising statements. Furthermore, it is Vita who moderates their relationship and tries to keep it within manageable bounds, whereas Violet, in the exaltation of her lo ve, clearly would have been willing to sacrifice her reputation. Oh my God, Mytia, a demonic force has broken out in me, I would have you with me before you had time to do a thing, and you remain blind . One of these days, the clouds will burst and you will be ca rried with all the rest.599. Trefusis s love is explicitly carnal; she loves Sackville-W est with all her body and sends explicit invitations and erotic provocations, with no decency , no shame. Sex is natural, love is healthy: My days are consumed in an impotent desi re for you, and my nights are haunted by unbearable dreams.... I am dying of hunger for you, if you really want to know.600 Katherine Mansfield s journal similarly reveals that a young lady from a good family, raised in an environment sheltered from sexual realities, could fully en ter into and assume her sexuality, without scruples or remorse. One passage may be summarized thus I spent last night in her arms and this evening I hate her which, once you think about it, means that I adore her: that I cannot lie in my bed without feel ing the

magic of her body... I feel more deeply with her than with any man all those imp ulses known as sexual... And now she is coming and pressed against her, holding her hands, her face against mine, I am a child, I am a woman, and more than half a m an.601 There were other very original alternative lifestyles developed during the inter -war period which called into question the bases of patriarchal society. One of the b est examples of an experiment in lesbian life fully engaged is the community founded i n the 598. Cited by Victoria Glendinning, Vita, la vie de Vita Sackville-West, Paris, Albin Michel, 1987, 437 pages, p.290. 599. Undated letter [1918?], in Violet Trefusis, Lettres . Vita, op. cit., p.169 . 600. Ibid., 30 June 1919, p.154. 601. Katherine Mansfield s journal, 1 June 1907, about her relations withEdie Bend all, cited by Antony Alpers, The Life of Katherine Mansfield, New York, The Viking Press, 1980 , 466 pages, p.49. 187

A History of Homosexuality in Europe 1930s by Edith Craig, daughter of the actress Ellen Terry. Edy lived with Christ opher St John (a pseudonym of Christabel Marschall) until his death, in 1947. Christopher defined himself as a congenital lesbian, whereas Edy was bisexual. She established a tri angle with Christopher and Clare Atwood (Tony) in Smallhythe, in the English countryside, a nd they made their house a special meeting place for lesbians. In July 1931, she in vited her neighbors Radclyffe Hall and Una Troubridge (who lived in Rye) to attend a show at the Barn Theatre. Everyone dressed as a man for the occasion. In 1932, Vita Sackvill e-West was invited to read her poem, The Land ; her husband Harold Nicolson, Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Stephen Spender, Raymond Mortimer and William Plomer were also invited the flower of British homosexuality. In 1933, Virginia Woolf joined the group. The sexual intercourse was very free; Vita Sackville-West even spent a night wit h Christopher. The neighbors did not appear to have any problem with these goings-on; the threesome was considered an intriguing eccentricity and did not set off the host ility to which Radclyffe Hall and Una Troubridge, for example,602 were accustomed. This type of experiment remained very rare, however. Most lesbians of the interw ar period, whether well-known or unknown, stuck to a traditional-looking family lif e which in the end differed very little from the heterosexual model. Such cases we re more numerous, but there are few accounts on them since they did not attract attentio n. Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier fit that picture perfectly. The shy young American met Monnier in 1917 while visiting her bookshop. They were friends unti l 1937, when they broke up. With Monnier s assistance and advice, Beach founded the Shakes peare & Co. bookshop. They led an undramatic life; for entertainment, they would go to visit Natalie Barney and thus they were in touch with the Parisian lesbian commu nity.603 Neither one was very loquacious about their relationship, which appears to have been a model of equilibrium. They did not mimic heterosexual roles, but each assumed he r own identity, without reference to male models, and they did not fall into conflict and destructive relations. The journalist Janet Flanner (Broom), too, avoided any public show and preferred discretion to the flamboyance some of her friends. An American by origin, Flanne r was part of the loose group of Left Bank lesbians, intellectuals and artists who gat hered

around Natalie Barney. Like many others, she left the United States in order to be able to live more freely, without being subjected to the constant pressure of public opi nion. Her relationship with the writer Solita Solano was unremarkable; both felt that thei r way of life was normal and natural, so there was little scope for making them the subje ct of any scandal or scene. Many anonymous lesbians who were interviewed also insist that their relationship s were natural. Me, I always considered myself very normal... But at the same time I was normal and I was glad to be different. Because, fundamentally, I was in rupt ure with the idea of family, whereas everyone had a family; I was in rupture with marriag e, whereas all the women were marrying; I was essentially lesbian whereas most women loved men... I was rather glad to be different, that s all. 604 602. For further details, see Joy Melville, Ellen & Edy: A Biography of Ellen Te rry and her Daughter Edith Craig, 1847-1947, London, Pandora, 1987, 293 pages. 603. For further details, see Noel Riley Fitch, Sylvia Beach and the Lost Genera tion, New YorkLondon, W.W. Norton & Co, 1983, 447 pages; and Shari Benstock, Women of the Left Bank, op. cit. 604. Testimony of N., recorded by Claudie Lesselier, Aspects , op. cit., p.60. 188

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity The relationship with one s parents was complex, however. Sylvia told me, One did not speak about sex at that time, but from the age of eleven I started falli ng in love with girls. When it became more apparent, my mother started making fun of my feelings.605 However, not all lesbians inevitably suffered from peer pressure, and the assert ion of one s homosexuality did not necessarily cause a break with the parents. An affa ir with another girl, if it remained discreet, was less likely to attract scandal than a too evident flirtation with a young man. Thus, B testifies: My mother left me a great deal of freedom. The only thing she was terrified of was that I might become pregnant without bei ng married. You can do what you want, but not that, she said. To be an unmarried moth er, to her, was an abomination. Seeing that I was not attracted to boys, she thought : at least, she won t have a baby that way! Then she left me more freedom than my sister... 606 Another says: They allowed my friend to visit at our house, and one day after she left, there was one of those scenes between my mother and me, my mother saying that th is was unacceptable, that I was heading for trouble,... that she did not understand me, etc. I answered: Okay, mom, if that s the way it is, I ll leave. My father, who usually did n ot get involved, basically a good and reasonable man, said to me: Okay; you can leave to morrow, on the understanding, have no fear, that we will talk it over again here. Actuall y, no one ever mentioned it again. It was settled then and there. 607 A. lived with her friend for forty years, and the rest of her family considered her a full member. The couple was accepted in the neighborhood, and in the village the y moved to thereafter: We didn t have any problems... For decades, we lived in peace; we we re two friends, we were the little household at Number 25, if you will, and it should be said that we never had serious trouble, in our case. Me, I was pretty quiet, and I di dn t get in anyone s way. Maybe they laughed behind our backs; I couldn t have cared less. 608 Charlotte Wolff, who came from a middle-class Jewish family, also enjoyed a grea t tolerance: The Jewish middle class in general was ignorant on subjects like unort hodox sex, but my parents and their family were not. I was agreeably surprised when my aunt Bertha once remarked: I believe you are in love with Mrs. X. I answered: In love, b ut not very much attracted. She smiled. Wolff noted: I was accepted for myself in my priva te and professional circles, and I suppose that I naively assumed that the whole wo

rld would do the same. 609 Relations with one s parents were not always so easy. For Valentine Ackland, adole scence was the major turning point. Paradoxically, it was her parents who revealed to her that she was different and led her to become radical. In 1922, at the age of sixteen, she fell in love with Laura, who was three years older. In all innocence, they embra ced, exchanged gifts, and wrote passionate letters which were soon discovered. Father and daughter clashed, in mutual incomprehension: 605. Testimony of Sylvia in Women like us, op. cit., p.63. 606. Testimony of B., recorded by Claudie Lesselier, Aspects , op. cit., p.56. 607. Testimony of A., born in 1907 in Paris, to a father who worked and a mother who stayed home, ibid., p.74. 608. Ibid. 609. Charlotte Wolff, Hindsight, op. cit., p.73. 189

A History of Homosexuality in Europe I did not understand at all what he sought to discover. I said to him that we lo ved each other. I have a very sharp memory of the expression of disgust on his face. .. He became completely furious more furious than I had ever seen him. He asked me whether I knew what an indecent thing I was doing. I said no, I had not done any thing indecent; it may have been weird, but it wasn t evil. I thought that some of us mu st have been built wrongly. He asked me, in a rage, what I meant. I answered that L aura ought to have been a man. I thought that Laura must have been one in an earlier incarnation. 610 After the scene with the father, who felt that his authority was being flouted, Valentine had to face maternal recriminations: No man will ever want to marry you if he hears of this ; It is a disgusting thing, unpardonable. If Valentine remained unimpre ssed, Laura was convinced: Her mother said that unless she married, she would remain an old maid, dishonored, poor and rejected. 611 The arguments of respectability were powerful in a society governed by others opinions. When that was not enough, medical arguments would be used to terrorize them: Valentine was told that she would go blind and lose her mind if she contin ued her practices against nature. Standing up to her parents, Valentine gradually discover ed the realities that were being hidden, and she came to terms with her identity. After an unconsummated marriage, she decided to live independently. She had her hair cut in a bob and developed female friendships. In 1926, she met Sylvia Townsend Warner. They move d in together in 1930, composing poems together and settling in Dorset. They were ver y committed politically, fighting Fascism and serving in the volunteer ambulance corps in Spain. They lived independently for forty years and managed to assert their lesb ian identity without any major problems. Self rejection Not all lesbians managed to accept their identity and to live their lives accord ingly. Many women did not admit they were different, or rejected the most extreme aspec ts. A freedom of morals and provocative dressing might go hand-in-hand with a certain conformity and an uncomfortable question about one s identity. The painter Romaine Brooks exemplifies this schizophrenia. Like others, Brooks built her identity gradually , in reaction to her mother, who rejected her, and then as a result of contact with t he cosmopolitan homosexual community which she became a part of in Capri and then in Paris.

Brooks remained sexually innocent for a very long time, although she fell in lov e with several of her counterparts during her adolescence. She had difficulty accepting her sexuality and the fact of being different. Far from being a positive experience, for her l esbianism seemed to be a matter of bad luck and a flaw. This feeling was reinforced by man y failures in love. Her meeting with John Brooks turned the corner. Like other Bri tish homosexuals, Brooks had left England following the Oscar Wilde trial and had set tled in Capri, where he shared a house with E.F. Benson and Somerset Maugham. He met Romaine, whose mother had died and bequeathed an immense fortune to her, and he married her at her request; neither one was in love. The marriage lasted only on e year 610. Valentine Ackland, For Sylvia: An Honest Account, London, Chatto & Windus, 1985, 135 pages, p.67. 611. Ibid., p.68-69. 190

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity because Brooks, keen to retain his respectability, was unable to accept his wife s transformation: she cut her hair and started dressing like a man. Then she struck up friendships with the princesse de Polignac, Ida Rubinstein, Renata Borgatti, D Annunzio, Monte squiou, Cocteau, and Whistler. She met Natalie Barney in 1912, and that was the great lo ve of her life.612 However, that hardly provided any satisfaction either: Barney we nt on with her conquests, without regard for Romaine s fidelity. Romaine Brooks s attitude with regard to the lesbian community is ambiguous. She was a full member, a celebrity among the homosexuals of Paris, and was satir ized in Extraordinary Women (1928)613 by Compton Mackenzie, whom she depicted in a savag e and cruel portrait in her own work. Her two favorite targets were Radclyffe Hall and Una Troubridge, whose affectations and victim mentality she despised. Still, she soc ialized with them constantly and she herself wore only men s clothing. Her portrait of Tro ubridge, one of her most famous tableaux, is a caricature of the New Woman, and an indictment against lesbian stereotypes, in all: A hard gaze, the left eye magnified by a monocle, the mouth pinched, the hair short and tight, . And clothing that is hardly more flattering: the high collar of a white shirt interrupted by a tie which strangles the neck; a black jacket over a gray and black striped skirt this is the kind of overdone costume, the type of get-up tha t encourages ridicule of lesbians.614 Brooks never managed to get beyond these contradictions. According to her biogra pher, Fran.oise Werner, she adored traditional values; make no mistake: the great rebel, the nonconformist, enjoyed her female society that saved appearances. 615 H er inability to accept herself as a lesbian reflects on her social attitude: she di dn t like women who resembled her too much. This love-hate relationship led her to take a politi cal stance to the far right. 616 Sometimes, the different road is too fraught with suffering, and too lonely to b e followed to the end. Annemarie, Klaus and Erika Mann s friend, was born in 1908 into an ultraconservative Zurich family of wealthy industrialists who became Nazi sympat hizers. Her mother, Ren.e Schwarzenbach, a very respectable woman of the upper middle cl ass and the daughter of a general, was nonetheless lesbian. Her invasive personality stifled her daughter, whom she forbad to admit her homosexuality, all the while encourag ing her masculine tendencies and her attraction for women. She herself had an affair wit

h the professional singer Emmy Kr.ger, who lived in their house. In 1928, Annemarie le ft home for Paris, then Berlin. Everywhere she went, her attractive and desperate beauty inspired passions including in Erika Mann, Carson McCullers, Ella Maillart, Barbara Hamil ton and the baronne Margot von Opel. Her whole life was one long escape into drugs, travel, and writing. In Nouvelle lyrique (1933), she creates a male stand-in for herself , a depressed man in love with Sibyl, a cabaret singer. The impossibility of homosexual love i s represented here in the opposition between the well-bred young man on his way to a diplo 612. On Romaine Brooks, see Meryle Secrest, Between Me and Life: A Biography of Romaine Brooks, London, Macdonald & Jane s, 1976, 432 pages; Fran.oise Werner, Romaine Brooks, Par is, Plon, 1990, 334 pages; Shari Benstock, Women of the Left Bank, op. cit. 613. See Chapters Five and Seven. 614. Fran.oise Werner describing the picture, in Romaine Brooks, op. cit., p.267 . 615. Ibid., p.262. 616.See Chapter Six. 191

A History of Homosexuality in Europe matic career, and the muse of Berlin night life. Looking for a pretense of stabi lity, Schwarzenbach married the homosexual Claude Clarac, Second Secretary at the Fren ch embassy in Persia, in 1935. In spite of all, she sank into a morphine habit and died at the age of 34 in a fall from a bicycle, after having made several suicide attempts. Thus, the first lesbian identities appeared in the 1920s, but they still remaine d very polemical. The majority of lesbians were defined according to the model of the m asculine lesbian, patterned on Radclyffe Hall. I believe I liked it better when we all mar tyrs! declares Valerie Seymour, in The Well of Loneliness.617 However, this model was not the only one and we should not forget that certain lesbians were able to propagate optimi stic ideals and an identity based on acceptance of oneself and integration into socie ty. THE BIRTH OF A HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY? Was there any homosexual community to speak of, in the 1920s? The term conjures up images of coherent homosexual groups, interdependent, sharing the same cultur al reference, the same aspirations and, presumably, the same goals (militancy, educating the public, mutual support) and so forth. And can we speak of a homosexual community in the broad sense (homosexuals and lesbians) or must we keep them in mind as two s eparate groups? Based on what we have seen, there appears to be little basis for imagini ng a homosexual and lesbian community. The two groups lived completely autonomously; they had little or nothing to do with each other, and they did not have the same references and certainly not the same goals: lesbians were not under any legal pressure in any of the three countries concerned. The first point is more delicate. In fact, the most p ersuasive sign that there was a homosexual community and at the European level is that of shared references. English, French and German homosexuals all looked to a certai n number of famous ancestors, they read certain authors, they went to see certain pl ays and enjoyed certain painters. This reality exists and it unites the homosexual p opulations more effectively than the militant movements, which affected only a minority. On the other hand, the homosexual community was certainly still not very coherent: it m ay have functioned relatively well at the level of the elites, but it was far from integ rating all the social classes and all the categories of homosexuals. Sharing a Common Culture

Between the wars, the foundation for a homosexual community was laid in the establishment of common references. Literature was one of the most fertile field s for developing the essence of the homosexual culture. Certain names were quoted time and again, demonstrating that there was a sort of homosexual literature. The classics, like Plato, played an important part for students, who might discover the mysteries o f Greek love through hints and allusions when the text was not expurgated: Mr. Cornwallis stopped the student who was going over the text and indicated, in a neutral voic e: You can skip that line, it is just an allusion to the unmentionable vice of the Gree ks. 618 617. Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness, op. cit., p.391. 192

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity Certain texts developed a wicked reputation, including Shakespeare s Sonnets, Marlowe s plays and, more recent, the works of Walter Pater and Johann Joachim Win ckelmann. The very name of Oscar Wilde was an evocation of vice, as was that of Ren.e Vivien in France which became part of their attraction: I have all the works of R en.e Vivien in the original, my friend knew my passion for Ren.e Vivien very well and , every time she could, she took the opportunity to buy one of those little books from L emerre, illustrated... 619 In England, uranian poetry enjoyed certain a vogue in homosexual milieux.620 Many of the poets were related to the BSSP, besides. A Shropshire Lad (1896) by A. E. Housman became a cult poem enjoyed by a whole generation. Contemporary poets wer e the most read, and they were often quoted, for they were able to evoke the perso nal experiences of homosexuals who identified with the choices, the doubts, the suffering, and sometimes the struggle and the pride evoked. In the first generation, Edward Car penter and J.A. Symonds were very popular in England, as well as Ronald Firbank (whom S iegfried and Cecil Beaton enjoined Stephen Tennant to read). Among the best-known novelis ts and poets in England were D.H. Lawrence, Compton Mackenzie, Walt Whitman, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, Rupert Brooke and, a little later, Christopher Ish erwood. Radclyffe Hall s book, for its part, clearly became the touchstone of the lesbians in the inter-war period. It is constantly cited by women when they are asked to nam e their major influences. Eleonor read it when she was sixteen: We all wanted at all cost s to get our hands on The Well of Loneliness and we passed it around, even when it was fo rbidden. It was completely dog-eared. We thought it was marvelous simply because we knew we were like that. 621 Its scope went far beyond England. Even Frenchwomen testify to its impact in their life: That was a big thing, it was a whole .poque (which I did not live through, in it s entirety, of course...) But finally, when we in France started to read this book which had been burned in England... Then, obviously, that created a certain fashion fo r lesbians to carry it around... I always the think of the ties from Sulka, the tie was a l ittle bit an imitation of Radclyffe Hall In the end, it wasn t great literature, but it was dear to the hearts of lesbians.622 In Germany, Thomas Mann s writings were replete with homosexual insinuations, skillfully dissimulated. His son Klaus soon made himself a reputation as a homos

exual writer, in particular with the publication of his very explicit book, The Pious Dance. The high priest of homoeroticism was Stefan George, whose poetry celebrating the bea uty of a young boy was reserved for a very limited elite readership. Jelena Nagrodskaya s n ovel, The Bronze Door (1911), was a great success. It went through five printings in Germa ny and was translated into several languages. The 1000-page novel by A.E. Weirauch, Der Sko rpion, became the major reference of the lesbian public. Hilde Radusch, a former munici pal adviser of the KPD, noted: For me, the book was a revelation, I recognized myself 618. E.M. Forster, Maurice, op. cit., p.54. 619. Testimony of A., recorded by Claudie Lesselier, Aspects , op. cit., p.102. 620. For a complete study on this topic, see Timothy d Arch Smith, Love in Earnest , Some Notes on the Lives and Writings of English Uranian Poets from 1889 to 1930, London, Routled ge & Kegan, 1970, 280 pages. 621. Eleonor, testimony reported in Women like us, op. cit., p.34. 622. Testimony of A., recorded by Claudie Lesselier, Aspects , op. cit., p.101. 193

A History of Homosexuality in Europe there. 623 In 1931, Die Freundin described it as the most beautiful of all the wome n s novels. The work was fairly traditional, at that, in the homosexual coming of age g enre with all its obligatory stages. And it imitates Hall s novel, The Unlit Lamp (1924 ), in many points. In France, of course everyone was reading Verlaine and Rimbaud, and the turn-oft hecentury dandies like Robert de Montesquiou and Jean Lorrain, whose Monsieur de Phocas (1901) tells the story of a man obsessed by the death of one of his frien ds at the age of eleven. The Proustian influence is undeniable; even those who did not read hi s works knew how ambiguous they were. The homosexual elite read Sodom and Gomorrah, but they did not always like it. On the subject of male homosexuality, the dispute usuall y centered on Proust s dissimulation of his own homosexuality, and in particular his use of t he subterfuge of Albertine: That Proust, for example, made Albert into Albertine, makes me doubt the whole work .This cheating kills our confidence. 624 When it came to the lesbians, they harshly disputed both his description of thei r morals and his general view, which they considered masculine, partisan and degra ding: But was he confused, was he ignorant when he assembled such a Gomorrah of abysmally vicious girls, denounced an understanding, a community having lost the comfort of the earth-shaking truth which guided us through Sodom the fact is, with all due respect to Mr. Proust s imagination or error, that there is no Gomorr ah. Puberty? loneliness, prisons, aberration, snobbery... Those are thin seedbeds, n ot sufficient to account for the generation and feeding of a vice so widespread, so well-estab lished, and the indispensable solidarity that goes with it. Intact, enormous, eternal, Sodom contemplates from above its pale shadow.625 Reading Proust also amounted to a provocation the pleasure of finally seeing the

subject broached and being able to wave the book around without actually knowing what to make of it. Vita Sackville-West wrote to Virginia Woolf, to that effect, in 1 926: The rest of the time, I read Proust. Since no one on board had ever heard of Proust, but had enough French to be able to translate the title, they rather looked at me askanc e .626 But it was Gide who became the ultimate reference on homosexuality in France in the inter-war period. Gide was read by the men, and by lesbians alike: Andr. Gide , that was when I was at the teachers college, so I was nineteen years old (1936). If It

Die was about a man s homosexuality, but I understood that it was the same problem. Corydo n? I read that one, too. He was a great guy, Gide. 627 For some homosexuals, Gide was a revelation; his influence is palpable: At a certain moment, having read Andr. Gide, families I hate you, Nathana.l I threw it all in. I left the teachers college, I left my fa mily, I left everything. I came to Paris (1937).628 Homosexual culture was not limited to the private pleasures of literature. It wa s entirely possible to go into town to see homosexual shows. In addition to the tr aditional transvestite cabarets that could be found in many homosexual establishments and of 623. Cited by Claudia Schoppmann, Der Skorpion, Frauenliebe in der Weimarer Repu blik, Berlin, Fr.hlings Erwachen, 1984, 81 pages. 624. Ren. Crevel, Mon corps et moi, Paris, .ditions du Sagittaire, 1926, 204 pag es, p.62-63. 625. Colette, Le Pur et l Impur, op. cit. 626. Vita Sackville-West/Virginia Woolf, Correspondence, op. cit., p.129-130. 627. Testimony of N., born in 1904, living in the provinces with her grandmother , recorded by Claudie Lesselier, Aspects , op. cit., p.104. 194

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity which Germany had made a specialty, it became possible to see homosexual spectac les in perfectly traditional settings. In England, the literary and art critics were op enly prohomosexual. New Stateman and Listener, one due to T.C. Worsley, the other due to J.R. Ackerley, defended homosexual artists.629 In addition, Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes had made the treatment of homosexu ality on stage a familiar item since before the war. Diaghilev s homosexuality was notor ious, as was his affair with Nijinsky. The success of the Ballets Russes among the homosexual intelligentsia was extraordinary: Proust, Cocteau, Lytton Strachey be came fanatics. After 1919, the dancer Ivor Novello and the actor No.l Coward630 perpetuated the homosexual myth in the world of entertainment. All his life, Coward distinguishe d himself by his relative discretion; he never made a public statement about his h omosexuality and, while his immediate entourage was perfectly aware of his tastes, those watc hing his ambiguous plays often remained unaware of the subtext. Still, he helped to p opularize the image of the chic, decadent homosexual on the British stage in the 1920s. In The Young Idea (1923), the two heroes, Sholto and Gerda, embody the two extremes of the an drogynous fashion, the effeminate boy and the flapper. In The Vortex (1924), Nicki Lancast er takes drugs, which was interpreted by critics as a substitute for homosexuality. In 1929, he put together Bitter Sweet, a musical based on the homosexuality of the Oscar Wilde generation, in another skillful maneuver. One outstandingly transparent allusion is in the line, We are the reason for the Nineties being gay. And, finally, in Design for Livi ng (1930), he broaches the topic of bisexuality. The best-known English actors of the time, John Gielgud, Max Adrian, Gyles Isham, Henry Kendall, Charles Laughton, Ernest Milton, Esme Percy, Eric Portman, Ernst Thesiger and Frank Vosper, were homosexual or bisexual. In Germany, actors like Wilhelm Bendow, Max Hansen, Adolf Wohlbr.ck, Hubert von Meyerinck, and Hans Heinrich von Twardowsky made no secret of their homosexuality. In France, Jean M arais was the biggest celebrity. Among women, Marlene Dietrich, Zarah Leander, and Gre ta Garbo were bisexual. Many homosexuals were also found in the fashion and art wor ld, in particular, in England, the interior decorator John Fowler, the set designer Oli ver Messel, the great dressmaker Norman Hartnell and the photographer Cecil Beaton.

In Germany, there was an attempt to create a homosexual theater, the Theater of Eros, which was founded in Berlin-Steglitz on July 6, 1921, by Bruno Matussek. I t was an itinerant theater which put on shows for private individuals or in hotels. It sp ecialized in plays with homosexual themes like Satire et trag.die de Caesareon, which was abo ut the life of an invert. The homosexual newspapers published the program in their advertise ments. Der Hellasbote, in its May 26, 1923 issue, announced the June 4 presentation of a play by 628. Ibid. For her part, Vita Sackville-West read Les Faux-monnayeurs and Si le grain ne meurt in March 1927 and was not charmed in the least: The African part bored me; I don't t hink that lust is interesting as such, and it did not inspire me in any way to know that Gide had a young Arabian boy five times in one night But the part relating to Wilde is good, although revoltin g, (Vita SackvilleWest/ Virginia Woolf, Correspondence, op. cit., p.238). 629. All references in Noel Annan, Our Age: English Intellectuals between the Wa rs: A Group Portrait, New York, Random House, 1991, 479 pages, p.114-115. 630. On Coward, see Philip Hoare, Noel Coward: A Biography, London, Sinclair-Ste venson, 1995, 605 pages. 195

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Reinhold Klugs entitled Who is Guilty? Not much is known about this experiment; it seems that, for all his goodwill, Matussek lacked dramatic talent. Several plays with homosexual themes were played in a more traditional setting i n the inter-war period. In Germany, Klaus Mann s play Anja and Esther was directly i nspired by the adolescence of the Mann children. On stage, Erika and Klaus interpreted t heir own roles, Esther was played by Pamela Wedekind and Jakob by Gustaf Gr.ndgens. This was already scandalous in itself, since Pamela was Erika s lover, and Klaus and Gustav were also homosexual. The play was put on simultaneously in Munich and Hamburg in October 1925, but was not received very favorably. In 1926, it went on the road, with a different cast, and it had a great success, especially in Berlin and Vienna. Another play with homosexual overtones, Le Mal de la jeunesse (1925) by Ferdinand Bruckner, also d eals with young people adrift in a Berlin pension. The gender dictates the conduct: out of love for a boy, a girl goes into prostitution; another commits suicide out of love for her friend.631 In England, J.R. Ackerley s The Prisoners of War (1925) was announced as the new homos exual play, and it was the first to cover the subject in a contemporary way. The review s were good and the homosexual intelligentsia was delighted: Stephen Spender, Chri stopher Isherwood, T.E. Lawrence, and Siegfried Sassoon raved about it. Ackerley was having an affair at that time with Ivor Novello, anyway. The Green Bay Tree, by Mordaunt Shairp, was produced in London for the first time on January 25, 1933, at the St Martin Theatre, with Laurence Olivier as a young man seduced by an aging homosexual. In France, Roger Martin du Gard s Un taciturne was shown in 1931 at the Louis-Jouvet Theatre. The play is very dark and dramatic. The most famous play with homosexual themes of the inter-war period was unquestionably The Captive (La Prisonni.re), by .douard Bourdet.632 It was playe d in France for the first time on March 6, 1926 at the Femina Theatre and was also staged in England and Germany. It became a cultural mainstay for homosexuals in that period, and w as constantly cited as an example of the recrudescence of lesbianism. The heroine, Irene, is under the influence of a married woman. Her father pressures her to marry a chil dhood friend, Jacques, who is warned by the husband of the older woman, that, They are not like us. Stay away from them! Under cover of friendship, a woman introduces herself into a household whenever she wants, at any hour of the day, and she poisons everything there; she ransacks everything before the man whose home

is being destroyed sees what is happening. By the time he realizes it, it is too la te, he is alone! Alone, facing the secret alliance of two beings who understand one anothe r, who divine each other s wishes, because they are alike, because they are of the sa me sex, from a different planet than him, the foreigner, the enemy.633 The play is striking in its fundamental anti-lesbianism and the number of prejud ices it reveals. Curiously, its success was attributed to its modernity, and its teme rity(!); it was judged by many to be scandalous and symptomatic of the epoch. It became a symbol of the homosexual culture of the period, and sparked a fashion for strict tailoring, ties and a short haircut La Prisonni.re. 631. Many plays taking Oscar Wilde or the Eulenburg affair as their themes were also presented. 632. .douard Bourdet, La Prisonni.re, a comedy in three acts, Paris, Les OEuvres libres, 1926, 116 pages. 633. Ibid., p.70-71. 196

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity That same year, another play which also gave the worst possible view of lesbians , Les D.traqu.es (Ruined), was played at the Theatre of the Two Masks, featuring t wo criminal, homosexual teachers.634 Few movies that could be called homosexual were made in the inter-war period, but there were some interesting references.635 Generally, the homosexual themes are disguised or barely hinted at. In a German comedy from 1927, Der F.rst von Pappenheim (The Prince of Pappenheim) by Richard Eichberg, Curt Bois plays an actor in a variety show who does a transvestite number. The film was later used by the Nazis to associate Je ws and homosexuality. In Geschlecht in Fesseln (Chains), by Wilhelm Dieterle, 1929, a m an in prison discovers homosexuality. When he is released, his lover makes him sing; he ends up committing suicide. These examples show that, as far as cinema, homosexuality was still treated in a very simplistic way. The homosexual is either a transvestite, the source of comi c misunderstandings, or a figure of tragedy, guaranteed to end in dishonor and death. The only completely homosexual film, Anders als Andern (1919), had already dealt with the topic of homosexuality in a tragic mode. At least, it provided a message of hope.636 In a nother pessimistic film, Mikael, by Carl Theodor Dreyer (1924), a painter falls in love with his mo del, Mikael, who is only interested in his money and leaves him for a woman. Dying, t he painter makes Mikael his sole legatee. In 1929, Revolte im Erziehungshaus (Revolt at the reformatory) and, in 1931, Kar l Anton s Der Fall des Generalstabs-Oberst Redl (Colonel Redl) also featured homosexual ch aracters. Z.ro de conduite (Zero for Comportment), by Jean Vigo, in 1933, broke the paradigm an d used homosexuality as a sign of rebellion, of rejecting the established order. Now, it took on a political, anarchistic dimension. The film was called subversive and was banned until 1945. Lesbianism was treated in a very limited way in movies; examples are Claudine At School, by S. de Poligny, 1937, and especially Girls in Uniform by L.ontine Saga n (after Christa Winsloe), 1931 the most famous lesbian film of the inter-war period. It marked a generation of lesbians as surely as Radclyffe Hall s book. I must say that one fi lm that changed me, when I was young, was Girls in Uniform. I even said so, to my grandmot her:

I have to go see this film. And what a film! I was fourteen or fifteen years old w hen it came out. I had seen the posters, and that is what made me say to my grandmother : You know, you have to give me money to go to the movies. 637 The film gets its power from the faithful evocation of the noxious atmosphere of a German boarding school. One of the most remarkable scenes takes place in the dor mitory, where all the girls wait until their beloved teacher, Miss von Bernburg, gives t hem a goodnight kiss. The girls are kneeling by their beds, heads lowered. The heroine, Ma nuela, gives herself fully to the kiss, in ecstasy. In the novel, the drama culminates in Manuela s suicide. In the movie, when she is about to jump out the window, she is held bac k by her comrades and carried forth in triumph, the whole college revolts against the aut hority of the director all the pupils having, in fact, been in love with a fellow pupil or a professor, like Manuela. This triumphal and entirely improbable d.nouement show that there was a 634. Andr. Breton raved about this play in Nadja. 635. For further details, see Bertrand Philbert, L Homosexualit. . l .cran, Paris, H enri Veyrier, 1984, 181 pages. 636. See Chapter Two. Most copies of the film were burned during the 1930s. 637. Testimony of B., recorded by Claudie Lesselier, Aspects , op. cit., p.105. 197

A History of Homosexuality in Europe desire to break the fatalistic paradigm of homosexuality, substituting certain d eath with an awakening and a revolt. In this sense, the film could be considered a call to rise up, to form a lesbian movement and assert one s rights and proudly affirm one s identity. A t the time, it was especially interpreted as a criticism of Prussian authoritarianism, and homosexuality was seen as a sign of political dissidence. The other major film touching on lesbianism was Loulou (1929), by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, with Louise Brooks in the principal role. Countess Geschwitz is in love w ith Spitz, who toys with her, without ever giving her satisfaction. The ambiguity of the re lationship did not escape the censors. In several countries, England in particular, scenes with the countess were removed. The film did not suggest a lesbian identity as powerfully as Girls in Uniform, for homosexuality was only as minor topic; and the character of Spit z, an easy woman, a femme fatale, reproduced the inevitable stereotype of the lesbian as a depraved woman, eager to try any new sensation. However, even if the cinema in the inter-war period was still marked by prejudic es and conventional treatments, it was an eye-opener for many homosexuals. They cou ld identify with a hero of their own sex, and certain figures became cult figures o f camp, like Marlene Dietrich or Zarah Leander. Popular songs also became homosexual references. French lesbians looked to Susy Solidor, a singer and manager of a lesbian nightclub, who put out a record (for limited distribution) in 1932, Lesbian Paris. The singer Damia, a bisexual, was also much appreciated: I always listened to Damia. I remember [the lyrics] that could apply to two women as well as to a man and a woman, so we took them for ourselves. Many things were no t intended for lesbians, but they were transformed; instead of masculine, we cast them as feminine. 638 Another emblematic figure of the time was Barbette, the transvestite trapeze art ist who fascinated the crowd, and in particular Maurice Sachs, who was a spectator i n 1926: I may never have seen anything more graceful than this girl dressed in feathers w ho sprang so boldly from the trapeze, did a somersault and caught herself in full f light by a foot, and then, taking a bow, pulled a big curly wig off her head and revealed t hat she was a young man! This little American appears at the Variety under the name of Barbe

tte; I went to see him at the Daunou Hotel where pletely naked on his bed, his face covered with a on the stage and bi-colored at home. He had just ses, Le Grand .cart, and Havelock Ellis s Onanism

he is staying, and found him lying com thick layer of black pomade. Bisexual three books on his bedside table: Ulys Alone and for Two. 639

The homosexual community finally recognized itself in certain artists who took a homoerotic approach in their work.640 At the end of the 19th century, male homos exuality was often only suggested. It appeared in certain works in the aesthetic (and dec adent) movement, in Antiquity or a medieval context, in the form of languid, androgynou s young men for example, in the tableaux of the pre-Rapha.lite painter Burne-Jones . Kitsch paintings by the autodidact Elisar von Kupffer, a member of Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, evoke the androgynous figure of disguised adolescents, transported to a homosexual paradise. More suggestive were the photographs of Baron von Gloeden, Guglielmo 638. Ibid., p.106. 639. Maurice Sachs, Au temps du Boeuf sur le toit [1939], Paris, Grasset, 1987, 23 5 pages, p.194. 640. See Emmanuel Cooper, The Sexual Perspective: Homosexuality and Art in the L ast 100 Years in the West, London, Routledge & Keagan, 1986, 324 pages; also 100 Jahre Schwulenbewegu ng, Berlin, Schwules Museum, 1997, 384 pages. 198

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity Pl.schow and Baron Corvo, featuring nude young Sicilians; there was little attem pt to mask their homosexual motivation. The erotic drawings of Aubrey Bearsdley, full of beautiful young men and satyrs with oversized phalluses, were equally unequivocal, as were those of the German Maurice Besnaux (Marcus Behmer), a member of the WhK, who al so illustrated Oscar Wilde s Salom. and whose drawings appeared in Simplicissimus and Die Insel. Homosexual and lesbian themes were shown far more directly in the 1920s. Particu larly in Germany, many painters and illustrators contributed to re-examining homosexua lity or had links to the homosexual movements. Many homosexual books included illustrations. Several houses published such works, in particular Editions Heinr ich B.hme, Zweemann, and Paul Steegemann. The art merchants and publishers Fritz Gur litt and Alfred Flechtheim were the principal intermediaries in Berlin for this kind of production. The artists were no longer presenting idealized figures of androgynous young men, transported to an imaginary Antiquit y, but the modern Berlin scene, its bars, its balls, its openly sexual atmosphere.641 H omosexual leaders were also used as models: Magnus Hirschfeld was caricatured in Simplicis simus by Eduard Th.nys in April 1921; Erich Godal made two portraits of him. Rudolf Schli chter represented him in the company of his friends, while Peter Martin Lampel painted Richard Linsert, the Secretary of the WhK, in 1928. Arnold Siegfried did a portr ait of Adolf Brand in 1924. Otto Schoff (1884-1938) produced many homosexual drawings a nd he illustrated books by Pierre Lou.s and August von Platen. He also made many dr awings of the Berlin homosexual subculture, including people like Christian Schad, Guy de Laurence (Erich Godal), Ren.e Sintenis, Georg Ehrlich, Martel Schwichtenberg, Margit Gaal , Paul Kamm and Karl Arnold. Most of the drawings showed only very young people; it was still taboo to depict adults. The painter and educator Peter Martin Lampel, who had ties to the WhK an d Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, specialized in portraits of young boys on their own in the big German cities. He started out as a member of the Irregular Forces, then joined s ocialism and militated for youth education. He tried to help the unemployed youth and the male prostitutes who were victims of the economic crisis. He made a portrait of these

young people in his book Jungen in Not (1928), then mounted a play, Revolte im Erziehu ngshaus, which soon led to the film mentioned above. Most of his paintings and drawings h ave disappeared. Homoerotic art was also finding a place in France and England, but it was less clearly integrated into the homosexual subculture. In the 1930s, Cocteau s drawing s, for example, emphasized the plastic forms of virile soldiers and sailors, pure produ cts of the homosexual phantasmagoria of the time. Stephen Tennant s illustrations for Lascar testify to the same inspiration. Duncan Grant, a member of the Bloomsbury Club, produced paintings that sometimes showed his bisexuality in particular Bathing, (1911) wher e a naked man with a muscular body, dives, swims, then climbs up into a boat. The photography of Cecil Beaton, like that of Horst P. Horst and Herbert List in Germany, also h ad a powerful homoerotic connotation. In England, one of the specialists in homosexual art was H.S. Tuke (1858-1929).6 42 His canvases of nude young boys enjoying nautical activities were very much in v ogue in 641. On this topic, see Andreas Sternweiler, Das Lusthaus der Knaben, Homosexuali t.t und Kunst, in 100 Jahre Schwulenbewegung, op. cit. 199

A History of Homosexuality in Europe homosexual circles. One of the professors who taught at the same public school a s T.C. Worsley hung a large Tuke painting, Dreams of Summer, on the wall of his room, showing a nude adolescent lying in the grass. Lesbian art made particularly great strides in the 1920s, developing its own ref erences and at the same time coming out from under the shadow of male homosexual works and the traditional Sapphic representation. Among the most famous lesbians artis ts were Gluck (Hannah Gluckstein), Dora Carrington, and Romaine Brooks, whose severe pre cision emphasizes the tortured personalities of her portraits. Her nudes present the id eal of an asexual female body, pale, very thin, with a child s breasts, and no pubic h air. The Crossing (1911), which represents Ida Rubinstein as basically a white line on a b lack background, is the best example. Thelma Wood, the American who was the partner o f Djuna Barnes, evoked the female genitalia through floral compositions, and the A rgentinean .migr. Leonor Fini (who moved to Paris, the heart of surrealism), produced women-goddesses with mysterious powers, with long hair framing a face of transpa rent palor.643 Jeanne Mammen, a German, may be the most famous: her caricatures of the Berlin lesbian scene, published in Simplicissimus, fixed in the mind s eye the sharp-edge d features of flappers, with elongated eyes, plaited hair and cigarettes, dancing corps-a-c orps in men s suits, in tuxedos, in smoke-filled clubs. Mammen also worked for fashion mag azines; she illustrated many homosexual reviews and did a number of book covers. Most of her work was destroyed during the war and most of the magazines were burned by t he Nazis. The homosexual culture was particularly rich in the inter-war period; the public was not over-reacting when it protested that the mainstream was being overrun wi th scandalous images. This new visibility reinforced the homosexual identity by cre ating literary and visual types, and by providing a stock of references common to all. Solidarity and Exclusion The image of a homosexual coterie forming a universe apart, ruled by codes and secret signs of recognition, is one of the dominant topics of homophobic thought . It is as though homosexuals had founded a mafia of vice, with its affiliates infiltrating everywhere, recognizing each other without ever being seen, understanding without speaking and, in particular, taking care to introduce any new arrival to his fellow-membe

rs, who will welcome him with open arms or who, by paying for his favors, will give him the means to earn a living if he has no resources a form of mutual aid.644 This fantasy vision contains a shadow of truth: like any persecuted minority, homosexuals tended to live in hiding and to develop codes accessible only to ini tiates. Quentin Crisp notes that the atmosphere of perpetual danger in which they lived bonded them together.645 Homosexuals were frequently shown in the inter-war period to m ake 642. See Emmanuel Cooper, The Life and Works of H.S. Tuke, 1858-1929, London, Ga y Men Press, 1987, 72 pages. 643. Portraits of Tamara de Lempicka, a Polish woman who emigrated to the US, sh ows a woman brimming with sexual energy, nicely shaped, jouissant de la vie et s offrant indiff.remment aux hommes et aux femmes. 644. Fran.ois Carlier, La Prostitution antiphysique [1887], Paris, Le Sycomore, 1981, 247 pages, p.94. 645. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, op. cit., p.29. 200

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity up a parallel group within the society, linked by sexual ties and banding togeth er in some occult way. Michel de Coglay thus speaks of an international pederastic freemason ry. 646 Fran.ois Porch., in the same vein, imagines a broadly ramified secret societ y: Consequently, homosexuality will be, firstly, a collection of individuals who sha re certain morals; but in the second place, it will be a view of the world, which i ncludes a philosophy, an ethics, an aesthetics, even a politics, with freemasonry, cards, newspapers and reviews, affiliated salons, expositions, press campaigns, intrigues, secret agreements, and various forms of fraternity and mutual support. 647 However, homosexuals are different from other minority groups in that they have no distinctive sign. Thus, whereas the Jewish community has held together over t he centuries due to a family and social solidarity, the homosexual remains an isolated indivi dual. His homosexuality generally becomes clear to him only at adolescence and thus th e discovery that he is different comes late. Young homosexuals can turn neither to their fam ily nor their usual associates. Homosexual solidarity, like homosexual militancy, al ways has to start over: nothing is passed down through the family or society. Young homos exuals born during a period of social tolerance do not work to protect their interests in case of a backlash. Very often, homosexual solidarity is purely fictitious and homosexuals do not feel linked by their sexuality. Thus we may question the extent to which the nas cent homosexual community could have been a coherent and interdependent structure, pr otecting the interests of its members and sticking together in adversity. The most original phenomenon of the era was the Homintern. Indeed, the cult of homosexuality among English intellectuals led them to form a distinct group with in society, linked only by a sexual factor. The constitution of a homosexual commun ity within the elite only intensified the public s mistrust and jealousy with regard t o intellectuals, who were reproached for being a cult, a polarizing force, an anomaly within Engl ish society. This growing antagonism was summed up in the nickname Cyril Connolly (a homosexual, himself) gave to the homosexual intellectuals: The Homintern.648 The word play is significant. From the inception of the Comintern, these homosexuals had been seen as a symbol of a foreign force that had penetrated the country and was tryi ng to convert followers.649

W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, who had been lovers since college, personi fied this sexual and intellectual fraternity. The poet and the novelist were one of t he pivots of the Homintern due to their open homosexuality as well as their leftist sympathies. In fact, the Homintern did function as a secret society whose members, unperceiv ed by the public, recognized each other and defended their common interests. The gr oup was bound by the knowledge of intimate details of its members lives and by the us e of personal signs in alluding to homosexuality. In Foster s Goldsworthy Lowes Dickins on, the writer s homosexuality is camouflaged, but this biography became a cult item for A uden, Sassoon and Isherwood, who, knowing the history, could read between the lines an d recognize references to Edward Carpenter, Gerald Heard, Joe Ackerley and Dickinson himself. The system of dedications also reveals the interactions within the grou p. W.H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, and Stephen Spender dedicated their works to each 646. Michel du Coglay, Chez les mauvais gar.ons. Choses vues, Paris, R. Saillard , 1938, 221 pages. 647. Fran.ois Porch., L Amour qui n ose pas dire son nom, Paris, Grasset, 1927, 242 pages, p.134. 648. Arthur Waley called Forster, Ackerley and Plomer s group a homosexual gang. 649. In 1951, when two English diplomats, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, went Ea st, it only confirmed the suspicion that there were ties between the two organizations. See Chapter Six. 201

A History of Homosexuality in Europe other; Spender dedicated several of his works to T.A.R. Hyndman, his secretary a nd lover. Forster dedicated Abinger Harvest to William Plomer, Joe Ackerley, Bob Buckingha m and Christopher Isherwood, all four homosexuals. In the same manner, an auxiliary group came together around Lionel Charlton, who had served as a general during the First World War, then as a brigadier general in the Middle East. He retired with an old RAF pal, Tom Wichelo. He wrote his autobiogr aphy, dedicating it to Wichelo, Forster and J.R. Ackerley, and then wrote adventure no vels for adolescents, featuring athletic boys who loved aviation. Personalities like Raym ond Mortimer, Duncan Grant, and actors like John Gielgud revolved around him. They met in London at Gennaro s, in New Compton Street, which was famous for the beautiful waiters selected by the owner during visits to Italy. These groups of homosexual intellectuals were generally open to people from the outside, mainly good-looking young men. They might be students at Oxford, but bo ys from more modest backgrounds were also recruited, primarily for their looks. Tha t is how Forster met Bob Buckingham, a police officer who became his companion, during an evening organized by J.R. Ackerley in 1930. Buckingham was there as a friend of Harry Daley, Ackerley s lover. What bothered people about the Homintern was that it succeeded in setting up a loose network of influence intended to help homosexual young people improve thei r social position. Jackie Hewit describes the homosexual world of the 1930s, sayin g that the gay world of those days had a style that it no longer has today. There was a kind of intellectual freemasonry that you do not know about at all. It was like the five concentric circles [sic] of the Olympic emblem. A person in one circle knew thos e in another, and thus people met. And some people, like me, went from one to another . I was not a whore. Amoral perhaps, but not a whore.650. John Pudney, Auden s former lover, was working for the BBC and secured positions for Auden and his friend, the composer Benjamin Britten, collaborating on a prog ram on Hadrian s Wall. Stephen Spender found a part-time job for his lover Hyndman with t he Left Review, then asked Isherwood to participate in it, as well. John Lehmann, a homosexual publisher, also published his friends, including William Plomer, Forster, Isherw ood, Spender and John Hampson. According to E.M. Forster, Joe Ackerley always helped his friends; as a literary and artistic director of Listener, he supporte

d the careers of his many young lovers. Reviews of Ackerley s own works were written by Isherwood o r Forster. Ackerley got into the BBC in 1928 thanks to one of his homosexual frien ds, Lionel Fielden. Subsequently, he used his influence to find work for a number of his ac quaintances: E.M. Forster became a regular on BBC, G. Lowes Dickinson had a show on Plato, Lionel Charlton gave a talk on pacifism. Lytton Strachey was invited, but his vo ice was not good enough. Virginia Woolf, Desmond MacCarthy and Harold Nicolson followed one after the other. In March, 1929, he invited one of his lovers, Harry Daley, to talk about the daily life of a police officer on the radio. And Hilda Matheson invited Vita SackvilleWest and Hugh Walpole to discuss the modern woman on the BBC. Wyndham Lewis called these practices the intense esprit de corps des hors-la-loi, the solidarity of those who are above the law. 650. Cited in Donald Mitchell and Philip Reed (ed.), Letters from a Life, Select ed Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten, vol.1, 1923-1939, London, Faber & Faber, 1991, 619 pages, p.60 6. 202

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity This was not anything really specific to homosexuals: these intellectuals helped each other first of all because they had done their studies together, they came from the same social background, they visited the same families, they had the same friend s. But what is striking to an outside observer is the sexual specificity and the someti mes tendentious nature of the recruitment, which was not always necessarily conducted according to professional criteria. That is apparently what was most shocking to contemporari es. One Mrs. Leavis actually published a vengeful article saying, in substance, Here is how these elegant members of the unemployed infiltrate the highest places of journalism and even the university world, and how reputations are made : all you have to do is go find the good people, whom you already know or to whom you have just been introduced, and have one write the best things about you in the b est places. The odious spoiled children of Mr. Connolly and the childhood friends of so many other writers arrive en masse in the universities to become stupid, pretent ious young people, and then they go on to invest the literary milieu, where they repl ace a batch of the same species. Mr. Connolly and his group hope to succeed Rupert Bro oke and are watching out right now to make sure that the literary world remains a pr ivate hunting preserve for them. Those who have been wondering how critics who are obv iously so unqualified could gain such prominent positions in our literary magazines no longer need torment themselves. They were the finest young men at school, or had a feline charm, a sensual mouth and long lashes.651 The arrogance of the intellectuals, added to their elitism based on sex, must ha ve been a contributing factor in the conservative wave that swept through an Englan d that was apprehensive to see a pole of subversion developing in the very heart of the leading classes. However, when Stephen Spender talks about those days, he probably comes closer to the true essence of what was baptized ors: Homintern than most of its detract

I never lost that need for friendship, that desire to share my intellectual adve ntures with a man whose quest was similar to my own.652 However, homosexual solidarity, apart from these few examples, seems to have been very limited. Admittedly, the German homosexual militants were working towa rd a common goal, but they also fought each other. The elites had a sense of solidari ty, but it was often based on factors other than homosexuality, which on the contrary could be a

source of discord and rivalry. It was quite difficult to belong to Gide s circle a nd Cocteau s at the same time. In fact, homosexuals did not display a united front and person al quarrels often took precedence over the common fight. Klaus Mann evokes a typical instance of this absence of homosexual solidarity: In

the Nouvelle revue, a disgusting and repugnant article by Andr. Germain: Klaus Ma nn, the Narcissus of the mud pit the worst spite that could come from an aunt. I would take great pleasure in crushing that spider. 653 More serious were certain typical scenes of denunciation between homosexuals, which would seem to be a form of self-punis hment. The homosexual, who dislikes himself, transfers his guilt feeling onto one of hi s peers and treats him particularly severely, in line with his own self-deprecatio n. When the political situation was deteriorating in Germany, Christopher Isherwood aske d his 651. Cited by Valentine Cunningham, British Writers of the Thirties, Oxford, Oxf ord University Press, 1988, 530 pages, p.149. 652. Stephen Spender, World within World [1951], London, Faber & Faber, 1991, 34 4 pages, p.185. 653. Klaus Mann, Journal, op. cit., 8 March 1932, p.60. 203

A History of Homosexuality in Europe friend Heinz to come to join him in England. Heinz was stopped at the border by the immigration department, which asked the purpose of his journey. The immigration officer refused to believe that Heinz could be Isherwood s domestic servant and sent him b ack to Germany. When Isherwood expressed his astonishment, Auden explained: As soon as I saw his bright little rat s eyes, I knew that we were done for. He sized it all up at first glance, because he was the same as us.654 The desire to be integrated into society fueled the most profound injustices. As a stigmatized group, the homosexual community reproduced the same exclusion of whi ch it was the victim. Even as the homosexual community was affirming its legitimacy , even as it was managing to obtain a certain amount of recognition (for example, by op ening homosexual clubs), it was developing more conservative standards and imposing a consensual view of what the homosexual should be: blending in, discreet, a good sort. The militancy of Quentin Crisp, his insistence on playing the queen, thus made him a p articular victim of homosexual ostracism. As he says, himself, In my most optimistic days, I went into two or three of these homosexual clubs and I observed that every year they became more respectable or, at least, more s ober. Even in the beginning, when they were slightly sordid, I did not feel at home th ere. The management feared that my arrival and my departure might draw the inopportun e attention of the authorities. That, I could understand, but it was with a pained fright that I came to see that, even among the clientele, my arrival caused a th underous moment of silent resentment. I started to meet a greater number and a larger var iety of homosexuals and I had to face the fact that, almost without exception, they did not like me.655 This phenomenon of exclusion even at the heart of the homosexual community was a disturbing experience for those who were its victims. Crisp notes: To discover that homosexuals did not like me was more difficult to bear than the hostility of nor mal people. In the same way, the Parisian lesbian and homosexual circles prized discretion. The princesse de Polignac s salon was made up almost exclusively of homosexuals of bot h sexes. When a new potential member was introduced to her, she simply asked: You a re homosexual, aren t you? Of course. Then, it s perfect. 656 Moreover, there was stiff c ompetition

between the various Parisian homosexual salons; the princess did not host the sa me people as Natalie Barney or Gertrude Stein, and the competition was savage. Mary se Choisy, a friend of Rachilde, was reproached for her infidelity: ... I went twice to cocktails at Natalie Barney s. Rachilde made such violent scen es when I went to rue Jacob that I gave it up. Natalie and Colette both have bad rep utations, I do not want you to see Colette. 657 654. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and his Kind [1929-1939], London, Methue n, 1977, 252 pages, p.125. 655. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, op. cit., p.84. 656. Michael de Cossart, Une Am.ricaine . Paris. La princesse de Polignac et son salon, 1865-1943, Paris, Plon, 1979, 245 pages, p.173. 657. Maryse Choisy and Marcel Vert.s, Dames seules, Paris, Cahiers Gai-Kitsch-Ca mp, n 23, 1993, 53 pages, p.33. 204

Awakening: Working to Construct a Homosexual Identity Similarly, Ruth R.llig, who published The Lesbians of Berlin in 1928, saw the la ck of female solidarity as the explanation for the weakness of the lesbian movements: B ut, as we know, all women, without exception, have no team spirit, and even lesbians do not derogate from this rule. For this reason, there can be no question of forming a united front. 658 The lack of common goals is another explanation for the lack of solidarity betwe en homosexual and lesbians. Lesbians always kept away from the homosexual movements , because they themselves were not targets of police repression. On the other hand , the homosexual community held a very chauvinistic attitude toward women that often w ent beyond heterosexual prejudices. Many homosexuals based their identity on the cul t of the penis, the celebration of virile friendships, the rejection of women. Misogyny i s very apparent in certain novels. In Maurice, the women are incapable of real feelings and are described as little idiots; in A Handful of Dust (1937), by Evelyn Waugh, the wo man is behind the destruction of the hero. Women are almost entirely absent from Isherw ood s novels, if one excludes the character of Sally Bowles. By the same token, certain lesbians entertained a deep revulsion with regard to homosexuals. In a letter which she sent to Hemingway, Gertrude Stein listed the prejudices, basically asserting that: The act between homosexual males is ugly and repugnant and then they are disgusted with themselves. They drink and take drugs to compensate, but they are disgusted by this act and they change partners constantly and cannot really be happy . Women do not do anything of which they can be disgusted and nothing which is repugnant, and then they are happy and they can lead a happy life together!659 Thus, the question of homosexual solidarity remains doubtful. While obvious examples of solidarity existed, they did not prevent the formation of clans acco rding to criteria that went far beyond sexuality alone: social origin, profession, financ ial means, personal affinities, and partisan orientation. Therefore, we can only speak of t he homosexual community in the 1920s in a very measured way. It was a new phenomenon, still in gestation, and certainly cannot claim to have encompassed the whole of the homos exual population of the countries concerned. * * *

The homosexual identity was built on two axes: self-discovery, one s view of oneself; and other people s views. Homosexuals took advantage of the relative perm issiveness of the 1920s to establish a personal definition. The slow course toward self-aff irmation had begun, before the war, with the popularization of medical theories and the beginnings of German militancy. But these efforts, at first, had only a peripher al effect. In the 1920s, the homosexual identity became a reality, for it was disseminated by more powerful media (primarily cultural), and by the homosexual scene, which offered anonymous meeting places. The lesbian identity was less well-anchored and more conflicted, 658. Ruth R.llig, Les Lesbiennes de Berlin [1928], Paris, Cahiers Gai-Kitsch-Cam p, n 16, 1992, 140 pages, p.41. 659. Cited by Emmanuel Cooper, The Sexual Perspective, op. cit., p.112. 205

A History of Homosexuality in Europe because it was more recent and it did not benefit from such an organized structu re. Moreover, the lesbians did not have any well-defined combat to carry out. In sum, during the early part of the 20th century, homosexuality enjoyed somethi ng of a vogue; it was no longer unmentionable, although it was certainly still frau ght with negative perceptions among the general population and among homosexuals, themselves. Advances on a personal scale were not matched by advances at the community level. The lack of solidarity is partly due to dissatisfaction with the initial definitions. While they tried to assert themselves personally, they did not really succeed in detaching themselves from externally imposed concepts. Many did not want to be associated with proponents of the third sex or with congenital inverts, and they did not do much to support theses which they did not believe in and which they suspected of serving contrary interests. In Volume Two, we will examine the position of the Church, then watch the changing tide as the Roaring Twenties gives way to an era that was far less broa d-minded. The memory and mythology of both the good old days and the backlash that followed are still with us today, coloring perceptions and projecting models to emulate o r avoid. 206

CHAPTER FIVE BREAKING THE SILENCE: HOMOSEXUALS AND PUBLIC OPINION Homosexuality was a trendy topic in the Twenties. While it had been taboo until the beginning of the century, in the aftermath of the war there was a virtual ex plosion of homosexual themes in literature and the arts. More subtle was the emergence of h omoerotic imagery in broad sectors of society, especially among young people. Sports event s became an opportunity for promoting images of naked bodies strongly charged with erotic connotations, with androgynous appeal, while the proliferation of singlegender organizations and group activities, whether fitness-related or educational, took on a certain homosexual mystique. The public showed an interest tinged with concern; the trend was perceived as representing the new, the modern, a phenomenon that was t ypical of the post-war period and steadily growing. A few sounded the alarm in the 1920 s, complaining of decadence. The image of the homosexual was crafted as a curious mix of old prejudices, new medical definitions and visual stereotypes. The concept of public opinion is very difficult to define; for our purposes, we will use the term to refer to the expression of the community vis-.-vis a particular phenomenon, and also as the assertion of a prevailing viewpoint within a social group1; in fact, it is neither fixed nor immutable but, on the contrary, is subject to infini te variations, shifts, and reversals depending on events, external pressures and its own evolut ion. While public opinion is a collective phenomenon, it is not readily reducible to major entities such as the press, the Parliament, associations or any other manifestat ion that makes such a claim. By the same token, it is not programmatically a function of the social level, demographic origins or religious or political affiliation. However, each one of its elements contributes to shaping and influencing it. Thus, we must be careful, particularl y when dealing with a subject as polemical as homosexuality, resonating as it does in the collective imagination, loaded with the weight of judgments from earlier times. Studying public opinion comes under the rubric of the social imagination; it does not rev eal what was true about a given era, it only translates the fears and fantasies of the ti mes. 1. Pierre Laborie, De l opinion publique a l imaginaire social, ril-June 1988. 207 in XXe si.cle, n 18, Ap

A History of Homosexuality in Europe THE WEIGHT OF PREJUDICES The key question is tolerance, which I will define not as approval of a phenomen on, but its acceptance. The preponderant tendencies in public opinion show that nega tive prejudices were still common with regard to homosexuality, and were relayed by t he principal institutions and the mainstream press, even if there was notable progr ess compared to the pre-war period. Certain topics, like links between feminism and lesbianis m, protecting young people, or fear of foreigners, were used as excuses for promoti ng homophobic fantasies. Guardians of Traditional Morals We can look to what the institutions were saying as a basis for defining what wa s the standard attitude with regard to homosexuality. As public expressions, they were endowed with historical and political legitimacy; passed on by the major media, they became the bases for much of private discourse. Whether due to indecision, indif ference or simple conformity, many people adopt the official line as their own personal opinion and they base their opinion on that of the majority. They pick up the prejudices of their group, be it denominational, social or partisan. The Churches The influence of the Churches was still quite strong in the three countries in question during the 1920s and 1930s, even if there was talk of a religious crisi s stemming from urbanization, conflicts between Church and State, and the economic crises.2 In fact, in Western, Christian civilization, the attitude toward homosexuality was above all a function of the religious discourse. Sodomy, a gratuitous practice, unnatural, unacceptable, as were contraception, sex during menses or pregnancy or while bre astfeeding, and masturbation. Religious condemnation was one of the reasons most fr equently cited to justify homophobia. However, John Boswell3 showed that religion is very often only a pretext to justify personal prejudices. The Catholic Church s position on the question changed very little during the inter-war period. Although it now recognized the legitimacy of sex education (as long as it was handled within the family and in collaboration with the Christian Marriag e Association, and recognized two goals in marriage: procreation, but also the subjective satisf action

was

of the spouses ), homosexuality was still condemned, as was contraception, in spite of the fact that the Ogino Method had been publicized since 1934. This attit ude came under the more general disapproval of the quest for physical pleasure, whic h diverts man from spiritual concerns and endangers the moral environment.4 Homosexuality is a 2. On the influence of the Churches, see Roland Marx, L Angleterre de 1914 . 1945, Paris, Armand Colin, 1993, 175 pages; Dominique Borne and Henri Dubief, La Crise des ann.es tr ente, 1929-1938, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. Points histoire, 1989, 322 pages; Detlev J.K. Peukert, La R.publique de Weimar, Paris, Aubier, 1995, 301 pages. 3. See John Boswell, Christianisme, tol.rance sociale et homosexualit., Paris, G allimard, 1985, 521 pages; Peter Coleman, Christian Attitudes to Homosexuality, London, SPCK, 1980, 310 pag es. 4. Pierre Guillaume, M.decins, .glise et foi, Paris, Aubier, 1990, 267 pages. 208

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion blatant example of sexuality without any purpose and without any constraint. The Protestant Churches and the Anglican Church did not express much greater tolerance on the subject, although the latter did recognize, for example, the legitimacy of birth control in 1930. The decline of morals and the spreading of homosexuality were much decried in religious publications, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant alike. Claudel s indigna tion upon learning of Gide s homosexuality in 1924 is indicative of most Catholics opini on on the subject, as was Bernanos s article in the Les Nouvelles litt.raires of April 1 7, 1926, wherein he reproaches Proust s writings for their lack of spiritual concern and religious and moral striving. Medical theories did not show any significant change; one Protestant w ork notes: Aversion for the opposite sex, which clearly indicates that homosexuals sh ould be classified as medical cases, and dangerous ones, since they are constantly on th e look-out for new partners particularly women among children new partners whom they will make abnormal in their turn; but the moral suffering of the inverts does merit o ur compassion. 5 Works published for the use of the various clergies continued to reject homose xuality en masse and propagated a particularly retrograde view of sexuality. In his book , The Problem of Right Conduct (1931), the canon Peter Green maintained that homos exuality must be dealt with like other cases of insanity (he cited homicidal madness and kleptomania) and punished by law.6 Certain religious congregations adopted a more extreme attitude and declared war against the spreading of homosexuality, which they had found worrisome since the e nd of the war. One such case was the German Evangelical Church committee, led by Reinhard Mumm, in association with other groups both lay and religious.7 Mumm wa s also appointed to the Reichstag and became a member of the DNVP (German National Peoples Party), which incorporated conservative and far right forces. He conduct ed an active campaign against pornography and smut ( gegen Schund und Schmutz ), and worked to protect youth and to limit abortion, venereal disease, prostitution an d homosexuality. The aim was to avoid at all costs any liberalization of the criminal code. The tone was direly pessimistic: Never was humanity on the brink of such an enormous catastrophe as today! 8 The cover of one of Mumm s publications, Das Schundkampfblat t, depicts St. George slaying the dragon. The symbolism is clear. The question of homosexuality took up a lot of these groups attention, even though it was only one of their concerns. The activity rep

ort of the Union of Schleswig-Holstein (July-September 1920) refers to homosexual groups, i n particular WhK, and their various initiatives like the film Anders als die Andern. It repro aches H.nisch, the Minister for Culture, for his March 1, 1920 visit to Magnus Hirschf eld s Institute, a visit which lasted four hours. It takes issue with the journal Die Freundschaft, which dared to publish an article entitled The Christians among us. Mumm and vario us 5. Theodore de Felice, Le Protestantisme et la Question sexuelle, Paris, Librair ie Fischbacher, 1930, 78 pages, p.73. 6. For greater detail, see Peter Coleman, Christian Attitudes to Homosexuality, op. cit. 7. For instance the People s Union for Medical Science (Verband f.r Volksheilkunde ) in Essen, The Lay Union for Sexual Ethics (Laienbund f.r Sexualethik), The Schleswig-Holstein Province Union for Public Morality (Schleswig-Holsteinischer Provinzialverein zur Hebung der .ffent lichen Sittlichkeit) and the Ecclesiastic Social League (Kirchlich-Sozialer Bund). 8. For more of Mumm s propaganda and his campaign gegen Schund und Schmutz: BAB, 9 0 MU 3 506-532, Nachl. R. Mumm. This excerpt is from the Aufruf zum Beitritt in den Lai enbund f.r Sexualethik, 1924 ( Membership appeal for the Lay Union for Sexual Ethics, BAB, 90 MU 3 506). 209

A History of Homosexuality in Europe associations launched a petition entitled Proclamation! The future of the German people is in danger. It particularly took issue with modern women and with their masculine way of dressing and doing their hair, and asked the government for a law against pornography and muck and for the protection of youth, a stricter application of 184 (on obscene publications), a law on theaters, a ban on the saxophone, negro dances, [ and] nude performances, a crack down on drugs, morphine and cocaine. Similarly, on Mar ch 14, 1928 the Kirchlich-Sozialer Bund called for several homosexual publications to be outlawed Das Freundschaftsblatt, Die Bl.tter f.r Menschenrecht and Die Freundin.9 The bat tle gegen Schund und Schmutz was a success. On June 19, 1928, most of the homosexual periodicals were registered on the list of pornographic and dirty writings. In 192 8 and 1929, Die Freundin was banned for twelve months and in 1931 Gar.onne was also co ndemned. The fight against homosexual movements was waged on all fronts. The magazine Christliche Volksmacht ran an article in March 1921 by Primary Education Superin tendent Eberhard entitled, The wave of Inversion. In February 1922, Deutscher Evangelische r Kirchenausschuss reiterated its opposition to the abolition of 175.10 A pamphlet, Keep 175! was published by the German Catholic Central Committee Working for the Public Morality (Zentralarbeitsausschuss der deutschen Katholiken zur F.rderung der .ffentlichen Sittlichkeit). At the same time, the German Women s League (Deutscher Frauenkampfbund) led by Martha Brauer launched a virulent campaign, denouncing homosexual publications and Magnus Hirschfeld: A manifestly abnormal man cannot advise healthy people in the field of sexual ethics. Leftist parties were also at tacked, having become an easy target for the conservatives: One must particularly bear in mind that it is the protection of the socialist and communist parties that allows thi s erotic revolution to spread . Protecting women was an essential part of this propaganda. Women s roles were limited to those of daughter, wife and mother, embodied in the famous three Ks, Kirche, K.che, Kinder (or church, kitchen and kids ). In 1924-1925, a campaign was waged to have 175 expanded to cover women. The German Evangelical Church s battle remained relatively isolated; in general, the subject was brought up very rarely apart from polemical pamphlets or in hand books on sex education. On the other hand, isolated instances illustrate original atti tudes or even deviant viewpoints that only underscore the fact that, even within the Chur ch, the question of homosexuality remained problematic and ambivalent. The White Cross League, under the Church of England, stepped forward in 1929-1930 to help young male prostitutes in London. The organization, which was already offering support for women

prostitutes, sought to address the increase in amateur prostitution resulting fr om the economic crisis. The League placed the lads in question in receiving centers and tried to find them jobs in order to reinstate them in society. One can also find traces of the cult of homosexuality within the ranks of the Anglican hierarchy. The Oxford Movement (a movement to reform the Church of England, begun at Oxford University in 1833) wa s accused of homophilia; its leader, John Henry Newman, was known to have romantic liaisons with young boys. By the same token, certain ecclesiastical personalitie s managed to match their functions with their inclinations; the Reverend E.E. Bradford was , for example, a notorious pedophile poet. Oxford students led by John Betjeman used t o go 9. BAB, 90 MU 3 509, R. Mumm. 10. Potsdam, 90 MU 3 507, R. Mumm. 210

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion and pay their respects to him, after he retired to his parish; Bradford was of t he opinion that his languid tenderness for the boys/ came to him more from Christ than from Socrates, but he was nevertheless the author of sufficiently explicit poems to be in contradiction with the principles of the Church. These examples were, however, exceptional. The public authorities Official views on homosexuality, among governments, members of Parliament, legis lature or judiciary, were quintessentially bureaucratic views. They reflected the insti tution and could not claim to represent public opinion as a whole, even if they were shaped by, and helped to shape, the latter. These views may have reflected the p ersonality of the individuals and their social milieu, but went beyond the personal perspec tive to become the point of view of the State. Broadly speaking, in the 1920s and 1930s, the public authorities were unfavorable to homosexuality, out of concern for protecting mor als and ensuring the survival of the population. Male homosexuality was said to weaken t he traditional hierarchies, as it encouraged middle-class and working-class men to intermingle in the search for a partner. Female homosexuality generally enjoyed a greater to lerance, for it did not undermine the social structure and a woman, under the authority o f her father or husband, or under social pressure, could be forced back into line. In England, the First World War had seen a sharp outburst of homophobia. Thereaf ter, the English political leaders took a severe line on male homosexuality, while th e campaign against lesbianism reached new proportions. Homosexuality was an easier target than birth control or the right to divorce, and thus it made an ideal sho wcase to illustrate the State s commitment to morality. Moreover, figures who played key ro les in the fight against homosexuality had close ties with virtue groups or puritan mov ements. Sir Thomas Inskip, who served as the Crown s legal adviser off and on between 1922 and 1936, was an ardent member of the evangelical Church. The Director of Public Pro secutions, Sir Archibald Bodkin, had been a member of the board of the National Vigilance Association. Above all, the Minister of the Interior from 1924 to 1929 was the u ltra puritan Sir William Joynson-Hicks (Jix); he was behind the banning of Radclyffe Hall s boo k, The Well of Loneliness, and was a party to or a consultant in many lawsuits concerni ng homosexuals. The fear of homosexuality especially heightened due to the fear of the decline o f the Empire, deduced from an erroneous and tendentious analysis in Edward Gibbon s

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Rome had fallen, other nati ons had fallen, and if England were to fall in its turn, it would be because of this sin, and it s lack of belief in God, and it will be her own loss.11 The pressure against homosexuality did not spare the leading elite.12 In 1922, a liberal deputy, the Viscount Lewis Hartcourt, committed suicide for fear that hi s homosexuality would be exposed in public. He had made advances to a young man from Eton by the name of Edward James while he was spending a few days at his estate of Nu heham Courtney in the company of his mother. In 1931, Count Beauchamp, a knight of the Order of the Garter, governor of Cinque Ports and leader of the liberal party, suddenl y resigned 11. Reverend J.M. Wilson, Sins of the Flesh, cited by Jeffrey Weeks, Sex, Politi cs and Society, London, Longman, 1989, 325 pages, p.107. The sin referred to here is masturbation, which at that time was directly associated with homosexuality. 12. See H. Montgomery Hyde, A Tangled Web, Sex Scandals in British Politics and Society, London, Constable, 1986, 380 pages. 211

A History of Homosexuality in Europe all his functions and left the country. His brother-in-law, the Duke of Westmins ter, had threatened to reveal his frolicking with the many young fishermen and other farm hands at his property of Walmer Castle. He returned to England only five years later for his son s funeral, after having received assurances that he would not be arrested. George V, when he heard of the scandal, soberly commented: I did think they were frying their br ains. Homosexuality could also be used for partisan ends. There was a political scanda l in France, in late October 1933, after the murder of Oscar Dufrenne, an impresar io, director of the variety show The Palace, a city councilman of the 10th arrondissem ent and a homosexual. His employees had seen him cozied up in his office with a sail or. Then one of them found his naked body, with the skull smashed to pieces. The culprit was never found. After Malvy gave a funeral eulogy, the Order published a ferocious article stating that: The spectacle provided by the life and death of Oscar Dufrenne is s ymbolic: it denounces the corruption of our democracy. Leon Daudet wrote that, the murderer , a sailor, nephew of a political figure, having had part of his male organs amputat ed, had been undergoing treatment in a private clinic in Neuilly. In Germany, leftist par ties commonly levied charges of homosexuality, in particular against the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party).13 The press A review of the day s press should help in determining more precisely what degree of tolerance there was for homosexuality. As both an expression of public opinio n and also the catalyst for new trends, it had a major impact. And in the 1920s, infor mation media developed dramatically. The press expanded considerably and radio and the cinema became widespread. Popular journalism grew rapidly in the United Kingdom, Germany and France and it was backed by considerable capital.14 The large national press had little to say on the question of homosexuality. Le Temps15 published on average two or three articles on the subject per annum. The same was true of The Times16 and, in some years, the subject was never brought up at all. The German press was more prolix, primarily because of the debates over reforming th e Penal Code and the possible abolition of 175, and because of the militancy of the homos exual movements that were busy holding conferences and sending petitions. There were f our

rubrics under which one might encounter references to homosexuality: literary an d theater criticism, the legal chronicle, reports of parliamentary debates, and po lemical articles on the degradation of morals. A fifth category also existed, but it was more of an exception: political articles with polemical overtones, primarily denunciations of oppo 13. See chapter six. 14. For this study, I systematically perused a wide range of French and English daily newspapers, and I sampled the German partisan press as well. I also drew upon the conclusion s of W.U. Eissler, who in his book Arbeiterparteien und Homosexuellenfrage zur Sexualpolitik von SP D und KPD in der Weimarer Republik (Berlin, Verlag Rosa Winkel, 1980, 142 pages) systematically surveyed t he German socialist and communist press for anything touching on the question of homosexuality, with a special focus on Vorw.rts and Neue Zeit, both of which were organs of the SPD, and Berlin am M orgen, Welt am Abend and Die rote Fahne for the KPD. I also read one satirical review per country. Ho wever, clearly, such a survey cannot be comprehensive. 15. Le Temps, an evening newspaper, had a print run of 70,000. 16. The Times, a conservative newspaper, plateaued at a print run of 200,000. 212

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion nents who were accused of being homosexual. These various possibilities showed u p in varying degrees, depending on the newspaper. In Le Temps, there is generally no sign of homosexuality in the legal chronicle. There is no mention, for example, of Marthe Hanau s lesbianism or Oscar Dufrenne s homosex uality. A brief on December 16, 1928, suggests a homosexual affair. For about three week s the bank clerk Raymond Bernard had been visiting daily with Mr. Hermann Goldschm idt. When he arrived on the morning of the 15th, the valet showed him into his master s bedroom, as usual. Some time afterwards, he heard the sound of someone fa lling down. Bernard fired three shots. He was apprehended by the servant, but he commi tted suicide. The write-up on the 17th read: A wealthy Dutch investor, wounded by his young friend Raymond Bernard, died just a few hours after the tragedy. The circumstance s of the drama, like the reference to his young friend, makes it sound like a falling o ut between a homosexual and a gigolo. The question of homosexuality does not appear in the parliamentary debates, either, nor even in articles ranting about modern women or young people. It neve r comes up in the political arena, except for certain articles on Hitler s Germany. Thus literary and theater criticism became the main forum for debates on homosex uality. The first article, full of allusions, was on Marcel Proust s Sodom and Gomorrah I, which came out shortly after Guermantes II. Paul Souday wrote, I must add that in the final chapter the narrative moves in a direction that is difficult to follow. Ac cording to Saint-Simon, there were people in the royal families similar to Mr. Proust s baron de Charlus; but the author of Memories borders on suggesting something rather more widespread. 17 The second article was published exactly a year later, when Sodom and Gomorra h II came out, May 12, 1922. The third appeared in August of the same year.17 It i s a review of Roger Martin du Gard s Le Cahier gris. This is when Paul Souday inaugurated his ne w way of referring to homosexuality: by reference to Proust. Since blunt references to homosexuality were out of the question, it was hinted at through allusion: The Masters thought it was one of those annoying relationships like those of Mr. de Charlus sprinkled throughout the novel by Mr. Marcel Pr.vost [sic]; it was actually only an innoce nt but exalted and mystical friendship, with a suspicious-seeming vocabulary the signif icance of

which the naive children did not understand. When Abel Hermant s series on Lord Chelsea was published on February 21, 1924, the allusion took on a new life: Thus , Lord Chelsea is a kind of English Charlus or an Oscar Wilde, an aesthete like the one i n the story, but just a lord like the baron de Charlus, and not a man of letters. The s ense of irritation was already gone: The poor things. Couldn t they at least do their business in silence, instead of humiliating themselves publicly? Virtue and vice benefit equ ally from modesty. On February 4, 1926, in a famous review of Gide s The Counterfeiters, Paul Souday reached the limits of his tolerance. The theater critic Pierre Brisson was next, with his review of The Captive at the F.mina theater March 8. The play was performed in t he nude, and was characterized as an extremely remarkable work on a bold and strangely embarrassing subject. The subject is actually never specified, for by spelling it out one is likely to give it that brutal appearance that M. Bourdet has managed to avoid wi th such fine skill. In the second act, the discussion broadens, taking on its human signif icance 17. Le Temps, 12 May 1921. 213

A History of Homosexuality in Europe and all its gravity. Unfortunately that is the precise moment when it becomes mo st difficult to make any sense of it. Paul Souday weighed in again on December 23, 1926 with a review of Gide s If It Di e. It is far more pathetic than it is pleasant. He was not being coy in order to misl ead the readers, who were assumed to be jaded after Sodom and Gomorrah: This is not compa rable at all to the adventures of Charlus and the consorts of Marcel Proust, which at least have something picturesque to offer. We have no qualms about Mr. Andr. Gide s private l ife, and no one is bothering him. Why does he have to hang out his least defensible f antasies for all to see? Souday followed up on November 17, 1927, with a piece on Le Temps retrouv.. The second half of the novel especially upset him: Any hack novelist could have c hurned this out. On September 25, 1931, Andr. Th.rive, a literary critic who replaced So uday, wrote a few lines on Leon Lemonnier s biography of Oscar Wilde. He makes no explic it allusion to his homosexuality, but mentions the almost innocent curse from which he suffered, some appalling details and an excessive liberalism when it comes to morals . Then on October 23, 1931 when Ernest Seilli.re s monograph on Marcel Proust and Ramon Fernandez s on Andr. Gide were published, Th.rive wrote a long paragraph on Proust s and Gide s homosexuality, but again without using explicit terms. And of course, I will pass over an even greater flaw, which makes it possible to explai n almost everything that is inexplicable about this writer. The negative tone dominates, e specially in the following paragraph, which compares Gide with Proust: It is not for us to dwell on such an awkward subject, essential as it may be. It is enough to know that the P roustian pessimism is answered by Gide s Nietzschean optimism, and Proust sees in his confr eres a sign of dark and Saturnian predestination, while his second is keen to see that they are the ones who are normal and in good health....Which is the more dire propagandism? T he latter, I think. At least, the topic of homosexuality, even if it was not mention ed outright, was being discussed. In fact, the ent in the early staged Roger Martin Brisson described it l lies articles touching on the subject of homosexuality became more frequ 1930s. Theatrical output encouraged it. The Champs-.lys.es Com.die du Gard s play Un taciturne (The Silent Man) November 2, 1931. Pierre as one of the most scabrous of plays in which the author s greatest skil

in his ability to avoid the actual subject of the debate. On January 11, 1932, Le Mal de la jeunesse (The Pains of Youth) by Bruckner was produced at the Theatre du Marais; and on J une 20, 1932, Jeunes filles en uniforme ( Girls in Uniform ) was put on at the Studio of Paris. October 10, 1932 was the first time Le Temps used the words invert and homosexual, talking about La Fleur des pois (The Snobs) by .douard Bourdet that was playing at the Theatre de la Michodi.re. Brisson found the play disappointing: I do not reproach Mr. Bourdet for a second for having written a play in which, in the presence of the abnormal beings that he brings to the stage, he avoids expressing any condemnation. Not o nly do I not reproach him, but I congratulate him for his generosity of spirit. I find mo ralistic theater, so-called right-thinking theater, thoroughly distasteful in principle, fu tile, and soon out of date. What I do reproach him for is having reduced so perilous a sub ject to the trivial fun of anecdotic dialogue. Andr. Th.rive came up with a positive review on March 24, 1932 for Colette s book Ces plaisirs (Those Pleasures), underscoring that it was dangerous for the weak bu t useful for those who are strong. A corner had been turned: on February 25, 1935, Maurice Rostand s play Le Proc.s d Oscar Wilde (The Trial of Oscar Wilde) was shown at the T h.atre des Arts and, in spite of circumlocutions, this time Pierre Brisson used the express ion 214

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion Uranian love and Dorian Gray is described as the onfessor and martyr of his faith. patron saint of sodomy, apostle, c

However, this was the last review concerning a play or novel with homosexual themes to appear until 1939. The abrupt hiatus can be attributed to the drop in public interest in homosexuality. The media turned its attention to the crisis, interna tional tensions and the threat of depopulation. Meanwhile, The Times stayed resolutely impersonal. Homosexuality was generally mentioned only in the context of legal notes. The description of the facts is co ncise, to say the least. For example, on January 11, 1919, in a brief criminal note we read Ja nuary 10. Before Judge Rentoul, William Frederick Gammon, 38 years old, gardener, was foun d guilty of having committed an act constituting a serious moral offense and was s entenced to twelve months in prison by the second division. Still, this kind of entrefile t is rare and is negligible among the number of sentences pronounced annually. Apart from these chronicles, there was a bit more press reporting on the lawsuit over Radclyffe Hall s The Well of Loneliness. Here again, the newspaper maintained a strict neutrality and merely retranscribed the debates, almost in their entirety. Lastly, homosexuality was also touched upon in connection with Hitlerian Germany, at the time of the assassination of R.hm and the raids against the gay bars. The word homosexuality is never employed. R.hm s proclivities were evoked as unfortunate tendencies, and the bars were said to have a certain reputation. Thus we can see that major media made little effort to familiarize the reader with homosexuality . By comparison, the satirical press was far less reticent to mention it. Still, significant diff erences existed between the three countries. Homosexuality was clearly visible in the German satirical press, as can be seen in the German weekly magazine Simplicissimus. Many homosexual caricatures had alrea dy been published in Simplicissimus before the war, during the Eulenburg affair and in connection with the activities of the WhK. Then there were no more until after the war, when they gradually began to appear again. In the period 1919-1939, one may find fifteen homosexual caricatures. The majority appeared between 1924 and 1929, which corre sponds to the apogee of the Berliner homosexual subculture. There was none in 1919, and there are no more after 1933. The last was published on May 15, 1932. Most of th e caricatures depict lesbians and the Berliner homosexual scene. For instance, September 24,

1924, a Bubikopf girl is lounging on a settee; her mother says to her: How shall I put it, my child you are now at an age, Paula, where men start to . Stop right there, Mom, I m a pervert.... On February 20, 1928 a famous drawing by Jeanne Mammen was publis hed: She is representative. A very masculine-looking young woman says: Dad is a lawyer and Mom sits on the regional court. I am the only one in the family to ha ve a private life. There are a few homosexual caricatures. One dated April 1, 1921, referred to Hir schfeld, under the title Hirschfeldiana. It shows the homosexual leader with his young and very effeminate Secretary: Please, take down the following, Miss: As we rebui ld our economic life, which is completely stagnant, the imperatives of the day require the immediate abolition of 175. Another, dated September 12, 1927, is entitled Confusion of feelings in direct reference to Stefan Zweig s books. Two prostitutes are shown, wi th a sailor approaching. One says to the other: Say, Bella, do you think that sailor i s a customer or the competition? On January 28, 1929 there was a caricature of a homosexual 215

A History of Homosexuality in Europe ball and, in the center, a young boy dressed as an angel is the object of everyo ne s attentions. The caption is a little poem: Max als Amor war ein grosser Schlager Und er bracht die bravsten M.nner in Gefahr Ja man munkelt, dass von andern Lager Magnus Hirschfeld selbst zugegen war Mutter Nagel sch.tzte Max als Griechin Eine treubesorgte Ballmama Und so wagte sich an ihn kein Viech hin Wie gesagt: auch Hirschfeld war ja da1!18 The caricatures in Simplicissimus are not actually hostile to homosexuals but ra ther poke fun at them, and at many others. Hirschfeld s battle is exaggerated and comic and the flappers are absurd, but in the end they are all just symbols of the post-wa r period; they have the taste of modernity. Rather than any real homophobia, the newspaper s irony reflects the public s distress at the growing visibility of homosexual. In comparison, Fantasio19 comes across as far more hostile, and there are far mo re homosexual caricatures there, too. The majority concern lesbians and were publis hed in the period 1922-1928. Fantasio also made homosexual allusions in its gossip colu mns and its leading articles. An example from December 1, 1922, is a vengeful article pu blished under the title: L h.r.sie sentimentale; ces messieurs dames (A Sentimental Heresy; those Lady-Gentlemen). A drawing from May 1, 1923, shows girls dancing together under the caption: Belles of the ball, but the men will never know. On October 1, 1923, Abel Hermant is sketched in academician s garb and powdering his face, under the legend: Saint-Simo nette. A cartoon from March 1, 1924 shows a series of women with shorter and shorter hair, captioned: Careful, Ladies! Go any farther with your hair and you ll end up l ooking like old men. September 15, 1925 had a cartoon like the ones in Simplicissimus, s howing two girls dancing together. The caption quips, Dormez, bonnes vieilles chansons, Qui faisiez danser, sans fa.ons, Les filles avec les gar.ons! Dans les bars chic qui les ran.onnent En des poses qui s abandonnent, Ce ne sont plus que des gar.onnes!

18. Max was a great success as Cupid/ And he placed the hardiest men at risk/ The y say that in the other camp/ Magnus Hirschfeld himself was present//Max was Mama Nagel s prot.g . in the Greek sense/ a very attentive guardian/ So that not one of those beasts dared ap proach him/ As it was said: even Hirschfeld was there. 19. This light, satirical magazine was created by the cartoonist Roubille in 190 6. It came out every 15 days. In the mid-1930s it lost readership to bolder and more modern pap ers featuring erotic photographs. 216

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion On May 1, 1926, Andr. Gide was caricatured under the title, La fleur du male. The publication of Fran.ois Porch. s book L Amour qui n ose pas dire son nom (The Love Tha t Dares Not Speak Its Name) occasioned a vicious article and a caricature: May we say that this protest comes right when it s needed? For they have started to go at it a little too strongly, these little friends ! Free to have their fun, a nd to the play around in the dooryard, and at the back door.... But they are starting to m ake so much propaganda and to puff themselves up with their special morals that there i s bound to be a reaction.... Will the book we are talking about signal that the ti me has come?... At a time when everyone is talking about cleaning up Paris, perhaps som eone will give a clean sweep to certain milieux.20 April 1, 1932 brought a new attack, signed Melitta and baptized Lesbos. They were no beauties, these captives, with their eyebrows shaven so close their eyes resembled those of young calves, their faces sallow in the yellow light of the l amps, their thin arms sticking out of their pyjamas. In the same vein one finds in La Vie par isienne21 of June 11, 1938 a caricature entitled The Clever One, showing a man and two women, o ne of whom is a flapper dressed in a strictly-tailored suit, cigarette on her lip. The caption says, I ll bet, Marquise, that you re planning to spend your holidays on an ancient G reek island. Fantasio promoted itself as the ambassador of the French spirit and, for that reason, posed as a defender Gauloiserie. That meant that its sales relied on exp loiting the most popular current prejudices. The new visibility of the homosexual scene and the rise of homosexual literature reinforced this basic tendency and served as a pretext for the reassertion of heterosexual love, which was supposedly under threat. Whereas Simpl icissimus depicted homosexuality as a phenomenon of modernity, Fantasio took it as a sign of decline. Punch, like The Times, reveals the extreme prudishness of the British press. The re is hardly one homosexual caricature in the period 1919-1939; the only suggestive dr awings are those of girls with very short hair, but who are never comparable to lesbian

s. One cartoon in particular shows the evolution of fashion, starting with a girl with long hair, then with it cut in a bob, then . la gar.onne, then an Eton crop; then the carto on shows where it all was headed the Dartmoor shave and the progressive return to the shoulder-length hair.22 Another cartoon, on February 1, 1922, shows two young wo men in the foreground and two very effeminate young men in the background. Hostess: What a bother, my dear, we are short one man. Guest: Don t worry; I ve brought along two cuties. Lastly, in the German press one can distinguish nuances in how homosexuality is treated by different political groups.23 Most of the German newspapers touched o n homosexuality mainly in the parliamentary context. A few homosexual scandals, li ke the 20. Fantasio, 1-15 August 1927, p.311-312. 21. Like Fantasio, La Vie parisienne, inaugurated in 1869, was a light satirical paper that began to decline in the mid-30s. 22. Punch, 17 October 1928. 23. To evaluate how political allegiances influenced the approach to homosexuali ty in France and in England, one would have to go through virtually all the party newspapers for the entire period. That would not be an easy task. Unlike in Germany, there were no outstan ding events upon which to focus one s analysis in such a survey. 217

A History of Homosexuality in Europe R.hm letters in 1931, started an avalanche of articles in the press. Lastly, hom osexuality was mentioned in articles ranting about the decline of morals in the post-war er a. Deutsche Zeitung,24 an organ of the DNVP, represented the interests of the Junke r and the ultraconservative business world. The DNVP was anti-Semitic and hostile to the Weimar Republic. Its goal was to restore the monarchy. It was part of the govern ment since 1925. Deutsche Zeitung was, throughout this period, savagely hostile to ho mosexuals and lumped them together with pacifist and androgynous youth, modern women, abortion and sexual liberation a product of Russia and the Jews.25 It took up th e fight against pornography and smut led by Reinhard Mumm, a member of the DNVP. On November 12, 1920, it made a reference to the pervert doctor Magnus Hirschfeld. An article from March 25, 1921, attacks the homosexual floorshows: The danger in the se men with their unfortunate proclivities against nature is their desire to propagate their wrong understanding of friendship. On January 7, 1922, under the title A Champion of Hom osexuality, the paper denounced the propagation of indecent writings, in particular the magazine Der Eigene. The interest in new medical theories is seen in a number of articles, but the newspaper deliberately chose those least favorable to homosexuals. Thus, February 10, 1924, an article was published entitled Sexual life and Hereditary Flaws, whic h maintained that heterosexuality is innate and that homosexuality, like masochism or sadism, is perverse. An alarmist article was published May 10, 1928 under the ru bric, Suicide of the Race ; it denounced the masculinization of women, the effeminacy of m en and the attenuation of the natural contrasts. This extremely negative attitude may be contrasted to the position of the Berlin er Tageblatt26, a democratic daily newspaper. The Berliner Tageblatt published an a dvertisement on September 4, 1919 for Magnus Hirschfeld s Institut f.r Sexualwissenschaft as well as the Institute s program and the topic of the main conferences given there. The information is handled objectively. One of the best ways to compare the reactions of the two newspapers is by focusing on the abolition of 175 that was decided by the Commission to reform the Penal Code on October 16, 1929.27 Berliner Tageblatt had been publishing the Commissio n s reports since October 8. On October 17, it ran an article entitled: A cultural pr ojection: The End of 175. The newspaper welcomed this decision and gave credit particularly

to Wilhelm Kahl, then an octogenarian, president of the commission and member of th e DVP (German People s Party),28 who had voted for the abolition of the paragraph ag ainst his own party and whose influence rocked the vote: If all his friends were as you ng as him, things would be much better. On the other hand, for several days Deutsche Ze itung had been equating the decriminalization of sodomy with the deleterious actions of the SPD (German Social Democratic Party) and the German Communist Party (KPD), sayin g: A victory for the criminals of the people: impunity for infringing 175. Magnus Hir 24. The Deutsche Zeitung was founded in 1896; it went out of business 31 Decembe r 1934 with the claim of having the glory of having directly prepared the way for the glory of th e Third Reich. 25. See for example the 20 February 1921 issue. 26. Le Berliner Tageblatt, founded in 1871, disappeared 1 January 1939. When the Nazis came to power, the management and the editorial staff of the magazine were purged. In th e Twenties, it had a distribution in the range of 350,000; it fell to less than 35,000 in the Thirtie s. 27. See chapters six and seven, as well. 28. The DVP was the party for big business; it had monarchical tendencies, and w as tactically allied with the Republic in 1920. 218

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion schfeld and his disciples must now triumph We can only hope that the deliberatio n and the final decision in connection with this article of law fall to another Reichs tag than the last, whose majority, it is increasingly apparent, decided to ruin the German pe ople from a moral point of view, too. They also attacked Kahl, who was more or less accused o f treason. Kahl answered those charges on October 25, 1929 in Vossische Zeitung an d justified his position, which he said was based not on tolerance for homosexuality, which he regarded as a vice and a calamity, but on practical reasons: repression encourag es blackmail and the propagation and dissemination of homosexual propaganda in soci ety. So we see how the German treatment of homosexuality could vary according to poli tical persuasions. What for Deutsche Zeitung was another sign of the decline of German y was, on the contrary, interpreted by the democratic newspaper as a projection of history . After Hitler s advent to power, such distinctions are no longer seen. Thus, the el imination of R.hm was treated identically by Deutsche Zeitung and Berliner Tageblatt, whic h had been purified of its Jewish and liberal editors. Their July 1, 1934 articles s imply reproduced the official version as it was expressed by Goering at a press confer ence. In conclusion, according to examples studied, the press played different roles i n different countries. In Germany, the problem was publicly discussed and the term s homosexuality, inversion and variations thereon were acceptable usage, for they now bore the imprimatur of science. In England, the press followed the prevailing co de of silence and did nothing to acquaint the public with homosexuality. In France, th e press was more loquacious, but remained extremely prudent. Certain scandal sheets may have used homosexuality to bolster sales, but they ran the risk of being fined. In Ju ly 1935, the director of D.tective, Marius Larique, was given a three-month suspended sentenc e and a 1,000-franc fine, the manager Charles Dupont got one month with suspended and a 500franc fine, but the reporter Marcel Carri.re was let go. The newspaper had published a photograph of the corpse of a young homosexual who was strangled under unknown c ircumstances. His naked body had been found on a couch. The picture was captioned, Playing House. 29 Greater Tolerance?

The public s reactions with regard to homosexuality are formed by many factors, including the family setting, education, religion, personal prejudices, and gene ral trends in public opinion. In the absence of opinion polls or any other means of queryin g the population, it is very difficult to analyze how attitudes on this question evolved. Nonethel ess, by collecting testimony and by weighing the information sources, one can draw an overall and modulated picture of the public s views on homosexuality. Homosexuals would run into very different situations depending on what circles they traveled in. Bohemian homosexuals living in a European capital would only o ccasionally meet with any hostility. Thus we have B., a lesbian, who lived the life of an ar tist in the 1930s. It wasn t easy to live freely as a homosexual at that time, the way I did, because I was in an artistic world where it was very common. The artists really didn t give a damn about it and in fact considered it a sign of originality. N., a lesbian wh o fraternized with anarchists, was also accepted by her peers.30 29. AN, BB18 6178 44 BL 402. 219

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Conversely, an anonymous subject who lived in the provinces was likely to face r eal rebuffs if her peculiarity came to light: People were getting used to seeing wome n in what used to be men s places, used to the cigarettes, to the sometimes crude langu age, to loud laughter in public. But, outside the big cities, they found us, we the emanc ipated, arrogant, vulgar and dangerous all at the same time. Bad examples for girls whos e parents thought they were still untainted. 31 There were some exceptions, of course. Eleon or, a woman farmer, says: And it was a different problem, for we were already dressing like men. Jodhpurs, especially, because they were the only thing one work in. I wore them all the time. I would have, anyway, of course; my lover was living with me. But I do n t think the owners of the farm thought much about it. They never mentioned it. I don t thi nk they cared, really. 32 The reactions differed considerably according to where one was. In Berlin, as in the other capital cities, tolerance was greater than in the provinces although it mi ght be more accurate to call it indifference. At the same time, other areas of Germany we re famous for their homophobia, especially Bavaria. And Hans Bl.her, with his theor ies on homosexuality in the youth movements, was stopped from visiting the town of M.ns ter, in Westphalia, for a series of conferences.33 On March 19, 1921, the Ministry of the Interior received a letter from the president of the regional government. According to th e latter, 27 letters of protest, from associations against public immorality in the districts of Westphalia, from the teachers union and the clergy, Catholic youth, the Evangelical Church and many other associations, had arrived at police headquarters, informing them that Bl.her s arrival would be prevented all means, even, if necessary, by violence. So mething like that had already happened in Munich, where the president of the pederasts, M agnus Hirschfeld barely made it out alive. Most people, while rejecting homosexuality, simply never spoke of it. At that tim e, nobody talked about homosexuality. Not the slightest allusion. I don t think that was apparent to me at the time; I was only eighteen, twenty years old. At that age, I probably didn t realize the significance. I was satisfied just to be it [homosexual]. But I thought marrying was the right thing to do, even if I had already had different experien ces. 34 Similarly,

Quentin Crisp explains why he did not tell one of his friends that he was homose xual: She wouldn t have believed me, because in those distant days, a homosexual was never somebody whom you actually knew and seldom somebody you had met.35 People didn t know much about homosexuality, in any case. Crisp summarizes the stereotypes in vogue: It was thought to be of Greek origin, less widespread than socialism but more dangerous, especially for children.36

30. Testimony from B., born in Paris in 1910, an apprentice dressmaker, and from N., recorded by Claudie Lesselier, Aspects de l exp.rience lesbienne in France, 1930-1968, from a post-graduate dissertation in sociology, University of Paris-VIII, under the direction of R. Castel, November 1987, 148 pages, p.7375. 31. Germaine, cited by Dominique Desanti, La Femme au temps des ann.es folles, P aris, Stock, 1984, 373 pages, p.46. 32. Eleonor, testimony recorded in Suzanne Neild and Rosalind Parson, Women Like Us, London, The Women s Press, 1992, 171 pages, p.34. 33. GStA, I.HA, Rep.77, Tit.435, n 1, vol.1. 34. Gerald, in Between the Acts. Lives of Homosexual Men, 1885-1967, edited by K . Porter and J. Weeks, London, Routledge, 1990, 176 pages, p.6. See also ibid., Norman, p.23, and Sam, p. 99. 35. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil-Servant [1968], London, Fontana, 1986, 217 pa ges, p. 24. 36. Ibid., p.25. 220

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion But the greater visibility of homosexuality in the 1920s did not necessarily go hand in hand with increased acceptance. Many were indignant at this depravity, but took a more or less fatalistic approach: Their special caf.s are open to the public. The ir morals are discussed in songs and at the nightclub, in newspapers, and conversations. A ll the same, that doesn t mean that this cordiality should evolve into tolerance. 37 It is was at about this time that Quentin Crisp launched out on his educational crusade in favor of homosexuality: I realized that it didn t make any difference to be recognized as a homosexual in the West End, where vice was the rule, or in Soho, where everyone was an outl aw of one kind or another; but the rest of England was precisely my target area. It was densely populated by aborigines who had never heard of homosexuality and who, when they discovered it for the first time, were frightened and furious. I was g oing to work on them.38 The reactions ran the gamut from frightened curiosity (he often drew crowds) to more or less hostile mockery, right up to sheer aggression. Crisp noted, The most mysterious thing in all these situations is not that strangers, without a word being said on either side, would attack me. It is that they did not kill me.39 Such incidents were not rare; homosexuals were always at the mercy of fag busters who attacked in groups. Klaus Mann learned about them through bitter expe rience in Toulon; even so, he received real help from the police. I was immediately approached by an insistent young man, small and lacking in charm. I went with him to the red-light district; went to a few bars, talked wit h a sailor, etc. The little guy managed to lure me into a completely deserted corner . (What incomprehensible stupidity, not to have suspected a thing!) Howls: I ll kill you! fists; I ran like lightning, they caught up with me, continued to hit me, took e verything I had money (130 francs), my coat, my wallet, etc; streaming with blood, panting , I went to the nearest police station; a police officer took me to the hospital, wh ere I was bandaged up, and back to the police station, where I gave a deposition; I missed the last bus, and had to go back by taxi. An absolutely atrocious incident.40 Tolerance may have been making some progress, but it was not widespread. More than educational level, the extent to which one needed social approval may expla in the differences in attitude. Broadmindedness was particularly visible at the univers ities, and in the literary and artistic milieux. The upper classes had had their consciousn ess raised

by the circulation of works on sexology. In the working class and the lower midd le class, the stereotypes were very long lived, even if Daniel Guerin claims that homosexu ality was more accepted in workman s circles than among the middle class: I lived the in 20th arrondissement and in the evening one would see, at the little restaurants, guys between the ages of twenty and thirty, all single and not in the least put out if one ex pressed a 37. Albert Chapotin, Les D.faitistes de l amour, Paris, Le Livre pour tous, 1927, 510 pages, p. 177. 38. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil-Servant, op. cit., p.33. 39. Ibid., p.67. 40. Klaus Mann, Journal. Les ann.es brunes, 1931-1936, Paris, Grasset, 1996, 452 pages, 10 May 1936, p.345. 221

A History of Homosexuality in Europe certain homosexual desire for them. To them, anything having to do with sex was natural. They were still in the physical world and this world had not been polluted by mo ral values. 41 In fact, amateur homosexual prostitution, which was widespread during t he 1920s, was largely of working-class origin. The middle classed, which harbored a puritan moral ideal anchored in family values, were the most reticent with regard to hom osexuals. In the absence of precise information on the attitude of the farming community, it would be hazardous to emit a judgment about life in the hinterland. Generalizati ons are not very useful, for they obscure the complexity of the factors in question. To arrive at any serious conclusion on this, one would have to study thoroughly the behavior of a population on the scale of a whole town and its reactions to, for example, a homosexual scandal. Unfortunately, it is difficult by now to pull together sufficient sourc es for such a study. Sensitive Topics The limits of tolerance are reached in some of the debates that came up during t his time. Indeed, homosexuality might be tolerated on a day-to-day basis, but would be rejected again as soon as it became something alien. Certain topics remained sen sitive during the inter-war period and occasioned feelings of irrational hostility and panic. Three topics recur throughout the period: the link between lesbianism and femini sm, the need to protect young people, and foreign threats. It s the feminists fault The lesbian question was directly linked to the feminist movement in the inter-w ar period. Particularly in England and Germany, the feminist movement was seen as a Trojan Horse used by the lesbians to recruit or seduce new followers and to pervert you ng women and to lure them away from their homes and their husbands. These charges became louder and louder, culminating in Germany in the Nazi era. Feminists were also held responsible for the alleged increase in male homosexuality, for they were c onsidered to have made men disgusted with women by their demands and their independent way s. However, the feminist movements in the inter-war period were not, in the main, o pen to lesbianism, and were more likely to be frankly hostile. Far from detecting any c omplicity

between the movements, a researcher is struck by the absence of solidarity and t he distance the feminists strove to maintain between themselves and the lesbians, which part ly explains the disorganization of the latter. Sheila Jeffreys produced an admirable study of the English feminist movement in The Spinster and Her Enemies. Created at the end of the 19th century by several well-to-do and well-educated women, its leaders were morally irreproachable: Josephine Butl er was married, Emmeline Pankhurst and Millicent Fawcett were widowed, Francis Cobbe an d Christabel Pankhurst were unmarried. Their campaign was primarily political; the y demanded voting rights, the right to practice the liberal professions, and acces s to higher education. They had no complaint about the family as an institution per se, but were concerned with property rights for women, and to limit the husband s legal power over his 41. Cited by Gilles Barbedette and Michel Carassou, Paris gay 1925, Paris, Press es de la Renaissance, 1981, 312 pages, p.47. 222

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion wife. The suffragettes claimed that maternity should not be imposed, which impli ed birth control; they also called for the prevention of the venereal diseases and the de nunciation of male sexual appetites. Among the solutions they proposed were complete chasti ty, periods of abstinence and, sometimes, contraception. In fact, what the feminists were asking for above all was to be able to use their bodies freely. They saw men as a threat to this freedom and called for them to conform to the higher moral standards of women . The slogan on the eve of the war was: The vote for women and chastity for men. In this context, the 1920s and 1930s myth of the castrating woman who hates men and wants to impose a matriarchal society is more easily comprehensible. The dom inant male society tended to ball together all the demands of modern woman into a thre at to its supremacy. Far from calming spirits, the war reinforced men s fears and hatreds. S ome saw the great massacre as the sacrifice of young men to save the women, who stay ed safely behind and took advantage of the situation by seeking to emancipate thems elves. The feminist movements were held responsible for this domestic rebellion. Very s oon the New Woman was attacked as a manifestation of all that was wrong, a symbol of dege neracy. The question of unmarried women led the press to call for useless women to emigr ate in order to contribute to the settlement of the colonies.42 This was a total inv ersion of perspective: whereas the old maid had formed part of the British traditional la ndscape, she sudden became a threat to society; in every unmarried woman, a lesbian might be hiding. Carefully meting out counsel and warnings, information on female sexuality began to be disseminated, especially in the 1930s, a sign of the tighter morals in the wake of the crisis. J.M. Hotep, in Love and Happiness, Intimate Problems of the Modern Woman (1938), explains that homosexuality is a sorcerer s trick that transforms the external appearance of boys into girls, and vice versa, but that one could overcome it by fighting it from the very start. T. Miller Neatby, in Youth and Purity (1937), notes that the experience of the post-war period has taught us that homosexualism [sic], especially among women, was more and more common. 43 Since the war, women are brought together in broad and dangerous intimacy, at work, at leisure and at home. The only way of rooting out homosexuality is total and immediate abstinence ; parents and tutors must take care to immediatel

y put an end to any friendships that become too intense. In Approaching Womanhood, Healthy Sex for Girls (1939), Rennie Macandrew writes The woman who is never int erested in the opposite sex, but only in her own, is retarded at the lesbian stage. This was undoubtedly partly the cause of the suffragette movement before the war of 19141918. Some of its leaders hated men. 44 The most complete work is that of Laura Hutton, The Single Woman and her Emotion al Problems, going back to 1937. The author distinguishes the initiator, the true l esbian, masculine, already identifiable in childhood due to her boyish tastes, and the seduced woma n who is not homosexual but falls into the clutches of one who is, out of simple i gnorance and sexual frustration. The danger to the latter is in giving in to the excitatio n and no longer being able to do without such unnatural caresses. She is then likely to b ecome a 42. The 1851 census in England had already disclosed a surplus of 405,000 women in British society. This surplus carried on after the war. 43. T. Miller Neatby, Youth and Purity, London, British Christian Endeavour Unio n, 1937, 27 pages, p.24. 44. Rennie Macandrew, Approaching Womanhood, Healthy Sex for Girls, London, The Wales Publishing Co, 1939, 93 pages, p.29. 223

A History of Homosexuality in Europe neurotic, since she will never enjoy complete pleasure and will not find her nat ural satisfaction in maternity. As for the true lesbian, she is likely to sink into alcohol or dru gs, for she realizes that she does not constitute a satisfactory substitute for her conq uest. Nevertheless, considering the shortage of men, Laura Hutton speculates as to whether it would not be wiser to let these women be, since there was nothing better offer them. The most virulent attacks associating lesbians and feminists came in Germany.45 In 1925, 35.6% of the women were working, compared to 31.2% in 1907. Girls had also achieved a place in education: in 1931-1932, 16% of students were girls. Women h ad also succeeded in gaining a certain political influence: between 1919 and 1932, 112 w omen were elected to the Reichstag, and they were also well represented in local instituti ons. But the feminist movement was divided. There was a political feminism, which demanded equal rights, embodied by personalities like Clara Zetkin and Helene St .cker. The socialist feminists were often disappointed, for they received little suppor t from their political comrades. Radical organizations like Bund f.r Mutterschutz (League for the Protection of Mothers) were isolated in their battle for contraception, abortion , and divorce reform; the majority of women s groups feared the masculinization of women and praised honesty, self-abnegation, and idealism as essential female virtues. There was an alarmist line of talk during the 1920s, accusing women of being on strike as far as childbearing and of being responsible for the collapse of famil y values. Some authors called the modern woman a castrator who deprived the man of his job . Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine (The Federation of German Women s Associations) or BDF, which counted 500,000 members in 80 women s groups, did call for better work conditions and better education for women, but it stick strictly to the traditio nal view of women s role. Certain women s organizations were even antifeminist, like the Protest ant Federation (with nearly 2 million members), Catholic associations (approximately 1 million members), the Red Cross volunteers (750,000 members) and the Queen Louis e League, 130,000 members strong. With come writers, antifeminism could take the form of a homophobic attack. While no movement had taken up the cause of lesbians, feminism was accused of se rving as a cover for a great campaign of homosexual seduction. Anton Sch.cker, in Zur Psychopathologie der Frauenbewegung (1931), produces a systematic attack on modern women. According to him, feminist leaders were a breed apart, that of the masculine wom

an, with broad shoulders, a deep voice, and a hint of a moustache. They also had a tenden cy to cross dress. He attributed the fight for emancipation to various factors: social distress, the significant albeit temporary surplus of women, and the activation of mechanisms o f psychopathic reaction and neuroses ; these are homosexuals who, from the first days of the movement, sought to pursue their own personal goals, through the mass suggestion of normal women transformed into an army for the feminine cause. The feminist moveme nt not only accelerated the collapse of the family cultural circle, but encouraged i t, without thus far having come up with anything better to put in its place. It has thus co ntributed to mixing up the sexual characteristics. 46 45. Claudia Koonz, Les M.res-patries du IIIe Reich, Paris, Lieu Commun, 1989, 55 3 pages, and Renate Bridenthal, Atina Grossmann and Marion Kaplan, When Biology Became Destiny, Wome n in Weimar and Nazi Germany, New York, Monthly Review Press, 1984, 364 pages. 46. Anton Sch.cker, Zur Psychopathologie der Frauenbewegung, Leipzig, Verlag von Curt Kabitzsch, 1931, 51 pages. 224

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion E.F.W. Eberhard s Die Frauenemanzipation und ihre erotischen Grundlagen (1924) was the major work in Germany; according to Eberhard, most feminists are virile women, belonging to the intermediate sex and exhibiting many masculine features ; they are not real women. As a consequence, feminist movements were in fact camouflaged lesbian movements. Of course, most of the members were heterosexual, but the lea ders of the movement were homosexuals seeking to appease their fantasies of domination a nd to wield their magnetism to control other women. By their influence, female homosex uality was spreading, and had by now become more common than male homosexuality. In con clusion, Eberhard called for laws punishing lesbianism in order to arrest the moral degen eration of the country. In France, the subject seems to have been less explosive, but that does not mean it was missing from the public discourse. Already in 1908 Theodore Jorau was playin g with the confusion between feminism and lesbianism: Feminism, which was at first a mon omania for equality, became an apology for the liberal instinct. It exudes the ambiguou s odor of lust. Didn t one of our more shameless feminists, a certain Ren.e Vivien, in a book of bad verse that women recite when they ve lost their heads, call herself the mod ern priestess of lesbians loves? This Sappho is always mixing feminist declarations with her lyricism. 47 Given these emotional outbursts, it is wise to look to the feminists themselves and to compare the reality of their viewpoint with the fantasies that grew up around them. In England before the war, feminists never mentioned the lesbian question and later it was examined only with the greatest prudence, even if the increasing attacks against unmarried women goaded them to react. In 1913, 63% of the members of the Women s Social and Political Union (WSPU) were unmarried and many others were widowed. Several of them proclaimed the need to create a new class of single people, whos e political influence should improve the female condition.48 Lucy Re-Bartlett went further, affirming that modern woman instinctively liked other women, her sisters, and preferred th em to men. Cicely Hamilton rejected the idea that marriage was obligatory; however, al though she had some female liaisons, she never mentioned them in her autobiography. In fact, before the war, no feminist openly acknowledged being lesbian; such an admission was sure to compromise her politically. Moreover, these women did not regard themselves as lesbians.49 The First World

War was a major turning point in relations between feminists and lesbians. The f eminist movement was on the wane.50 Right after the war, the feminists were first of all 47. Cited by Christine Bard, Les Filles de Marianne. Histoire des f.minismes in France, 1914-1940, Paris, Fayard, 1995, 528 pages. 48. Cicely Hamilton, Marriage as a Trade (London, Chapman & Hall, 1909, 284 page s). Similarly, Life Errant, London, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1935, 300 pages. 49. See Lilian Faderman, Surpassing the Love of Men, New York, Morran & Cie, 198 1, 496 pages; Sheila Jeffreys, The Spinster and Her Enemies: Feminism and Sexuality, 1880-1930 , London, Pandora, 1985, 282 pages, p.102-127; and in Hidden from History (Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinu s and George Chauncey Jr. [dir.], London, Penguin Books, 1991, 579 pages), the articles by Ma rtha Vicinus, Distance and Desire: English Boarding-School Friendships, 1870-1920 p.212-229 and Esther Newton, The Mythic Mannish Lesbian: Radclyffe Hall and the New Woman, p.281-293. 50. Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst s Women Social and Political Union (WSPU) ra llied to support the war effort from the first days of the conflict; the pacifists quit t he organization and joined other groups like the International Womens League for Peace and Liberty. The WSPU transformed into the ephemeral Women s Party before disappearing. 225

A History of Homosexuality in Europe respectable women; they steered clear of violent demonstrations and the flamboya nt declarations and instead formed special interest groups within the Parliament. The torch of sexual reform had been taken by two women, Stella Browne and Marie Stopes. These two pioneers did nothing to help the lesbian cause. Marie St opes authored Married Love (1918), a bestseller promoting eugenics and offering advic e on sexuality. Stella Browne was a member of The British Society for the Study of Sex Psycholog y; she was a socialist feminist who campaigned in favor of abortion and birth contr ol from 1914 until the mid-1930s. The two shared a heterosexual ideal that included stig matizing lesbians. For Marie Stopes, sapphism was a threat because women who had experien ced a homosexual relationship would prefer that form of sex and would give up their fa milies: If a married woman goes through with this unnatural act, she will be increasingly disappointed with her husband and he will lose any ability to play his traditional role.... N o woman who attaches any value to the peace of her home and to the love of her hus band must give in to the maneuvers of the lesbian, whatever the temptation. 51 Stella B rowne, too, believed that a woman has a physical need for a man. In a report from 1924 entitled Studies in Feminine Inversion, which she presented before the BSSP, she declared: The woman who has neither husband nor lover, and who is not devitalized nor sexu ally defective, suffers mentally and physically often without knowing why she suffers ; nervous, irritable, feeble, always tired or upset over a trifle; if not, she has other consolations which make her alleged chastity an unhealthy imposture.52 In this memorandum, she describes five cases of sapphism. However, some of the subjects were not in sexual relationships and did not regard themselves as homosexual. Browne defines them a s lesbians according to rather strange criteria, independent of any physical or sentimental attraction towards women. By thus exaggerating their number and their seductive power, feminists made lesb ians a tangible threat to the family, and especially to young girls. By drawing up a rigid separation between masculine lesbians and pseudo-homosexuals, they made sure the re would be no progressive assimilation of lesbians into society. To preserve the p urity of romantic relationships, they denied real lesbians the right to love and to be love d in return, and definitively categorized them as deviants.

The conflict between lesbians and feminists was also visible in France. Here, it focused in particular on the question of dress. The gar.onne style appealed to o nly a minority of feminists, among the most radical. Even so, the arguments were above all very practical: it was healthier to go without a corset, the length of the skirt caus ed accidents; and especially, wearing masculine garb discouraged girl-watchers and other impor tunate creatures, and directly called into question traditional social divisions. Cross -dressing could even be seen as a political gesture; that is how Madeleine Pelletier prese nted it. The gesture was not always well received, even in leftist circles. In Germany, Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin wore dresses and long hair in order to avoid criticism. In Fran ce, crossdressing had picked up a few fans, notably George Sand and Rosa Bonheur, but the y remained exceptions. Rachilde occasionally dressed as a man, but that was not as sociated with any lesbian tendency. In the 1920s, she even attacked flappers in her satir e, Why I am 51. Marie Stopes, Enduring Passion (1928), in Sheila Jeffreys, The Spinster and Her Enemies, op. cit., p.120. 52. Stella Browne, Studies in Feminine Inversion, in Journal of Sexology and Psych oanalysis, 1923; cited by Sheila Jeffreys, ibid., p.117. 226

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion not a Feminist (1928). Even at the heart of the movement, the most militant were hostile to cross-dressing. The Olympic champion Violette Morni, who had won the Gold Bowl i n automobile racing and established the world record in the discus and shot put, w as removed from the Sporting Federation of France in 1928 for looking too mannish. She wore her hair cut very short, with a suit and a tie. Rumor had it that she had h ad her breasts reduced, to help her driving. She filed suit against the Federation, but lost. The Federation s two lawyers, Yvonne Netter and Juliette Weller, notorious feminists a s they were, decided that Violette Morni was a deplorable example for sportswomen. This is a clear case where the presumed homosexuality of the plaintiff (even if it was nev er mentioned) was the real reason for rejection and it counted more than her sporting perfor 53 mances. Madeleine Pelletier (1874-1939), a Communist who participated in libertarian groups and positioned herself as a theoretician of the virile woman, was a light ning rod for criticism. The first woman psychiatrist in France, she claims to have special morals and she is represented in the circles she frequents as an Amazon.54 Repudiated b y the feminists, she was reduced to silence. It seems however that her masculine appea rance was more the expression of a general distaste for sexuality than any homosexual tendency. She rarely mentions sapphism and, in her utopian novel A New Life (1932), she ev en imagines a future when she could disappear. In her mind, it is clear that homose xuality was a makeshift solution, certainly preferable to subjection to a man but far fr om satisfactory. Her description of homosexuals even flirts curiously with the medical prejudices and clich.s of the time. Madeleine Pelletier ended up deeply disappointed by the French feminists, with their low necklines, too feminine for her taste: What we have is, fundamentally, a feminism that is full quasi-prostitutes. 55 One finds parallels in the fate of Arria Ly (Josephine Gordon s pseudonym). She developed the idea of virginal feminism; sexual relations sully the woman, and s o one must avoid any contact with men. Her revulsion for sex originated in an extremel y puritanical education. Her rejection of men did not impel her toward women, either; when a journalist accused her of being lesbian, in 1911, she challenged him to a duel.

It seems that Madeleine Pelletier experienced a flush of attraction for her; it was quickly st ifled. She wrote back, saying: Herewith my portrait, as a man above all, do not fall in love ; that would be just the moment they would start hollering about Lesbos. The trip to Le sbos does not appeal to me any more than the trip to Cythera. 56 Madeleine Pelletier sp oke of her in the masculine and, like Gertrude Stein, she sought a new language, one th at would free her from sexual stereotypes. In various texts, she expounded her theory on masculinization: My clothes say to the man, I am your equal. And, if it is the ones who have short hair and shirt collars that have all the freedom and all the power, then, very well I will wear short hair and shirt collars. 57 She wrote to in Arria Ly: If I had an in come, I would adopt a masculine identity and I would make my way in the sciences or in p olitics. She was aware of her limitations, however, admitting that: I am short and stout, I have to be careful, and fake my voice; in the street I have to walk fast to go unnoticed . 58 On the 53. Cited by Christine Bard, Les Filles de Marianne, op. cit. 54. According to a police report cited by Christine Bard, Les Filles de Marianne , op. cit., p.197. 55. Cited by Charles Sowerwine and Claude Maignier, Madeleine Pelletier, une f.m iniste dans l ar.ne politique, Paris, .ditions ouvri.res, 1992, 250 pages, p.130. 56. Ibid., p.142. 57. Ibid., p.144. 227

A History of Homosexuality in Europe eve of the Second World War, she was convicted on abortion charges; declared men tally incompetent, she ended her days in a psychiatric asylum. Meanwhile, French feminists were trying to stakeout a position between tradition and modernity. The members of the UFSF (French Union for Women s Vote) were republicans: their first priority was to show that they were good citizens, not to be confused with the right-leaning Catholic feminists and the Socialists. They led a puritan ical crusade for the abolition of prostitution and for respect for women. Concerned w ith respectability and with maintaining the differences between the sexes, they were very careful not to stir up antifeminist reactions through any provocation. Lesbian society appeared vulgar in comparison. When the Club du Faubourg organiz ed a debate on the Charles-.tienne novel Notre-Dame-de-Lesbos, the feminist Marguer ite Gu.pet denounced them as some kind of perverted women destroyed by keeping bad company. 59 In fact, the feminists were not in the avant-garde in matters of sexuality; they only dealt with contraception and the prevention of the venereal diseases. Radical fe minists like Madeleine Furrier and Arria Ly stuck to their defense of chastity and steer ed clear of the lesbians, with whom they had no wish to be associated. Placing themselves at the forefront of the criticism of lesbians, the feminists sought to avoid any danger that public opinion might shift its reproaches onto women in general. By keeping lesbians ou t of the feminist movement, by refusing to accept them as women at all, by accusing them of actually being women s enemies, they ensured their own safety and their leaders we re protected from any unsavory allegations. Protecting young people Sex education manuals for young are good illustrations of the evolution in the i nstitutional approach to the subject, at least as far as boys were concerned. If there were a ny handbooks for girls, they were fewer in number and they seldom touched on the qu estion of homosexuality, no doubt because there was no wish to give girls any ideas abo ut lesbian relations: a girl s natural instinct was chastity, and the task of sex educ ation was simply to maintain her in this natural chastity. Excessive moral restrictions, h owever, would risk exciting curiosity and lead girls to revolt against this natural inst

inct. 60 Given the advances in medical theories and the renewed interest in sexuality tha t appeared after the war, handbooks on sex education proliferated. Most were just 20 pages long, but some ran to 100 or 200 pages. They were written by doctors, priests, p rincipals of preparatory schools or public schools, and the leaders of conservative morali stic associations. The majority of these works were intended for young boys, six to fifteen years o ld, and aimed to give them all the sexual baggage necessary to adapt to school life while heading off possible homosexual fancies. Some, however, like Youth and Purity by T. Miller Neatby, were addressed to older people, fifteen to thirty years old, which shows that the concern for instilling morals and awareness extended to age groups which might h ave been thought to be emancipated. 58. Ibid. 59. Cited by Christine Bard, Les Filles de Marianne, op. cit., p.197. 60. Oswald Schwarz, The Psychology of Sex and Sex Education, London, New Educati on Fellowship, 1935, 33 pages, p.21. 228

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion The French, German and English handbooks were quite different from each other. The English manuals were outstanding for their retrograde, alarmist views and th ey are loaded with prejudices. The question of masturbation is omnipresent and is treat ed in a most caricatured way. Teen homosexuality is clearly denounced. French works only rarely touched on that question. The warnings were mostly about prostitutes, ven ereal diseases and vice in general. The German works rather took the form of thick med ical treatises, meant to inform parents or teachers. The problem of homosexuality cam e up fairly frequently, but in scientific terms. After 1933, the topic disappeared co mpletely and sex education was recruited to the service of the German race. There were a few recurring topics. Most of the works, especially the British, begin with recommen dations on personal grooming, nutrition, sleep, everything that one must do to be a happy , healthy boy. Personal hygiene and the regular practice of sports are emphasized. Such counsels are interspliced with moral or religious precepts, intended to engrave in the child s mind the link between purity of body and purity of mind. The German works also devote considerable space to advice on hygiene; moral purity goes hand in hand w ith physical purity: Bodily precautions imply abstinence, a hard bed, cold showers, e xercise, a diet low in albumin, white clothing. 61 Moreover, they generally devote a chapte r to the description of the sexual functions; sometimes these explanations were very deta iled, full of technical terms and thus very confusing for young and uninformed children. Tw o works by F.H. Shoosmith, The Torch of Life, First Steps in Sex-Knowledge (1935) and That Youth May Know (1935), are good examples. The first comprises twenty chapters, ninetee n of which discuss flowers and animals and the final one touching very briefly on hum an sexuality. The second consists of four chapters; the first two are devoted to plants and an imals, the third to Puberty and Adolescence, and the fourth to a sermon! Masturbation is closely related to the question of homosexuality. It is vilified at length; it is difficult to determine when the term is used in a strict sense and when it is meant in the broad sense, including homosexuality, for, in the authors minds, sol itary masturbation must lead to mutual masturbation. Onanism in itself was already str ongly condemned and the number of the defamatory terms used to indicate it would be to o long to count; it is referred to as a shameful and degrading vice, a sacrilegious mania

eading to premature decrepitude. 62 On this topic, the English, German and French works ar e unanimous and almost indistinguishable from each other. On the other hand, the E nglish books are characterized by the precision of their instructions. They all advise sleeping on one s side, as sleeping on one s back facilitates nocturnal emissions and sleeping o n one s stomach causes friction that leads to erections;63 the hands must be kept outsid e the bedclothes. There are precise rules on grooming, as well: Except when washing yourself, you should never hold your genitals. 64 Every action is described in such a way as to minimize contact; the bad habit of putting one s hands in his pockets is particularly stigm atized.65 61. Friedrich Niebergall, Sexuelle Aufkl.rung der Jugend: ihr Recht, ihre Wege u nd Grenze, Heidelberg, Evangelischer Verlag, 1922, 25 pages. 62. Dr Jean Pou., Conseils . la jeunesse sur l .ducation sexuelle, Paris, Maloine, 1931, 29 pages. 63. William Lee Howard, Confidential Chats with Boys, London, Rider & Co, 1928, 144 pages; F.V. Smith, The Sex Education of Boys, London, Student Christian Movement Press, 1931, 15 pages; A. Trewby, Healthy Boyhood, London, The Alliance of Honour, Kings & Jarcett, 192 4, 63 pages. 64. A. Trewby, Healthy Boyhood, op. cit., p.19. 65. Edwin Wall, To the Early Teens or Friendly Counsels to Boys, London, The Por tsmouth Printers Press, 1931, 120 pages. Cutting out the bottom of one s trouser pockets in order t o be able to masturbate without giving oneself away was a common practice in the schools. 229

A History of Homosexuality in Europe In Germany, the famous liberal Hirschfeld suggested moving the pockets to the ba ck of the pants to avoid Onanism. The Alliance of Honour, a puritanical association, p rovides a list of the harm that will befall the child who gives in to this vice: Touching your body, or even just having dirty thoughts, sets off a nervous shock which is spread thr oughout the body, brain included. This excitation is dangerous, for it causes the exhaus tion and the relaxation of the entire body. The boy becomes morose and timid, his perform ance at school goes down. The nervous system becomes very fragile, his health deteriorat es until any recovery becomes impossible. The heart becomes weak, the voice becomes low, blood has difficulty circulating, the hands are damp, the complexion loses color, the muscles are soft, the sight dims. 66 In France, Dr. Jean Pou. informs readers that masturbatio n may lead to tuberculosis, cause weight loss, retardation and stupidity; according to him, there were brilliant young men of fifteen and sixteen years who had perished because o f this vice.67 However, by the 1930s, it is rare to find authors who support the notion that ma sturbation could cause serious illness. The Alliance of Honour s new work, Personal: To Boys by T. Miller Neatby, which came out in 1934, ten years after Healthy Boyhood, ad mitted that masturbation did not produce any disease; they did, however, condemn it as a bad habit which makes the child egocentric. There were still plenty of religious arguments and the best way of dissuading children was still to hold up the threat of damnation: The fact of touching certa in parts of one s body is not in itself a sin. But this act often causes a desire which, ex cept within marriage, is sinful, and thus it is banned as something that leads one to sin. 68 Patriotic and social arguments are also brought in that one might have thought out of plac e in such a discussion. Solitary pleasure endangers social unity and the masturbator is in f act a rebel: The egoistic, sad and solitary masturbator allows his social qualities to atrophy. 69 Sex education was aimed more at fostering the development of men who would be in tegrated into society without threatening the prevailing values than at providing sex inf ormation: The premature exercise of one s sexual functions often makes the adolescent an imperfect adult. 70 The child masturbator thus faced a fourfold condemnation: reli gious, medical, moral and social. The adolescent who experimented with homosexuality wa s

subject to the same judgments, only stronger. In the English handbooks, homosexual temptations are taken for granted: Masturba tion is, of course, an abnormal form of sexuality, and thus a perversion, but the nex t most common perversion is homosexuality, which has increased greatly in recent y ears.71 Nevertheless: Not everyone who feels homosexual impulses goes as far as to pract ice this unnatural vice.72 However, homosexuality is almost never mentioned clearly and a young boy could very well finish reading the book without understanding just what it was talking about. Boys are exhorted not to socialize with boys who are older than them, nor with v icious 66. A. Trewby, Healthy Boyhood, op. cit., p.19. 67. In Conseils . la jeunesse sur l .ducation sexuelle, op. cit. 68. Christian Marriage Association, L .glise et l .ducation sexuelle, Paris, Aubin, 1929, 201 pages. 69. Dr Laignel-Lavastine, V.nus et ses dangers, Paris, Ligue nationale contre le p.ril v.n.rien, 1925, 14 pages, p.10. 70. Dr. Jean Carnot, Au service de l amour, Paris, .ditions Beaulieu, 1939, 256 pa ges, p.26. 71. Violet Firth, The Problem of Purity, Rider & Co, 1928, 127 pages, p.107. 72. Ibid., p.108. 230

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion boys (those who talk about or who do dirty things ).73 All the authors agree in exp ressly prohibiting sharing one s bed with another boy, even for reasons of convenience.74 Never sleep with another person, whether a man or a boy sleeping with another pe rson releases an uncomfortable heat under bedcovers, which affects the genitals; it c auses the blood to rise in them and causes a feeling of attraction inside these delicate o rgans. That often ends up leading to into an emission which is not natural, due to heat and not to an effort to empty the little overloaded sacs. Moreover, many boys will be tempted to play with each other. The boys may be innocent and na.ve, at first, but in the end th ey find themselves masturbating . 75 The link with masturbation is constantly evoked: Finally, with regard to friendship, in the life of a boy there is first of all interest in himself, and the development of masturbation has already been discussed. Then comes an interest in his own se x, through the worship of the hero which should be a real help and an inspiration. If that slides into sentimentalism or unhealthy emotionalism in any physical form, it ru ns a great risk of evolving naturally into the heterosexual phase.76 Marie Stopes, the muse of sex education in that period, summarizes the era s trends. After having denied the frequency of masturbation, which she compares to taking drugs or poison,77 she creates a causal link between the two defects, saying, Thos e who practice mutual masturbation are in many ways more dangerous than those who indulge in solitary masturbation, because digital masturbation can very well lea d to greater and more abominable defects, which I do not wish to evoke in this book, but against which a warning is not superfluous, nowadays when there is practically a cult of homosexual practices.78 Starting in the 1930s, a medical discussion of homosexuality often took the plac e of the customary warnings. Gladys M. Cox admits that she does not know whether it i s a matter of internal secretions or arrested sexual development. Leslie D. Weatherh ead, in The Mastery of Sex through Psychology and Religion (1931), distinguishes acquire d homosexuality and innate homosexuality, and discusses narcissism and treatment by hypnosis. Many authors quote Havelock Ellis or Freud, and the notion of a homosexual phase in adolescence is raised, albeit with reservations: Adolescent homosexuality marks a stage of development; but this stage is abnormal and only a small number of boys exper

ience it. 79 This idea was enthusiastically adopted by English authors, for it justified the homosexuality that was prevalent in the public schools and reassured parents about their children s future development: When answering the question: are homosexual practic es bad?, one should exclude those concerning boys between the ages of thirteen and fifteen and girls between twelve and fourteen. At these ages, the sexual instinc t is not yet settled in the sexual organs and it would be unjust to take these practices betw een children as seriously as the problem merits when it occurs in adulthood. 80 73. A. Trewby, Healthy Boyhood, op. cit., p.33. 74. See The Education of Boys in the Subject of Sex, Confidential Chats with Boy s, Healthy Boyhood. 75. William Lee Howard, Confidential Chats with Boys, op. cit., p.94. 76. Reginald Churchill, I Commit to Your Intelligence, London, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1936, 137 pages, p.14. 77. Marie Stopes, Sex and the Young, London, The Gill Publishing Co, 1926, 190 p ages, p.41-43. 78. Ibid., p.44. 79. Oswald Schwarz, The Psychology of Sex and Sex Education, op. cit., p.18. 80. Leslie D. Weatherhead, The Mastery of Sex through Psychology and Religion, L ondon, Student Christian Movement Press, 1931, 249 pages, p.153. 231

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Havelock Ellis s book on sex education81 is striking in its broad outlook: he unde rscores the early appearance of sexual manifestations in the child, and he pleads for un censored readings and nudity, which he considers hygienic. On the other hand, taking afte r Magnus Hirschfeld in Germany, he is less forthcoming on the treatment of masturb ation and homosexuality. The latter is not even mentioned, whereas, among the testimon y of four young people provided in the appendix, the second concerns a boy who freque ntly masturbated, who had had sexual experiences (fellatio) with his peers since the age of five, was in love with many boys during his adolescence and who now intended, at twenty-five, to become a pastor! Certain authors considered that homosexuality was becoming an increasingly widespread phenomenon. Journalists, novelists, authors of light plays and, the i nnovation of the period, talking movies, are denounced as agents of immorality the bugbear s of the leagues of right-thinking people. And it wasn t only the moralists who condemn ed homosexuality: R.H. Innes, in his masterpiece Sex from the Standpoint of Youth ( 1933), which favors free love and birth control, vigorously condemns adolescent homosexuality . Described like monsters on the prowl, hiding behind every door and every face, h omosexual adults are presented as the very epitome of abjection and human degradation: There are things in trousers called men, so vile that they wait in hiding for in nocent boys. These things are generally elegant, polished, too polished, in fact, and pass th emselves off as gentlemen; but they are skunks and rattlesnakes. They traipse around the tour ist hotels, rental homes and townhouses where families live don t go for a walk with t hese things, for all they have in mind is to teach you to masturbate or other things that are dirtier still at the first word, at the first abnormal action, smite it, smite i t so hard that it will bear the scar for all its life. Do not be afraid, these skunks are all cowa rds.82 In the French works, the warnings are primarily against the reading of pornograp hic magazines, prostitution, divorce, and the rising flood of turpitudinous libertina ge. 83 Moral discipline and chastity are celebrated for a prolonged childhood is a saved childhood. 84 However, the authors never lose sight of the function of repro duction, the only reason for their study; for them, individuals are above all seed-bearers and celibacy and marriage without children are abnormal states. 85

Only two works mention homosexuality; the first is a book by Dr. Henri Drouin, Counsels for Young People (1926). He spends two pages on the deviation of the sex ual instinct. According to him, homosexuality is less widespread than it is said to b e, and true inversion is an anomaly and not a perversion. The second work is Dr. Ren. Allendy and Hella Lobstein s Sexual Problems at School (1938), which is more a treatise on childhood and adolescent sexuality than a se x education manual, even if the advice with which it is so replete makes it fall into the ru bric of this study. Homosexuality is granted a whole chapter (fifteen pages) in the trad itional context of school friendships. While Allendy is opposed to reactionary works (he is par 81. Havelock Ellis, .tudes de psychologie sexuelle, t.VII, L .ducation sexuelle, P aris, Mercure de France, 1927, 220 pages. 82. William Lee Howard, Confidential Chats with Boys, op. cit., p.95. 83. Dr Jean Pou., Conseils . la jeunesse sur l .ducation sexuelle, op. cit., p.25. 84. R.P. S.-J. de Ganay, Dr Henri Abrand and abb. Jean Viollet, Les Initiations n.cessaires, Paris, .ditions familiales de France, 1938, 47 pages, p.4. 85. Dr Sicard de Plauzoles, Pour le salut de la race: .ducation sexuelle, Paris, .ditions m.dicales, 1931, 98 pages, p.37. 232

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion ticularly hard on the book Venus and Her Dangers) and frequently quotes Freud, e ven Hirschfeld and Ellis, his conclusions are far from clear. He considers adolescent homosexuality a crucial question: After masturbation, the major sexual problem in schools is homosexuality. 86 However, he does not see it as the product of precoci ous sexuality but rather the result of naivety, of sexual ignorance: and how many little boys became homosexual for candies from a good-looking man, met one day on the way ho me from school? 87 And, The horror attached to sexuality leads some boys to such sever e forms of timidity in front of women, and to more or less complete impotence, if not toward homosexuality. 88 Homosexuality was seen as proof of extraversion (masturbation representing introversion), a way of being in touch with the real world, of externalizing one s feelings. This gives rise to the surprising conclusion: Provided that the child does not ge t stuck at this infantile mode of satisfaction, homosexual activity may be preferred to Ona nism which might lead the child to a state of morbid fantasies or schizoidism. 89 In fa ct, in a society where early heterosexual relations are not encouraged, homosexuality is granted a social role. Relations between boys might be the least dangerous way for them to appease their sexual instincts, without fear of contamination (at the brothel) nor of de generacy (by masturbation). There is a distinct air of hypocrisy in a society that denoun ces homosexuality but is ready to tolerate it as a means of avoiding greater dangers, and that accepts homosexual relations of convenience while condemning heterosexual relation s and free love. The German works can be clearly dated to the context of the post-war period: The sexual distress of our day is great, perhaps greater than ever before. 90 The buzz word was Verwahrlosung, the depravity of a younger generation with no moral compass. Book titles were often suggestive: Jugend in Geschlechtsnot (Youth in Sexual Distress), Die sexual Gef.hrdung unserer Jugend (Sexual Dangers Confronting Our Youth), Die Jugendverwahrlosung u nd ihre Bek.mpfung (The Depravity of Youth and How to Fight It). The destabilizing influ ence of life in the city, family difficulties stemming from the war, the economic crisis and the feminist movements, psychoanalysis, the proponents of sexual liberation and those who wer e exploring homosexuality especially Hans Bl.her, who contributed to popularizing the notion of adolescent homosexuality as a positive force were constantly under fir e.

Unlike in England and France, the criticism was aimed at and the responsibility was shared by the younger generation and the society as a whole. Periodicals easily qualified as pornographic, novels, theater, modern dance, and modern fashion that freed th e body and revealed the form in an indecent way were roundly condemned. Tihamer Toth, in Queen Jugendreife (A Pure Puberty, 1931), exhorts young people t o fight the dragon of modern civilization. As in England, masturbation and homosexu ality are closely linked: It is not Onanism as such, but excessive Onanism, or Onanism practiced by others and on others, which is the real problem and which must be countered b y teachers organizations. 91 86. Ren. Allendy and Hella Lobstein, Le Probl.me sexuel . l .cole, Paris, Aubier, 1938, 253 pages, p.165. 87. Ibid., p.54. 88. Ibid., p.130. 89. Ibid., p.176. 90. Klaus Steigleder, Die sexualp.dagogische Frage der Gegenwart, in J.P. Steffes, Sexualp.dagogische Probleme, M.nster, M.nster Verlag, 1931, 231 pages, p.177. 233

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Heinrich Hanselmann devotes several pages to this subject in Geschlechtliche Erz iehung des Kindes (1931). He distinguishes true homosexuality from adolescent homosexuali ty. The latter is normal and temporary; the young boy experience vague sexual tensions, and it need an object on which to transfer his thirst for love. 92 Many specialists claimed, moreover, that modern young men were interested less in women than the preceding generations; the danger of homosexuality was all the greater if he preferred exc lusively male company, at school or in youth groups. It was especially important to prote ct boys from real homosexuals who could prey upon them during this period of sexual indecision, exerting their influence and corrupting the younger fellows: Homosexu al adults simply approach young people in an inoffensive way, at first, possibly of fering little gifts and services in order to gain their goodwill and affection. They also try to get into organizations that offer them leadership positions over young people. 93 The most virulent tomes, like Die sexuelle Gef.hrdung unserer Jugend (1929) by E rich Zacharias, explicitly attack the homosexual movements. This happened mostly in Germany, because these groups were most visible there. Some teachers compared th e homosexual movements to organizations of propaganda and corruption, seeking to destroy Germany s younger generation. The doctrines of the so-called inversion are nothing less than a very dangerous and premeditated contamination of our youth, which is particularly receptive to such influences at the age of puberty. It bears wit hin it the danger of homosexual poisoning, i.e. of a premeditated perversion of our youth. 94 The medical vocabulary of contagion and infection is everywhere. In Sch.tzt unse re Kinder vor den Sexualverbrechern! (1931), E. Dederding calls for castration for child rapists. Liberal German sexologists, who were writing mainly on the question of sex educa tion, curiously neglected the topic of homosexuality. Hirschfeld left it out of his wo rk for young readers, Sexualerziehung (1930). The education system became a subject of debate as proponents of a homosexual pedagogy, copied on the Greek model, vied with advocates of traditional educatio n. Germany is the only country where such calls for teaching with homosexual conten t were explicitly expressed. Kurt Zeidler, in Vom erziehenden Eros (1919), and Siegfrie d Placzek, in Freundschaft und Sexualit.t (1927), studied the role of the loving relationship in teaching. Zeidler, who made references to Hans Bl.her and Stefan George, gave a scathing c riticism

of German society, which he said was incapable of appreciating the educational p otential of inversion. He claimed that the prevailing moral climate imposed limitations o n teachers that hindered their ability to teach for, properly used, their powers of seducti on could bring about miracles.95 However, homosexual relations would have to be restricte d to a very spiritual level: a pat on the head, a squeeze of the hand, a hug and a smil e should be the limits as far as the teacher s affection for his pupil. 91. Dr Heinrich Schulte-Hubbert, Um Sittlichkeit und Erziehung an h.heren Schule n, M.nster, Verlag der Aschendorffschen Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1929, 62 pages. 92. Dr Oswald Schwarz, Sexualit.t und Pers.nlichkeit, Vienne-Leipzig-Berne, Verl ag f.r Medizin, 1934, 205 pages, p.73. 93. Wilhelm Hausen, Die Gefahren sexueller Verirrungen in der Pubert.tszeit und i hre prophylaktische Behandlung, in J.P. Steffes (dir.), Sexualp.dagogische Probleme, M.nster, M.nster Verlag, 1931, 231 pages, p.105. 94. Heinrich T.bben, Die Jugendverwahrlosung und ihre Bek.mpfung, M.nster, Asche ndorffschen Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1922, 245 pages. 95. Kurt Zeidler, Vom erziehenden Eros, Lauenburg, Freideutscher Jugendverlag Ad olf Saal, 1919, 39 pages, p.18. 234

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion Placzek summarized this view with a shocking formula: Pedagogy is the right field for the pederast. 96 He acknowledged that a homosexual teacher might spare his pup il some sexual missteps by explaining the nature of his feelings to him. However, o nce the pupil was past adolescence, he must turn to women. He also warned parents agains t dangerous homosexuals, the seducers, those who forget their duties towards the child and take advantage of their position to satisfy their instincts. Fascinated by the cultural and aesthetic aspect of the love of boys, sexually inhibited, frustrated due to the moral condemnation of society, the advocates of homosexual education were searching for a way to validate a utopian model of platonic love between adults and adolescents. Their prudish and at the same time exalted tone attracted suspicion from critics and parents and led to many scandals involving teachers. The most famous German reformer was unquestionably Gustav Wyneken (1875-1964), founder of the experimental co-educational school of Wickersdorf97 and a writer on Eros. Wyneken and Paul Geheeb opened the free school community of Wickersdorf on Septe mber 1, 1906. There were separate dormitories for boys and girls; after 9:00 PM, they were kept apart. The classes were shared and decentralized, but Wyneken was the principal leader. This was an elitist school: its aim was to form a new youth, raised to r espect the body and the mind. The program included philosophy (Plato, Kant, Schopenhaue r, Nietzsche), music (Bach and Bruckner), religion, meditation and mathematics toge ther with physical culture, dance, bodily expression and theater. Wyneken fell victim to a denunciation campaign in 1910: Wickersdorf supposedly exerted a deleterious reli gious influence on the children. Wyneken had to retire, but he returned in 1919. After six months, a new scandal came out he was accused of touching two young boys. He was sentenced to one year in prison and had to give up the management of the establi shment. Wickersdorf was organized on a profoundly original basis: the pupils were grouped in friendships, each one with a chief of friendship at its head. The latte r was the keystone of the unit, responsible for taking care of each pupil, monitoring his progress and maintaining social bonds, creating an esprit de corps. The pupils often beca me very attached to their chief, whom they respected and admired enormously. Emotional r elations (Eros) were regarded as advantageous, for they personalized the school relations , encouraged more attentive supervision of the pupils and better comprehension bet ween

group members. The most serious and the most solid friendships which I could obse rve were always between pupils and teachers. 98 Wyneken very clearly distinguished hom osexuality from pederasty, or Eros. For him, pederasty was the erotic bond that links a mature man with a young boy. He was highly critical of those who considered it a medical problem: love, he noted, cannot be reduced to a matter of secretions. In his essay Eros (1924), Wyneken explained the erotic relations between Masters and pupils at length as the natural evolution of a major emotional tie, a pure a nd noble attraction: The love of the young boys is more austere and more powerful. Man and woman are opposites, neither one fully understands the other. The man lives in a spiritual 96. Siegfried Placzek, Freundschaft und Sexualit.t, Berlin-Cologne, A. Marcus & E. Weber s Verlag, 1927, 186 pages, p.66. 97. Wyneken had worked as a teacher in Hermann Lietz s experimental school. He the n became a part of the movement for pedagogical reform that was gaining currency in Europ e at the time, like Cecile Reddie in England and Edmond Demoulins in France. In 1919, he briefly wor ked in the Ministry of Culture under an SPD government. 98. Gustav Wyneken, Wickersdorf, Lauenburg, Adolf Saal Verlag, 1922, 152 pages, p.58. 235

A History of Homosexuality in Europe universe identical to that of the young boy. Most of the things which a woman wi ll never understand, an intelligent and noble young boy will be able to formulate. 99 Wyneken had watched the Wandervogel movement closely and had studied the troubled relations between the leaders and their admirers. He was fully aware of the revolutionary implications of his education system. Even more than his homoerotic theories, it was his idea of separating the child from his family group and his traditional i nfluences that led to his being persecuted by the legal and moral authorities of the time. Here is what we call the youth culture (Jugendkultur), and such a youth culture can obvi ously be carried out only by truly isolating the youth, who should be kept away from the socially and economically conditioned influence of the family, the classes and the partie s, as well as dishonesty of conventions. 100 Wyneken intended to free young from servitude, t o organize them in an autonomous, free, anarchistic community: Socialism must reach for youth, just as youth itself is revolution and the future... A disciple of Nietzsc he, he understood that youth represented power and renewal. His thinking was elitist, antibourgeoi s, and anticlerical, but Wyneken was not a nationalist. He expressed anguish at the manipulation of youth for militarist ends and the abuse of special ties (homoerotic) for auth oritative purposes. He was quite isolated in his position: his elitism and his homosexuali ty alienated those on the left, while the right rejected his libertarian and pacifi st model. In sum, the question of adolescent homosexuality was a matter of considerable concern in the inter-war period, particularly in England. Fantasy played a part in this; medical information often gave way to talk that was more moral and religious in tonality, repeating the worst superstitions and propagating a false image of sexuality. Ho wever, even this kind of talk was not entirely unambiguous: there were some who favored samesex romances to premature sexual intercourse with women, or who accepted relatio ns between Masters and pupils that might, as in ancient Greece, foster the boy s deve lopment. The stranger among us A final sign of the fear that homosexuality inspired in the public was the assim ilation of the homosexual with the stranger. The homosexual was always seen as being dif ferent.

Since the Eulenburg affair, homosexuality in France had been called the German vice while the Germans called it the French malady. 101 Each side defended the moral ity of its own country, saying things like: Homosexuality is rare in France. 102 To adm it that there were homosexuals at home would mean casting the whole population under sus picion. By contrast, accusing a neighboring country on this ground was an easy way to strengthen national unity. Examples from abroad were used as wake-up calls to wa rn the population against any such signs of decadence. In La D.bauche mondiale, Jean Violet (1927), British homosexuality is granted eighteen pages and vitriolic articles ran in Fantasio. The August 1, 1927 number claimed 99. Gustav Wyneken, Eros, Lauenburg, Adolf Saal Verlag, 1924, 72 pages, p.46. 100. Id., Revolution und Schule, Leipzig, Klinkhardt Verlag, 1921, 74 pages, p.1 3. 101. In the 16th an 17th centuries it was called the Italian vice, in the 18th, th e French and English vice, and since Frederick II the German vice; in the 19th century, it wa s referred to as the Arab way. 102. Dr G. Saint-Paul, Invertis et homosexuels, th.mes psychologiques [1895], pr eface by .mile Zola, Paris, .ditions Vigon, 1930, 152 pages, p.142. 236

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion that fully one-quarter of Englishmen were homosexual. But the Germans were the p rincipal target, with comments like More than here, vice is making devastating inroads in Germany. 103 An article dated November 15, 1919, published in La Presse de Paris10 4 and symptomatic of this trend was entitled, Life in Berlin. It seems to refer to the f ilm Anders als die Andern and denounces the immorality that reigns in the defeated country: The cinema allows itself to be used for every sort of aberration; it pleads extenuat ing circumstances for inverts of both sexes and for meetings on end the National Assembly discusse s these insane events which, apparently, cannot be prohibited. Fantasio noted on November 1, 1922 that, While unfortunately there are too many dubious night clubs in Paris where the oddest boys and girls hang out, it is nothing compared to Berlin, wh ere sentimental heresy prevails with cynicism. The Haarmann case, about a German homosexual serial killer, inspired a long article tinged with Germanophobia in Le Temps: They try to compare him to Landru. It is absurd. What a gulf between the reasons, the method, the attitude after the crim e! Between the perfect accountant, smiling, fascinating, a really superior degenera te, and the bloodthirsty madman, the aboriginal from the Saxon forests . As different as the S eine and the Leine! 105 Lucky France, with its high-quality assassins. In fact, articles associating Berlin and Sodom had become too numerable to count . Willy, in his work on The Third Sex (1927), starts by expounding on the German e xample: How can we even speak about pederasty without thinking at once of Germany and its extraordinary organization of vice, which pullulates more there than in any othe r country in Europe? 106 Among the other exemplary works of this type, one may cite Vertus e t vices allemands (first edition, 1904) by Oscar M.t.nier, L Allemagne . nu (1923) by Ambr oise Got, Gabriel Gobron s Contacts avec la jeune g.n.ration allemande (1930), and Louis-Cha rles Royer s L Amour en Allemagne (1936). Posing as interested pseudo-scientific analysts, the authors delight in tarring yesterday s enemy with charges of decadence, degeneracy and the cowardice which they associate with homosexuality. Hitler s accession to power did nothing to improve the status quo in France. On February 15, 1933, insolence is still the order of the day: under the headline, C harming Adolf, Fantasio published a fake interview by Andre N.gis presenting Hitler as a raving queen. In July 1934, shortly after R.hm s assassination, La Vie parisienne ran a c

artoon showing a baker posting various notices in his window, one of which says, Furnish ed room for rent, for two men only. Ladies need not apply. We must respect local va lues in Hitler s Germany. 107 The same year, the magazine published a piece on the homosexua ls of Berlin.108 There is an obvious disparity between the article by Guy de T.ramo nd, who goes on describing the Berliner subculture as it was at the height of Weimar, an d the reality that the homosexual scene had been destroyed in 1933. In September 1937, Le Crapouillot still ran a report on the Modern Conceptions of Sexuality with photogr aphs of Berliner transvestites. 103. Ambroise Got, l Allemagne . nu, Paris, La Pens.e fran.aise, 1923, 248 pages, p.94. 104. This was an issue put out by several Parisian newspapers working in collabo ration, including Le Temps, in response to a printers strike. 105. Le Temps, 2 October 1924. 106. Willy, Le Troisi.me Sexe, Paris, Paris-.dition, 1927, 268 pages, p.39. 107. La Vie parisienne, 1934, p.1019. 108. Ibid., p.1733. 237

A History of Homosexuality in Europe In France, the Night of the Long Knives touched off a large anti-homosexual campai gn directed against Germany. While the French newspapers used the same terms as the Germans, they amplified their criticism with personal remarks. Le Temps of J uly 2, 1934 vigorously denounced R.hm s homosexuality and welcomed Hitler s initiative: Although they refer to facts known to everyone, these commands are remarkable in the fran kness and the firmness of the tone. Any infringement of 175 in the Code (relating to ho mosexuality) will be punished most rigorously and will entail at the least expulsion from the storm troopers and the party. Le Populaire (SFIO) was more circumspect. It viewed was not sure what to make of the event. The idea of a Nazi Germany that was still a homosexual paradise was curiously entrenched in the minds of French journalists. It is hard to tell whether that was due to ignorance or provocation. The desire to ridicule th e Nazi regime and the ambitious Hitlerite seems to have helped keep alive this fable wh ich, in hindsight, appears so out of place. By comparison, The Times was strikingly prudent. The English daily noted that th e purpose of the operation was primarily the elimination of the second revolution, a nd the rest was just a pretext. Homosexuality was not emphasized, and there are none of the insinuations found in Le Temps as to R.hm s offenses. Also in contrast to Le Temps , The Times published several reports of raids on homosexual bars. The homosexual might not necessarily be a foreigner in the strictest sense, but was often seen as an intruder in society. Working under cover and in underhanded way s, he knew how to make himself invisible while undermining the national morals. This paranoid vision is the most dangerous: it justifies every kind of excess, and fo sters a psychosis within society. It is also the most difficult to dislodge, the more so as it was sometimes corroborated by homosexual themselves. Proust, in La Recherche, talks about the notion of foreignness in regard to the character Albertine. When the narrator discovers that she has had relations with other women, he sees her as a different person, a person like them and speaking the sam e language; and by making her their compatriot, rendered her still more foreign to [him]. He r secret, kept for so long, made her a spy, and even worse, for those mislead only as to their nationality, whereas with Albertine it was her deepest humanity, the fact that she did not belong to humanity in general, but to a strange race that mingled with i

t, hid there and never did blend in. 109 The theme of the hidden enemy had the most success in Germany; the Nazis latched onto it with a vengeance. Hansj.rg Maurer s pamphlet, 175, Eine kritische B etrachtung des Problems der Homosexualit.t (1921), precisely prefigures the Nazi themes of safeguarding the race and homosexuality s threat to German civilization. What they [those who defend homosexuality] want is nothing other than to scramble, confuse and co rrupt as much as possible the moral notions and conceptions of the German race.... The y want.... to sap our morality, and that means neither more nor less than destruction of th e race! Then they will be completely victorious!110 Further on, he mixes anti-Semitism a nd homophobia: And there lies the terrible danger, that these Jewish professors of a foreign race and these itinerant preachers of homosexuality have the right, with their s cience, to 109. Marcel Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1989, t.IV, 1707 pages, p.107-108. 110. Hansj.rg Maurer, 175, eine kritische Betrachtung des Problems der Homosexual it.t, Munich, Willibald Drexler, 1921, 62 pages, p.41-42. 238

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion make bodies into carrion, in order to destroy and to break the hearts and the bo dies of our German compatriots. 111 HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE WINDS OF FASHION During the 1920s, homosexuality was all the rage. Writers, artists, caricaturist s all used homosexuals and lesbians (as eccentric, decadent sensualists) symbols of th e Roaring Twenties. While this phenomenon produced a reaction rejection and the impression of increasing immorality it also contributed to greater tolerance. Ha ving become a standard item, even banal, the image of the homosexual became less shoc king, and the sports, nudist and youth movements all contributed to the widespread ima ge of the androgyne as an emblem of modernity and thus spread, not always in conscious ways, homoerotic themes in society. Popular Fears and Fantasies: The Homosexual and the Lesbian in Literature The best-known aspect of the homosexual fad in the inter-war period is the way i t took over literature. While it was not in itself a new phenomenon, it took on ne w proportions, especially in France. Homosexual and Lesbian Archetypes Representations of inverts did not change much during the inter-war period. The myth of the homosexual as a corrupter of youth, a satyr or a criminal gained new life, however, in the wake of several sex scandals that erupted in Germany. First ther e was Fritz Haarmann (1876-1924), who escaped from the asylum and perpetrated sadistic crimes on several young teens. This was a big story and deeply shocked the inter national public. Theodor Lessing retold the story in 1925 under the title Haarmann, Story of a Werewolf (!). Between 1918 and 1924, a large number of people disappeared in Han over under unknown circumstances, especially boys between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. The remains (bones, skulls) of at least twenty-two boys were found in the Leine, the river that runs through the city. Fritz Haarmann was arrested on June 23, 19 24. Pegged as a homosexual, he already had been convicted on several occasions and h ad been working since 1918 as a police informant. This scandal created a sensation in Ge rmany as well as abroad; 168 newspapers covered it. Le Petit Parisien, with its print run of a million copies, sent the journalist Eugene Quinche to Hanover to cover the trial; he lat er wrote a

book, Haarmann, The Butcher of Hanover.112 He described the highly charged atmos phere of the hearings, the way the journalists quizzed the witnesses and Haarmann s neighbo rs in search of sensational details, and the public s fascination for the character. The book gives a good idea just how laden public opinion was with anti-homosexual prejudices. A few years later, a similar crime wave hit Adolf Seefeld (1871-1936), a vagrant and a religious 111. Ibid., p.43. 112. Eug.ne Quinche, Haarmann, le boucher de Hanovre, Paris, .ditions Henry Parv ille, 1925, 182 pages. 239

A History of Homosexuality in Europe fanatic, was found to have poisoned a dozen young boys. He was executed in 1936. It is not hard to imagine the impact such affair s must have had on the public. This a ll reinforced the caricatured image of the diabolical pervert and intensified the already seve re psychosis about the dangers to young people.113 The image of the lesbian in the inter-war period did change somewhat. Three prot otypes can be identified. There was the morbid lesbian, a product of decadent literatur e and Symbolist painting that was still evoked by certain authors.114 The image wa s often melded with that of the prostitute,115 as it was common in those days to imagine that a woman who was selling her body to men all day and night would prefer, on her own time, gentler and more caring caresses. The image of women living together was a stapl e in depictions of the prostitution underworld. The lesbian was often depicted as a s uperior lover, a Don Juan subjecting women to her pleasure. This behavior was immediatel y associated with the prostitute, the only woman able to assert a completely uninhibited sexu ality. Sometimes, the lesbian was even shown in the role of the teacher, the one who prepared the woman to accept male attacks and taught her how to make her husband appreciate her. In same vein, prison inmates were also shown as lesbians. In Dan s Les Dessous des prisons de femme (The Underworld of Women s Prisons) Robert Boucard re lates how each new arrival is raped by everyone in the dormitory; each dormitory had a quee n and each queen had her favorite. In Prisons de femmes, Francis Carco devotes several p ages to sapphism. An actual lesbian rite was developed by the prisoners; couples were fo rmed according to the heterosexual model and sentiments were exaggerated: At Clermont, I saw of five of them die after being separated from their friends. I can give you the names, if you want. Think of it. It s full of couples in there. Some are men and some are wome n. I was a man. I would pin together the hem of my skirt to make it into trousers. Al l of those who were man did the same. 116 Some even saw the prison as a refuge: Every one of u s, declared Didi-the-queen, if we weren t in the lock-up, we could have been preyed on by men. 117 In Saint-Lazare, lesbianism reigned supreme, and the guards did nothing t o stop it. From the dungeons to the rooftop, they scrawled gigantic hearts with arrows, and three letters: MFL, which meant Mine For Life, or MUD: Mine Until Death. Martha l oves

Sharon, Bertha is gonna get Irma for stealing Georgette. 118 Still, some discretion was required; any concrete proof would entail severe punishment. In the central pris on of Rennes, it was three months in solitary for exchanging notes: In the beginning these notes were going around all over the place: wife If My dear little

Well, I made them cut that out right quick, they didn t dare try that anymore.

they jump on each other in the night and do nasty things, there s nothing we can d o about it, that s nature; but to go around boasting about their affairs and creatin g rival ries, quarrels, fights that had to stop.119

113. Le Crapouillot dated May 1938 published a report on Crime and instinctual pe rversions in which we learn that homosexuality is particularly prevalent among criminals. 114. Jean Desthieux, Figures m.diterran.ennes: Femmes damn.es, Paris-Gap, Ophrys, 1937, 135 pages. 115. Alexandre Parent-Duch.telet, in La Prostitution . Paris au XIXe si.cle (183 6; texts presented and annotated by Alain Corbin, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, 1981, 217 pages), had a pas sage devoted to tribads. 116. Francis Carco, Prisons de femmes, Paris, Les .ditions de France, 1933, 244 pages, p.5-6. 117. Ibid., p.7. 118. Ibid., p.31. 119. Ibid., p.145. 240

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion This image was also bolstered lesbians with literary pretensions, like Liane dePougy.120 Like the decadent lesbian, Claudine embodies a lesbian archetype that is quintesse ntially French. Born before the First World War, she was still quite popular in the 1920s. Played on stage by Polaire, she launched a whole new fad and many women s ought to imitate her. However, while the comic and off-hand style with which many ambi guous situations were treated surely contributed to the increasing acceptance of lesbi anism among the general public, it also shows the limits of this type of representatio n. The marriage of Claudine and Renaud in Claudine in Paris shows Claudine s lesbian inclinations in their true light: Claudine is not a lesbian in the modern sense of the term, she is not even a liberated woman: My freedom weighs upon me, my independence exhausts me; what I had been seeking for months even longer was beyond any doubt, a master. Liberate d women are not women. 121 The representation of Claudine as lesbian is only an erot ic pretext: Because of my short hair and my coldness towards them, men say themselve s: that one s for women. 122 What Claudine embodies is not so much the lesbian as the idea of the lesbian in the inter-war period, in that trendy world where it was considered stylish to appear emancipated and blas.. The French elite, which would have not tolerated militant and aggress ive lesbians, was perfectly comfortable with sexual fantasies that did not exceed th e bounds of intimacy and excited their imagination, without calling into question male su periority: It is not the same thing [as male homosexuality] You can do anything, you others. It s sweet, it doesn t matter. 123 At the same time, the relationship between Claudine an d R.zi is placed under the tender, protective wing of the husband who, as an accom plice, encourages their get-togethers and even places an apartment at their disposal, w ith a goodwill that smells of voyeurism. The very idea of a lesbian relationship exist ing as such, as a viable alternative for love and sex, is tarnished by the coarse outcome whe n R.zi gives herself up to Renaud s embrace. Finally, what does Claudine bring to the represent ation of the lesbian? Rachilde, in her review of Claudine at School in the Mercure de France (May 1900) stresses that, This is the first time that one dares to speak ... of these unnatural idylls as some form of natural paganism. 124 But the lightness of the literary tre atment,

which follows Willy in seeking to spice up the narrative a little by adding some of the slang, some of the playfulness, some of the atmosphere of lesbianism, 125 keep Cla udine from being an example of the emancipated lesbian, who has no remorse over her ta stes in love. In the same type as Claudine we have the Proustian lesbians, Albertine and her friends, Rosemonde, Andr.e, the whole troop of girls in flowers, the lesbians of operettas, puerile fantasies of naughty woman-children sharing guilty secrecies, tasting di rty pleasures, and making fun of men. These girlish games show a mixture of naivety and per 120. Liane de Pougy, Idylle saphique [1901], Paris, Latt.s, 1979, 272 pages. 121. Colette, OEuvres compl.tes, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1984 , t.I, 1 686 pages, p.364. 122. Ibid., p.447. 123. Ibid., p.453. Renaud, in an earlier discussion of his son s homosexuality, wr ote: These stories give me such a horror. Claudine herself told Marcel: Those little playthings there are called pensioner s toys, but when it comes to 17-year-old boys, it s practically a sickness (i bid., p.253). 124. Cited by Herbert Lottman, Colette, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Folio, 1990, 496 p ages, p.69. 125. Ibid., p.67. 241

A History of Homosexuality in Europe versity very similar to the passions of Claudine and take place in a context of male permissiveness that recalls Renaud. Marcel suffers over Albertine s absence and he r infidelity, but it is just this secret and her lack of scruples that make her so unique and dear to him. If Albertine had not been with women, he probably would not have been inte rested. In his treatment of lesbians, Proust joined the decadent tradition, exploring unknown worlds, as when the narrator surprises Miss Vinteuil and Albertine in a stereotypical scene of lesbian sadistic fantasy. In fact, whereas the waywardness of Charlus a nd his ilk are analyzed with clinical precision, the lesbian world remains ethereal and insubstantial. Proust s lesbians are familiar to the public: fallen women, lost women who give themselves up to their instincts with a naturalness that endears them to men. An d once they give in, they are eaten up by remorse, the just punishment for their pleasu res. In fact, they only hope (the ultimate male fantasy) to be saved by a man whom they could love. It goes full circle; Albertine follows Claudine, lesbians do not exist: But Albertin e suffered dreadfully, afterward.... She hoped that you would save her, that you would marr y her. In the end, she thought that it was some kind of criminal madness, and I often wond ered whether it were not after something like that, having caused a suicide in a fami ly, that she had committed suicide herself. 126 The third archetype is specific to the inter-war period. This is the masculine lesbian derived from the New Woman, so clearly embodied by Radclyffe Hall and her heroine, Stephen Gordon.127 However, the public had trouble distinguishing this model from the flapper, the gar.onne, the Bubikopf. Featured in many novels, this vers ion is presented as a congenital invert, a victim of fate at best, and at worst as a femme fatale , a vampire, a demon who devours her victims and then rejects them without scruple. Such novels had much to do with popularizing these archetypes. A Raft of Novels Novels presenting homosexuality as a modern subject seem to have been most numerous in France.128 Many such novels hinted in their subtitles: A Modern Story , A Novel of Contemporary Morals, etc. Some of these were written by homosexuals, but many were written by heterosexual authors. In fact, the interest in male homosexuality as the subject of a novel dated back to the very beginning of the century in novels like Monsieur de Phocas, by Jean Lor rain, when it

was just one facet of the decadent enthusiasm for bizarre practices and sexual d eviations. Male homosexuality was considered in the same vein with sadism, cross-dressing, and drug taking among men who were craving for new sensations and artificial stimula nts. England experienced this passion for homosexuality through aesthetic movements: Oscar Wilde s The Portrait of Dorian Gray is one of the best examples of this school, to gether with all of Ronald Firbank s works. In the inter-war period, vestiges of an ironic and precious treatment of male homosexuality can be found in E.F. Benson,129 but his descript ions of aging queens and inverts from good families knitting and taking tea have more to d o 126. Marcel Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, op. cit., p.180-181. 127. See chapter four. 128. The titles mentioned herein are hardly exhaustive. They were chosen on the basis of their value as examples rather than for their literary motifs. 129. See for example in E.F. Benson, Snobs, Paris, Salvy, 1994, 217 pages, and t he Mapp and Lucia series. 242

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion with caricaturing and poking fun at high British society, austere and moralistic , than with any hearkening back to the good old days when white lilies were thrown on the to mbs of gorgeous young opium addicts. These literary effects seem artificial and pass. in the 1920s. The new trend was inaugurated in France by Lucien Daudet with Le Chemin mort: roman contemporain ( 1908). The hero, Alain Malsort, followed the tragic destiny of a young invert. Prot.g. of a wealthy middle-class man, he was forsaken when his looks began to fade and he en ded up dying after a scene with his former friend, crushed by a tram. The homosexual soci al drama was born. One year later, Gustave Binet-Valmer wrote Lucien, a novel that became an immens e success and influenced Proust, among others.130 The story became a model for man y imitators and similar tales were published throughout the period: a biography is drawn up incorporating as many as possible of the invert traits defined by doctors, and rel ating his trials and tribulations as he lives out his destiny as a homosexual who, no matt er what he does, cannot escape the inevitable condemnation of society and his own moral qua lms. By accentuating the marginality of homosexual, such novels brought society together around common values and fostered an artificial a sense of unity. Septembernovelle,131 Arnolt Bronnen s very pessimistic experimental novel (1923), tells the tragic tale of a m arried man, father of a child, who falls in love with a young man named Franz. This lov e is completely liberating for him; he discovers pleasure, exaltation, he loses all sense of pru dence. Finally, the wife kills the boy, then commits suicide; Huber commits suicide in turn. Tu seras seul (You Will Be Alone), by Alain Rox (1936), was a turning point in that it featured a young man who was well integrated into the Parisian homosexual scene. In another style, the homosexual cycle by Willy and M.nalkas, L Ersatz d amour (Ersatz Love) (1923) and Le Naufrag. (The Shipwrecked Man) (1924), cleverly shif ts romantic conventions and is striking for its knowledge of the homosexual milieu and its l ack of prejudices. Still, it is not a militant work, and is not free from contradiction s. For instance, while the introduction to the Substitute for Love tries to sound scien tific (quoting Freud, Havelock Ellis and Krafft-Ebing), the authors hasten to add that they bel ieve that woman is better than the Substitute and that the history which is about to follow

was inspired by the experiences of a friend. In each of his novels Willy closely fol lows the currents of the day and modulates his racy themes so that they are close to what, in the end, are the rather conventional expectations of his readers. The story takes place o n both sides of the Great War with a young Frenchman, Marc Renneval, who discovers homo sexuality in Germany, in 1913, with a young officer, Carl von Rudorff. When war is declared, Carl deserts out of homosexual fidelity and his friend dies at the fro nt. The Shipwrecked Man follows Carl in 1918. Now an active, militant homosexual, he cannot stop thinking of his lover, who he does not know has died. He hears the news while tr aveling in France, and commits suicide on his tomb at Verdun. Generally speaking, French works were characterized by a taste for sordid descri ptions with seedy bars, washed up male prostitutes, and drug addicts. Homosexuality is just a sub-plot, titillating to the reader. The sensational theme keeps the read ers interest but the conservative moral tone leaves the reader within his comfort zone. In th e work of 130. See J.E. Rivers, Proust and the Art of Love, New York, Columbia University Press, 1980, 327 pages, p.25. 131. Arnolt Bronnen, Septembernovelle [1923], Stuttgart, Klett-Cotta, 1989, 65 p ages. 243

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Charles-Etienne, Les D.sexu.s: roman de moeurs (1924), the hero, Sandro, pretty a s a woman and musically gifted, had his sexual initiation during childhood in the arms of a comrade, then was corrupted by a school official: Never would this intellectual have claim ed that the body is a holy temple which no one has the right to desecrate, that sensuali ty destroys the mind and that to upset a human s equilibrium is a crime as great as murder its elf. 132 Sandro goes from one disaster to another as a prostitute in the unsettling world of the sidewalk and the public urinals, becomes an opium addict, a cocaine addict. A fri end from his village arrives in Paris and she, too, descends into prostitution; she is initiated into sapphism. Approaching the age of forty, they decide to marry, but soon fall back into old ways; adopting a young girl could bring them redemption; but she, too, is se duced and is given to a brothel-keeper. Sandro kills his protector and ends his days in a psychiatric asylum; his wife dies and the girl goes on as a prostitute. On the topic of the homosexual downfall and the difficulty of redemption through marriage, Francis de Miomandre produced Ces petits messieurs (1922) and Henry Marx Ryls: Un amour hors la loi (1923). Ev en more ridiculous was Amour inverti, by Jean de Cherveix, which is nothing but a long, wild fantasy on the idea of a man transformed into a woman. A better effort on the sa me topic was La Femme qui .tait en lui (1937), by Maurice Rostand. Homosexuality was not always the novel s principal theme. Many authors merely embellished their works with a few dashes of homosexuality. Sometimes a little d ose of homosexuality was enough to raise a tale of adultery above the usual banalities. One example would be Le Jeune Amant (1928) by Paul Reboux, in which Helene Joussin, a young widow, meets Marcel Target, a young homosexual actor, at a Lenten ball. In anoth er example, youthful fancies still allow the hero, if the story goes beyond adolesc ence, to revert to normal tastes without any risk. In Classe 22 (1929) by Ernst Glaeser, adolescent homosexuality is chalked up to the war, paternal absence, and lax supervision by overwhelmed mothers. Similarly, in Joseph Breitbach s Rival et rivale133 (1935), the war is us ed as the backdrop for a generalized scene of corruption. Sometimes, the title is c atchy but one may in vain seek in vain any allusion to homosexuality in the novel; Sodome et Berlin (1929) by Jean Goll is a case in point.134 Michel George-Michel s novel Dans la f. te de Venise

(1923), pretending to present a tableau of wild goings-on in Venice, tosses in a n obligatory passage on homosexuals. One has the impression that a homosexual character has become essential to any novel that is in the least bit risqu., like the adultere ss, the cocaine addict and the negro dancer. Homosexuality always does not appear so explicitly. Generally, quality literary works show a reluctance to incite a scandal. In La Confusion des sentiments (192 6), Stefan Zweig tries to sprinkle his pages little by little with openly homosexual refere nces that gradually have the effect of allowing one to understand, without it being mentio ned in so many words, that his character is an invert. 135 In fact, it is the love relation, more than the homosexuality, which is at the center of the novel. Thomas Mann s works are al so 132. Charles-.tienne, Les D.sexu.s, Paris, Curio, 1924, 267 pages, p.46. 133. The title of the German original is Die Wandlung der Suzanne Dusseldorf. 134. Sodom and Gomorrha were recreated in Berlin. Drug-taking was no longer hidde n, mysticism and belief in the paranormal were popularized, and despite 175, homosexual and le sbian leanings were expressed in public (Jean Goll, Sodome et Berlin, Paris, .mile-Paul fr.res, 1929, 250 pages, p.139-140). 135. The professor had a bust of Ganym.de and a Saint Sebastian; he read Shakesp eare s sonnets and Whitman s poems and, in his thesis, the most scorching passages are reserved f or Marlowe. 244

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion very rich in homosexual insinuations.136 The famous Death in Venice (1912), larg ely autobiographical, shows an aging writer falling in love with the androgynous beauty of young Tadzio, a hopeless quest for youth and artistic purity which leads him to his de ath. In Tonio Kr.ger (1903), inversion is only suggested through a teen friendship, but homosexuality was already being used as a metaphor to express the sense of difference and exclusion, and to speculate on the fate of the artist. In The Magic Mountain (19 24), Thomas Mann avoids a frank treatment of homosexuality: the homosexual attractions of Ha ns Castorp survive his adolescence only in a disguised fashion; the woman whom he l oves corresponds to the same physical ideal as the boy with whom he was in love at sc hool, and she repeats the same seductive scenario. Furthermore, one notes that there is an abstraction in both cases that enables Castorp to go on without wondering about his sexual identity. Thomas Mann reinstates homosexuality as a private matter. At th e same time, his eagerness to deal with the subject is a reflection of his inability to accept his own homosexuality. Lesbianism enjoyed a bit of a boost during inter-war period, particularly in Fra nce and England. The lesbian, sometimes scarcely differentiated from the flapper, wa s an exemplary modern subject. She was treated quite differently in literature than m ale homosexuals. First of all, the subject was more eroticized. The lesbian already had a long history.137 As a fantasy character in men s literature, she was always used to inj ect additional erotic overtones into light novels. Unlike male love scenes, which must, thinks one, repulse the reader, one can vary ad infinitum the scenes of kisses and Sapphic c aresses which seem suggestive yet unthreatening. The work of Gustave Binet-Valmer, Sur le sable couch.es (1929) is an excellent example of this new genre. The insignificant plot is only used to set the scene for somewhat naughty amorous relations. An American lesbian, Mabel Waybelet, rich, b eautiful and masculine, sets to work seducing a fairly androgynous French girl, Martine. The conclusion is a triumph for a certain idea of morals, when the perverted girl re turns to her mother, who has been reminded of her family duties, and the lesbian curiously le aves off her morbid inclinations when a virile man takes her in hand. Suzanne de Callias, a friend of Willy, published Erna, jeune fille de Berlin in 1932. The work attempted to b e a digest of

German modernity; with slender Erna in her short hair, working as a journalist, goes through all the milieux that are representative of decadence: Berlin s Eldorado, the Paris Club de la Faubourg, Vienna s psychoanalytical circles. She meets a crowd of homos exual of both sexes and notes of an acquaintance: The other day he declared that he was not for men. Nowadays, you can be arrested for that. 138 Unhappy Erna finishes her career by marrying a young man on the far Right, who obliges her to stay home. In this sen se the novel seemed to presage in late 1932 the approaching collapse of the homosexual myth and the return to the traditional moral order. Notre-Dame-de-Lesbos (1914), Char les.tienne s blockbuster, inaugurated the genre of the lesbian novel with documentary over 136. For a complete study of homosexuality in relation to Thomas Mann, see Gerha rd H.rle, M.nnerweiblichkeit, zur Homosexualit.t bei Klaus und Thomas Mann, Frankfurt-am-M ain, Athen.um Verlag, 1988, 412 pages; and Karl Werner B.hm, Zwischen Selbstsucht und Verlangen, Thoma s Mann und das Stigma Homosexualit.t, Wurzbourg, K.nigshausen & Neumann, 1991, 409 pages. See also cha pter four. 137. We could cite at random Diderot s La Religieuse, Baudelaire s Femmes damn.es and numerous decadent novels: Charles Montfort, Le Roman d une saphiste, Adrienne Sain t-Agen, Amants f.minins 138. M.nalkas, Erna, jeune fille de Berlin, Paris, .ditions des Portiques, 1932, 254 pages. 245

A History of Homosexuality in Europe tones. The old story of a love that can never be is the pretext for running thro ugh all the fashionable lesbian hotspots and talking about female homosexuality. In the nove l, pseudonyms are used but famous lesbians are depicted. Sometimes the more subtle lesbian novels took the form of contemporary works pretending to illustrate how morality was evolving. In Gar.onne (1922), Victor M argueritte gives a none too flattering portrait of his heroine of the moment: bisexual, con stantly on the make, opium addict, heroin addict, cocaine addict, but never satisfied. T he flapper, as the term Gar.onne indicates, aspires to being a man, and especially when it comes to love.139 It would be an error, however, to think that Margueritte is fo r women s liberation; the gar.onne is heading for a fall. A proud joy buoyed her up, at the t hought of her double unfolding. Men! She smiled scornfully. Just by wanting to, she had b ecome physically, and morally, their equal. And however, there was no point in avoidin g it, she had to admit that somewhere, in the bitterness of her revenge, was a vague uneas iness... Loneliness? Sterility? She couldn t feel its movement, yet, but an invisible worm was there, in the very magnificence of the fruit.140 Here is an example of the domin ant male notion, which supposed that the woman who evaded her marital and maternal functi ons was incomplete and unhappy. Moreover, the novel s conclusion brings a just reward: the gar.onne falls in love with a man who saves her life, and she marries him. Here again, this novel which was such a scandalous success in the inter-war period, can be read a s a metaphor of the evolving views on the woman s place, in particular the homosexual woman s, during that era: the return to order, presented as the natural order, rehabilitati ng all the deviants into a single and undifferentiated social body. In fact, the novel was ma de into a film in 1923, and it was banned as a deplorably distorted view of the character of French girls. 141 When the play was performed at the theatre de l Alhambra in Lille, on Feb ruary 26, 1927, it caused a riot; two agents were wounded and four students arrested. It took a group of gendarmes to restore order.142 Many novels were more clearly hostile to female homosexuality, and the British ones in particular attacked it with irony and derision. The two best-known works are Compton Mackenzie s novels Vestal Fire (1927) and Extraordinary Women (1928), set in the homosexual and especially lesbian community that grew up in Capri (Siren, in the

novel).143 This decadent and frivolous world already seemed dated in 1927, but M ackenzie contributed to making it the symbol of homosexuality in the English style, smart and dilettantish. Vestal Fire is mostly about male homosexual relations. The her o, Marsac, is given to every excess; he goes after the young shepherds of the island, smoke s opium, writes verse and even a novel. All his weaknesses are excused: after all, he mad e his studies at Oxford. Ten years before, while he was a student, he had been a major figure in 139. Victor Margueritte, La Gar.onne [1922], Paris, Flammarion, 1978, 269 pages. 140. Ibid., p.135. 141. Cited by Georges Bernier, La Gar.onne, in Olivier Barrot and Pascal Ory (dir. ), Entre-deuxguerres, Paris, Fran.ois Bourin, 1990, 631 pages, p.161. 142. Le Temps, 27 February 1927. 143. At the turn of the century, Capri became a favorite holiday resort for homo sexuals; some of them moved there permanently after the trial of Oscar Wilde in order to escape s candal or to feel more free in expressing their sexuality. Among the famous visitors was the baron d AdelswaldFersen (Marsac, in the novel), Somerset Maugham, E.F. Benson, J.E. Brooks and hi s wife Romaine Brooks, Natalie Barney, Scott Fitzgerald, D.H. Lawrence, and Norman Douglas. Wil ly described the Isle of Capri as: a miniature capital of sodomy, the Mecca of inversion, a Geneva or a Moscow of the future internationalism of homosexuality (Le Troisi.me Sexe, op. cit., p.67-68). 246

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion the hottest decadent cliques at Oxford. 144 At Siren, the ancient taste dominates. Marsac published a well-named literary review Symposium, with a photograph of a young boy in a bathing suit on the cover, his thick hair falling in a fringe about his face and cut in the middle to form the shape of a heart. This is the world of before the First W orld War; carefree, esthetist, it seems to have stepped straight out of a play by Oscar Wi lde or an Aubrey Beardsley engraving. In Extraordinary Women, Capri discovers the war and the changes that came with the 1920s. The island becomes above all a haven for lesbi ans. The novel is just a succession of adventures in love, festivals, quarrels and reconc iliations against a background of small jealousies; lesbian love, according to Mackenzie, is not based in reality, it is just a distraction for fashionable young ladies or distu rbed artists, and will end with the first man they meet: All summer he said that these poor wom en were running each other only because there was a shortage of men. 145 The intellig ence of the women also seems questionable: Oh, you should read Andr. Gide. I am mad about Andr. Gide. I don t understand a word he writes. 146 However, each character is base d on a famous lesbian and the novel, beyond the caricature, is an accurate depiction of the trends of the time. Frivolity prevails and the worship of beauty is omnipresent. 147 These lesbians sacrifice to the male fashion and give each other men s names, like Rory, who does not go out without her bulldogs and dines in a tuxedo. Modeled on Natalie Barney, Olimpia Leigh refuses to adopt new conventions: I like women who are profoundly and ineluctably women. It is their femininity whic h I find attractive. Really, in a certain sense, I prefer an effeminate boy to a masculin e girl.148 She severely judges the butch who denies the values of femininity: Poor Freemantle i s obviously one of those women with exaggerated sexual tendencies who never had much luck with men ... Her natural inclinations are, I am sure, absolutely normal, but dis covering that men remained like marble when she danced with them, she gave up on them.149 It is interesting to note that it is the feminine Olimpia Leigh who embodies les bian militancy and the rejection of men in the most radical way: She imagined a race o f homosexual men and women who would exhaust the physical expression of sexuality by the repetitive futility of the sterile act. The instinct of sublimation would then b e refreshed, and finally one would obtain a race of creative spirits which would have complet ely mastered

the body.150 Two pure parodies can be added to the list, inspired by contemporary events in Britain: The Girls of Radclyffe Hall by Adela Quebec151 and The Sink of Solitude (1928) by Egan Beresford,152 a lampoon on Radclyffe Hall and her book The Well of Loneliness, a ccompanied by a series of satirical drawings in decadent style, representing lesbians as sa tyrs. The lampoon has no moralizing intention; on the contrary, it makes fun of all those who were 144. Compton Mackenzie, Vestal Fire [1927], London, The Hogarth Press, 1986, 420 pages, p.92. 145. Id., Extraordinary Women [1928], London, The Hogarth Press, 1986, 392 pages , p.298. 146. Ibid., p.261. 147. Ibid., p.38. 148. Ibid., p.251. 149. Ibid., p.252. 150. Ibid., p.231. 151. See chapter three. 152. Egan Beresford, The Sink of Solitude, Series of satirical drawings occasione d by some recent events performed by Egan Beresford to which is added a preface by P.R. Stephenso n, and a Lampoon Verse composed by several hands, London, The Herness Press, 1928. 247

A History of Homosexuality in Europe indignant at the Radclyffe Hall book and in particular at the legal proceedings brought by Hicks.153 There were also a few works that sought to explore the nuances of homosexuality in a less commonplace way, and, ignoring the equivocal effects, created lesbian novels supported by medical information. This type of work expressed a more sympathetic tone, taking a gentler and more pitying attitude toward the lesbian, victim of an incl ination she did not choose and of a society that rejected her, as she bears her cross until death. In Bonifas, (1925) by Jacques de Lacretelle, the heroine Marie Bonifas is ugly and masculine. Her early loves were unhappy. At the age of twenty, she finds herself orphaned; a rich girl in a small provincial town, her refusal to marry wins her a bad reputation. Soon , her love for Claire gives rise to lies; when her friend dies of consumption (!), Marie go es wild: she smokes, rides a horse, and takes to wearing typically lesbian clothing, including men s boots and a cane.154 Threatening letters started to arrive, the windows were sma shed, outrageous graffiti appeared, and insults came from all sides. The war offered r edemption: Marie distinguishes herself by her organization and her courage; she saves the c ity. At the end of the war, her legend was spread throughout France, the heroine of Vermont. B ut she remains sad and lonely. Marie s fate is sealed. She cannot know happiness; it is unattainable for women of her kind. Lacretelle is not optimistic; the solution which he propo ses is the rational use of the lesbian s social qualities. To be forgiven for her vice, she must devote herself entirely to society and make her virile strengths (usually a handicap) into an asset. Of course, it is clear that social acceptance on these terms requ ires abandoning any idea of sexual gratification and life shared with a woman. Rosamund Lehmann s novel Dusty Answer (1927) was a big hit;155 it contrasts romantic friendships with adult homosexuality. The heroine, Judith, who has been in love with a boy, Roddy, since childhood, is attracted by one of her classmates at Cam bridge, Jennifer. The climate in the dormitory is poisonous, Jennifer s beauty and her pop ularity turn the other girls against Judith. Roddy, who is also at Cambridge, is going t hrough the same thing in a special friendship with his comrade, Tony. Jennifer is soon sedu ced by an older woman, Geraldine, an affirmed lesbian with all the stereotypical traits: s he smoked like a man, 156 and was masculine and sensual in appearance. Her broad and heavy-f

eatured face and thick neck, tanned skin, how could Jennifer be so lacking in taste! ... Oh no, it was not true. In spite of all that, she was beautiful; she exerted a dist urbing fascination. 157 Jennifer is distracted from Judith and devotes herself to what one can guess must be a voracious sexual relationship with Geraldine. She is lost forever for her friend 153. It ends with a long poem recapitulating the affair as a parody, roughly Sin g on, O worldly muse, Radclyffe Hall/ And as she wrote a story that was bound/ to fall like a to n of bricks on those narrow-minded souls/ Crushing James Douglas and Sir Joynson Hicks/ [ ] The Greek i sles where Sappho burned/ We will analyze them through the lens of Freud and Jung/ As Sapph o burned with her own special flame / God understands her; we must do the same/ Saying, of suc h eccentricities, / It s true, poor thing, she was born that way (a literal translation). 154. Jacques de Lacretelle, La Bonifas [1925], Paris, Gallimard, 1979, 338 pages , p.201. 155. In La B.tarde, Violette Leduc tells how deeply the book moved her: Two teena ge girls as lovers, and a woman dared to write it. [ ] Jennifer. I was obsessed with the name. Do you love Jennifer? Do you prefer Jennifer over the others? Do you find her a little too f resh, Jennifer? Oh, no! Wild? You think Jennifer is too wild? Not Jennifer (La B.tarde, Paris, Gallimard, 1964, 462 pages, p.159). 156. Rosamund Lehmann, Dusty Answer [1927], London, Collins, 1978, 355 pages, p. 188. 157. Ibid., p.197. 248

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion who does not understand this attraction and who, exiting college, quite naturall y turns to men. In fact, while the English literature of the inter-war period was rich in lesbia n characters, the noir treatment of sapphism was generally preferred. The lesbian was depicted as a woman who was hard, authoritative, but with a disquieting charm, o n the lookout for girls or innocent wives in order to steal them from society and to s ubmit them to a tyrannical yoke.158 Generally, the seduced young woman is saved and the real lesbian expiates her sin, rejected by all. In Francis Brett Young s White Ladies ( 1935), Arabella, a seventeen-year-old girl, falls for the charm of her school director, Miss Cash , a heinous and egocentric lesbian. She soon recognizes her error and leaves her fri end for a boy. Naomi Royde-Smith had two extremely depressing novels on female homosexuali ty. In The Tortoiseshell Cat (1925), a young teacher (a recurring stereotype) falls in love with one with her neighbors, a very beautiful woman with black hair, Victoria Vanderl eyden, called Victor by her friends. Victoria fools around with many women and has fun seducing men, whom she leads to suicide. Here again, the young woman discovers t he real nature of her partner in time, and leaves her. The Island, A Love Story (1930 ) pushes the storyline a bit farther. Goosey, a neglected young redhead, has hated men since one of them rejected her. She goes after a girl her own age, Flossie (known as Almond), who is vain, feminine, and ravishing. After Almond gets married, Goosey, who has become a fashion designer, sets up shop on an island, Rockmouth. She refuses an invitatio n to marry and her reputation suffers from her various manias. When Almond leaves her husband and returns to Goosey, it only excites the local ill will. The two women live together for a few years but continual arguments and jealousy bring their friend ship to an end. Almond ends up remarrying whereas Goosey ends up alone, scorned by all, an old maid who is half mad. In Unnatural Death (1927) by Dorothy Sayers, the lesbian b ecomes the quintessential criminal. Under cover of a police intrigue, the story promulg ates the worst homophobic prejudices. The old maid, Miss Climpson, who conducts the inves tigation with Mr. Winsey, is used as a foil to highlight the depravity of the modern woma n in contrast to the traditional English correctness, without however tarring all the unmarried people in England with the same brush. But the message is clear: you d b etter

learn to tell the difference between the old maid and her demoniacal double, the lesbian.159 The criminal lesbian and psychopath came into vogue in the inter-war period. The most famous example is by the writer and neurologist Alfred D.blin, Die beiden F reundinnen und ihr Giftmord (The Poisoning) (1924), which is based on a news item from the time. The terse style, the way the intrigue is examined all contribute to fixing in the re ader s mind the image of two female neurotics, not very intelligent, so dominated by their m utual passion that they lose sight of any elementary rules. Lesbians come across as de formed beings, bordering on crime and abnormality just through their sexuality. The two heroines, Elli Link and Margarete Bende, are in Berlin, married to husbands whom they do not love. They seduce each other, and begin writing back and forth. To a large e xtent their relationship is based on hatred of their husbands, which they use to justify the mselves, 158. For another example of a lesbian school director who corrupts and exerts he r influence over the students and teachers, see Clemence Dane, Regiment of Women (1917; London, G reenwood Press, 1978, 345 pages). 159. Dorothy Sayers, L autopsie n a rien donn. [Unnatural Death, 1927], Paris, Londo n, Morgan, 1947, 253 pages. 249

A History of Homosexuality in Europe masking the reprehensible bizarreness of their love which they themselves consid er guilty and criminal.160 The connection finishes in the drama. Elli poisons her husband with arsenic. With its death, the autopsy reveals the murder. She is arrested, along with her friend. At the trial, the medical experts testify. One of them insists they are intellectually retarded, another directly blames their homosexuality: The cause of this profound hatred is in particular the homosexual inclination of these women who found it intolera ble to live with the demands of their husbands and who, at the same time, in their aspi rations to be together were guided, as Link said, only by one obsession: to be free. 161 Elli Link was sentenced to four years in prison, Margarete to eighteen months. As these kinds of writings became fashionable, not to mention the considerable number of homosexual works and stories of boarding-school romances, they had a decisive influence. Homosexuality was treated in a tragic or heart-rending fashi on to encourage readers to be more tolerant, to have pity and understanding. However, the very concept of fashion suggests that this was just one in the continuous series of t ransitory passions and casts doubt on the notion that public attitudes had really changed much. The Homosexual as a Symbol of Modernity In the Twenties, homosexuality became a symbol of modernity, mainly in the artistic and literary fields. La Vie parisienne describes the modern girl as someo ne who has read Lady Chatterley s Lover. She knows how children are made and how not to ma ke any. Natural history is not foreign to her, nor anecdotal history, nor the vario us ways that animals and people make love in their various postures. For a long time now, it has been acceptable to say anything in front of her, and she will understand more than yo u say. She has seen licentious paintings and obscene photographs, she is not unaware of rea lity. She knows by science and, to a fairly large degree, by experience. She has slept and not slept with a cherished girlfriend. 162 The term modern is used to indicate a great freedom of morals. Thus when the police in Toulon arrested a young man, Giovanni Conforti, he retorted that he was a modern man who loves people of both sexes. 163 Homosexuality had become synonymous with the rejection of conventions; it was a means for artists to express their rejection of traditions, middle-class values, and the world from before 1914. It was associated with revolt, vital energy, pure sex, a nd also with

intellectualism, vice, and a way to erase the memory of the horrors of the war i n a burst of pleasure. Many avant-garde heterosexual painters in the Twenties were pre-occupi ed with representations of the homosexual scene. Rudolf Schlichter made a specialty of fetishistic representations. Homosexual bars were featured in La Petite Chaumi.r e by Georg Grosz, in 1927, and Otto Dix s Eldorado. The screaming colors advertise the harsh makeup of transvestites. Dix was interested in unusual figures from the Bohemian fringe s of society; in 1923, he produced a portrait of the homosexual jeweller Karl Krall, whom he represented in a very ambiguous way, in costume, hands on his hips, with his wai stline drawn in and a feminine-looking chest. Sometimes irony prevails, as in Le Dieu d es coiffeurs (God of the Hairdressers), a watercolor from 1922, showing a naked, very effemin ate young 160. Alfred D.blin, L Empoisonnement [Die beiden Freundinnen und ihr Giftmord, 192 4], Arles, Actes Sud, 1988, 108 pages, p.50. 161. Ibid., p.89. 162. .ryximaque, La jeune fille moderne, La Vie parisienne, 1934. 163. AN, F7 13960 (2), Toulon, 14 September 1932. 250

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion man with very glossy hair and moustache, floating in the foreground amid the ins truments of his profession. For Grosz, the vice and criminality of Berlin were just a prolongation of the ho rrors of the war. His drawings are also the reflection of his revolutionary engagement . In his Ecce homo (1923), he denounces the erotic obsessions of the bourgeoisie, drawing a sinister picture of a world that has been cast adrift. Christian Schad specialized in the genre depicting mores of the times. He published illustrations, for example, for Curt Moreks Guide du Berlin d.bauch. and many lithographs of homosexual bars, like Adonisdie le (1930) and B.rger-Casino (1930). In the painting that bears his name (1927), Count Sain t-Genois of Anneaucourt is arrayed between a transvestite and a woman, who seems to fear competition from the intruder. The count s latent homosexuality is revealed by the discrete placement of the characters in the background.164 The New Woman is constantly evoked, as the very image even of modernity. Sonja, a portrait by Christian Schad from 1928, is the prototype: the model, dre ssed in black, with short hair, a cigarette-holder in hand, sits alone at a table in a r estaurant. Burbot (1927-1928) uses similar elements. The dour young woman, eyes circled in black against a livid skin, wears short hair and a dark tuxedo over a white shirt. She too is alone in a bar or a nightclub whose lights are reflected in a mirror in the background . Then there is the vitriolic portrait of the journalist Sylvia von Harden, by Otto Dix (1926), showing the powerful personality of the model but in blood-red tones. Here again we see the cigarette, the monocle, the cocktail, underscoring the independence of the w oman. Les Deux amies (The Two Friends) by Christian Schad (1928) shows two women with imme nse eyes, short hair, and a distracted air, each on masturbating, showing the slippe ry slope from New Woman to lesbian. In the literary field, Hans Henny Jahnn s experimentation in Perrudja (1929), rest on a set of bisexual themes and an exaltation of the androgynous.165 The subversive character of the work was very quickly detected by the critics. V.lkischer Beobachter of J une 9, 1923 reacted to his play Der Arzt, sein Weib, sein Sohn while talking about the Zionis t mentality and perversion: What this play is about, unfortunately, is a homage to child abdu ction, pederasty, divorce, sodomy, incest, sadism and assassination. 166 Reaction to Perr

udja was violent and in particular it was described as the disgusting outpourings of a sic k mind. 167 The symbolic weight of homosexuality was perceived early on by Thomas Ma nn who, in his book On Marriage, legitimates inversion because of its artistic and aesthetic potential: One may justifiably qualify homosexuality as the erotic of esthetics . I t is free love, in that it implies sterility, a dead end, a lack of consequences and respon sibility. Nothing happens as a result of it, will not form the basis for anything, it is a rt for art s sake, which on the aesthetic level can be a very proud and free attitude, though without any doubt immoral. 168 Homosexuality is art for art s sake; in this formula Thomas M ann summarized the topicality of the phenomenon; homosexuality was modern, a symbol of the gratuitous act, just like the murder of Lafcadio or the poems of Kurt Schwit ters. A 164. Sergiusz Michalski, Nouvelle objectivit., Cologne, Taschen, 1994, 219 pages , p.47. 165. Hans Henny Jahnn, Perrudja [1929], Paris, Jos. Corti, 1995, 802 pages, p.23 4. 166. Cited by Friedhelm Krey, Hans Henny Jahnn und die mannm.nnliche Liebe, Berl in, Peter Lang, 1987, 458 pages, p.14. 167. Paul Fechter, Die neue Literatur, January 1931, cited ibid., p.15. 168. Thomas Mann, Sur le mariage [1925], bilingual edition, Paris, Aubier-Flamma rion, 1970, 191 pages, p.55-57. 251

A History of Homosexuality in Europe whole generation murdered by the war was recalled in this useless, irresponsible and sterile act. This interpretation of homosexuality as modernity was primarily a German phenome non. Not everyone in the avant-garde granted homosexuality such a place of honor. The Surrealist movement expressed particularly negative opinions on the subject. Research on sexuality conducted by the surrealist movement from January 1928 to August 1932, in twelve meetings, with a varying cast of characters participants, is edi fying in this respect.169 The worst homophobic prejudices are stated there, and rare are the v oices that defend the pederasts. Furthermore, Ren. Crevel was notably absent; he undoubtedly would have been extremely isolated in the debate. At the very first meeting, Jan uary 27, 1928, homosexuality was attacked very brutally. Raymond Queneau was the only one , with Pr.vert, to express tolerance. Pierre Unik said, From the physical point of view, pederasty disgusts me as much as excrement, and from the moral point of view I c ondemn it. Breton exploded: What pederasts are proposing to human tolerance is a mental a nd moral deficit that shows signs of becoming systematized and of paralyzing all th e institutions that I respect. Many surrealists, like Breton, would not even hear about it: I abs olutely oppose the discussion continuing on this subject. If this is turning into an advertisement for pederasty, I am leaving. The debate could not go on, for the re actions were too strong and irrational. Hatred for pederasts170 was expressed in the str ong, insulting language reserved for those from whom one wishes to separate oneself a bsolutely, those with whom one cannot have any relationship. For these people I feel only antipathy, deep and organic. There is no common moral ground between these peopl e and me. (Marcel Noll). Sapphism did not elicit the same response. Andr. Breton regained his equilibrium as soon as his integrity as a male was no longer under threat: I find lesbians ve ry interesting. Yves Tanguy acknowledged his indifference on the subject. Albert Valentin responded, Very favorable to relations between women. I like to help out, even wi th the woman whom I love. Pederasts disgust me more than anything in the world. Here we find the traditional male attitude; he feels attacked in his virility by any sig n of pederasty, yet finds nothing reprehensible in female relations, especially when he can look on. On the other hand, he is adamantly against the masculine lesbians, who compete with him on his own turf. Paul Eluard responded, The greatest hatred for masculine lesbians, the

greatest weakness for lesbians who remain women. In spite of the so-called worship of the woman celebrated by Breton and Eluard, the sexuality of a surrealist is first an d foremost a masculine sexuality, concerned with masculine desire and pleasure. Women s voices did not advance the debate very far. Katia Thirion was traditional: Between two men, the idea disgusts me completely. I have no desire to visualize t hese relations. Between two women, I might; but I have never done it, myself. Simone V ion affected a great sexual freedom: That does not disgust me at all, I have had very good friends among the pederasts and this idea would not bother me. No representation . I literally turned down several women because [I] did not [desire them], but my turn must be coming, soon. Only Mme. L.na acknowledged a marked lesbian inclination: For men, I

169. Surrealism Archives, Recherches sur la sexualit., January 1928-August 1932, Paris, Gallimard, 1990, 212 pages. 170. Andr. Breton corrected Ilya Ehrenburg and others on this point when they sa id that the surrealist movement was a bunch of pederasts. 252

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion don t mind it at all and find the thought exciting. Two men caressing each other b ut not doing each other up the ass. I would love to see it. I have no problem as fa r as women, I am completely [in favor] of these relation. I have had sixteen women. The resig ned attitude of these women is surprising, they do not seek in any way to affirm the ir right to an autonomous sexuality or to question the chauvinist myths proposed by their in terlocutors. In the final analysis, the surrealist position on homosexuality appears traditio nal, conservative, even reactionary, typically middle-class, respectful of convention and rife with prejudices. The artistic avant-garde was not always the sexual avant-garde. A Vague Homoeroticism: Youth and Androgyny Homosexuality in the inter-war period cannot be dissociated from the topic of youth: the homosexual erotic ideal was that of the young lad, one s friend at scho ol, the German friend with a fit and muscular body and such an insouciant air that any c ompunctions were easily overcome. Homosexual sexuality, in the Twenties, was often seen as an adolescent sexuality, irresponsible, uninhibited. Sachs summarized it as f ollows: Furthermore, it may be that what keeps me going in loving boys, as much and more than the pleasure is that climate of almost childish complicity which I find more cha rming than the exercise of full virile force. 171 Youth movements really took off in the Twenties and Thirties.172 In these moveme nts, there was an emphasis on contact with nature, and a preoccupation with hygiene. Boys, sorted by age brackets, wore shorts and shirts with open collars. They lea rned autonomy and a sense of responsibility, on their own. The camp was a kind of lea dership school, which imparted a paternalist ideology. At the same time youth inns were introduced in France by Marc Sangnier,173 the founder of Sillon, following the German example. And it was in Germany that the Jugendbewegungen, of which the Wandervog el was the most famous example, made their greatest strides. In 1926, 4.3 million o ut of 9 million young people were members of a youth association.174 Of this number, the confederated movement (b.ndisch, emanating from the Wandervogel) had only 51,000 members, but its influence in society was particularly strong (even if Detlev J. K. Peukert doubts its real impact in the daily life of young people). Founded in 1895 by Ka rl Fischer and Ludwig Gurlitt, in the beginning Wandervogel was made up of high-school pupi ls and educators who wanted certain reforms. After the war, its promotion of nation

alism was reinforced around the principle of the chief and it developed a myth of yout h as the regenerative force of the German people.175 The war had encouraged the rise of t his myth, 171. Maurice Sachs, Le Sabbat [written in 1939, published in 1946], Paris, Galli mard, 1960, 298 pages, p.167. 172. In England, the number of Boy Scouts went from 152,000 in 1913 to 438,000 i n 1938, and Baden-Powell became one of the best-known names in the country. In France, scout ing took root just before the First World War, first among the Protestants. The Catholics were more reticent; they founded scout troops in 1920 and guides in 1923. In 1933, France had more than 5 0,000 scouts (boys), 12,000 French .claireur unionists and 6000 .claireurs (scouts). 173. Sangnier founded the Ligue fran.aise des auberges de jeunesse (League of yo uth hostels) in 1929-1930. The lay Center for Youth Hostels (CLAJ) was founded in 1933, for youn gsters of the left. 174. That is more than one out of every two boys and just under one out of two g irls; of the total, 1.6 million youngsters belonged to sporting associations and 1.2 million to reli gious groups. The young workers movement had 368,000 members (not to mention the thousand or so you ng communists). See Detlev J.K. Peukert, La R.publique de Weimar, op. cit., p.98. 253

A History of Homosexuality in Europe propagated in particular by the book with powerful homoerotic overtones by Walte r Flex, Der Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten, published in 1917. It went through tw enty-nine editions, with 250,000 copies printed in less than two years. Flex met Ernst Wus che in the spring of 1915, on the Eastern front, but in August Wusche was killed, leavi ng Flex, who had seen him as the future savior of Germany, in despair. He wrote his book in homage to Wusche s memory, giving an idealized image of his friend, a symbol of th e patriotic youth that gave its life for Germany. There was a striking similarity with the myth of Rupert Brooke, which developed at the same time in England.176 Youth was set in opposition adult world, which was seen as the world of official authoritarianism, and enacted its own rules, its own values and its own way of l ife. It was often perceived as a danger and delinquency was seen as a growing problem. The p urpose of many of the political or religious organizations was to rein in young people and reintegrate them into a more structured environment. Wandervogel encouraged experience of new lifestyles and was at the avant-garde of the sexual reform. It developed a h omoerotic ideology based on male supremacy. Under Weimar, there were no independent leisur e organizations for girls, and while they were accepted in certain youth movements they were mostly confined to the family sphere, without having the occasion to develo p relationships autonomously. The great theorist of homoeroticism was Hans Bl.her177 who, in his book Der Wand ervogel als erotisches Ph.nomen (1912), asserted that homosexuality was the bond that ga ve the movement cohesion and contributed to its success. According to Bl.her, the y outh movements were secretly governed by erotic relations (generally sublimated) betw een the adolescents and the team leaders. Much of the leadership in Jugendbewegung w ere homosexuals, for (according to him) they were the only ones ready to devote them selves to young people. Bl.her s book had enormous repercussions He made homosexuality a symbol of adolescent revolt against bourgeoisie family morals, and a response to the impossibility of living a completely free heterosexual life in a puritan society . In 1908-1909, after the Eulenburg affair, anti-homosexual hysteria also struck t he youth movements. Several leaders, like Wilhelm Jansen (1866-1943) who was part o f

Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, were forced to resign and Wandervogel was divided into two distinct groups. In November 1910, the Jung-Wandervogel was founded, apart from AltWandervogel. The new movement aimed to be more radical and asserted friendship ( as it was defined by Bl.her) as a founding principle, even if Otto Piper, one of the c ofounders, noted that the group had no more homosexuals in it than other movements.178 And indeed, ties between homosexuality and youth groups were not restricted to the back-to-nature movement and the sports associations or, for that matter, mov ements on the far Right. In Curt Bondy s 1922 book Die proletarische Jugendbewegung, a ch apter is devoted to the question of sexual inversion in the working-class youth movements. Although he was in opposition to Bl.her, he did not deny that homosexuality exis ted in the proletarian movements but insisted rather that these were merely adolescent attach 175. On the myth of youth, see the very complete work by Thomas Koebner, Rolf-Pe ter Janz and Frank Trommler (dir.), Mit uns zieht die neue Zeit. Der Mythos Jugend, Frankfurt-a m-Main, Suhrkamp, 1985, 621 pages. 176. See Robert Wohl, The Generation of 1914, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 198 0, 307 pages. 177. See chapter six. In 1912, Bl.her was 24, and was himself a member of the fi rst Wandervogel. 178. See Ulfried Geuter, Homosexualit.t in der deutschen Jugendbewegung, Frankfu rt-am-Main, Suhrkamp, 1994, 373 pages. 254

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion ments. Moreover, he saw the homoerotization of the youth movements as a direct c onsequence of the pressures of middle-class values which inculcated in young men a fear and contempt for women. Bondy concluded by noting that there was no fundamental diff erence between the middle-class movements and the proletarian movements, but that the latter would have to make an effort not to encourage the development of inver sion within their own ranks. In the youth movements, homoeroticism took the form of ardent friendships: Hand in hand, I walked back home with Hans. Inside of us, [our hearts] sang and p alpitated, and while we were in the dark entryway hanging up our things, he rested against the wall and took my head in his hands and looked at me for a long time, and fin ally he hugged me. And now, we eat! he sang, and then I brought him back to train, and I r an back to the house to discharge my joy. 179 The ideal was to keep this friendship p ure; but the struggle between physical attraction and desire for purity tore at the boys who did not know how to face these contradictory needs: We looked for friends and we foun d them; we trembled in shame before the kisses and the embraces, we dreamers and enlightened boys; and we noticed one day that we were no longer children: pubert y had caught us in its spell! We suspected and we saw Sex everywhere, yes, even in Sch openhauer; we even found sex in a warm handshake! And sex, which we feared, seemed disgusti ng to us. 180 Ulfried Geuter, who made a systematic study of sexuality in the youth movements, noted that genital sex was taboo in the Wandervogel. The movement s own press and the boys journals carefully concealed any sexual intercourse, especially any relation s between boys and leaders or boys of the same age. He supposed that homosexuality was nei ther less nor more widespread there than in the German schools. Like the colleges, th e youth movements developed a homoerotic mythology that favored complete homosexual rela tions. On the other hand the Wandervogel, even if it was not specifically homosexual, contributed to disseminating in public the image of a younger generation of ambi guous sexuality, undifferentiated, free in its body. Body worship is one of the essential elements of the inter-war symbolism.181 Esthetic references to the combined topics of sun, water and nudity were common, with the naked, muscular, young, androgynous body embodying all that was modern, heal thy and athletic. This worship of the body and of youth, which was also felt in Fran

ce and England, was especially heightened in Germany. In the Twenties, nudity was still associated with the liberals,182 with the explosion of pleasure associated with the Weimar Republic and the apogee of Berlin. The erotic and particularly the homoerotic va lue of these representations was very powerful. The painter Fidus (Hugo H.ppener) made a name for himself with illustrations in the Munich weekly magazine Jugend and his representations of naked young men worshipping the sun. More and more, photography turned to images of nude bodies, and taken not in the studio but in the great ou tdoors. The group of friends that created the Photo Alliance in France expressed the joi e de vivre of 179. Excerpted from a note in an anonymous boy s sketchbook, 1917, cited by Ulfrie d Geuter, ibid., p.125. 180. Rudolf B. to Alfred Kurella, letter dated 1920, cited ibid., p.130. 181. See George L. Mosse, Nationalism and Sexuality, Respect and Abnormal Sexual ity in Modern Europe, New York, Howard Fertig, 1985, 232 pages. 182. Thus the socialist song: Br.der, zur Sonne, zur Freiheit ( Brothers, toward t he sun, towards liberty ). 255

A History of Homosexuality in Europe the Popular Front through the liberation of the body. Cecil Beaton s photographs a nd, even more, those of Herbert List and Horst P. Horst illustrate the triumph of th e male body, and are charged with a powerful homoerotic force. Nazi Germany made the perfect body the illustration of the merit of the race. The German notion of beauty in the inter-war period was primarily androgynous. As it was under Weimar, so it was thereafter, under the Third Reich: fair bodies , bronzed, with long and tapered limbs, with the hair slicked back embodied a timeless and almost asexual ideal. Already Thomas Mann noticed the new trend among youth: the lack o f differentiation, the will to create a new kind of beauty that was disengaged from sexual stereoty pes: He verged on that idea of the androgyne that the romantics revere in friendship between the sexes, being equals on the human level . It is no coincidence if their incipient capabilities coincide with the psychoanalytical discovery of the origi nal and natural bisexuality of human beings. And if our young people and we congratulate them! experience a more serene and calmer attitude with respect to sexual proble ms than former generations were able to achieve, if this field is stripped of its m ost terrifying taboos, it all has to do with, and is in harmony with, the fact that the new generation is more detached and familiar with the homosexual phenomenon, and are more tolerant. As Bl.her, our conscience, establishes a psychological link betwe en this element and at least one manifestation of the youth movement, the Wandervog el. Without any doubt, homosexuality, the loving tie between men, sexual friendship, enjoys a certain favor today due to the climate of the times and it no longer ap pears to cultivated minds solely as a clinical monstrosity.183 The androgyny of bodies is fraught with strong homoerotic connotations. The evol ution of representations of the body in the 1920s and 1930s shows two contradictory bu t complementary trends: the masculinization of the woman, and the feminization of the new generation of males. This fashion as most evident among apolitical youth, th ose who were Americanized and eager to attain the society of leisure, and who thus empha sized a break with the generation that had dragged the world into war. This category was visible really only in the Twenties, just until 1928-1929, before the Crash. The topic of the androgyne was not just a fixture in artistic representations; i

t was also very seriously discussed as a basis for a new society, a response to the cr isis of humanity as a whole. Camille Spiess developed this line of thought in writings t hat are now thankfully quite forgotten, but which enjoyed a certain vogue at the time. H is example reveals very clearly the philosophical, political, sexual and racial fan tasies that developed in tandem with the concept of androgyny and which, far from being neut ral, could be used to convey dangerous and reactionaries ideas. Spiess was born in Ge neva in 1878; he studied medicine and specialized in zoology. He was a disciple of Gobin eau and also a follower of Mme. F.rster, Nietzsche s sister. Of Nietzsche he retained prim arily the theory of the superman (called genius, in his work). His references were often man y and contradictory: he quoted Plato, Stirner, Goethe, Whitman, Freud and Carpenter. H e was savagely hostile to Magnus Hirschfeld, whose theory of a third sex he vigorously d isputed. On top of all that he added a jumble of esoterica including readings of the Upan ishads, the Kabala, theosophic writings, the thought of Lao-tse and Leibniz, Jakob B.hme and Jean-Paul, the poetry of Stefan George and astrology, including the advent o f the Age of Aquarius, androgyne par excellence. His political choices are rather difficul t to define; he 183. Thomas Mann, Sur le mariage, op. cit., p.53-55. 256

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion published L Inversion sexuelle at .ditions de l En-dehors which usually produced rat her anarchistic texts; he was violently opposed to Action fran.aise, whose nationali st choice he disapproved: according to him, the true fatherland is not the nation but the race. In 1932, he wrote an open letter to Romain Rolland, denouncing the bloodless humanit arism of contemporary idealism. On the whole, he could be defined as an anarchist on the right, with dubious ideas but with the logorrhea of an avenger, who tried to formulate a personal model on the fundamental themes of the era race, sexuality, power whi ch he pompously dubbed psychosynthesis. The Spiess oeuvre is characterized above all by its hermetic, obsessive style an d rigor. All his reflection is centered on the worship of the androgyne as the fut ure of mankind and the higher form of humanity: One must develop in oneself both the fem ale and male powers of the flesh and the Spirit, childhood and adolescence, to build our liberation which is the erotic renaissance, the indestructible childhood of the human heart , born in the human conscience.184 According to Spiess, the original man was an an drogyne (he refers to Platonic myth), complete and perfect in form, and he aspired to be come that again. The question of androgyny together with that of the improvement of the ra ce encompassed the elimination of impure races. He found in androgyne the solution to the Jewish problem, the embodiment of divine man, Dionysian or super-Christian in contrast to Israel, the mongrel, the fallen man with his clipped sex. In the sam e vein, the exaltation of the androgyne goes hand in hand with a contempt for women, conside red as the lower form of humanity; the improvement of the race could, according to Spie ss, take place only with men as the basis. Spiess associated androgyny with adolescence (which is not, in itself, original) . On the other hand, he builds upon that a very complex theory aimed at showing that man passes through all the genders in the course of his life: first he is a woman (b ody, childhood), then a man (heart, adolescence), then both at the same time. As a re sult a man may become a woman (inversion), a man (version), or a genius, i.e. an androgyne (aversion). For Spiess, the genius is pederastic, while the invert is homosexual or is a degenerate. The pederast has as his ideal the body of the man, but his high spir itual aspirations bar him from the sex act. The declamatory style shows that homosexuality is severely condemned as a lower form of humanity: Regeneration, asexual bisexuality ,

poetic, pederastic or parthenogenetic, the genius, unique and platonic love whic h is at the foundation of the Androgyne, of the normal, complete man, whose heart is in his head, of the man who never leaves his own milieu this is not generation, the heterosexual ity of those who are off balance, nor is it degeneracy, the homosexuality of those who are off balance cuckolds and degenerates. In short, and to conclude, Pederasty is not ho mosexuality and the pederast is not a homosexual and never will be.185 To arrive at genius, the man must be reborn from his on mind at the moment of puberty. No more sex ac t, no more contact with the other. The man generates himself. All the while celebratin g eroticism and Dionysian forces with lengthy sentences, Spiess in fact expresses a rejectio n of the sexual as a whole. He is aiming for the formation of a race of geniuses, rem oved from all impure elements (women, homosexuals, Jews), who would be self-generating and who would dominate the world by their higher intelligence. 184. Camille Spiess, .ros ou l Histoire physiologique de l homme, Paris, .ditions de l Athanor, 1932, 280 pages, p.36. 185. Id., P.d.rastie et homosexualit., Paris, Daragon, 1917, 68 pages, p.36. 257

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The theory of the androgyne was full of racist and totalitarian suggestions; it was founded on a pessimistic view of society and a desire to regenerate by a system of exclusion. It is a mystical form of eugenics, which may appear harmless since it is so unrealistic. However, such wild rantings found echoes in extremist milieux and could easily be coupled with traditional racist theories like those of Gobineau and all the a ntidemocratic and antimodernist critics: The great merit of psychosynthesis is to prevent the e vil of sexual or Jewish senility of the race (whose very name shows its incurable ch aracter), and to destroy the libidinous and heinous doctrines of Freudian pansexualism, fr om which stems the insanity of our life (money, interest, general stupidity, religi on), because the selfishness of the human heart or the sexual prostitution of love is a Jewis h pollution on the scale of hatred, war and death. 186 Spiess work was included and analyzed in various collections of the time, which shows that his theories had a certain inf luence. Louis Est.ve in particular, in the L .nigme de l androgyne, defends his doctrines: We have only to await the day when Han Ryner s Craftsmen of the future, adopting the princ iples of sexual selection, will allow the application of the theories of Camille Spies s and, through the universal androgynat, will establish on earth the reign of the geniu s the dawn of Culture, Wisdom and Humanity harbingers of the end of the world. 187 Est.v e found political and social finality in the esoteric jumble that was quite close to the theories of Hans Bl.her studied above. The androgyne is the new man, called to found a world that is perfect, masculine, combatant, victorious, and the exact opposite of the society born after the war. The androgyne is a utopian genetic plan based on cri teria for the purification of the race, fantasies of power, and a will to eradicate the fe male from the human. This reactionary glorification of androgyny shows the ambiguity surrounding this concept. Whereas androgyny was initially a youthful reaction against traditional values, it was also used as a basis for the theories of the far Right. Androgyny represe nted at the same time an erotic ideal that of the healthy, athletic body which was presented as an example, and the sign of a major upheaval of sexual roles, which some perceiv ed as a symptom of decline. In the Thirties, this vague homoeroticism disappeared from c reative representations but it continued to be present, in a deformed way, in the esthet ics of the

M.nnerbund, the groups of virile men marching in uniform, in the exaltation of s ports competitions, and all of Nazi mythology. In fact, the crisis of masculinity ran through the entire inter-war period. Characterized at first by a retreat of the masculine to the benefit of feminine values (themselves modified by male experiences), it then took the f orm of an over-investment of virility, in an ultimate effort to rediscover the traditional guideposts. Both attitudes illustrate the essential place of the male body in the social ima gination of the inter-war period, and its origin may be found in a certain eroticization of the war. The ambient homoeroticism within the society explains why the figures of the homosex ual and the lesbian were casualties in the storm of the Thirties. Objects of both de sire and fear, they held up a mirror to the fantasies of the population, which was not re ady to recognize its own duality. * * * 186. Id. .ros, op. cit., p.88. 187. Louis Est.ve, L .nigme de l androgyne, Les .ditions du monde moderne, 1927, 161 pages, p.32. 258

Breaking the Silence: Homosexuals and Public Opinion A marked shift in sexual behaviors followed the First World War. The public, agi tated by conflicting and antagonistic currents, had difficulty choosing between a mora listic backlash and a reformist liberation. Homophobia remained a very hot topic throughout the period, for it was debated by the leading institutions, churches, public authorities, and the press. As a new and fundamental fact, homosexuality became a fashionable topic which had to be discussed, analyzed, romanticized. The literary coverage was extraordinary. Despite all of that, tolerance remained very limited. The inter-war period const ituted a turning point in which popular fears and aversions contended with scientific advances and the claims of homosexuals themselves. However if, in the mid-Twenti es, one might have believed there had been a long-term triumph for the forces of pro gress, it was clear by 1931-1933 that the embryonic shift was not supported by a real desi re for change nor by a large-scale acceptance of modern values. 259

CHAPTER SIX HOMOSEXUALS AS POLITICAL CHIPS Un caprice du temps, arbitre en toute chose, Proclame l amour, et non la mort des amis. Sous la vo.te d azur, le soleil des athl.tes, Ils sont trois, nus: le nouvel Allemand bronz., L employ. communiste et moi, qui suis anglais188 A caprice of time, arbiter of all things, Proclaims love, and not the death of friends. Under the azure vault, the sun of athletes, They are three, nude: the tanned New German, The communist employee and me, an Englishman For Guy Hocquenghem, homosexuality was political; indeed, it was revolutionary. Homosexual relations carry within them the seeds of the destruction of the middl e-class society; they undermine its very foundations: the family, authority, masculinity . Homosexuality is a corrosive factor that strikes at its very heart. It saps the certainty of t he moral structure and creates new relationships, which can override existing hiera rchies. In the 1920s and 1930s, the politically astute recognized this potential. Whether t hey tolerated or detested homosexuals, they were all frightened by this anarchistic force, whi ch could hardly be subsumed in the program of any party. As committed activists, ho mosexuals support would always be welcome; but they did not pull enough weight to force any of their claims onto the agenda. As enemies, opponents, they were the ideal target, the perfect scapegoat, and as such attracted all sorts of insults and guaranteed can didates the support of the public. 188. Stephen Spender, Le Temple [1929], Paris, Christian Bourgois .diteur, 1989, 310 pages, p.310. 261

A History of Homosexuality in Europe HOMOSEXUALS IN THE POLITICAL ARENA Is it possible to believe that there is a link between sexual preference and par ty allegiance? It would be hard to come up with any answer on that, and there is li ttle in the way of hard evidence from which to judge. Indeed, when political parties collect ed statistics about the background of their voters, they have not asked about sexual preferenc es. Neither have homosexual organizations sought to analyze their members political inclinations. The German movements, which were best organized, presented themsel ves as being apolitical, even if events showed that they were close to the SPD and t he KPD, at least in the leadership echelons. That however does not imply that all the membe rs voted on the left, even if the movement encouraged them to do so. Neither can we rely on testimony from well-known figures, primarily intellectuals, the majority of whom came from the middle and upper classes, as a guide to the political persuasions of homosex uals in general. However, the large majority of homosexual intellectuals did throw thems elves into the parties of the left, the Socialists and especially the Communists. Of c ourse, political involvement is the product of several factors, and sexuality is only o ne variable among others. Nevertheless, these intellectuals particularly insisted that their homosexuality played a part in the choice of their engagement. The Fantasy of the Working-Class Lover The workingman fantasy is a major topic at many homosexual the period; not only was it an essential aspect of the homosexual erotic imagination of the 1920s and 1930s, but it also led to the political awakening of many homosexuals. This phenomenon was particularly widespread in England, but one finds traces of it in Germany and Fr ance. Stephen Spender poses the problem in an interview he granted some years ago.189 There was a very strange bond; and it was undoubtedly proper to England, although it could also have existed in other countries, between homosexuals and the working class. It took the form of a deep attraction for young workingmen.190 This remark is corroborated by all, both the intellectuals and the nameless homo sexuals: Homosexuals in those days crossed the social barriers with an ease unknown in the other sectors of society. 191 It was a kind of fetishism; the working boy, or one engaged in manual labor, was endowed with an intense erotic charge. This is striking, fo r example, in Marcel Jouhandeau s M.morial IV, Apprentis et gar.ons, where he evokes the tens ions of his

youth in the company of the butcher s assistants and apprentices who worked in his father s shop. Similarly, Christopher Isherwood suffered from an inhibition, which was then not uncommon among higher class homosexuals; he could not find sexual relea se with a member of his own class or from his country. He needed a foreigner from t he working class. 192 189. Fran.oise du Sorbier (dir.), Oxford 1919-1939, Paris, .ditions Autrement, M. moires series, n 8, 1991, 287 pages. 190. Ibid., p.51. 191. George Mallory, in Between the Acts. Lives of Homosexual Men, 1885-1967, ed ited by K. Porter and J. Weeks, London, Routledge, 1990, 176 pages. 192. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind [1929-1939], London, Methue n, 1977, 252 pages, p.10. 262

Homosexuals as Political Chips There were two distinct beliefs: first, the conviction that only the working cla ss could respond to the physical and love-related needs of homosexuals; second, the certainty that homosexuals, solely by virtue of their sexuality, could escape their class and to come into contact with boys of any background. This idealization was typical of the interwar period, as if there was something special about the young workers of those days: In those remote times, young men from the outskirts had a heart of gold. 193 It is very difficult to explain the upper and middle class fascination for worki ngclass boys, which was mostly mythological and was full of ambiguity. Daniel Guer in, in his Autobiographie de jeunesse (Autobiography of Youth), obligingly describes hi s many meetings with young workmen: The dialogue was completed in the crude room he had, as an apprentice; without any ill thoughts, without making me beg, he covered me with mad caresses and gave up to me his lovely beardless body. 194 Reading such passages, o ne has the impression of a perfectly liberated working class, the model of the sexual r evolution, not acting out of self interest (there is no question of remuneration for servic es rendered), depoliticized (the workmen sleep with boys from good families without any object ion), devoid of any prejudices and inhibitions. This idealization of the working class is a curious phenomenon. It leads one to suppose there was a high degree of tolerance for homosexuality amid the working class, which is difficult to prove, for little te stimony was left by homosexuals of modest background. Many writings however do the workmen s indifference to homosexuality: Homosexuality was not regarded as dishonourable if one did it for money. 195 Homosexuality always was completely accepted in the districts east of London. In my youth, we regularly went to one of the pubs in the East End where our pare nts were regulars. And they called the boys by their working names, ng. Hello Lola, darli

How are you, sweetie? Will you sing us a song? The East End was full of families piled together cheek by jowl in tight little lanes; everyone was always at each other s houses and they knew all about their sons and accepted it.196 The topic of the working class as an object of pleasure was already widespread a

t the end of the 19th century and fed the scandals of the Victorian Era.197 Oscar Wilde described the pleasure of feasting with panthers while Edward Carpenter settled in Millthorpe with his working class lover, George Merrill, and influenced Bloomsbu ry deeply. However, whereas the Victorian taste was for very young boys, even for p edophilia, and practically amounted to a trade, the 1920s and 1930s developed the theme of the workman as the ideal friend, 198 the companion with whom one could perhaps live all his life, defying conventions. This ideal of course was comparative: most hom osexuals had many casual flings with boys, even if they also had ongoing relations with t wo or three regulars. Ackerley wrote that he had between two hundred and three hundred lovers in his life and Guerin describes his unrestrained search for pleasure: I only thought of multiplying, of piling up, of adding, of collecting, of counting the adventures on my fingers.199 193. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, Paris, Belfond, 1972, 248 pages, p.165. 194. Ibid., p.164-165. 195. George Mallory, in Between the Acts, op. cit. 196. John, son of a worker, and kept as a lover, ibid. 197. This theme amy be compared to the heterosexual relations that men of good f amily might entertain with housemaids, seamstresses, cooks, florists and others of the worki ng class. 198. J.R. Ackerley, My Father and Myself [1968], London, Penguin, 1971, 192 page s, p.109-110 and following. 263

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Some young workers were sharply disappointed when they realized they were only a pleasant pastime.200 Nevertheless, the myth of a stable relation with a workin g class friend was seriously entertained; E.M. Forster s novel Maurice represents a Utopia where homosexuals could live freely, independent of moral repression and social differ ences. Maurice finds in Alec, the gamekeeper, the friend whom he has always wished for, and he declares he is ready to turn his back on society to preserve this love. But if i n Maurice the two boys manage to find happiness and are never separated (although one has no i dea on what, and how, they will live from now on), real situations were harder to work out. It is often difficult to tell the difference between sincere love and camouflaged expl oitation of young people who need money and are ready to give in to the advances of wealthy men. It seems nevertheless that good faith prevails, with much naivety, for many homosex ual intellectuals liked to think, like Pygmalion, of educating and reorganizing the life of their prot.g.s, raising them by their love above their social condition. I do not rule out education but I do not wish it, I can help him myself, declared Ackerley, for example.201 Sometimes, they even envisioned a real equality which would transcend the social classes, by the miracle of homosexuality alone: The man had not called him Sir, and the om ission flattered him. Hello, Sir, would have been the most natural greeting to a foreigne r of mature age, and what is more, the guest of a rich client. However, the vigorous voice had shouted, Hello, beautiful day!, as if they were equals. 202 It is the same belief in an equality of circumstance that inspires Guerin when h e reports his relations with young workmen: We became real pals. 203 According to him , he developed a genuine complicity with these boys. One of them took him around t o meet other ornaments of Piazza d Italia, another tipped him off as to which guy to go wit h and which to avoid. While there was certainly a commonality of interests, we are still far from a real friendship based on confidence and mutual comprehension. We should nevertheless try to elucidate the nature of the bonds that linked homo sexuals with the working class during the 1920s and 1930s. J.R. Ackerley gives his own analysis of the phenomenon in these terms: If my research led me out of my own c lass, toward the working class, i.e. toward that innocence which I was never able to f ind among members of my class, it was in order to spare myself the culpability that I felt with

regard to the sexuality of my social inferiors. This idea was widespread: homosexuals of the upper classes often had had a purit anical education that condemned pleasure in sex, and of course any deviant sexuality. They were persuaded that only they were persecuted in their sexuality; in the wo rking class, they felt, sexuality must natural, without constraints and prejudices. He re again, we can discern a mythical concept: homosexual intellectuals did not observe that wo rking 199. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.166. 200. Such was the case, for example, of Ivan Alderman, who met Ackerley in Richm ond Park when he was just 15. He immediately fell head over heels in love; for him, this was Prince Charming, a rich homosexual, very handsome, cultivated, driving a sports car and who would p ick him up in his neighborhood and take him to chic parties. Sixty years later, he still looked up on him as the greatest love of his life. He only gradually came to discover that what he saw as a lasti ng relationship was nothing more than one episode in Ackerley s very long series of romantic adventure s. The breakup was very painful. See Peter Parker, A Life of J.R. Ackerley, London, Constable, 1989, 465 pages, p.94-95. 201. J.R. Ackerley, My Father and Myself, op. cit., p.109. 202. E.M. Forster, Arthur Snatchfold, in Un instant d .ternit. et autres nouvelles, Paris, Christian Bourgois .diteur, 1988, 306 pages, p.149. 203. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.165. 264

Homosexuals as Political Chips class men were freer sexually, they assumed it, a priori. This idealized notion was supported by their ignorance of the new environment in which they were acting: With even more curiosity than concupiscence I precipitated toward these strapping men that were no longer separated from me by an opaque barrier. Their way of life was simplified to the extreme, their picturesque and masculine garb, the ir ripe language, which was sometimes somewhat hermetic for me, their skin tanned by the great outdoors, their muscular strength, their honest and natural animality that was not slowed or dimmed as yet in those days by any factitious inhibition, any peti tbourgeois prejudice (and they were, what is more, less monopolized by the girls than today), all that took me by surprise, metamorphosed me, enchanted me.204 This sense was all the more marked since, as for Auden, Spender or Isherwood, th e exoticism of the place was added to the difference in class; Christopher Isherwo od felt a marvelous freedom in the company of [these boys]. He, who only could make veil ed allusions in English, could now crudely ask for what he wanted in German. His limited knowledge of the language obliged him to be direct and he was not embarrassed to pronounce foreign sexual terms, which had no connection with his life in England.205 Thus, for Isherwood, England represented heterosexuality and erotic inhibition and all he could think about was being abroad. The photographer Humphrey Spender , Stephen Spender s brother, noted that Heinz, Isherwood s young German lover, an unem ployed worker, was the decisive factor in his life, the reason for all his wanderings fro m country to country.206 It seems that there was a feeling of humility and perhaps of guilt in homosexual s attitude toward the working class. Ashamed of their material wealth that enabled them to keep the boys, they tried to get closer, to deny the barriers between them. T he relationship might venture into sadomasochistic terrain. Marcel Jouhandeau liked to fantasize about being humiliated by young workmen: he would invite workers, even criminals, to his room and only ask them to let to him cut their nails; or he mi ght bathe the feet of a plasterer. Relations between Auden and several of his German compa nions degenerated to the point of blows. Even when the threats were only virtual, it i s striking how eager a number of British homosexuals were to go out with police officers, t he very people whom they ought to seek out the least. Virginia Woolf had earlier been as tonished

by this paradoxical passion for the police force, which she found with Plomer, W alpole, Spender, Forster, Auden and Ackerley.207 And however, the relations were more complex. The boy was not just a sexual play thing, he was a physical incarnation of the homosexual ideal. During a time that saw th e rehabilitation of the body, the fantasy of the strong and healthy workman was a staple in the homosexual middle and upper classes that had been raised in contempt of the body and physical values. Often of weak constitution (E.M. Forster, Lytton Strachey, Brian Howard), they looked for manual workers whose bodies were clearly shaped by exer cise: I found [the ideal friend] rather quickly. He was a sailor, a robust sailor, a b oy from the working class, simple, normal, no education... He was a famous light-weight boxe r in the navy; his silk skin, his muscles, a perfect body, like that of a beautiful young man from Crete, was a delight to be contemplated.208 204. Ibid., p.167. 205. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind, op. cit., p.110. 206. Cited by Paul Fussell, Abroad, British Literary Travellers between the Wars , Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1983, 246 pages. 207. Letter from Virginia Woolf to Quentin Bell, 21 December 1933. 265

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The working boy often played his role gladly; proud of the admiration he attract ed, he might further cultivate the muscular look, becoming a narcissistic being only concerned about the beauty that brought him the attention of well-born young people. It wa s a double fascination. While the homosexuals were worshipping the workers, the la tter became more self-conscious and sometimes lost the naturalness that was their pri ncipal charm: [Maurice] embodied exactly that physical type to which I was attracted. He had a trunk of athlete, and a hard face. He excelled at swimming and water polo. He wa s not elegant, for his massive body did not look good in clothes, which are a good mas k for malingerers but vain tinsel for the strong. He had the body-builder s well-known n arcissism. He liked to show off his muscles, his beautiful muscles, his pride and his capit al, whose magic effect he was well aware of.209 These relations that were based in virility, physical superiority, the oppositio n between the strong and the weak, often turned to wrestling, to a fight between boys, measuring their strength against each other and going right up to the sex act: Fighting that transformed into sex seemed perfectly natural to these German boys; in fact, it excited them, too. Perhaps because it was something that one c ould not do with a girl, or at least not on the level of physical equality; something they liked as an expression of the aggression/attraction that exists between two men. Perha ps also this moderately sadistic game was a characteristic of German sexuality; man y of them liked to be beaten, not too hard, with a belt.210 The body exerts a magical attraction and its power is without limits. In Dr. Wool acott by E.M. Forster, an invalid believes he finds strength in the arms of his lover, a farm hand: He opened his arms to him, and Cleasant accepted the invitation. Cleasant had often been proud of his illness, but never, never of his body; it had never occu rred to him which he could elicit desire. This sudden revelation upset him, he fell from his pedestal, but he was not alone: there was somebody to whom he could cling, with broad shou lders, a tanned neck, lips which half-opened in caressing him.211 The working boy seems to live a mythical world where the values are reversed, where all that was prohibited is finally allowed, where happiness is accessible:

Come to me, and you will be as happy as I am, and as strong. 212 A certain magnetization o ccurs between the two classes and never achieves equilibrium, for they are separated b y the invisible barriers of wealth, social access and culture. Happiness is thus almos t impossible to attain, especially since the attraction for working boys goes with a desire t o have normal, heterosexual boys. Auden describes the impossibility of reconciling the tw o aspirations with a certain bitterness: There are two worlds and one cannot belon g to both at the same time. If one is part of the second of these worlds (that of the refined intellectuals), one will be always unhappy, for one will always be in love with the first world (that of the nonintellectual athletes), although despising it at the same time. The first world, on other hand, will not return your love, for it is in its nature to love only that which is like itself.213 208. J.R. Ackerley, My Father and Myself, op. cit., p.10. 209. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.172. 210. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind, op. cit., p.30. 211. E.M. Forster, Dr Woolacott, in Un instant d .ternit., op. cit., p.136. 212. Ibid., p.134. 213. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden, a Biography, London, Allen & Unwin , 1981, 495 pages, p.260. 266

Homosexuals as Political Chips The fascination for the working class is tinged with a kind of dislike for the m iddle and upper classes, as if sex could not be spontaneous and natural within a class considered to be too respectable and moralistic: I found that boys of the higher classes were a little too untouchable and not physical enough. We were all too strait-la ced and were a little uptight in a way or another. That all needed to be loosened up.214 The worship of the body led in parallel to a depreciation of intellectual values . The working culture was attractive at first as a new, pure and preserved world: The boys of the working class were less reserved and less contemplative, and their friendshi p opened to me with interesting fields of the life, which otherwise would have remained u nknown to me.215 But soon, this desire to extirpate oneself of one s own background grew into a mil itant anti-intellectualism that was quite unwelcome among professional intellectuals; for the homosexual wishing to prove to his friend that he was now on his side, it was no longer enough to share his concerns; now he agreed to disavow his own culture an d all signs of his past: He had a primitive class instinct, a bitterness. For him, I w as never anything but the son of a family, a bourgeois, on whom he had to take his reveng e. Since he was impecunious, he made me sell a priceless edition of Les Jeunes filles en fleurs by Marcel Proust, abundantly corrected in the hand of the author, and I made this sacrific e, without hesitation, delighted to give him such a proof of love, while he, inciting me to do it, showed a wicked anti-intellectual joy.216 Forster s novel Ansell is presented in the form of a parable of this confrontation between the classes. Edward, a young man who intends to go into a university car eer withdraws to the countryside to write his dissertation. There, he finds his chil dhood friend, Ansell, the gardener,217 whose strength and independence of mind he envi es. In an auto accident all his books and notes for the thesis fall into the river; only o ne or two are saved. Thanks to this sign from fate, Edward understands that real life is in na ture, at Ansell s side, and he gives up any intellectual pretensions. This example is parti cularly emblematic of the process of identification that homosexual intellectuals were u ndergoing. Initially attracted sexually by the boys of the working class, they went on to e

nvy their lifestyle, their lack of education, their freedom. Intelligence then becom es synonymous with frustration and inhibition. This identification soon leads to a rejection of their own class. Rupert Brooke was the first to protest: I hate the upper classes! Christopher Isherwood explained that his attraction for this type of boys came from his hostility to the bourgeoisie, which led it consciously to seek not only its opposite, but whatever would be most shocking to middle-class values.218 W.H. Au den expressed the same feeling when he was in Germany: The German proletariat is sym pathetic, but I do not like much the others, therefore I spend most of my time with Juvenile Delinquents [sic].219 214. Christopher Isherwood, interviewed in Gay News, n 126. 215. J.R. Ackerley, My Father and Myself, op. cit., p.110. 216. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.174. 217. As a child, Forster felt his first homosexual emotions for the family garde ner, whose name was Ansell. 218. Christopher Isherwood, interviewed in Gay News, n 126. 219. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden, op. cit., p.90. Capitalization as per Auden. 267

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Stephen Spender went even further when he explained: My revolt against my family s attitude also led me to rebel against morality, labor and discipline. Sec retly I was fascinated by outlaws, the despicable, the depraved, the lazy, the strays; and I wished to offer to them all the love that was denied to them by respectable people.220 It is interesting to note that one finds exactly the same terms and the same jus tifications coming from Frenchman Daniel Guerin: Part of my taste for young fellows of the people came from a sense of rebellion against the established order, against my f amily. 221 Sometimes the two generations of homosexual intellectuals did manage to enjoy a real empathy with the popular classes. Behind the boys who were the objects of t heir desire, homosexuals learned to see a whole world which was unknown to them; and as they loved the sons, they came to love the families, and soon all their milieu a s such: The differences of class and interest between Jimmy and me provided certainly elemen ts of mystery which almost corresponded to the difference between the sexes. I was in love, in fact, with his origins, his soldier s trade, his working-class family. 222 Becoming familiar with their lovers financial and family difficulties, homosexual s from the well-off classes discovered the distress of the workers struck by the e conomic crisis in England and the destitution of the German proletariat. Their political opinions and their social ideals were transformed: Thanks to Walter, I imagined what it was like to be unemployed. I imagined, the Revolution would

I suppose, that something that in my mind I started to call

change his fate and I felt that as a member of a wealthier social class I had co ntracted a debt towards him. If he had robbed me, I would have understood that he could nev er take away from me the advantages which society had given me over him: for I was a member of a class whose money automatically enabled me to benefit from the insti tu tions of theft, to automatically assume the guise of respectability. Then I unde rstood that there were two classes of robbers: the social one and the antisocial.223 The very essence of homosexuality is equality. Through the sex act, the two

partners forget their last differences, of origin, class, and race, until there is nothing but two lovers linked in the same destiny, for in this romantic, anachronistic life, the ambassador is the friend of the convict.... 224 The miracle of the confluence of the bourgeois and working-class homosexuals is specific to the inter-war period; it was the coming together of two groups exclu ded from society, misfits, scorned, looked down upon. I could speak with law-breakers beca use I was one, myself, acknowledged Stephen Spender.225 Beyond the differences in class, it was the same struggle that united them. This partly explains the alliance of homosexuals and the leftist parties, ambiguous a s it was. Homosexual as Leftist Activists In the 1920s, homosexuality became a means of rocking respectable opinions and o f shaking up the Establishment. What better way to declare one s hostility towards t he 220. Stephen Spender, World within World [1951], London, Faber & Faber, 1991, 34 4 pages, p.9. 221. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.175. 222. Stephen Spender, World within World, op. cit., p.184. 223. Ibid., p.118. 224. Marcel Proust, Sodome et Gomorrhe I, in A la recherche du temps perdu, Pari s, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1988, t.III, 1934 pages, p.19. 225. Stephen Spender, World within World, op. cit., p.119. 268

Homosexuals as Political Chips official morals of society than to go and spend some time with the homosexuals? Homosexuality gave the same thrill as drugs nowadays and the pleasure of being certain to outrage the older generation.226 This attitude was not limited to England, where homosexuality was repressed by law; in France, for a boy from a good family to come out as a homosexual was a p olitical act and sometimes it was hard to tell whether homosexuality had led to political engagement or the inverse: When I first got involved in the social struggle, I wa s both a homosexual and a revolutionary, without being able to clearly distinguish how mu ch this came from the intellect (readings, reflections) and how much from feelings (phys ical attraction toward the working class, rebellion, rejection of my old middle-class background). 227 As a deviant form of sexuality, homosexuality justified taking a counter-current position: By receiving [Marcel], I was up to something that was more than sentime ntal: there was already a certain appetite for social transgression. I was launching a challenge to my class. 228 To be a homosexual is to be on the outside; to choose an extreme political posit ion is to push that exclusion to its logical end, to retaliate for society s charges t hat the homosexual is a potential danger. The homosexual, whether or not he knows it or wants it, is potentially asocial and therefore virtually subversive. 229 Lastly, by participating in revolutionary parties, the homosexuals hoped to advance their cause. Enthusiasm for the working class, and the hopes raised by t he formation of the Soviet Union, supported the idea of a natural communion between homosexua lity and revolution; Michel de Coglay writes of the naive enthusiasms of certain homosexual for the communist cause. In a Montmartre caf. he met, for example, a y oung draughtsman with a certain type of nose, who bellowed his faith in Hirschfeld an d in Moscow, which he supposed, quite imprudently, to be hallowed ground for free ped erasty and free democracy. 230 The myth of a working class favorable to the homosexual justified a belief in an egalitarian proletarian revolution that would bring tolerance for all minorities : Homophobic prejudice, hideous as it is, will not be thwarted merely by means that I would qualify as reformist, by persuasion, by concessions to the heterosexual ad versary,

but will be definitively extirpated from people s consciousness, just like racial prejudice, only by an anti-authoritative social revolution, 231 declared Daniel Guerin. Thus it was that in the 1920s homosexuals discovered that their sexual preferences could be a political weapon. 226. Noel Annan, Our Age: English Intellectuals between the Wars: A Group Portra it, New York, Random House, 1991, 479 pages, p.113. 227. Daniel Gu.rin, Homosexualit. et r.volution, Paris, Utopie, coll. Les Cahiers du vent du ch min, 1983, 66 pages, p.11. 228. Id., Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.167. 229. Id., Homosexualit. et r.volution, op. cit., p.17. 230. Michel du Coglay, Chez les mauvais gar.ons. Choses vues, Paris, R. Saillard , 1938, 221 pages, p.159. 231. Daniel Gu.rin, Homosexualit. et r.volution, op. cit., p.15. 269

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Pacifism Already during the First World War, Bloomsbury had been characterized by its pacifist stand. The second homosexual generation took up the torch in the 1930s. The friendship of many well-bred English homosexuals for working-class boys, especially German, was seen as a provocation. To have a German lover after the w ar was to betray all those who had died in the trenches, in the name of pleasure and of perversion. It was tantamount to announcing oneself as a criminal, to siding with the enemy. Public hatred engenders private love. Love your enemies! My God! I love the Engl ish!232 This fraternization with the enemy was partly the consequence of the extraordina ry guilt which they felt for not having fought in the war: Like most of those of my generation, I was obsessed by a complex of terrors and desires related to the id ea of war. The war, in its purely neurotic sense, meant the Test. The Test of your courage, y our maturity, your sexual prowess. Are you really a man? Unconsciously I believe, I wa nted to be subjected to this Test, but I also feared failure. I feared Failure so muc h in fact, I was so sure that I would fail that, consciously, I denied my desire to be tested . I denied my devouring morbid interest in the idea of war. I claimed to be indifferent. The war, I would say, was obscene, not exciting, just a bother, an irritation.233 The pacifism shown by the homosexual intellectuals in the first half of the inte rwar period was the product of this fascination intermixed with hatred. At the height of our pacifist campaigns of the early 1930s, we were in fact almost in love with t he horrors which we denounced, acknowledges Philip Toynbee.234 Stephen Spender regretted there were no great causes for which he could fight. At Oxford, like those of hi s generation who had not known war, he acknowledged having been jealous of the veterans of the Great War, as if he had been robbed of the opportunity to prove that he was a man and of the glory of victory. However, at college, like Auden and his friends, he presented himself as an ardent pacifist, overwhelmed with hatred for the OTC (Officer Trai ning Corps), the obligatory military drive still in force in the public schools. The myth of the war, the horror of the trenches, honor and disgust all intermingled for this gen eration that had no past to assert and which felt solidarity only over the cruel awareness of having missed the main event.

Homosexual life in the 1920s and 1930s thus often resembled a parody of the war, with its passion for uniforms including those of the soldiers of the Guard, sail ors, and the police. E.M. Forster noted that any uniform at all would do, even if it was only a bus driver s.235 The political implications of these attitudes toward the war and toward the German working class boys were of utmost importance. Christopher Isherwood is si ncere when he acknowledges his political hesitations: It is so easy to make fun of all this homosexual romanticism. But the leaders of the fascistic States did not laugh; t hey understood and used precisely these fantasies and these desires. I wonder how I would have reacted at that time if one of the English fascistic leaders had been intelligen t enough to 232. Stephen Spender, Le Temple, op. cit., p.41. 233. Christopher Isherwood, Lions and Shadows, London, Methuen, 1985, 191 pages, p.46-47. 234. Cited by Fran.oise du Sorbier, Oxford 1919-1939, op. cit., p.49. 235. Cited by Valentine Cunningham, British Writers of the Thirties, Oxford, Oxf ord University Press, 1988, 530 pages, p.55. 270

Homosexuals as Political Chips serve me his message in a form suitably disguised and pleasant? He would have co nverted me, I think, in half an hour. 236 From their special relationship with the German working class, English homosexua l intellectuals learned to love Germany and some would never be able to fight it, like Auden and Isherwood who left England for the United States in 1939. Auden and Spender, however, had already overcome the pacifist option and had supported the International Brigades in Spain. But even if they militated actively against Fascism, taking i n political refugees and participating in activities for conscientious objectors, they could never fight Germany with weapons. In Christopher and His Kind Christopher Isherw ood explains that, as long as his friend Heinz, as a homosexual, had been a target o f the Nazis, he had felt an unconditional hatred for them. But Heinz was soon constrained to don the uniform and join the German army. Isherwood s reasoning at that point sheds light on the role of homosexuality as a dimension of one s conscience: Let us suppose, says Chr istopher, that I now have a Nazi army at my mercy. I can destroy them all by pressing a button. The men of this army are known to have tortured and assassinated civilia ns all except one, Heinz. Would I press the button? No. Now let us suppose that I know that Heinz has taken part in their crimes. Will I press the button, then? Of course n ot; and that is a purely emotional reaction.... Now, let s suppose that the army attacks and su ffers one loss, Heinz himself. Will I press the button and destroy his criminal companions ? No emotional reaction this time, just a clear answer which one cannot escape: once I have refused to press the button because of Heinz, I will never be able to do it agai n. Because any man of this army could be Heinz to somebody else, and I do not have the righ t to play favorites. Thus Christopher was forced to acknowledge himself a pacifist even th ough it was the consequence of a line of reasoning that he found repugnant.237 Communism and the far left Homosexuality, by putting certain intellectuals of the 1920s and 1930s in touch with the working class, was a considerable factor in determining their political perspective. In his autobiography, Daniel Guerin establishes a relation of cause and effect between his attraction for working class boys and his political involvement. He was from the middle class himself, and it was through his intimate relations with working boys that gave rise to his social conscience. He discovered misery, and barely-disgui

sed prostitution; the money he gave the boys is a form of restitution, in recompense for the culpa bility which he felt over having been born in better circumstances: I did not find any displeasure in the so-called venal love affairs... And what is more, my partners were young workers who were overexploited or unemployed, and soldiers receiving pathetic re muneration, and with them I corrected the wrongs of society and the army. 238 Guerin came up with a symbolic phrase to illustrate this situation: I came to socialism via phallism. 239 Conscious of his singularity, he reflected at length o n the relationship between homosexuality and revolution. He says of his political progression, My shift in the direction of socialism was not objective, intellectual in nature, b ut rather sub 236. 237. 238. 239. 271 Christopher Isherwood, Lions and Shadows, op. cit., p.48. Id., Christopher and His Kind, op. cit., p.249-250. Daniel Gu.rin, Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.169. Id., Homosexualit. et r.volution, op. cit., p.44.

A History of Homosexuality in Europe jective, physical, and driven by the heart. It was not in books, it was in me, i nitially, because of the years of sexual frustration, and because through my contact with oppressed young people I learned to hate the established social order. Carnal pu rsuits led me to cross social barriers. More than the seduction of bodies, hardened by the work, I sought friendship. And that is what I hoped to find, a hundred-fold, in socialis m. 240 To choose the revolutionary path is, to some extent, to be adopted by the workin g class. Guerin sounds sad when he speaks of that fraternity of the son of the peop le, from which always life always excluded me. 241 Guerin notes that his social origin and his sexual preferences were always obstacles to his political integration one way or another, he never fit in. Some to distinguish me from the authentic proletarians, would contemptuously call me an idealist. Others when they got wind of my sexual dissi dence, would insult me. 242 Homosexuality as a motivation for political engagement is, of course, suspect. I t is difficult to take seriously somebody whose behavior seems dictated by emotions, whose least action may be attributed to his sexual rather than political inclinations. Just as for the homosexual, whose sexuality is already, by virtue of being dissident, a politi cal act, so for the Communist there are all kinds of incompatibilities. Guerin was fully aware of this: I resolved to employ my particular form of eroticism, hitherto uncontrol led, wasted, more or less asocial, and subordinate it to the highest end: the liberat ion of all, which would at the same time be mine. Those whose adhesion to socialism took dif ferent forms would no doubt have trouble to understand mine. 243 The visceral intolerance for homosexuality that was found within the revolutiona ry groups is symbolized by Henri Barbusse s article in the magazine Les Marges (March 15, 1926): I figure that this perversion of a natural instinct, like so ma ny other perversions, is a measure of the social and moral decline of a certain part of c ontemporary society.... [the complacency of the decadent intellectuals] can only reinforce t he contempt that the healthy and young popular force experiences for these representatives o f morbid and artificial doctrines, and all of this will hasten, I hope, the hour of wrath and renaissance.

Guerin tried to hide his homosexuality until 1968: What people of my kind suffered from most, in those days, was the constant fear of losing the respect, of bringing on the contempt or even loathing, of those of our comrades who might catch us in flagrante delicto expressing our homosexual incli nations. One had to keep quiet at all costs, to dissimulate, to lie, if necessary, to pre serve a revolutionary respectability whose value could be measured only in comparison with the abjection into which one was likely to fall if one dropped the mask.244 Homosexual engagement could take a more radical form. The best-known example is that of the Soviet agents Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt and Donald Maclean.245 S chooled at Eton, Burgess entered Cambridge in 1930 and soon became known for his charm a nd his eccentricity. A very active homosexual, he formed a friendship with Anthony Blunt, 240. Id., Le Feu du sang: autobiographie politique et charnelle, Paris, Grasset, 1977, 286 pages, p.13-14. 241. Id., Autobiographie de jeunesse, op. cit., p.205. 242. Ibid., p.209. 243. Daniel Gu.rin, Le Feu du sang, op. cit., p.14. 244. Id., Homosexualit. et r.volution, op. cit., p.39. 245. See Yuri Ivanovich Modin, Mes camarades de Cambridge, Paris, Robert Laffont , 1994, 316 pages. 272

Homosexuals as Political Chips who had made his studies at Marlborough where the cult of homosexuality was stro ng. At Trinity College in Cambridge, he was classified among the esthetes and he dev eloped several homosexual relations, but more discretely than Burgess. It was Blunt who brought Burgess into the Apostles. Burgess then caught the attention of Maurice Dobb, an economics professor in Pembroke College and one of the first British academics to join the Communist Party to; he introduced Kim Philby to him. Burgess, like many other ho mosexual intellectuals, was then attracted by boys of the working class, with whom he lik ed to discuss the problems that they met in their daily life, whether economic prob lems or political; he had some flings at every social level and spent time with skilled laborers, truck-drivers, workmen, students and professors alike. From 1933 to 1934, he beg an a thesis entitled The bourgeois revolution of England of the 17th century. Blunt joi ned the Party under the influence of Burgess, with whom he was passionately in love. Bur gess brought along Donald Maclean by the same lure; he was, at the time, undecided as to both his sexual and political leanings. In 1934, the process accelerated. Philby s visit to Cambridge was decisive. Burges s became enflamed and Philby recruited him for the Soviet secret service. Burgess then spent the summer of 1934 in Germany perfecting his political education, then he left for the USSR with Anthony Blunt. In 1935, he became the parliamentary assistant of a homosexual young deputy on the far Right, Jack MacNamara, a member of the Anglo-German Fellowship, an association for Nazi sympathizers. Burgess gained the confidence of MacNamara and they organized a series of sex-tourist trips abroad, especially to Ge rmany where MacNamara had ties within the Hitler Youth. Burgess managed to be in touch with a number of highly placed homosexuals like .douard Pfeiffer, the chief private s ecretary of .douard Daladier, War Minister, an agent of the 2nd French Office and of MI6. Ma cNamara and Burgess were invited on several occasions to pleasure parties at Pfei ffer s or to Parisian nightclubs. It is interesting to note what role Burgess s homosexualit y might have played in his joining the Communists, and then in his espionage activities. Burgess followed the typical trajectory of the British homosexual intellectual of the 19 20s: public school, Cambridge, attraction for working-class boys. However, he was also a pro duct of

the 1930s; his discovery of the working class translated, on the political level , to joining the communists, in parallel with an increasing tendency toward the red at Oxford as well. In the field of espionage, his homosexuality would have been able a handicap. Ph ilby regarded inversion as a disease and never brought it up with Burgess; and Yuri I vanovich Modin, Burgess s Soviet contact, was rather hostile: There was an enormous unvoiced comment between us, but I think that that facilitated our relations in a certain way. 246 It seems that this tacit tolerance was based on the effectiveness of the homosex ual networks, the famous Homintern. By virtue of his homosexuality, Burgess had the mo st varied doors opened to him; it enabled him to gain access to State secrets, to s lip in and out of very different political milieux. Homosexual solidarity was very importan t; seductive and skilful, Burgess could manipulate his informants and his handlers, or deceive them completely. After the war, this success on the part of the spies of Cambridge set off another homophobic campaign based on fears of national treason and the e nemy within. Communist involvement did not always take such extreme forms: W.H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood and Stephen Spender flirted with Marxism throughout the 246. Ibid., p.86. 273

A History of Homosexuality in Europe period. Stephen Spender ended up joining the Party in 1936, before leaving for S pain. His lover Hyndman joined soon thereafter.247 Spender recalls that his friends were s hocked: We looked at that as an extraordinary act. Communism was for us an extremist caus e, almost against nature [my emphasis] and we had difficulty to believe that any of our friends could be communists. 248 Spender s commitment was mainly emotional; he was all for the German working class and he disavowed his own people: he was haunted by a deep guilt feeling ov er his social background, his culture, his privileged situation. For Spender, homosexua lity and politics were inextricably interwoven: in 1935, in his poem Vienna, he expresses h is indignation vis-.-vis the elimination of the Viennese Socialists by Dollfuss, an d at the same time he evokes his love for Jimmy. I wanted to show that the two experiences were different but dependent. For both were intense, emotional and personal, alt hough one was public and the other private. The validity of the one depended on that o f the other: for in a world where humanity was publicly trampled, private affection wa s also sapped. 249 The war in Spain revealed several contradictions underlying Spender s commitment. In 1936, he not only joined the English Communist Party, but he also published a book of political reflections, Forward from Liberalism, which was selected as Book of the Month by the Left Book Club. And, he left Hyndman and got married. This brutal c hange left him quite uncomfortable. When Hyndman joined the Party, then signed up with the International Brigades, he felt responsible. Hyndman very quickly regretted his engagement. Spender then accepted an offer from the Daily Worker, which wanted h im to report on a Soviet ship run by the Italians in the Mediterranean. He found Hyndm an, who begged him to get him out of the Brigades. Spender got him relieved from combat duty, but Hyndman deserted. When he tried to plead his case, the game was up and the B ritish Communists let their homophobia show clearly: I think I know exactly why you do n ot admit the lack of valor in this comrade in particular, they retorted to him; and the following remark sounds like a warning: You know too many boys for your good. Finally, Hyndman was saved and repatriated to England. Spender returned to Spain in the summer of 1937, as a deputy to the Congress of Writers which was held in Madrid. The meeting disappointed him considerably, and he never went back to Spain. Auden, t oo, was deeply marked by his sojourn among the Juvenile Delinquents, among whom he ran

into several members of the German Communist Party (KPD). Under the influence of Gabriel Carritt and Edward Upward, his interest in Communism grew. In August 193 2, he published the poem, A Communist to Others, which starts with the apostrophe, Comrades!, soon followed by A Handsome Profile in September 1932. In April 1933, he had an article in the Daily Herald entitled How to Become Master of the Machine, preaching the introduction of a socialist state. His interest in Marxism remaine d primarily romantic, however, and in the autumn of 1932 he wrote to Rupert Donne: No. I am a bourgeois. I will not join the CP. 250 Sympathies for Communism died out soon after it became known that homosexuality had been made a criminal act in the USSR in 1934. Gide is an instructive example . 247. See the testimony of David, an English teacher, in Between the Acts, op. ci t. After spending two years in Germany, 1929 and 1930, he rejoined the Communist Party. 248. Stephen Spender, World within World, op. cit., p.132. 249. Ibid., p.192. 250. Cited by Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden, op. cit., p.133. 274

Homosexuals as Political Chips Gide had built his reputation as a writer on a work exalting pleasure and freedo m. His Nourritures terrestres (1897) was a guide for a whole generation. His denunciati on of traditional morals and social conformity, his assertion of homosexual rights, also led him t o question French politics in the 1920s. In Voyage au Congo (1927) and Retour du T chad (1928), he denounced colonialism. In 1932, Communism began to seem like a doctrine of lib eration for man, allowing him to flourish in every way, far from bourgeois hypocrisy. 251 In the Nouvelle revue fran.aise, he declares his desire to see what a State witho ut religion can give, a society without cells. 252 Gide believed more in morals than anything else, and militant engagement was repugnant to him. It was Hitler s advent to powe r that led him to side with the Communists. He became a fellow traveller and participated in various militant actions. He was on the board of Commune, the review of the Asso ciation of Revolutionary Writers and Artists; he chaired meetings and went to Berlin with M alraux to plead the cause of Dimitrov, who was jailed after the Reichstag fire.253 In 1 935, he chaired the opening session of the International Congress of Writers for the Def ense of Culture in Paris. His enthusiasm quickly waned. His visit to the USSR in 1936 wa s a great disappointment, although he was greeted with many honors. Soviet reality was ver y different from what he had hoped for, and man was no freer from convention than elsewhere. The repression of homosexuality also must have played a part in his disillusionm ent. In Return from the USSR, Gide touched on that subject only in a note: Still, is this law [against abortion] justified in a certain sense? It leads to very deplorable abuses. But what are we to think, from a Marxist point of view, of th at older one, against homosexuals, which equates them to counter-revolutionaries (f or non-conformity is pursued right up to and including sexual questions), condemns them to deportation for five years with possible extension, if being exiled has not cured them.254 Christopher Isherwood also relates that he tried to play down the importance of this news, alleging to his friends that England and the United States, like most capitalist

countries, had similar laws. But the socialist myth was shaken, for the new soci ety that Marxism had supposedly generated could not be better than the others if it exclu ded homosexuals: For, if the Communists claimed that their system was more just than capitalism, didn t that make the their injustice towards homosexuals even less excusable and their hypocrisy all the worse? Christopher understood that he now had to dissoci ate himself from the Communists, even as a fellow traveller. He could, on certain oc casions, accept them as allies, but he could never look upon them as comrades. He must never again yield to confusion, never deny his tribe, never apologize for existe nce, never think of sacrificing himself in some masochistic way on the altar of the f alse totalitarian god, the sacred voice of the Majority whose priests alone could dec ide what was good. 255 The homosexual identity was now clear. It had become strong enough to influence political choices, it had become powerful enough to change class behaviors, and above all it had become strong enough to guarantee its own survival. When Hitler came to p ower 251. Serge Berstein, La France des ann.es trente, Paris, Armand Colin, 1993, 186 pages, p.99. 252. Nicole Racine, Andr. Gide, in Jacques Julliard and Michel Winock (dir.), Dict ionnaire des intellectuels fran.ais, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, 1996, 1264 pages. 253. Serge Berstein, La France des ann.es trente, op. cit. 254. Andr. Gide, Retour de l URSS, Paris, Gallimard, 1936, 125 pages, p.63. 255. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind, op. cit., p.248-249. 275

A History of Homosexuality in Europe in 1933 and Stalinism was installed in the USSR, two profound threats faced homo sexuals and put an end to their hopes for greater international emancipation. In 1933, c hoices were made and the homosexual cause took precedence from now on over other allegi ances, political, social or intellectual: As a homosexual, Christopher had hesitated between embarrassment and mistrust. He was embarrassed to assert his egoistic demands at a moment when collective action was needed. And he was wary of using the attitude towards homosexuals as the sole criterion by which any political government or party was to be judged. Yet his challenge towards each one of them was: OK, you talk about freedom of expression. Does that include us, or not? 256 A Fascistic Fascination? Not all homosexual intellectuals took up with the left. Some were fascinated by the fascistic model, which corresponded to an aesthetic and political ideal that was in vogue in certain homosexual circles. The attraction of fascism seldom took the concret e form of joining the party; it was more a matter of being sympathetic, of some vague alli ance. Curiously enough, it found an echo in the Parisian lesbian community. Here, too, one must be careful in analyzing what part homosexuality played, since party affiliation was influenced even more so by other factors such as class. Nevertheless, we may ask what was t he attraction of political movements that were in principle hostile to the homosexu al. An .litist and aristocratic homosexuality One faction of German homosexual activists proclaimed a nationalist and racist ideology. Hans Bl.her, the theorist of the M.nnerbund, thought that a men s state would be the ideal political form. He was also a member of Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, A dolf Brand s homosexual movement, whose ideology was aristocratic, antifeminist and ine galitarian; it was the opposite of the WhK, which was close to the socialists. Brand and Bl.her were not Nazis, but neither were they worried during the 1930s, when they were visible representatives of the German homosexual community. The poet Stefan Geor ge (who had founded a nationalist club with poetic and aristocratic overtones aroun d the cult of a teenager, Maximin, who died at sixteen years), was also courted by the Nazis but rejected any compromise: he died in exile in Switzerland. Thus, we must be caref ul: the elitist tendency of German homosexuals was founded on a romantic notion of the d ays of

yore, and was more similar to the v.lkisch than the fascistic trend. Even if the ir ideals might have brought them closer to Nazism, they did not have anything to do with the NSDAP (National-Socialist Workers Party). It seems that it was the populist comp onent of Nazism, more than its attitude with regard to homosexuality, that kept them a way. Many of the aristocratic homosexuals saw the Nazi party as a bunch of rough and uncouth thugs so it could never serve as the source for the rejuvenation of Germ an society. Many of the more visible lesbians of the 1920s and 1930s also took positions clo se to Fascism. The question divided the small community of lesbian intellectuals in Paris, which split into two quite distinct camps. The liberals included Djuna Barnes, S ylvia 256. Ibid., p.248. 276

Homosexuals as Political Chips Beach, Colette, Hilda Doolittle, Janet Flanner, Adrienne Monnier and Virginia Wo olf. On the other side were Romaine Brooks, Radclyffe Hall, Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, Liane de Pougy, Alice Toklas, Una Troubridge, Gertrude Stein and Natalie Barney. There we re several factors behind their paradoxical choice: most of the latter group were c haracterized not only by their considerable wealth but also by their vague anti-Semitism. The se women paradoxically replicated the dominant male ideology; by cozying up to the fascists, they expressed a certain misogyny, a homophobia, and they projected onto the Jew the fear of the other. 257 Instead of rising up against an ideology that would oppr ess them, they identified with the reactionary forces. They tacitly aligned themselv es with a fascistic program that was hostile to them, in the belief that their economic pr ivileges, their social class, even their religion, would protect them.258 They imagined th at the war to come would put an end to Western civilization as they knew it and that they w ould then be able to go on again with their former way of life under the aristocratic and cultural regime that Fascism, in their view, would establish. The example of Radclyffe Hall is emblematic: as we have seen, she identified wit h men and thus, in fact, with the male cause; the lesbian model she contributed to creating is largely based on traditional values. Radclyffe Hall was no feminist: her view of the evolution of woman s fate was pessimistic and unpleasant. A minority of women would manage to secure their independence and occupy of positions of responsibility, b ut the majority would always prefer to restrict themselves to their role as wife and mo ther. In every field except that of sexuality, Radclyffe Hall embodied the conservative m iddleclass values of high English society. She was rich, and was allied with the cons ervatives, defending her class interests and the Establishment. When she was on trial, she was shocked to see that only the Labour party defended her book. At the end of the 1 930s, she settled in Florence and nourished a certain admiration for Mussolini and the fas cists. After a dispute with a tradesman who had tried to swindle her, she appealed to t he local fascists, saying: In cases like this, the Party is really a source of consolatio n.259 The deterioration of the international situation seemed to her a direct conseque nce of the treaty of Versailles and the Jewish influence. Her anti-Semitism and anti

communism were increased by her contact with her friend Evguenia Soulina, a Russian exile: Jews. Yes, I really begin to be afraid of them; of course not the two or three d ear Jewish friends I have in England, but Jews in general. I believe they hate us and they want to cause a European war, then a world revolution, in order to destroy us completely . 260 In the same way, Gertrude Stein s affiliation with the right was only the logical consequence of her antifeminism and anti-Semitism. The couple she formed with Al ice B. Toklas was a caricature; it rested on a strict division of roles and, while Alic e was confined to feminine pursuits, only Gertrude received intellectual praise. Heterosexist society is scarcely threatened by a relationship which is so culturally determin ed. Stein wrote and slept while Toklas cooked, embroidered and typed... She was not a radi cal 257. For a discussion on this subject, see Shari Benstock, Paris Lesbianism and t he Politics of Reaction, 1900-1940, in Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus and George Chauncey Jr. ( dir.), Hidden from History, London, Penguin Books, 1991, 579 pages, p.332-346. 258. Liane de Pougy was a Catholic; Radclyffe Hall and Alice Toklas converted to Catholicism. 259. Letter from Radclyffe Hall to Evguenia Soulina, 15 March 1939, cited by Mic hael Baker, Our Three Selves: A Life of Radclyffe Hall, London, Hamish Hamilton, 1985, 386 pages , p.329. 260. Letter from Radclyffe Hall to Evguenia Souline, 22 March 1939, cited ibid. 277

A History of Homosexuality in Europe feminist. She was Jewish and anti-Semitic, lesbian and scornful towards women, i gnorant of economics and hostile to socialism.261 Some of these people were strikingly blind. A friend of D Annunzio, Romaine Brooks spent the Second World War in Florence, fully confident in Mussolini. Whe n his arrest was announced on July 25, 1943, she wrote in her journal: With the impris onment of Mussolini, the dream of a unified Europe collapses, that is what the fascists say and the nightmare is reinforced by the steady advance of the Bolshevik army. Natalie Barney also settled in Florence, recreating there a little court and liv ing in total obliviousness to outside events. Gertrude Stein, who remained in France, t ranslated documents into English for the Vichy regime. Colette s attitude was also ambiguous : some of her writings appeared in serial in Gringoire, including Bellavista in Sept ember 1936. Ces plaisirs (These Pleasures) were to be published there in 1931; only th e first parts came out, December 4 to December 25. In one issue of Gringoire, she denounced Le on Blum for his non-French origins, accused Salengro and reported on the annual gatherin g of Nuremberg by indicating Hitler as an authentic friend of France.262 While she si gned the declaration of rightist and leftist writers for the unity of Frenchmen along wit h Aragon, Malraux, Maritain, Mauriac and Montherlant, during the war she continued to publ ish apolitical texts in collaborationist newspapers like Le Petit Parisien. Julie de Carneilhan appeared in Gringoire in 1941. In November 1942, she sold an article on Burgundy to La Gerbe; Herbert Lottman, her biographer, notes that the newspaper then presented Burgundy as an old German province, and transformed Colette s text into a piece of propagan da. It is not clear if she was tricked; but there was certainly a superficiality on the part of the writer who never took a clear position on political questions. Her public ations, which generally remained very far removed from ideological problems and the war, attest that she did not realize how much was at stake. Other intellectuals simply chose tacit collaboration. In Germany, A.E. Weirauch, the author of the lesbian best-seller Der Skorpion, continued to be published un der Third Reich. She did not join the Nazi party, but became member of the Nazi writers org anization, Reichsschriftumskammer.

Obsessed by their privileges and the concern for protecting their own little wor ld, many lesbians closed their ears to Virginia Woolf s analysis, as affirmed in Three Guineas: that feminism is opposed to Fascism, which rests on a patriarchal view of societ y. If the lesbians taking refuge in Paris were able to express their sexuality freely, it was because of their social and financial advantages; they were bound by these privileges to th e same institutions which oppressed them; and therefore they did not seek to oppose an ideology which corresponded to their deepest convictions. Erotic and aesthetic appeal More difficult to grasp is the aesthetic and erotic attraction which Nazism exer ted on certain homosexuals. In Kangaroo, D.H. Lawrence associates the power of persu asion of the masses with latent homosexuality. Thus Kangaroo, leader of an Australian fas cist movement, attracts disciples as much by his intense powers of seduction as by hi s 261. Blanche Wiesen Cook on Gertrude Stein, cited by Shari Benstock, Women of th e Left Bank, Paris 1900-1940, Austin, University of Texas Press, 1986, 518 pages, p.19. 262. See Herbert Lottman, Colette, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Folio, 1990, 496 pages. 278

Homosexuals as Political Chips political ideas. The hero, Richard Evans, albeit a socialist sympathizer, allows himself to be swept along for a moment by an almost carnal attraction for Kangaroo. Politic al combat and the workingman s fraternity combine in a kind of M.nnerbund that sees friendship as the basis for direct action. For other homosexuals, the fascistic fascination seems more like a quest for sel fdestruction. Having internalized the prejudices of society, they endeavor to pro ve how abject they are. Self-hatred, vice, betrayals, these are the stations of the cro ss that they see as inevitable. Maurice Sachs is a good example. Sachs was born in 1906; his real name was Ettinghausen. He was Jewish but refused to admit it. Even as a child, he wanted to be a girl. He studied in a self-managed school inspired by the English model. There w as a lot of sports activity there, and the boys made special friendships. Sachs became the v ictim of certain pupils, was tortured and perhaps raped.263 He had several homosexual exp eriences. His novel The Sabbath talks about this period of especial debauchery which ended with the expulsion of a great number of pupils in 1920. Thereafter, Sachs spent time at trendy clubs and met famous homosexuals: Abel Hermant, Jean Cocteau. Then he met Albert Cuziat. In 1926, he entered the Carmelite seminary, but fell in love with a fifteenyearold American, Tom Pinkerton. The scandal ended his religious career. From there on out, he lived a very chaotic life. In 1936, although he had hitherto been adaman tly against Stalinism, he signed a contract for Maurice Thorez et la Victoire communiste. Ju st about then, Gide returned from the USSR, and Sachs seemed to be politically off-balance. Aft er 1940, he was living on the fringes. He got involved in the black market, traded with w ar profiteers, signed up for dirty work of various kinds, but did not get involved with the Germans. Then he suddenly left his apartment in 1942, and his trail became enigm atic: in November 1942, he was in Hamburg; but he was Jewish, homosexual, and did not spe ak German. It is possible that since 1942 he was in the Gestapo in France. In Germa ny, he was a voluntary worker in a camp. He met a homosexual doctor, anti-Nazi, for who m he translated the evening news from London Radio. Then, he met another homosexual doctor, a Nazi, who named him a French deputy to the executive committed of the camp. At the end of April 1943, he wanted to get out of that but still wanted to make himself useful to Germany. He worked for the secret service of the Wehrmacht, while cont inuing

to pursue a very active homosexual life. November 16, 1943, he was arrested with his friends for reason homosexuality, pursuant to 175. He was interned at the Fuhlsb. ttel prison, north of Hamburg, and died there in April 1945, one day before the Briti sh arrived, lynched by his cellmates. An absolute outsider, like Genet he made disloyalty hi s rule. Nietzschean, influenced by Gide and his theory of the gratuitous act, he planned his own descent into hell, like the necessary sanction for a sin that can never be expia ted. MISUNDERSTANDING OR BETRAYAL? THE LEFT SHIFTS BETWEEN PURITANISM AND OPPORTUNISM In the 1920s, many homosexuals were inclined to support the left. Since the end of the 19th century German social democracy had expressed interest in the homosexua l 263. See Henri Raczymow, Maurice Sachs ou les Travaux forc.s de la frivolit., Pa ris, Gallimard, 1988, 503 pages. See also chapter three. 279

A History of Homosexuality in Europe cause. The Russian revolution fostered the idea of a left that was favorable to sexual minorities, determined to grant the individual the right to his own body, agains t hypocritical and conservative middle-class morals. However, the attitude of the left was ambiguous and unstable, and then it became radicalized in the 1930s. The Soviet Illusion The establishment of the Soviet Union seemed to be an important milestone for English and German homosexuals. In 1918, the Russia Bolshevik decriminalized hom osexuality, 264 which placed it at the avant-garde of the sexual reforms of the 1920s and ea rned it the recognition and the admiration of European homosexuals.265 By easing the legal penalties for homosexuality, the Bolsheviks embodied the forces of progress. The y seemed to be promoting a new system of sexual morals, based not on false respectability but on the rehabilitation of the body and on equality of exchanges in love. However, in 1934, homosexuality as a fascistic perversion become a crime again in the USSR. In fact, the Marxist position with respect to homosexuality was never very clear . The basic text on the subject is Friedrich Engels The Origin of the Family, Priva te Property and the State (1884). The division of labor between men and women is not questioned and heterosexuality is presented as natural. The topic of homosexuality is touched upon only incidentally, in connection with ancient Greece, and in the most negative manner possible: But the depreciation of women was paralleled by the degradation of men, and went so far as to make them fall into the repugnant practice of pederasty and to dish onor themselves by dishonoring their gods by the myth of Ganymede. 266 Engels was known to detest homosexuality, the abominable practice of sodomy which he called a shocking vice and against nature, the sign of a sexual failure a nd a degradation of women. After Karl Marx sent him a pamphlet by Karl Ulrichs, in June 1869, Engels responded: This is a very curious Uranist that you ve sent me here. These are really revelations against nature. The pederasts are starting to add up and disc over that they represent a force within the State. They only lacked an organization, but, according to this text, it seems that they already have one.... How fortunate it is that w e personally are too old to fear that when this party wins any of us will have to pay a bodil y tribute to the victors.... But just wait until the new penal legislation of northern German y adopts the droits du cul,267 and things will change considerably. For us poor people out fr ont, with our puerile attraction for women, it s going to become very difficult. 268

Thus it is clear that the sources of Marxist thought give no hint of tolerance f or homosexuality. The charge of intellectualism reinforces the myth of an innocent working 264. In tsarist Russia, homosexuality was a crime: according to article 995 in t he criminal code of 1832, which was derived from various German penal codes, muzhelozhstvo (anal relations between men) was interdicted and could be punished by a loss of all rights and by exile to Siberia for four to five years. In cases of rape or seduction of minors or mentally retarded persons , article 996 recommended a sentence of ten to twenty years forced labor (Simon Karlinsky, Russia s Gay Liter ature and Culture: The Impact of the October Revolution, in Hidden from History, op. ci t., p.347-364). 265. It remained a crime in Georgia, Azerbaidjan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. 266. Friedrich Engels, L Origine de la famille, de la propri.t. priv.e et de l .tat [1884], Paris, .ditions sociales, 1971, 364 pages, p.64. 267. In French in the original. 268. Letter dated 22 June 1869, cited by Hans-Georg St.mke, Homosexuelle in Deut schland, eine politische Geschichte, Munich, Verlag C.H. Beck, 1989, 184 pages, p.20. 280

Homosexuals as Political Chips class, naturally inclined toward the good, and safe from all sexual perversions. F rom the point of view of homosexuality, this prefigures the concept of fascistic perversi on : a deviant sexual behavior can be the product only of the decadent classes; a homose xual workman obviously must have been corrupted by a bourgeois. In the same way, a le sbian is an inactive woman, who seeks to while away her days; a good revolutionary can not be a lesbian, she cannot even be a feminist: I would not bet on the reliability and pe rseverance in combat of any of these women whose personal love life is inextricably interme shed with political activity. Nor for that of those men who run after every skirt . No, no, that is all incompatible with the revolution! 269 Youth is not spared, either: The youth movement does not escape this disease, either the concern for being modern and all ocating a disproportionate place to the question of sex .... As many have reported to me , sex is the number one topic among youth organizations .... It can very easily lead o ne or another to sexual excesses, ruining the health and strength of young persons270 .... Ultimately, sexuality and revolution do not seem compatible: [the revolution] does not tolerate orgias tic excesses like those which are normal for the decadent heroes and heroines of D Ann unzio. The dissolute sexual life is bourgeois, it is a manifestation of decadence. 271 Certain writings did maintain the myth of a USSR that was liberal on the homosex ual question. Dr. Grigorii Batkis, director of the Institute for Social Hygiene in Moscow, wrote a pamphlet The Sexual Revolution in Russia (1923) and it was publi shed in Germany in 1925. He affirmed that the Soviet State did not interfere in sexual q uestions as long as there was no violence and no one was injured. The article Homosexuality wh ich appeared in the first edition of the Soviet Encyclopedia, volume 17, in 1930, is also evocative. It cites Hirschfeld and Freud to justify the non-criminalization of homosexualit y, but says that while homosexuality is not a crime it is still, in the view of Sov iet legislation, an illness. Also, even if the change in the law encouraged homosexuals to breath e more freely, it was no guarantee of a shift in attitudes. Admittedly, during the peri od when homosexuality was legal, no one was persecuted; Soviet representatives were sent to the congress of Magnus Hirschfeld s World League for Sexual Reform in 1921, 1928, 1929 and 1930; he was even hosted for a visit to the USSR in 1926. It was also anticipate d that the fifth congress of the League would take place in Moscow, but it was finally held

in Brno, in Czechoslovakia. Nevertheless, Simon Karlinsky noted that compared to the tsar ist period, which was very repressive by law, and the revolutionary era, which was o nly superficially liberal, there was a greater tacit tolerance during the first Sovi et period. Homosexual Soviet writers like Mikha.l Kuzmin (1875-1936) were not mentioned in the Soviet press; they were never criticized directly for their sexual orientation, only on the basis of their social origins. Many artists married in order to protect their ca reers. Sergei Eisenstein presents a particularly striking example of the confusion in Western Europe as to the situation of homosexuals in the USSR. In the USSR, he had tried to repres s his homosexuality; it seems that he was influenced on this subject by the Party line : If it weren t for Marx, Lenin and Freud, I would have become a new Oscar Wilde, he reveal ed to the critic Sergei Tretiakov.272 Finally, during a trip to Berlin and Paris he got over his 269. Lenin s response to Clara Zetkin in 1920, published in 1925, cited in Clara Z etkin, Batailles pour les femmes, Paris, .ditions sociales, 1980, 444 pages, p.192. 270. Lenin, ibid., p.188. My emphasis. 271. Ibid., p.192. 272. Cited by Simon Karlinsky, Russia s Gay Literature and Culture , loc. cit., p.361. 86Ibid. 281

A History of Homosexuality in Europe fears the ultimate paradox when we realize that German and French homosexuals at

that time thought of the USSR as a model. After a scandal in Mexico, under threa t from the Soviet government to reveal his private life and stop him from making any mo re films, Eisenstein had to go home and agree to marry. The hostility to homosexuality in the press and within the government never did wane. Gorky declared in Pravda and Izvestia that the new law of 1934 ensured the triumph of proletarian humanism and that the legalization of homosexuality had been Fasci sm s principal cause.273 He penned the shock line, Wipe out homosexuality and Fascism will disappear. 274 The press launched a homophobic campaign comparing homosexuality to a degeneration of the fascistic bourgeoisie. It was not just a crime against moral ity, but a crime against the State, a social crime lumped together with banditism, counter-re volutionary activities, sabotage, espionage, etc. It became grounds for three to five years in prison in benign cases, and from five to eight years if one of the partners were d ependent on the other (articles 154a and 121). According to Wilhelm Reich, there were cas es of homosexuality with the state security agencies. In January 1934, there were mult iple homosexual arrests in Moscow, Leningrad, Kharkov and Odessa, including many arti sts. Homosexuality was equated with a rejection of socialism; it was said that a memb er of the working class could never be homosexual. However, while homosexuals were looked upon with severity and contempt, they were not systematically persecuted; as long as they remained discrete, as long a s they married, they were generally left alone. The enthusiasm of many homosexual intel lectuals for the Soviet example thus rests primarily on a misunderstanding. Marxism retai ned a puritanical outlook on sexual questions, quite apart from any general liberaliza tion of morals. Homosexuality was rejected by most theorists of Marxism and homosexuals were barely tolerated in the USSR. Fundamental progress, in the form of the de-crimin alization of homosexuality, was only a temporary concession. Support from the Anarchists During the inter-war period, a certain anarchistic faction came to support the homosexual cause. However, due to their low numbers and their lack of organizati on, their influence on public opinion was negligible.275 Individualistic anarchists, in particular,

were interested in the sexual question. vidualism: Any group or association which seeks to human community a unilateral concept of different, is not individualistic anarchy; that is ism.276 The

Eugene Armand gives a definition of indi impose upon an individual or upon a life, economic, intellectual, ethical or the touchstone of anarchistic individual

273. Excerpt from an article from 1934, L humanisme prol.tarien, translated in Franc e in 1938. 274. Indeed, the anarchist movement was quite diminished after World War I, with the exception of Spain where it played a very significant role in the civil war. Anarcho-syndi calism, especially, had failed by the tie of the war to bring to fruition the notion of the general s trike. In France, the Union Anarchiste had some 3000 members in 1938. French anarchists were opposed t o the State, to capitalism, to state institutions such as the school and the army. On questions of sexuality and family, they proclaimed themselves against the family and marriage and in favor of free unions instead. See Jean Maitron, Le Mouvement anarchiste in France, t.II, De 1914 . no s jours, Paris, Maspero, 1983, 435 pages. 275. Ibid., p.174. 276. Max Stirner, L Unique et sa propri.t., Lausanne, L Age d homme, 1972, 437 pages, p.283. 282

Homosexuals as Political Chips anarchistic individualists were especially inspired by the philosophy of Max Sti rner and his disciple John Henry Mackay. Stirner s individualism could be used as a basis for a defense of homosexuality. Indeed, his philosophy, by developing the viewpoint of the individual released f rom the constraints of society, allows sexual minorities to flourish and supports the as sertion of personal singularity. Stirner questions morals that result directly from the dom inant classes: Crime and disease are two nonegoistic points of view, in other words they a re judgments which do not come from me, but from another, whether the injured thing is the law, a general concept, or the health of an individual (the patient) or of a bod y (society). Crime is treated without pity, disease with a charitable gentleness, pity, etc. 277 This passage can easily apply to homosexuality, which was considered as a crime and at the same time a disease, and was judged with severity or commiseration de pending on the point of view. Stirner also shows that the general consensus dominates th e moral framework; the homosexual, like any individual, i.e. men who think for themselves and defend their rights to be different, is only a scapegoat, a unifying force for the rest of society: The people furiously set the police on everything that looks immoral or even just improper, and this moralistic popular rage protects the institution better than the government could ever do. 278 Stirner s followers expressed a great tolerance with respect to homosexuals. Unlike the Communists or Socialists, whose views were changeable and ambiguous, the individualistic anarchists defended homosexuals with constancy and clarity. In F rance, various works published under the direction of Eugene Armand at the .ditions de l Endehors clearly express their sympathies for homosexuality: The attitude of the anarchist ic individualists with regard to homosexualism is not about prejudices, or taking sides; it reconciles the scientific point of view with an absolute respect for p ersonal freedom. 279 This liberalism is expressed in several works dealing with homosexual ity, but also in the friendly support lent to the homosexual magazine Inversions. The re is a danger of over-generalizing, however; the tolerance displayed by the anarchist l eaders was not always shared by the base. Inversions was the subject of a quite a debat e among the readers of L En-dehors.280 This anarchistic thought presents two arguments in favor of homosexuality: the

first is its provocative value in questioning established values, the powers tha t be. Homosexuality eats away the patriarchal society from within. Armand points out an aphorism from the anarchist Isaac Goldberg: Sexual perversities are to love what anarchy i s to bourgeois conformity. 281 The second, based on individualistic values, argues in f avor of 277. Ibid., p.284. 278. Eug.ne Armand, L Homosexualit., l Onanisme et les Individualistes, Paris, .diti ons de l En-dehors, 1931, 32 pages, p.19. 279. Dr Choubersky, who wrote in the 12 March 1925 issue, was indignant. To him, homosexuals were sick and inversion was a congenital defect. The homosexual act was ignoble an d would represent the normal co.tus of a drunken brute with a brood female as idyllic. Ho mosexuals knew nothing of the true meaning of love, they were fated never to know anything but substitutes for normal men or women. Other readers showed somewhat more understanding, but were shocked by the elitist tone of the writings and the pretensions of some of the inverts who seemed to believe themselves superior to the others. Even so, the tolerance did not go as far as approval: homosexuals were still abnormal. 280. Eug.ne Armand, L .mancipation sexuelle, l Amour en camaraderie et les Mouvement s d avant-garde, Paris, .ditions de l En-dehors, 1934, 23 pages, p.2. 281. Eug.ne Armand, L .mancipation sexuelle, l Amour en camaraderie et les Mouvement s d avant-garde, Paris, .ditions de l En-dehors, 1934, 23 pages, p.2. 283

A History of Homosexuality in Europe minorities of all kinds; the homosexual, just like the partisan of free love, ha s the right to live out and express his difference. From the standpoint of pure liberty, it is o bvious that one cannot restrict an individual from using his body as he likes. If not, and t his applies as well to homosexualism as to masturbation or prostitution, it s a small step to arb itrariness and inconsistency. 282 However, this tolerance must not be equated to proselytism. Armand was clearly heterosexual, he did not wish for homosexuals to take over, he did not think tha t homosexuality was a higher form of love which explains why he criticized Corydon and those who sought to establish distinctions between inverts and pederasts. Simply, he felt that everyone had the right to do what he liked and that it was not right f or others to judge: [Let s have] freedom to practice love, each one as he likes but keep the doo r closed! 283 The individualist arguments inscribe the defense of homosexuality in the registe r of minority rights but they are also based on a clear knowledge of the homosexua l milieu and the problems that homosexuals meet. Armand quotes Carpenter, Ulrichs, Ellis, Krafft-Ebbing, F.r., and Moll. He researched the state of the law towards homose xuality in France, Belgium, Holland and Italy. He was familiar with the newspapers of th e German militants, Der Eigene and Die Freundschaft. However, the conclusion of th e French anarchists, while it is liberal, is biased. Rather than defending homosexuality on the basis of individualism and a questioning of social prejudices, they fell in line with the tradition of educating the public by presenting homosexuals as victims and by expanding th e medical dialogue. Still, they did maintain a firm and positive position: The cases of congenital inversion regard homosexuals themselves; those who are really ill, if it is proven, are pathological and not disciplinary cases. [The a narchistic individualists] recognize homosexuals rs, right to associate, and to publish newspape

magazines and books to expose and defend their case, and to invite into their gr oups latent uranists. [They] do not make except inverts of either sex.284 An example more representative of the influence of the individualistic anarchist s in

the defense of homosexuality can be found in J.H. Mackay (1864-1933). He was a h omosexual and a disciple of Stirner, and wrote a biography of the latter; he had ties to A dolf Brand s Gemeinschaft der Eigenen. Under the pseudonym of Sagitta he operated as a homosexual activist. For Mackay, the defense of homosexuality is part of a gener al anarchistic fight against any oppression of the individual. However, by refusing to offer an y justification for homosexuality, he placed himself in an extremely marginalized position, not well suited to the German society of the inter-war period. While it was emin ently creditable, his action did nothing to further the progress of homosexual liberat ion or the education of the public. The individualistic philosophy carried to its logical c onclusion seems more like a romantic ideal than a political action. One realizes this in t he reading of his novel Der Puppenjunge (1926), which recalls the adventures of a fifteen-year -old boy, G.nther, from the provinces, who goes to Berlin to find work and sinks into pros titution. The novel is interesting for its description of the shady side of Berlin and for his original presentation of homosexual relations, detached from any medical reference and an y attempt at justification. He denounces above all the system where money dominate s, and 282. Ibid., p.4. 283. Eug.ne Armand, Vera Livinska and C. de St H.l.ne, La Camaraderie amoureuse, Paris, .ditions de l En-dehors, 1930, 32 pages, p.31. 284. Ibid., p.20. 284

Homosexuals as Political Chips which is supported by established family men, who make a point of satisfying the ir desires in anonymity and impunity. Lastly, one may ask what was the influence of the philosophy of Nietzsche, as th e basis for a critique of morals and a rehabilitation of homosexuality. Nicolaus S ombart says that Ludwig Klages, a homosexual known to all of Munich, who gave lectures to yo ung boys, expressed boundless admiration for Nietzsche; he tried to bring him back t o life by staging ecstatic dances of young boys. Indeed, there are several arguments in Ni etzsche s philosophy that legitimate sexual deviance. For him, morality was only the sum o f the conditions necessary to the conservation of a poor, half- or completely-damaged species.285 He reproaches the Church for fighting passion by castratism. For, to at tack the passions at the root is to attack life at the root: the practices of the Chu rch are hostile to life.... 286 And that is the morality that is against nature, that is, almost any morals that are taught, preached and advocated even now, rise on the contrary against t he instincts of life, and they are a condemnation, sometimes secret, sometimes open and insolent, of these instincts.... 287 Such assertions questioned all the bases of the traditional society and reversed the roles. They made those who were immoral into a life-affirming force. From Nietzsch ean philosophy, certain homosexuals built a theory of elitist homosexuality and dedu ced from it that the homosexual is an aristocrat, a member of a higher class, above the c ommon laws and affirming his difference as a kind of glory. One finds traces of these ideas in Adolf Brand, Gustav Wyneken and Hans Bl.her. The Confused Line of the German Left The German left was very closely associated with the debate on homosexuality in Germany and therefore we can analyze developments from that perspective.288 Conv ersely, the French and English parties never had to draw any conclusion about the question in a public debate and thus it would be difficult to draw any conclusio ns there. The SPD and the KPD, allies of the homosexual movements The interest of the German Socialists in homosexual rights goes back to the end of the 19th century. While the party remained extremely noncommittal on the questio n, certain individuals decided in favor of homosexuals, like Ferdinand Lassalle, Ed

uard Bernstein and August Bebel. Under Weimar, the German Social-Democratic Party (SPD) w as the leading German party.289 While it always seems to have been one of the princ ipal supporters of the homosexual struggle, it engaged in less visible ways alongside the mili 285. Jean Granier, Nietzsche, Paris, PUF, coll. Que sais-je?, 1982, 127 pages. 286. Friedrich Nietzsche, Le Cr.puscule des idoles, fragments, Paris, Hatier, 19 83, 95 pages, p.74. 287. Ibid., p.74-75. 288. See W.U. Eissler, Arbeiterparteien und Homosexuellenfrage zur Sexualpolitik von SPD und KPD in der Weimarer Republik, Berlin, Verlag Rosa Winkel, 1980, 142 pages; and Friedrich Ko ch, Sexuelle Denunziation, die Sexualit.t in der politischen Auseinandersetzung, Frankfurt-am-Main, Syndika t, 1986, 223 pages. 289. It had a million members, 203 newspapers, and was related to the General Co nfederation of German Workers. As part of the government, until 1923 it was part of the centerleft coalition which comprise, in addition to the SPD, Zentrum and the German Democratic Party (DDP). In the 1919 elections, SPD received 45% of the votes, but only 21% in May 1924. It regained some ground after that, with 30% of the votes in 1928, but showed a net decline in 1932 with 20%. 285

A History of Homosexuality in Europe tants. However, several eminent Socialists signed the WhK petition, like Rudolf Hilferding, who was a Minister for Finance and editor of the organ of the Independent German Social-Democratic Party (USPD), Die Freiheit; Gustav Radbruch, who was a Minister for Justice; Friedrich Stanpfer, editor of Vorw.rts, organ of the SPD; the presi dent of Reichstag L.be and Hermann M.ller, who was a chancellor of the Reich later on. T he SPD stood up on several occasions against the repression of homosexuality. At th e congress of Kiel, for example, in 1927, it adopted a resolution asking for the abolition of laws against divorce and homosexuality. Nevertheless, the SPD was not noteworthy in t he 1920s for its militancy on the question, and it appears even on this point to ha ve been in retreat compared to the pre-war period. The German Communist Party (KPD) was founded in January 1919.290 It immediately became interested in the homosexual cause. Articles on the question were publish ed regularly, in particular in Berlin am Morgen and Welt am Abend under Willi M.nze nberg. Nevertheless, no names of known Communists are found on the WhK petition. The li nks between the KPD and WhK were close, however, since Richard Linsert was at the sa me time a member of the Party and Secretary of the WhK. At the same time, Felix Hal le, the legal expert of the KPD, had participated in drafting the legislative counter-pr oposal for the WhK. Moreover, as a communist representative, he was present at the congress of the World League for Sexual Reform that was held in Copenhagen in 1928. The KPD s position on homosexuality is specified in the book by Halle, Geschlechtsleben and Strafrecht (1931): The proletariat, conscious of its class, detached from the ideology of property and liberated from the ideology of the Churches, approa ches the question of sex and the problem of homosexuality with an absence of prejudices a ttained thanks to a comprehension of the social structure as a whole... In consonance wi th the scientific advances of modern times, the proletariat looks upon these relations as a specia l form of sexual gratification and expects the same freedoms and restrictions for these forms of sexual life as for sexual relations between the sexes, i.e. the protect ion of sexual minors from attack,.... control of one s own body and, finally ... consideration f or the rights of third parties.291 Halle published several articles aimed at drawing the attention of the communist

readership to the sexual question. Thus an article appeared in Die International e on November 1, 1926 entitled Reform of the Penal Code on Sexual Matters and the Prol etariat, where he expounded his theories. The leading class used the Penal code to satisf y its sadistic instincts; it is in its interest to control the sexual life of the popular classes and thus to keep the proletariat in check. According to Halle, it was grotesque to c ondemn homosexual prostitution at a time when a million young people were unemployed an d thrown out on the street. Lastly, he recalled that in the USSR, homosexuality wa s not condemned by law. Here we see an original approach to defending the homosexual c ause: the proletariat must show solidarity with homosexuals, for both are victims of t he ruling class which seeks to retain control of the individuals in order to keep them doc ile and 290. It came out of the Spartakist movement, which was badly shaken up after the deaths of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg on 15 January 1919. It quickly became a mass party with 350,000 members, 30 dailies and by 1932 more than 15% of the electorate. Even mo re than the SPD, the KPD recruited among young people jeunesse and the peasantry. Since 1923 the KPD, having shed the leftist elements, became a well-disciplined party that followed Moscow s directi on. 291. Cited by James D. Steakley, The Homosexual Emancipation Movement in Germany , New York, Arno Press, 1975, 121 pages, p.83. 286

Homosexuals as Political Chips underpaid. Homosexuality was dependent on social conditions. Male prostitutes we re not necessarily degenerates, but were forced into it by poverty. By linking homo sexuality and the working class, Halle reprised a topic that was dear to the intellectual English homosexuals, but which was counter to received opinion: for a long time, homosex uality had been regarded as vice of the decadent rich and aristocrats. The SPD and the KPD had to express their positions during the various debates on the reform of the Penal Code. The SPD, now a part of the government, declared it self open to compromise with the bourgeois parties.292 Gustav Radbruch, socialist Minister for Justice from October 1921 to November 1922, decided in favor of decriminalizatio n, but his draft law, which abolished 175, was not retained. In 1929, the SPD voted for the depenalization of homosexual acts between consenting adults, but it sided with all the other parties (except the KPD) on the repression of homosexual acts involving dependen ts, minors and male prostitutes. Unlike the SPD, the KPD would not hear of collaborating with the bourgeois parties. Thus it was the party in the Reichstag most in favor of homosexuals. It asked in particular that the law not treat homosexuality any differently from heterosexua lity: no harsher penalties for homosexual prostitution, no higher age of sexual majority, no broadening of the concept of indecent exposure. These goals matched exactly those of the WhK. Thus the KPD succeeded it as the best defender of the homosexual cause, and its ties with the militant movements were reinforced. In June 1924, it announced its elf at the Reichstag in favor of the abrogation of 175 and in favor of an amnesty for all th ose already convicted or whose lawsuits were pending. In 1927, during discussions of the gov ernmental draft law at a plenary session, the communist deputy Koeren asked for the remova l of the paragraph. He based his argumentation on the example of the States of the South of Germany which, until 1871, had not condemned homosexuality. In 1929, the Communi sts were the only ones to vote for the depenalization of homosexuality, whatever the conditions. On October 8, opening day of the debates of the commission on the reform of the Penal Code, the communist deputy Alexander voted for the total suppression of se ction 21 of the Penal Code which concerned incest, bestiality, rape, sexual intercourse with minors and indecent writings, in addition to homosexuality. His proposal was not adopted. At the time of the Reichstag debates in 1932, the communist deputies ex

pressed their support for the homosexual cause once again. Deputy Maslowski stressed the inconsistency of the legislation, underscoring in particular the fact that neither lesbianism nor was Onanism condemned. However, in spite of their efforts, neither the SPD nor the KPD turned out to be definite al lies for the homosexual cause. Homosexuality at the heart of party politics The SPD and the KPD adopted a two-faced approach to homosexual politics. On the one hand, they supported the homosexual movements and called for the aboliti on of 175, on the other, they took advantage of the homosexual scandals to tarnish the political bourgeoisie and their opponents, and did not hesitate to launch homophobic campa igns themselves. In 1902, Vorw.rts published an article revealing that Alfred Krupp, the wealthy industrialist and arms manufacturer, had entertained young men at his vi lla in 292. Zentrum was opposed to decriminalization. 287

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Capri. The scandal led Krupp to commit suicide. The Eulenburg affair was also ex ploited by the SPD for political ends. In July 1924, the Haarmann case293 was the pretex t for a new campaign. Rote Fahne, a communist newspaper, described Haarmann on July 17, 1924 as a very serious criminal, a sadistic homosexual well known to the police and t he courts. The communist press now started referring to police brutality as Haarmann s methods , and demanded that cops be purged of their sadistic, homosexual, criminal, monarch ist and fascist elements. 294 These abuses led Bund f.r Menschenrecht to publish a pro test, in number 24 of Bl.tter f.r Menschenrecht of 1924, which is highly illustrative of the confusion and disappointment of the homosexual organizations. However, the most serious scandal was that which broke open in 1931 and 1932 around the figure of Ernst R.hm. The first phase started in 1931. In fact, that year, R.hm was at the center of a major homosexual scandal.295 A first suit was brought aga inst him and several of his friends; it opened on June 6, at the court of Munich. The wai ter Fritz Reif gave a deposition against R.hm. Few before Christmas 1930, he had been led by one of his friends, the hotel employee Peter Kronninger, to a room in a building on Barerstrasse. There lay a man named Ernst, naked on a bed; a few days later, Kronninger indica ted that it was Ernst R.hm. Ernst, after having stripped him, embraced him and masturbated him. Then he turned to Kronninger, who had also been undressed, and continued. Kronninger had promised Reif money for his services; days passed without the payment arriving and Reif sent a note, threatening to reveal everything to the p olice if he did not get 25 RM at once. Via Kronninger, he accepted just 8 RM. Kronninger and R.hm denied the whole thing. Kronninger had known R.hm for two years, there had never been anything sexual between them. R.hm, for his part, admitted that, from a sexual po int of view, he was abnormally inclined. He admitted to having engaged in some lesser of fenses but said he had never committed any infringement of 175.296 The cases were eventu ally dropped for lack of evidence. However, on April 14, 1931, the socialist newspaper M.nchner Post published an anonymous letter from a former Nazi, who accused R.hm of being homosexual. In Ju ne, the newspaper published several letters which reiterated the same assertions. Th e June 22 bore a spectacular headline: A Hot Fraternity in the Brown House. The sexual life of the Third Reich. On June 24, 1931, V.lkischer Beobachter, organ of the party Nazi, de

nied the charges and accused the newspaper of having fabricated the documents. The affair gained steam in 1932. March 7, 1932, in the midst of an election campaign, M.nchner Pos t published letters from 1928 and 1929 addressed by R.hm to a friend, Dr. Heimsoth. R.hm was then in Bolivia and he expressed his regrets at not finding any companions. He missed the young Berliners. The socialist press began to describe R.hm s homosexuality in the horrified and hysterical tones usually reserved for the cheapest newssheets. The June 22, 1931 M.nchner Post speaks about fornication of the kind referred to in 175, to make you r hair stand on end. The March 10, 1932, Vorw.rts ran a headline about young SA in the clutches of M. R.hm. The Communist Party, in Rote Fahne of March 11, 1932, joined in: The Hitlerian party is a nest of informants and spies, of intrigues between the l eaders and the most horrible corruption! Welt am Abend talked of Intrigues and sexual Hypocri sy 293. See chapter five. 294. Die rote Fahne, 26 July 1924, cited by W.U. Eissler, Arbeiterparteien und H omosexuellenfrage , op. cit., p.105. 295. BAB, R 22/5006. 296. Under 175, only acts resembling co.tus were punishable. 288

Homosexuals as Political Chips around 175 in Hedemanstrasse, and Captain R.hm abuses unemployed young workmen. The campaign sought to reveal the hypocrisy of a party that was claiming it wanted to restore the virtue of the German people and which railed against homos exuality as a Jewish and Bolshevik plague. Leftist parties particularly hoped to upset pa rents whose children were involved in Nazi movements. The campaign had disastrous effects on public opinion for it equated homosexuali ty with corruption and Fascism. The WhK was extremely anxious, and sent the head office of the SPD a long letter demanding an explanation and questioning the rea lity of the party s support for the homosexual movement.297 The SPD answered positively: The social democratic party has not modified its concept of homosexuality ... the so cial democratic press used the R.hm affair only because the adherents of national-socialism support the repression of homosexuality and we would like to call attention to t he hypocrisy of a party that seeks to label homosexuals as criminals and yet leaves one of them in a position of authority....the party does not intend to throw opprobrium on homosexuals nor to insult them. We will discuss this matter at the appropriate t ime and hour with the representatives of our party press. 298 The campaign must have seemed good politics for the leadership of the SPD, but i t was completely incompatible with the commitments the party had made with regard to homosexuals; moreover, they used the same means as those which it intended to fi ght. Kurt Tucholsky, a journalist at Weltb.hne and Communist fellow traveller, took v iolent exception to the casual insults made by left with regard to homosexuals: For quite a while now, the press of the radical left has been disseminating accu sations, jokes, and wounding remarks about Captain R.hm, a member of the Hitlerian movement. R.hm is, as we know, homosexual ... I regard these attacks as complete ly indecent.... Above all, one should not go spying on his adversaries in their bed s. The only thing which is allowed is the following: to call attention to remarks made by the Nazis about the vices of the East and the post-war period as if homosexuality, les bian love and similar things had been invented by the Russians and had been infiltrat ed inside the German people, noble, pure and intact. If a Nazi says this kind of th ings, and only then, it is permitted to say: you have homosexuals in your own movement who admit their inclinations, who are even proud of it t so keep quiet!.... We figh

the scandalous 175, everywhere we can, therefore we must not join the choir of th ose among us who want to banish a man from society because he is homosexual.299 In fact, at the very center of the Communist Party, there were differences of op inion concerning homosexuality. Certain remarks linked homosexuality and capitalism, a nd an article published in Rote Fahne October 28, 1927 described homosexuality as non-p roletarian. Starting in 1934, homosexuality was clearly labeled as a fascistic perversion. The delicate alliance between Communism and sexuality were well illustrated in Germany by the difficulties encountered by Wilhelm Reich. He started out as a me mber of the Austrian social democrat party in 1927; he joined the KPD in 1930 and per suaded it to link the various movements for sexual reform into one organization, the Deuts cher Reichsverband f.r Proletarische Sexualpolitik (or Sexpol), which called for the abolition of 175. For Reich, who sought to reconcile Marxist theory and psychoanalysis, the social revolution would have to encompass a sexual revolution as well. At the end of 19 32, his 297. Cited by W.U. Eissler, Arbeiterparteien und Homosexuellenfrage , op. cit., p. 111. 298. Ibid., p.112. 299. Ignaz Wrobel (alias Kurt Tucholsky), Die Weltb.hne, n 17, 26 April 1932. 289

A History of Homosexuality in Europe relations with the Party deteriorated and he was thrown out in February 1933. Th e same year, he left Germany for Denmark, before emigrating to the United States in 193 9. Thus, the relations between the German left and the homosexual movements were thus complex. If the SPD and the KPD were the WhK s best potential allies in obtai ning the abolition of 175, they also used homosexuals as a political football. Most of the homosexual leaders, who supported the left, whether they were in the WhK, Gemeinschaft der Eigenen or the Bund f.r Menschenrecht, were bitterly disappointed by the attitud e taken by their allies. If it seems excessive to call it a betrayal, at the very least it was insincerity and opportunism. GENEALOGY OF A CRIME: HOMOSEXUALITY AS A FASCISTIC PERVERSION Totalitarianism and homosexuality go together. 300 After 1934, the Communist Party defined homosexuality as a fascistic perversion. Furthermore, several authors, at various times, evoked the close linkage between Nazism and homoeroticism.301 However, the repression that hit homosexuals in 1933 shows clearly that Nazism was basically hostile to homosexuality. Therefore it is advi sable to clarify the Nazi position on the question. For a long time homosexuality was a minor subject within the Party: no punitive measures were envisaged, for example, against Nazi homosexuals. In fact, two min dsets were in conflict: that of the M.nnerbund, defended by Hans Bl.her, and that of h ysterical homophobia, represented by Himmler. Hitler took a pragmatic approach for quite a while, without clearly taking sides. If he finally went for repression, it is be cause this solution was only logical in the racist and demographic political context. The Myth of the M.nnerbund

Hans Bl.her (1874-1945) authored two works that had a great impact in Germany early in the century: Die deutsche Wandervogelbewegung als erotisches Ph.nomen, in 1912, and Die Rolle der Erotik in der m.nnlichen Gesellschaft, published in two volumes in 191 7 and 1919. Hans Bl.her was close to the Irregulars and certain socialist circles, and he was a m ember of Gemeinschaft der Eigenen. His first work introduced Bl.her s name to the general p ublic by affirming the homoerotic component of the youth movements. In his fundamental treatise, Die Rolle der Erotik, Bl.her went further in trying to establish an ov erall theory of

the virile State, starting from the associative base. Bl.her borrowed from Plato the term of Eros, which was also employed by Gustav Wyneken, and by which was meant adhesion to an object (a man) independent of its value.302 The State, according to Bl.her, was not the city, but the mass society of the turn 300. Theodor Adorno, Minima Moralia, Paris, Payot, 1980, 230 pages, p.43. 301. Klaus Theweleit, Male Fantasies [M.nnerphantasien, 1977], Minneapolis, The University of Minnesota Press, 1987-1989, 2 vol., 517 pages. George L. Mosse, Nationalism and Sexuality, Respect and Abnormal Sexuality in Modern Europe, New York, Howard Fertig, 1985, 232 pages. 302. Hans Bl.her, Die Rolle der Erotik in der m.nnlichen Gesellschaft, I.na, Eug en Diederichs, 1919, t.I, 248 pages, p.226. 290

Homosexuals as Political Chips of the century, authoritarian and in crisis. The historical M.nnerb.nde which he cited as examples are quite telling: the order of the Templars, Knights of Malta and cade t schools. Each was of a strictly hierarchical nature, with military discipline. He used Sp arta as a reference more than Athens. Bl.her borrowed from Freud the idea of bisexuality, repression and sublimation. But he rejected the idea of homosexuality as a fixation, an ina bility to change one s object of desire, for that notion was in contradiction with his inten tion of making inversion the optimal form of sexuality, both necessary and desirable. In fact, Bl.her falls in line with Gemeinschaft der Eigenen. St. Ch. Waldecke published a n article in Der Eigene entitled M.nnerbund und Staat, 303 in which the M.nnerbund is describ ed as a higher form of organization, a countervailing power to the State which brou ght together the elite of the nation in a never-ending fight for liberation. The goa l of the M.nnerbund is not equality, the prayer of the weak, but freedom, the desire of the powerful . Bl.her wanted to found an elitist, aristocratic society, a cultural State joinin g together young men of valor, linked by the invisible bonds of their love: The young boy fa lls in love with an older man after being detached from his mother and his first female bond s. Those who are not destined to govern must obey; such is the function of people as rede fined according to an erotic and cultural hierarchy. The enemies of the M.nnerbund are clearly identified: women, the family (the male State must break the principle of the fam ily ), the school, and age groups that confined adults and adolescents to separate worl ds. The M.nnerbund male association was the fundamental structure, and the model for others. The State must be a kind of global M.nnerbund, establishing a homoerotic society. The masculine society is the sociological means used by inverts to prote ct themselves from social death. Only homosexuals (sublimated ones, for Bl.her is extremely reticent when it comes to complete sexual intercourse) will be able to reach the top levels of the State. The theory of the M.nnerbund as conceived by Bl.her seeks be an alternative to both liberalism and Marxism. What impact did Bl.her s thought have on Nazism? Hitler read his books; he quoted him in his Tischgespr.che. His idea of the M.nnerbund was especially appl icable in SA and the organizations derived from the Freikorps. It provided the basis of th e Nazis ideology of power they were supposed to embody the German elite, a political ari

stocracy called to dominate the inert masses. Alfred Rosenberg took up this idea in The Myth of the 20th Century: The order of the Teutonic knights, the templars, freema sonry, the Jesuit order, the rabbinical society, the English clubs, the German student corp orations, the German Irregular forces after 1918, SA, the NSDAP, etc., are all examples wh ich prove, irrefutably, that a political, social or religious model, as different as it may be in the forms that it takes, almost always ends up as a society of men and their civil educati on. 304 Bl.her s theory inspired a great many discussions; it was became the basis for a whole meditation on the organization of adolescent groups and in particular it s howed that homoeroticism played a part in the power of the team leader. In fact, as Ni colaus Sombart explained, a male, elitist, aristocratic and cultural association seemed a natural German alternative to the Weimar Republic, which was liberal and democratic. It was particularly well received in a number of extremist groups, which proliferated a fter the 303. Der Eigene, 1 October 1920. 304. Alfred Rosenberg, Le Mythe du XXe si.cle [1930], Paris, .ditions Avalon, 19 86, 689 pages, p.465. However Bl.her, who at first was in high regard, soon saw the regime banning his books; he lived in retirement with his family until 1945. He seems to have been accused of not suff iciently vaunting his nationalism, and of not having specified that his M.nnerbund was German and noth ing but German. 291

A History of Homosexuality in Europe war. These movements developed a nationalist and reactionary ideology, and rejec ted the republic as a daughter of disaster, the fruit of treason. Sombart himself was part of a youth group inspired by the example of the Irregul ar forces and the myth of the M.nnerbund. He described it as a cult of virility, fri endship and fidelity ... this [was a] community bound by a pact and whose secret was mal e eroticism or, to express myself plainly, homosexual relations between the members of its basic team, at the center of which was the charismatic leader, M.nnerheld, the h ero of the men. 305 Nazi mythology falls into the same rubric.306 It picked up the imagery of the le ft the naked body, free and sportive, and distorted it into something rigid and vio lent, the imagery of combat, fighting, destruction. The seductive allure that emerges is a lways violently homoerotic, but it takes on a sadistic nuance that is only found in the images o f Weimar. As Klaus Mann observed, afterwards: In those days, certainly, in that era of political innocence and erotic exaltati on, we had no idea of the dangerous potentials and aspects of our puerile mystique of s exual ity...[We did not see] that our philosophy based on .was the significance of the body ..

sometimes used or exploited by elements that were not very sympathetic.307 The Nazi movement certainly exploited homoerotic imagery. Hitler very clearly associated beauty and the Aryan race, and ugliness and the Jewish race. Beauty is an infallible criterion for recognizing a healthy person; thus it must be made into a fundamental value, a goal to be attained. The artists of the regime, like Arno Breker and Joseph Thorak, represented the German ideal, the incarnation of the superiority of the race. Their ideal of beauty was derived from the ancient model, but was reduced to a few clich.s: muscle, monumentalism, male superiority. The man s body became a symbol o f the body of the German nation. Its virile force, its will for power announced th e regeneration of the society, whereas the democracy was associated with the body in putrefacti on, such as it is represented in expositions of degenerate art. This representation wa s eminently narcissistic and rejected abnormality, defects, all that is unhealthy as a danger, a

disease which risked infecting the entire body. The homoerotic connotations tied to worship of the body and to the will for power also appear very clearly in the tr eatises of Hans Suren, a Nazi officer who preached physical culture as means of safeguardin g the purity of the race and exalting the size of the German people. In one of his wor ks, Gymnastik der Deutschen, rassenbewusste Selbsterziehung (1935), physical exercises are abu ndantly illustrated with photographs of the author, nude, muscular, his body oiled. The athletic poses are also suggestive and aims to create a desire in the reader for the perf ect body thus exposed. Admiration and desire are intermixed with other feelings, aggravated by calls for virile friendship. The ideal of the National-Socialist hero, with powerful homoerotic connotations, is also eminently visible in the films produced under the Third Reich. Action films like Hitlerjunge Quex, Juniors, D3 88 and Crew Dora, exploit the themes of heroism, virile beauty , and friendship between comrades to stimulate interest.308 Leni Riefenstahl s propagand a doc 305. Nicolaus Sombart, Chroniques d une jeunesse berlinoise, 1933-1943, Paris, Qua i Voltaire, 1992, 369 pages, p.26. 306. Ulrike Aubertin and Annick Lantenois, La grande exposition de l Art allemand e t l Art d.g.n.r., in Art et fascisme, Bruxelles, Complexe, 1989, 260 pages, p.139-154. 307. Klaus Mann, Le Tournant [1949], Paris, Solin, 1984, 690 pages, p.162. 308. See Richard Grunberger, A Social History of the Third Reich, London, Weiden feld & Nicolson, 1971, 535 pages. 292

Homosexuals as Political Chips umentary The Gods of the Stadium also uses homoerotic esthetics to exalt the reg ime. Just as it took over the liberation of the body for its own conservative purposes, Nazis m built on the notion of the younger generation as the regenerative force of the nation; it celebrated its independence and enthusiasm. This ardent youth became the pillar on which it would build its State: Youth is its own State, it holds up to the adult a kind of front of solidarity, and that is quite natural. 309 Nazi mythology was also based on memories of the First World War.310 Nazism touted itself as the extension of the friendship of the trenches and it kept ali ve the memory of those who fell in combat in order to fan the enthusiasm of the new gen eration. Thus, in the Horst Wessel Lied, the SAs do not march alone, they are accompanied by the invisible presence of the patriots who died at the front. During the ceremonies at Nuremberg, a list of those who had died in service to the party was read out, an d at each name, a member of the Hitler Youths appeared. It is undeniable that Nazism was based partly on a homoerotic esthetics, but eve n so it should not be deduced that it was a pro-homosexual movement. Like other ma le movements, it attracted some homosexuals, in particular in the SA and the Hitler Youth, but that was only a marginal phenomenon and was not the aim of the leaders. Ther e were probably no more and no fewer homosexuals within the NSDAP than in other parties . On the other hand, the NSDAP was characterized very early on by a virulent homophob ia. Hysterical Homophobia Himmler expressed the principles of the Nazis fundamental hostility to homosexual

very clearly in a speech addressed to the general SS on February 18, 1937.311 Himmler s speech is typical of the discourse on homosexuality in the inter-war per iod; it was not very original. Himmler presented himself in the form of a specialist on the question: No service has accumulated as much experience in the field of homosexua lity, abortion, etc., as the Gestapo in Germany. According to him, homosexuals were, fi rst of all, a demographic danger. According to estimates, homosexual associations had s igned up between two and four million members, but in his view there were only one or two million: Not all those who were part of these associations were really homosexual s. This

notion agreed with the opinion of many doctors who distinguished between inverts ( or real homosexuals) and pseudo-homosexuals, those who had been seduced and were likely to be recuperable. However, If the situation does not change, our people w ill be destroyed by this contagious disease. This idea was not new: we have seen that it was one of the pet theories of the discourse on decadence in the inter-war period. H immler immediately established a link between the contagion and the body of the nation: But this is not about their private life: sexual activity can be synonymous with the life or death of a people, with world hegemony or a reduction of our importance to that of Swi tzerland. The German people must be numerous in order to conquer its vital space. The second threat posed by homosexuality was the risk of a secret homosexual organization at the heart of the State: If you find a man in a given position who has a 309. Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf [1925], Paris, Nouvelles .ditions latines, 1934, 6 85 pages, p.415. 310. George L. Mosse, Souvenir de la guerre et place du monumentalisme in l identit . culturelle du Nazisme, in Guerres et cultures (1914-1918), Paris, Armand Colin, 1994, 445 pa ges. 311. Heinrich Himmler, Discours secrets, Paris, Gallimard, 1978, 255 pages. 293

A History of Homosexuality in Europe certain penchant and if this man has decision-making power, you can be sure to m eet in his entourage another three, four, eight, or ten individuals or more who also ha ve this predilection. Himmler believed that homosexuals looked out for each other. Thus, if ministeria l adviser X was homosexual, he would select as his associate not a qualified perso n, but a homosexual like him. The homosexual leader cannot operate rationally in th e professional arena but would follow his instinct. Moreover, you cannot trust a homosexual: he is sick, loose, dishonest, irresponsible, and disloyal. He is an ideal target of pressure, with an insatiable need for confidence. This is a compendium of the most banal pre judices with regard to homosexuals, all woven together into a notion attesting to the extreme danger of allowing homosexuals to function at the higher levels of the S tate. After these various warnings, Himmler went to the heart of the matter: homosexua lity in the SS. For Himmler, this was a fundamental contradiction: the SS were to be the elite of the German nation, intended to regenerate the country, and therefore co uld hardly harbor perverts and cowards. Himmler entertained the myth of an original Germany , Nordic, pure and brutal, which would have not known homosexuality (since that wa s a consequence of the mixture of the races). He found traces of it in the rural are as, which according to him were free of this plague. To regenerate the race, concessions would have to be made. Himmler s Puritanism allowed for some curious compromises. He declared himself in favor of prostituti on, for one cannot want, on the one hand, to prevent all young people from falling into homosexuality, and on another hand to close off all outlets. 312 He favored early marriages and tolerated illegitimate births. Young people in t he cities, corrupted by the atmosphere of depravity that characterizes large cities , would be brought back to normality by discipline, order, sport, labor and by being restri cted to camps. To limit the risk of spreading homosexuality, Himmler was ready to modify the operation of the State at a profound level, to ward off the ill effects of tradi tion and bourgeois morality. He wanted to stop the masculinization of girls, and to remove the advant ages of male associations. Boys should stop being ashamed of loving girls and should stop giving greater value to male friendships. Himmler also took a swipe at Bl.her fo r having spread these ideas. Young German must be knights, men who are make themselves the

champions of women. To legitimate his ideas of fraternization between the sexes and sexual freedom, Himmler inevitably had to step away from Christian morals. In 1937, the great wa ve of denunciations of Catholic priests and monks had already begun. We will prove that the Church, at the level of its leaders as well as of its priests, is in large part an erotic association of men that has terrorized humanity for one thousand eight hundred years now, requiring society to provide it with an enormous quantity of victims, and which in the past has shown itself to be sadistic and perverse. 313 Himmler s ideal was that of a pagan, Dionysian society cloaked under puritan and idealistic emblems: I consider it necessary to ensure that boys of fifteen to six teen years should meet girls at dances, parties and other occasions. Experience shows that at the age of fifteen or sixteen the young boy is in an unstable position. If he develops a crush on a girl at a dance or has a little puppy love, he is saved, he moves away from the dangerous place. In Germany, we do not need to fret about putting boys and girls together too early 312. Ibid., p.87-88. 313. Ibid., p.93. On this subject, see chapter eight. 294

Homosexuals as Political Chips and possibly encouraging them to have sex... 314 In this, Himmler pulls together s everal influences, one of which is a traditional contempt for homosexuality, which is e xpressed among the common people as well as in the leadership circles and which is based on a series of clich.s. Another is racist, pagan, Nordic: brandishing the specter of depopulation and of degeneration, he preached the destruction of the enemy within and the ren ewal of the race through orgiastic procreation and community. The last item was unique t o Himmler: he was hysterically homophobic. His unreasoned fear and disgust made ho mosexuality an obsessive concern. His Puritanism almost verges on a certain voyeurism and a pleasure in governing and controlling the sexuality of others. This conjunction of traditional, historical and personal prejudices explains the scope of his discourse. As the o rganizer of large-scale repressions, he would live out his fantasies of purging and purification.315 By comparison, other Nazi leaders who expressed themselves on the question appear defensive or redundant, whether we look at the SS lawyer Karl-August Ecka rdt, author of an article entitled The Unnatural Vice Merits Death, in Das schwarze Kor ps of May 22, 1935, or Alfred Rosenberg who, in Der Sumpf (The Swamp) and in The Myth of the 20th Century, violently attacks homosexuals and lesbians as symbols of the cultural de cline and the ruin of Europe. However, generally, Nazi theoreticians considered sapphism to be less offensive than male homosexuality. It was thought to be less widespread, and it was though t that pseudo-lesbians were more numerous than real ones. And especially, the Nazis conside red female sexuality only as passive and dominated nothing special in that. Pragmatism and Scapegoats The Nazi policy with regard to homosexuality, as it was defined by Hitler, was above all very pragmatic. Hitler was not a partisan of the M.nnerbund, even if h e was conscious of the homoerotic tendencies at work within the movement. Neither was he an hysterical homophobe: he could, when necessary, tolerate homosexuality within hi s own party. His sexual policy was guided by a single factor: need for the survival of the race. Racism and sexuality In Mein Kampf, Hitler developed the principal theses of his sexual theories. The links between sexuality and race are constantly noted: The sin against blood and race i

s the original sin of this world and marks the end of humanity if we indulge in it. 316 The dangers which threatened the race were primarily syphilis and the Jews, who embo died the degeneration of the individual. For him, as for the Church, the only goal of the sex act was procreation. This primary concern led him to reject any constraints that cou ld weigh on the sex act and thus Christian and bourgeois morals: marriage was not an aim in itself adultery, and childbirth out of wedlock contribute just like the others to the s upreme goal.317 However, it was essential that sexual energy not be dispersed vainly. I n the same 314. Ibid., p.94. 315. Himmler frequently repeated his discourse on the homosexual menace, notably during a radio broadcast on the occasion of the police congress in 1937 (BAB, NS 19/4004) . 316. Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, op. cit., p.247. 317. Ibid., p.409. 295

A History of Homosexuality in Europe way that the British pedagogues encouraged the practice of sports to moderate se xual heat, young Germans were subjected to a military discipline which hardened them, exhausted them sexually and constrained them to chastity. The difference is cons tantly spelled out between healthy, procreative sexuality, useful for the State, and de praved sexuality, lust, and perversion. Those who are not healthy, physically and morally and who thus have no social value are guilty, and so are those who refuse to give a child to the community. The greatest sins are sterility, bodily infirmities, and giving p rimacy to the intellect over the physique. The homosexual is registered as guilty, even if this is not directly said. In Nuremberg, September 8, 1934, the F.hrer defined the role of the woman in the National-Socialist State. The emancipation of women is a formula invented by Jewi sh intellectuals. If the world of man is the State, the world of the woman is smaller: indeed, her world is her husband, her family, her children and her home, and each child that she brings into the world is a battle won for the nation. 318 In the same way , Joseph Goebbels described women in his inaugural speech at the exposition on Woman, on March 18, 1933, not as having lesser qualities but different qualities. 319 And again , emphasis was laid on the need to increase the birth rate.320 Under these conditi ons, marriage was no longer a private affair but a political responsibility. To raise children became a national duty.321 The image of the woman was that of the angel of the home, guar dian of love and peace, and without political opinions. Consequently, it was importan t that she possess a feminine allure. In his book Die Wende der M.dchenerziehung (On Educ ation for Girls, 1937), Frank Kade describes the physical aspect of the German girl: The ide al of beauty in the recent past, which exalted little painted dolls with small breasts and narrow trunks has been shaken. People are looking for powerful feminine figures, fullblossomed, exuding a natural health, a type of German woman whose proud beauty b oth mental and physical embody sacred fertility and the German will for life.322 Is Hitler s sexual theory a reflection of his private life? The question has been asked many times. Biographers have made much of Hitler s sexual frustrations, and his misogyny. Others, on the contrary, have said that he was a great success with wo men. Generally speaking, his sex life remains largely obscure and it would be risky t o lend credence to the theories claiming he was a repressed sadist or homosexual. These charges,

formulated by certain newspapers and then by German .migr.s and the Communists, have more to do with efforts to discredit him than with any known facts. In fact , discussions of Hitler s sexuality do not shed any light on his sexual policies. Hitler was not 318. Le Temps, 10 September 1934. 319. Cited by Claudia Schoppmann, Nationalsozialistische Sexualpolitik und weibl iche Homosexualit.t, Berlin, Centaurus, 1991, 286 pages, p.18. 320. With the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost more than an eighth of its terr itory and about 10% of its population. In fourteen years, the population of Germany went up by m ore than 5 million to attain 65 million in total. The German population kept on going up but, betwe en 1910 and 1933, the proportion of those under the age of 20 diminished. The drop in birth rates before the war was aggravated by the War itself. In the first three years after the war, they began to catch up again, then the birthrate began to decline again and fed fears of an eventual loss of popula tion. 321. In 1938, a new law permitted divorce in case of a refusal to have children or of sterility. Divorces went up quickly, from 49,497 in 1938 to 61,789 in 1939. In 60% of the c ases, the woman was blamed. See Claudia Schoppmann, Nationalsozialistische Sexualpolitik , op. cit. By the same token, it was forbidden to publicize contraceptives, and abortion and sterilization were inter dicted. In 1943, abortion merited the death penalty. 322. Cited in Hidden from History, op. cit., p.74. 296

Homosexuals as Political Chips much concerned about homosexuals. He tolerated them in his entourage when they w ere useful. He may have been a misogynist, and built the Nazi State in the style of the M.nnerbund, with powerful homoerotic connotations. But his politics of power and conquest rested required an elevated birthrate: and according to that criterion, the homo sexual was antisocial. The hostility of the NSDAP was expressed very early and very publicly. The attac k on Magnus Hirschfeld in Munich in 1921 occasioned rejoicings in the nationalist press. Thereafter, spiteful articles multiplied, while at the Reichstag, the NSDAP main tained an unambiguous position on the reform of the Penal Code. On September 15, 1927, Dr. Frick, NSDAP deputy to the Reichstag, expressed his party s opinion on the abolition of 17 5: We are of the contrary opinion, that these people of the 175, i.e. unnatural sex a cts between men, must be fought with all our might, because such a vice must lead th e German people to ruin . Naturally it is the Jews again, Magnus Hirschfeld and thos e of his race, who act as guides and as initiators, at the moment when all of Jewish morality is indeed devastating the German people. On May 14, 1928, in Munich, the NSDAP publi cly expressed its opinion on the question: It is not necessary that you and I live, b ut it is necessary that the German people live. And it cannot live unless it has the will to fight, for one must struggle to live. And it cannot fight unless it behaves like a man....A nyone who is considering a homosexual or lesbian love is our enemy!.... Might makes right, an d the mighty will always be against the weak. Today, we are the weakest, but we will m ake sure we become the strongest again! But we will only be able to do that if we pr actice virtue. We reject all vice, and especially male homosexuality, because it takes away from us the last possibility of one day freeing our people from the slavery to which it is subjugated today. The nationalist press indignantly attacked the reform of the Penal Code that was under consideration with the draft law of 1929. V.lkischer Beobachter of August 3, 1930 was particularly menacing: We congratulate Mr. Kahl and Mr. Hirschfeld for their succ ess! But do not believe that we Germans will leave this law in force for one day, whe n we come to power. The homophobia of the Nazis was clearly marked from the beginnings of t he

movement, but people were late to recognize it. The existence of homoerotic tend encies within the party certainly misled certain homosexual groups that wanted to belie ve right up until the end that it was possible to find an area of agreement with Hitler. Several times, during the legislative elections, the German homosexual movements (WhK, Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, Bund f.r Menschenrecht) sent various parties a q uestionnaire to test their attitude with regard to homosexuals. Until 1932, the NSDAP did not take the trouble to answer. When it finally did, its hostility was complete and unambiguous: To your letter of the 14th this month [October] we reply that the subject that concerns you is, to put it bluntly, antipathetic to us in the highest degree. 323 The R.hm case The case of R.hm, discussed above, was particularly revealing in regard to Hitle r s attitude toward homosexuality. Ernst R.hm was born in Munich in 1887 to a family of civil servants. His childhood was uneventful. At the age of nineteen, h joined t he army and, in 1914, he greeted the war with enthusiasm. He distinguished himself there for his 323. Published in Das Freundschaftsblatt, n 44, 3 November 1932. 297

A History of Homosexuality in Europe talent as an organizer. In 1919, he met Hitler and took part in 1923 in the Beer Hall putsch in Munich. Hitler admired the way he organized the SA,324 and ignored any allusi ons to his homosexuality. R.hm did not recognize himself as homosexual until 1924. Then , not being particularly concerned for his reputation, he made no mystery of his prefe rences and was even a member of the Bund f.r Menschenrecht. He was a regular on the hom osexual scene and had close ties in the Berliner world of male prostitution. In 1925, th ere was a quarrel (unrelated to homosexuality) between Hitler and R.hm, and he resig ned. Then he was implicated in a lawsuit against Hermann Siegesmund, a prostitute who was in possession of compromising letters.325 He left Germany and accepted a job wit h the Bolivian army. It was from La Paz that he wrote to the homosexual doctor and ast rologer Karl Heimsoth the letters that were revealed by the M.nchner Post. In 1930, a mu tiny led by Captain Walter Stennes nearly destroyed the Sturmabteilung (SA), or stormtrooper s, and in 1931 Hitler recalled R.hm, whom he appointed chief of the SA.326 To keep the organization in line, the idea came up of giving the SA some military role without anyone having a clear idea what form it could take. Under the effect of the Depression, the SA continued to grow, and had 700,000 men in 1932. Complaints about R.hm s sex life c ontinued to pour in, but Hitler remained impassive. On February 3, 1931, he even defended him in a circular, saying: The SA is not an institution of religious education fo r girls from good families, but an association of hardened combatants....The private life of the members of the SA is condemnable only if it reveals principles contrary to the f undamental duties of the Nazi ideology. 327 Until 1933, hitler needed r.hm to help him come t o power and, in spite of the many scandals caused by his letters, hitler did not w ithdraw his confidence in him. In December 1933, R.hm was named a member of the government. Beyond the declarations of the moment, how can we understand the elimination of R.hm?328 Hitler had long regarded the SA as a means of balancing the old and the new forces within the party. But in 1934, the SA, which had absorbed the Stahlhelm, counted 1.5 million members, most of permanent revolutionary: after the socialist revolution or the SA into a traditional tly of them from the proletariat. It maintained a campaign national revolution, there would have to be a nationalistsecond revolution. Moreover, R.hm wanted to transform army that would replace the Reichswehr. This ran direc

counter to the political ambitions of the military, supported by Hindenburg, the president of the Republic and supreme chief of the armies. Hitler, for his part, was oppos ed to any action that might lead to a conflict or competition with the regular army, a sup porter of the regime. Moreover, R.hm had made plenty of enemies. Heinrich Himmler, who bec ame chief of the SS on January 6, 1929, hated R.hm, who was his superior since the S S was subordinated to the SA. Since the mutiny of 1930, the SS had been charged with k eeping an eye on the SA. But the SS, which had been founded in 1923,329 still had only 50,000 members in 1932. The power of the SA constrained Himmler s ambitions. This latter, sup324. La Sturmabteilung (SA), or assault sections, were founded 1921. Their purpose was to fight adversaries of the Nazi Party in the streets during political rallies. The SA wa s originally composed of veterans and members of the Corps francs; later it attracted young men and worke rs, and many who had been disenfranchised. 325. Richard Plant, The Pink Triangle, New York, Holt & Cie, 1986, 257 pages, p. 59. 326. The homosexual lieutenant Heines, who was let go in May 1927 for lack of di scipline and insubordination, was recalled on the same date. 327. Cited by Hans Peter Bleuel, La Morale des seigneurs, Paris, Tallandier, 197 4, 247 pages, p.100101. 328. On this point, see Marlis Steinert, Hitler, Paris, Fayard, 1991, 710 pages. 298

Homosexuals as Political Chips ported by Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the security service, and Hermann Goering, ministerpresident of Prussia and chief of the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei, or secret police), put the thought in Hitler s mind that R.hm might be planning a coup d etat, and thus aggravated the tensions within the NSDAP. Warnings against the second revolu tion were multiplying. On February 28, 1934, Hitler announced that the army would remain the only legitimate military force; R.hm was quite loud in expressing his disappointment, thus lending some credibility to rumors of a plot. Hitler and R.hm had a last interview on February 4. In the meanwhile, Himmler, Heydrich and Goering gathere d false documents intended to support the notion that there was a conspiracy afoot . Operation Colibri was launched. On June 29, Hitler went to Munich, accompanied by his close associates and some officers of the SS. Adolf Wagner, the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, had been charged with arming the local SS. The Reichsw ehr, under the command of Colonel Werner von Fritsch, secretly provided the weapons, ammunition and transportation. Himmler, Goering and Heydrich were responsible fo r the situation in Berlin. R.hm s successor had already been found: it would be Vict or Luze, an SA chief. R.hm and his friends were vacationing at the Pension Hanselbauer on Lake Tegern, in Wiessee, near Munich. A meeting with Hitler was scheduled for July 1. During the night of June 29 to 30, Hitler arrived in Munich. He had several SA lieutena nts arrested, then went to the pension, riding crop in hand, to confound the traitors there. 330 SS troops raided the hotel. Lieutenant Edmund Heines was found in bed w ith his driver. Some of the SA were slaughtered on the spot, the rest were taken awa y to Stadelheim prison. In Berlin, Himmler and Goering directed the repression, which extended beyond the SA circles. Nearly three hundred people were killed, including the or ganizers of the leftist plot, Gregor Strasser and the former chancellor Kurt von Schleicher ; representatives of the conservative opposition, like Dr. Klausener, head of Catholic Action; and collaborators of Papen, and old adversaries of Hitler, like von Kahr who had cau sed the failure of the putsch of brewery in 1923.331 R.hm was not cut down immediately. On July 1, Theodor Eicke, head of the first S S concentration camp at Dachau, showed up in his cell and handed R.hm a revolver. R.hm refused to commit suicide, which would have been an admission of guilt; he was s hot by Eicke.

At no moment did R.hm s homosexuality play any part in his elimination. However, it was the main thing pointed out to the public to explain the massacre , with the attempted putsch. The first to promote this version was Goering, in his offi cial statement to the press, which was picked up in the national and international pr ess. He made much of the morals of the SA and the spectacle that had been found at the p ension: In the next room [to that of R.hm] the F.hrer found Heines, Breslau s prefect of po lice and chief of the Silesian attack sections, in the company of a joy boy (Lustknabe) . R.hm was presented as a sick man, trapped by his homosexuality and thus subject to in fluence: R.hm, by virtue of his unfortunate disposition, allowed himself to be dragged int o affairs 329. The origins of the SS go back to 1923, when Hitler founded a pretorian guar d to ensure his personal security. This guard received is definite name in 1925: the Schutzstaff el ( echelon of protection ), or SS. It was an .lite group, apart from the party and the organization. 330. Marlis Steinert, Hitler, op. cit., p.268. 331. Serge Berstein and Pierre Milza, Histoire du XXe si.cle, Paris, Hatier, 198 7, t.I, 433 pages, p.327328. 299

A History of Homosexuality in Europe that would prove fatal for him. No doubt impelled by his special circumstances, he surrounded himself with a staff of men who led him to feel that he was the strong man of al l Germany. Thus was forged the plan to institute a regime led by these morbid indi viduals. 332 This fable spread rapidly. Goebbels report was even clearer:

They discredited the honor and the prestige of our assault sections [SA]. By the ir unparalleled life of debauchery, by their display of luxury, and their carryings on, they flouted the principles of our movement, the principles of austerity and personal clean liness. They were on the point of casting onto the entire leadership of party su spicion of a shameful and disgusting sexual anomaly....Millions of members of our party, the SA and SS are glad of this purifying storm. The whole nation can breathe again, deliv ered from this nightmare. They have seen once more that the F.hrer is determined to act without mercy when the principle of propriety, simplicity and public decency is concerned and that the punishment is all the more severe when it has to do with peo ple in high places.333 On July 13, Hitler himself gave a speech before the Reichstag at the old Kroll O pera, which was broadcast to all of Germany to justify the clean-up operation. In the SA, sections started to be formed that constituted the core of a conspiracy against the norma l concept of a healthy nation and against the security of the State. We noted that people were being promoted in the SA for the simple reason that they were part of the c oterie with certain characteristics. ... I gave the order to shoot the main perpetrator s of this treason and to cauterize these abscesses that were poisoning us 334 Thereafter, R.h m s former friends were eliminated. On October 10, 1934 the Court of Munich opened a

suit against Peter Granninger335 and several other close associates of R.hm, mostly y oung homosexuals, two of them still minors.336 The elimination of R.hm had taken on the mask of a crusade against immorality. The image of the F.hrer personally rousting the traitors and degenerates was eng raved in the popular imagination, supporting the idea of a virtuous regime, a defender of family and morals. However, R.hm s homosexuality had been only a pretext and never was a real factor. * * * Nazism never displayed a unified vision of homosexuality. The M.nnerbund types exalted virile friendship and made them one of the bases of the State, but homos exuality was never asserted as such by the regime. On the contrary, certain leaders, like Himmler, developed a hysterical homophobic rhetoric which was used as a basis for repress ion. In the Nazi Weltanschauung, the world was divided into communities which were not t o mix: the races were to remain separate, the sexes were not to mingle. The homose xual crossed the boundaries and nullified the differences. He was an intruder who cou ld not be tolerated. 332. Le Temps, 2 July 1934. 333. Ibid., 3 July 1934. 334. Ibid., 15-16 July 1934. 335. This is probably Peter Kronninger, who was already implicated in the 1931 c ase. 149.BAB, R 22/5006. 336. BAB, R 22/5006. 300

Homosexuals as Political Chips For homosexuals, the 1920s were years of political disillusionment. Many homosex ual intellectuals had worked for the left, but their efforts produced very little fr uit. In Germany, the SPD and the KPD were the best defenders of homosexuals, but they to o entertained homophobic prejudices, fostering in the public opinion an image of t he homosexual as sadistic, bourgeois, debauched and fascistic. For the Nazis, they were a symb ol of the corruption of Weimar and the left. Homosexuality was used by all sides as a tool and a weapon. 301

PART THREE A FACTITIOUS TOLERANCE: LOSING GROUND UNDER THE REPRESSION OF THE 1930S The Homosexual as a Criminal and a Victim And since, my To Saturn nor Keep we must, These foreign soul, we cannot fly to Mercury if keep we can laws of God and Man.

A.E. Housman, Last Poems

CHAPTER SEVEN CRIMINALS BEFORE THE LAW The cult of homosexuality, the bold talk of the homosexual associations, the fla mboyance of the gay cities, and the fad of homosexuality in literature did not erase the reality of anti-homosexual repression. Male homosexuality was a crime in England and Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. This fact is essential: even if there was more t olerance in some sectors of society, being homosexual always brought shame and social exclus ion. In France, on the other hand, homosexuality was not covered by the law. This unique characteristic French situation made a difference: it partly explains the lack of militant move ments and the individualism of French homosexuals. Similarly, sapphism was not considered a crime in the three countries concerned: lesbians were therefore not united with male homosexuals, and did not share their concerns.337 However, the forces of reaction were present throughout the period. They were based on the traditional institutions, the State, the Church, the press, and on the public s latent homophobia. Together they maintained a climate of muted fear, even among the most liberated homosexua ls. REACTIONARY ENGLAND (1919-1939) I do not know if this [homophobic] prejudice will one day be overcome by experie nce, knowledge or reason. It is the last bastion of pure irrationality in society. An d England is the guardian and the center of it.338 337. Here we will look at the repression of homosexuality in England during the period of 19191939; for Germany, we will analyze only the years 1919-1934 in order to maintain a val id basis for comparison. This is a comparison of forms of police repression under democratic regimes. 338. Cited by Dennis Proctor (ed.), The Autobiography of G. Lowes Dickinson, Lon don, Duckworth, 1973, 287 pages, p.12. 305

A History of Homosexuality in Europe English society in the 1920s was at a crossroads. The hedonism of the Roaring Twenties was denounced by those who wanted to maintain standards, who protested the new liberality and the abandonment of old rules of respectability. Homosexuality w as a crime punished by the law and it was a social sin punished by contempt and a los s of social standing. The homosexual threat was a frequent topic for legislators and judges, and the police took specific actions to root it out. Nevertheless, such efforts were largely ineffective. The Legal Situation Legislation on homosexuality went through several stages in England. Sodomy (buggery), a practice described as a sin against nature, was prohibited between me n and women as well as between men and animals and between men, since a law dating to 1533 under Henry VIII. Until 1861, the sentence for this abominable vice was death; the n it was replaced by sentence that could range from ten years to life in prison. This law was directed against a precise type of sex act and not against a category of people, although it is probable that the majority of executions related to homosexuals. Its goal was primarily to ensure the reproduction of the species by avoiding the dispersion of male see d in acts that could not lead to procreation.339 The situation changed in 1885, following the Labouch.re Amendment to Criminal Law Amendment Act:340 If any person of the male sex, in public or in private, pe rpetrates or is party to the perpetration, facilitates or tries to facilitate the perpetra tion by a person of the male sex of any act of gross indecency on a person of the male sex , this constitutes a misdemeanor; upon being found guilty he is liable to a sentence of imprisonmen t not exceeding two years, with or without forced labor. The amendment is remarkable for the imprecision of its formulation, which leaves it open to the m ost rigid interpretations. While the new law was less repressive than the old one (since i t reduced the length of the sentence considerably),341 it now condemned any form of sex be tween men. For the first time, the sodomite was no longer just a sinner, but a crimina l; and homosexuality was no longer defined as a sexual practice, but as the search for sexual partners of the same sex. Homosexuals were regarded as a separate group from the rest of the population and were given special treatment; meanwhile, lesbians remained ou tside the purview of the law.

The condemnation of private acts encouraged blackmail. England became the only European country to condemn simple masturbation between men. Moreover, whereas t he 339. See Arthur N. Gilbert, Conception of Homosexuality and Sodomy in Western His tory, in Journal of Homosexuality, vol.6, nos 1-2, fall-winter 1980-1981; Vern L. Bulloug h, Sin, Sickness and Sanity: A History of Sexual Attitudes, New York, Garland, 1977, 276 pages. 340. The genesis of this amendment is complex; the Criminal Law Amendment Act co ncerns the origins of juvenile prostitution and aims to protect girls from sexual abuse, by raising the age of consent from 13 to 16. While the bill was under consideration in the House of Co mmons late on the night of 6 August 1885, an amendment was proposed by Henry Labouch.re, a liberal deputy, with the initial purpose of making the bill fail by rendering it ridiculous. Several deputies were concerned to find that this clause dealt with an entirely different category of offenses t han that which the law was intended to address, but the President of the House, Arthur Peel, having dec lared that no matter what might be inserted as an amendment to the law, the amendment would be adopted just one vote short of unanimously. 341. Homosexual acts committed with a minor, with or without consent, remained p unishable by ten years in prison and could lead to a life sentence. 306

Criminals before the Law law of 1861 had rarely been applied, the Labouch.re amendment drew attention to homosexuals, resulting in an appreciable increase in convictions. Wilde was one of its first and most famous victims. In 1898, the Vagrancy Act further toughened up the law by extending it to solici tation for immoral purposes; it applied only to homosexuals. In 1912, the Criminal Law Amendment Act more clearly defined the Vagrancy Act by establishing the penalty for soliciting at six months in prison, with whipping in the event of repetition; th is type of offense was tried in summary jurisdiction. The Organization of Repression How was the letter of the law applied in day-to-day reality? The simplest means to study that question is through the judgments handed down and the police and lega l practices. Changes in sentencing for homosexuality Sentencing related to homosexuality varied over the period; and they do indeed seem to reveal trends of repression.342 First one should note that throughout th e period, the number of cases steadily went up. Police statistics show an increase in the number of reported crimes. Obviously, this trend does not necessarily mean that there were more homosexuals, but that the crack down and the methods of detection were more effe ctive. The number of unnatural offences ( U ) increased by 185% between 1919 and 1938, with the maximum reached in 1938, with 134 cases. The total crimes recorded by the po lice thus increased by 185%. The number of cases of indecency (I) increased by 155% b etween 1919 and 1938, the maximum figure being reached in 1936, with 352 cases. The mos t important figures are found for attempts (A) to commit unnatural offenses; this rather vague term seems to have referred to most of the cases of homosexual acts which were apprehended by the police but which had not yet been consummated; it seems that there was a preference for charging homosexuals for this crime rather than the two oth ers, for it required less evidence. There was a startling increase of 902% in the number of cases, 92 in 1919, but 822 cases in 1938! Thus we perceive, throughout the period, a const ant stepping up of repression that was particularly brutal around 1931-1932. It is c lear that the police wanted to increase the pressure, and that is translated clearly in the ch arts and

figures. It seems, however, that the increase in arrests was not immediately ref lected in an increase in convictions. Thus, whereas 81% of the men arrested for crimes agains t nature were convicted in 1919, only 55% were in 1938. For public indecency, the figure goes from 88% in 1919 to 40% in 1936, a ridiculous figure. Finally, for attempts to commit unnatural acts, the rate of 81% in 1919 fell to 50% in 1938; and it was only 41% in 1937. Two reasons can explain these sharp drops. If we assume that the judges did not wish to hard en the sanctions against homosexuals, that would imply that the police were alone in wi shing to increase the repression. That seems rather improbable. It is more plausible that in their 342. Statistical tables in the Appendices indicate the principal trends. The yea rly charts have only been presented for 1919, 1933 and 1937. The statistics were published every year from 1919 to 1938; because of the war, the 1939 statistics are not detailed but are grouped w ith those for the period 1939-1945; I have indicated the 1940 statistics as well (Parliamentary Papers, Ac counts and Papers, Judiciary Statistics). 307

A History of Homosexuality in Europe zeal, police officers were more and more careless in bringing credible evidence upon which to convict the suspects. Police repression rests as much on intimidation a s on punishment; by increasing their raids, by disturbing trysts, by arresting many suspects, the police maintained a climate of panic which led homosexuals to retreat into anony mity and the private sphere. That was probably a sufficient success for the police, s ince the public space was now in conformity with the prevailing morals. The counterpart w as the relative impunity of the various homosexual crimes. It is also noted that the increase in the number of trials (+94% for crimes, +40 9% for attempts and +81% for public indecency) is also not distributed evenly. The vast majority of crimes against nature continued to be tried in circuit court [cour d a ssise], whereas most attempts were now tried in correctional, unlike before. Thus, while in 1919 only 49% of the cases were treated in correctional, in 1938, 75% were. This give s the impression that the judges were trying to speed up the processing, to generate m ore sentences even if it meant reducing penalties (the charges being increasingly thin). This type of procedure was also preferred in cases of flagrante delicto. Men arrested for soliciting were also considered in correctional court. Statistics on this subject were not kept regularly, and we have the figures only for the years 1919-1935. The figures are stable (45 on average) and ridiculously low : one must therefore suppose that most cases of male prostitution were dealt with under oth er labels (U, A, I) and not specifically. A refined study, year on year, enables us to identify some broad trends. The num ber of convictions rose sharply between 1919 and 1938. If we take 1919, 1933 and 193 7 as examples, we note that for crimes against nature, 78% of those tried in 1919 wer e convicted, but 90% in 1933 and 87.5% in 1937; for attempts, we go from 76% in 1919 to 80% i n 1933 and 83% in 1937; and, for the public indecency, from 61% in 1919 to 75% in 1933 and 87% in 1937. Thus, the decline in the conviction rate due to the acceleration of police work and the concomitant lack of evidence is counterbalanced by the increased severit y of the judges. The cases that arrive before the courts are judged mercilessly. The natu re and the duration of the sentences show that clearly: right after the war and until 1923,

crimes against nature still merited forced labor and could go up to ten years; from 192 4 to 1930, only the prison terms were given; and from 1931 onward, forced labor was again a pplied, with severity. The age of those sentenced is another interesting indicator; from 1919 to 1929, those convicted were between 30 and 60 years old; in 1929 and especially 1 931, they were often between 16 and 21. That might also be a sign of an increase in amateu r prostitution, which relates, as discussed above, to unemployment.343 It thus seems that the se ntences were now applied with equal severity to all age groups, without any particular consideration for youth. Appeals, on the other hand, were very stable: there were very few, and they were almost systematically rejected. Statistics from correctional show similar trends to the circuit courts; the number of trials went up markedly, from 74% in 1919 to 87% i n 1933 and 1937. Finally, we can study the results by district: during the three years under revi ew, the sector of the Metropolitan Police (London) comes in at the top with 62 arres ts in 1919, 149 in 1933, 185 in 1937. That seems normal, since the town of London is the cen ter of 343. The dates coincide: the number of unemployed hit 1,304,971 in 1929, crossed the threshold of 2 million in 1930 and The Times headline of 6 August 1931 shows a record of 2 ,713,350 out of work. 308

Criminals before the Law English homosexual life. Nevertheless, some caution is necessary: in the German statistics, Berlin is not in the lead when it comes to arrests. Repression in the British ca pital was particularly strong, and case studies confirm it. The other districts that p racticed a particularly repressive regime in those years were Lancashire, Southampton and Y ork (West Riding). Certain areas experienced a sudden increase in arrests, which imp lies that a specific policy was being carried out with regard to homosexuality. Let us take the case of Cheshire, which saw only 10 cases in 1930, 13 in 1933 an d 105 in 1937; then we have Devon, 9 in 1919, 65 in 1933, 53 in 1937; Kent: 12 in 1919 , 30 in 1933, 66 in 1937; and Warwick: 2 in 1919, 20 in 1933, 83 in 1937. Certain areas were comp letely spared, however, either because homosexuals were particularly discrete there, or because the police were not interested. It is difficult to say. But in rural zones like Dorset (0 cases in 1919, 3 in 1933, 2 in 1937), homosexuals probably lived very discretely. In a general sense, the crimes were distributed throughout a greater number of d istricts since 1933. The biggest increase in such crimes took place in the large cities a nd the most industrialized areas, but the number of areas affected kept going up, which leaves one to suppose that the campaign to root out homosexual crimes was being extende d across the whole country. One can draw several conclusions from these statistical observations. First, whi le the 1920s may have been years of moral liberation, they were not years of legal permissiveness. There was a certain legal relaxation, however, until 1930-1931. The penalties were less severe and the judiciary acted as a brake, limiting the effect of the high number of arrests through the number of convictions. However, even a light sentence (a fine, deferred prison term), even the threat of a lawsuit, could destroy a career and a family and could mean social opprobrium. After 1931, the intensification of the repression is obvious. We will see that this was not a matter of chance, but was carefully organized. Police methods We can hardly expect to come up with a comprehensive picture of all the methods employed by the police, of the social positions of the men they arrested, and th e charges made against them; we do, however, have information from many archives344 that p rovide detailed information on prostitution by the soldiers of the Guard, soliciting in

the London parks, the monitoring of the public urinals, the methods used by the police, the way homosexual crimes were treated by the judges, and the policies the leading autho rities followed in dealing with homosexuality. The attitude of the British police toward homosexuals between the wars was chara cterized by contempt and a certain lack of concern. The sexual criminal was not very interesting prey and the police preferred to deal with other matters. In the 192 0s, homosexuality remained a relatively minor problem, anyway, and the officers were satisfied to apprehend on the fact the male prostitutes and their customers, and to pursue th e queens. The goal was more to frighten them, to chase them out of one neighborhood, to operate arrests in mass: The uniformed police were not regarded as man-eaters. I did not 344. HO 45, HO 144, MEPO 2, MEPO 3, Public Record Office. Nonetheless, most of t he documents are off limits for 75 years or are inaccessible. Furthermore, most of the cases seem to have vanished. 309

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Graph 1. Changes in Sex Crimes in England and Wales (1919-1938) 310

Criminals before the Law have the least idea of the rules, but they never chased us; they simply asked us to move on. 345 In the 1930s, the police activity expanded and the homosexual community as a whole became a target. Throughout the period, the police looked on homosexuals a s a particularly cheap kind of criminal. A policeman from those days describes arres ting homosexuals in these terms: The queer [was] treated like an inanimate object with no sensitivity. [The police officers] rubbed his face with toilet paper to provide proof of the make-up, they joked and laughed at him as if he were not there, and always found the same petroleum jelly packet in his pocket. 346 Very often the arrests bordered on the illegal, especially in cases of soliciting. The boy was identified on the basis of his look, his clothing, his make-up. Prof of soliciting was pretty much beside the point: The a ttitude of the law was arbitrary basically, F_ you. Boys who were arrested for soliciting were declared guilty before they ever opened their mouths. If they managed to say any thing, the sound of their voice only resulted in increasing their sentence. I think the boy s were right in thinking that they were convicted just because they were effeminate. 347 At the Hammersmith police station, there was a group that specialized in catching homosexuals. They hardly talked about anything else, and anytime they found someone who would listen to their stories, they would howl with insane stupid laughter and s prinkle their anecdotes with insults those bastards! for fear that anybody might think they found pleasure in what about they talked about so much. They would go out in plain clothes and hide in the bushes and the urinals close to the tow pat h in Putney, and once every fifteen days they would triumphantly bring back a couple of old gentlemen whom they d managed to surprise together; they d spend the following month laughing nervously with their friends, remembering the details.348 This seems to have been the prevalent attitude. The agents of the Metropolitan Police in London were assigned strategic places for surveillance, mainly the par ks and urinals. These officers worked in pairs, for a period of two months maximum. For the urinals of Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner (two popular sites for male pick-ups ) the district police chief called for the use of two officers in civilian clothes duri ng the week and pledged, We will not keep the same men on that job for long periods. 349 This concern not to leave the same officers on the job for too long is a reflection o f two concerns:

the fear that they would come to be recognized by those who used the urinals, an d thus become useless, and the sense that to expose young police officers to such depravity was likely to disturb them psychologically, or even pervert them.350 The monitoring of the urinals was an official activity of the police, and it was a mainstay of the repression of homosexuality. The first allusion to such surveill ance goes back to 1872; until 1923, the instruction books for police officers said this:35 1 People frequenting the urinals for evidently improper aims must be threatened with pursuit, and if 345. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil-Servant [1968], London, Fontana, 1986, 217 p ages, p.29. 346. Cited by Richard Davenport-Hines, Sex, Death and Punishment, London, Fontan a Press, 1990, 439 pages, p.145. 347. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil-Servant, op. cit, p.30. 348. Cited by R. Davenport-Hines, Sex, Death and Punishment, op. cit., p.145. 349. Immorality in Parks and Open Spaces (MEPO 2/3231). 350. The Times of 7 December 1921 gives the outlines of an affair that casts a s hadow on a policeman; Freeman Howard Carr, 38, who had been an agent in the Metropolitan Po lice since the age of 18, was sentenced to 9 months in prison for attempting to molest two boys . 351. MEPO 3/989. 311

A History of Homosexuality in Europe they continue their practice and if there is evidence to justify their interpell ation, they must be apprehended and charged. In 1923 the instruction booklet was modified. 140 : People frequenting the urinals for evidently improper aims must be threatened wi th pursuit. If they persist and commit an offence, they must be arrested. 141: Each t ime that a man is challenged for persistently soliciting or importuning for immoral purposes in a public place (Vagrancy Act, 1898, section 1), every effort must be made to guarantee the independence of the corroborating evidence. The people thus solicited will h ave to provide their names and addresses and to present themselves at court. If they re fuse their assistance, the details will have to be noted by the police officers in their po cket book and will be displayed as evidence. Here is evidence of a change in police practices i n a definitely repressive direction. At the same time, there seems to be a growing concern to ensure the success of the operations. To avoid any breakdowns, it was further sp ecified, in August 1937, that no police officer without experience was to be placed in this d elicate situation. In fact, it was nearly impossible to secure third-party testimony and it seems t hat, in their fight against homosexuals, the police officers did not always benefit f rom the support of the population. Convictions were thus very difficult to obtain. Take the case of John Henry Lovendahl, a 67-year-old man who was tried for gross indecency in Jan uary 1938. He had been found masturbating, in clear view of passers by, in Crown Pass age, North End Road, Fulham. Two policemen in plain clothes who were making their rou nds at 12:30 entered a urinal located next to the pub The Crown. Lovendahl was in the central stall. The first police officer called in his colleague, who confirmed t he first officers observation. Lovendahl remained in the urinal from 12:30 to 12:55. Twenty men ha d come and gone from the urinals during that time and not one agreed to give his name a nd address to testify. No doubt some of them did not want to contribute to Lovendah l s arrest, but even more so, most of them must have feared that it would tarnish th eir own reputation. The place had become indissolubly linked to the practice; wasn t enter ing a urinal, that notorious homosexual hangout, proof of homosexuality? The question of the urinals and soliciting in public was a thorny issue for the police services, which tried on several occasions to beef up their repressive arsenal.

Several draft amendments to the instruction booklet were considered, like this one, going back to 1937: If one observes people frequenting the urinals for evidently improper aims and if there is not sufficient evidence to justify an arrest, the facts must be reported without delay so that special measures are taken to resolve the problem, if that is considered ne cessary. The monitoring of homosexuals might have been a minor point compared to other cr imes, but the police took this aspect of their work mighty seriously. Following discus sions on this subject in August 1937, superintendent F. Smith of the Peel House police st ation observed that at the police academy they analyzed the exact meaning of loitering a nd frequently in detail so that students could define their action precisely. On the other hand, he suggested that the warning of the suspects was seldom practiced, for it was not very practical and was dangerous in any event. This indicates that a great deal of thought was given to the repression of homosexuality by the English police throughout th e period. Another problem arising from the control of homosexuality was that of plaincloth es policemen. The use of plainclothes policemen was controversial, for many shyster s extorted money from homosexuals by passing themselves off as police officers. It was proposed several times between 1919 and 1939 that police officers having to deal with homosexuals should go back to wearing their uniforms; one recommendation by the 312

Criminals before the Law Royal Commission on Police Powers and Procedure asked in particular that the use of plainclothes police stop being used in arresting homosexuals, and that this meas urement be made public in order to prevent the risk of blackmail. A confidential memoran dum of June 17, 1929 from the Ministry of the Interior, also asked that the use of plai nclothes police be prohibited. Nevertheless, no measure was taken. Several examples testify to the difficulties generated by the use of plainclothe s policemen. On September 26, 1933, an arrest was questioned: We received complaints that a certain urinal was used by sodomites. Consequently , the men who patrolled in plain clothes focused on this spot, but they were given no detailed instructions as to how to act; the result was that several peo ple were incriminated for indecent conduct. The nature of the evidence that was furnished led the magistrate to make very forceful observations is which does not surprise me. It

obvious that, if the police act in this way, it can be suggested that, in a sens e, they caused the infraction!352 Another note dating to August 1933 reported a quite similar case. A policeman ha d obtained four arrests in a urinal using a method that at least bordered on provo cation: he hung around the urinals waiting to be approached by a passer by. The arrested me n had pleaded not guilty; the magistrate condemned the process used and recommended ve ry light sentences: between three months and fifteen days in prison and a minimal f ine (5 pounds). It is certain that this type of technique often misfired. According to Quentin C risp, a notorious homosexual who was quite familiar with the male prostitute milieux, the professionals very quickly were able to identify a police officer, even in civilian clothes. Those who were caught were homosexuals who only occasionally went to the urinals, and also passers by who were intrigued by the police office r s activity: These were people who had never heard of homosexuality, but whose perf ectly natural curiosity was piqued by any strange manifestation of human behavior, and so they were in danger because of police techniques. One may be certain that , even on a good day, simply asking the agent what, in the name of heaven, he was doing, would be enough to get you arrested; on a bad night, a simple glance in h is

direction would be sufficient.353 The arrests generally took place at the exit of the urinals and in the London pa rks, especially Hyde Park, which was known as a place of prostitution, female as well as male. The counts of the indictments were seldom listed as unnatural offence, i.e. sodo my, but indecency and indecent assault. The latter two terms covered everything form a k iss to mutual masturbation. Professional male prostitutes and soldiers of the Guard wer e arrested for soliciting. The London police seemed to be particularly anxious about the high number of crimes recorded in the parks. This is how the case of William Richardson and Cha rles Pritchard, two young men arrested for indecent assault in Hyde Park, is describe d in the police report: It is a strange case, one more example of these extraordinary, rea lly incredible things which are done in the park from the point of view of morals. H ere is a young man, apparently very respectable, who pulls in another young man of a soci al condition distinctly lower than his in Hyde Park at 11 o clock in the evening, in winter, an d suggests they go for a walk; they sit down, and at once he starts to act in an i ndecent way with a complete stranger. 354 352. MEPO 3/990. 353. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil-Servant, op. cit., p.81. 313

A History of Homosexuality in Europe While many civilians were arrested this way, it seems that the soldiers of the Guard remained the authorities essential concern. They did, indeed, go in for a v eiled prostitution in the city s parks as a way to enhance their incomes. A problem of j urisdiction arose, for the soldiers of the Guard were subordinate to the military authoritie s. However, in the context of the fight against homosexuality, the civil and milita ry authorities were ready to cooperate: The military authorities are eager to help the Police as much as possible in order to [stop all these unnatural crimes] , but [they] consid er that the civilians are worse than the soldiers, for they offer to them drinks, then t ake them along in the park and there lead them to [commit such crimes]. 355 Calling civilia ns the ringleaders promoting military prostitution became quite the fashion the militar y authorities demanded that the military police be entitled to arrest civilians wh o were caught in the company of soldiers. It was even proposed that, like any private p erson, an officer could grab the citizen and lead him to the police and testify against hi m. These proposals were not taken up.356 Homosexuality was a serious subject of concern for the military authorities, because the repeated charges against the soldiers of the Guard undermined the ho nor of the army and called into question its role as guardian of the nation. If the civ ilians were not treated better, it is because homosexuality represented a threat to every fo rm of authority. It developed outside of the usual hierarchical structures, which were always very marked in England in the inter-war period. Thus, hiding beneath the usual c harges of vice and perversity were reproaches of a more serious nature; the homosexual was regarded as a particularly dangerous criminal, because he undermined State secur ity and shook the foundations of the society and of middle-class morality. Case studies An examination of court records will help us to better understand the circumstan ces and the methods employed against English homosexuals. First, we will look at the trial of Lionel Perceval, a working class man twenty-one years old, charged with soliciting in Hyde Park, April 1, 1925.357 The officer who arrested him testified to the au dience: He smiled and looked well-dressed men in the eye. The details of his comings and goi ngs were discussed. Perceval entered a urinal at Marble Arch, settled in beside an e

legant man and smiled at him. He did not use the urinal and came out quickly. Then he went over to Hyde Park, where he entered into conversation with a man, then he took a path wh ile continuing to look behind him as if waiting for the man to follows. The man join ed him a little later and both moved toward a sheltered spot where the police officer los t sight of them. He finally found the suspect some time later, at the same place as before, and acting in the same way. At the time of his arrest the defendant said: I didn t do anything tonight. Let me go. I won t do it anymore and I won t come back here anymore. This testimony i s representative of the procedure used in arresting men near homosexual hunting pi ck-up spots. The police officer observed the individuals engaging in suspicious conduc t, deduced their activities from their movements, but did not necessarily wait to c atch them 354. 18 January 1926: Prosecution of William A.J. Richardson and Charles Pritcha rd (MEPO 3/ 297). 355. Indecency by Soldiers in the Park (MEPO 2/1485). 356. Indecency in Hyde Park: Military Police Powers (MEPO 2/1485). 357. Lionel Perceval (MEPO 3/248). 314

Criminals before the Law in flagrante delicto. In the present instance, Lionel Perceval was let go, for t he testimony of one police officer alone was not sufficient to prove his guilt. The following example is particularly interesting, for it shows how questionable police methods could be. Frank Champain, a former boarding school teacher aged 5 6, made the headlines in 1927.358 He had been arrested for sexual harassment and so liciting for immoral purposes; he was tried on August 10, 1927,359 at the police court in Bow Street, by Judge Charles Biron; sentenced to three months of forced labor, he ap pealed on September 21 and the sentence was overturned. His victory was directly caused by improper police methods, as documents added to the file later tend to prove the defendant s guilt. Champain was arrested after visiting several public urinals sev eral times each; however, the circumstances of the arrest are controversial. Champain was being watch by policeman Hanford.360 In eighteen months, the latter had already caught twelve homosexuals, eight of them while he acting as witness for another colleag ue, four of them on his own. But he was acting alone, when he could easily have called in one of his colleagues who worked nearby; and he acted as a provocateur. Champain, a respectab le teacher, had his excuses lined up, and it was the policeman s word against his. Ha nford s imprecise testimony worked against him. Champain maintained that he needed the p ot of skin cream that was found in his personal effects because he had skin problems, and he produced a medical certificate attesting that a vascular disorder obliged him to use the urinals frequently. He emphasized that to offer a cigarette to a stranger was a gesture of simple courtesy and that see oneself followed by a man for an hour would make an yone suspicious. The judge accepted these arguments and discharged Champain. The press supported the defendant throughout the whole lawsuit, an extremely rare phenomenon; the affair leaves one thinking that it was the freedom of movem ent of all citizens that was at stake. Cases of this kind do not happen to big sportsmen like Champain, one may read. Here is a man who, because he offers a cigarette to a policeman in plain clothes, is hauled before a magistrate and is convicted, noted the Daily Mail (September 21, 1927). A letter from a certain J. Chester, September 27, 192 7 and appended to the file reflected the public s lassitude vis-.-vis such arbitrary arr ests (even if testimony may be tendentious):

I pray God that a law is voted soon specifying that no arrest can be made unless a member of the public has filed a complaint and given evidence that sexual harass ment has taken place....do not misunderstand me, I have no sympathy for the real youn g degenerates who devote themselves to a kind of prostitution, far from it; but I believe that a great number of innocent young men are in prison today for acts that they did not commit for money ..... I think that I must do what I can until the time retu rns when one can breathe easily if one happens to be out after midnight in the west of London. There seem to have been many problems involving police misconduct during such arrests. The case of G.H. Buckingham, which goes back to November 1937, shows however that no real progress was made during the period. Buckingham, aged fifty , single, was convicted for sexual harassment involving a nine-year-old boy. Although the child s testimony was credible and there was a witness, the methods used by the police w ere so flawed that the verdict was overturned. 358. Frank Champain (MEPO 3/405). 359. News of the World, 28 August 1927. Champain was captain of a football team. 360. MEPO 3/992. 315

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Medical theories sometimes influenced the way the police treated homosexuals. Hugh A. Chapman, a sailor, was arrested in 1934. The doctor who examined Chapman at the prison in Brixton found him nervous and very simple-minded. He decided that the defendant s sexual perversion was acquired, probably at sea. He did not find any i ndication of insanity or mental deficiency. Following this testimony, the charge was lower ed to common assault. He was sentenced to two months of forced labor. But he was ar rested again in March 1935, for activities around the urinals at Three Kings Yard and P rovidence Court. It turned out that he was recidivist, having already been sentenced to six month s of hard labor for harassing, in 1931. The reputation of the suspect played a major role in the treatment he received. Chapman, as a sailor and a recidivist, and being not very intelligent, was a perfect homosexual criminal in the sense that he combined so many of the stereotypes. On the other hand, the example of Mitford Brice361 shows that the prejudices cou ld be expressed in the contrary direction. Brice was convicted in 1936 on charges o f public indecency. He had to pay a fine of 10 pounds. There is a note in his file recall ing that he was well known to the authorities and to members of the hunting dog club, and th at he was authorized by the late king to compile a book on the royal kennels. Brice wa s a gentleman, he devoted himself to typically British activities, and he knew the gentry. The charges against him thus became suspect and highly unlikely. To be a homosexual in the police reports is initially to present the standard profile of the sexual delinq uent; it is not a vice which can affect the elite. Lastly, a case discussed in the legal chronicle of The Times illustrates the fac t that the legal machine could experience serious failures. A particularly grave case c ame before the court of Worthing in 1926. Leslie Buchanan Greenyer was accused of public in decency and indecent assault on five different boys between July 1923 and August 1924. Greenyer gave swimming lessons and organized sports matches. During the holidays , he invited boys to his apartment, where the police found indecent photographs. Witn esses testified to various improprieties. A police officer testified that the defendan t, at the moment of his arrest, became pale and said: But this means absolute ruin, doesn t i t? Neither Greenyer nor his two guarantors showed up for the trial. The judge decla

red that this case dealt with crimes of the most revolting type, and said he did not unde rstand how the defendant could have been let go on bail; he asked what measures had been ta ken to prevent his getting away. It is not clear how the matter ended. The Conference on homosexual crimes of May 7, 1931 During the period 1919-1939, homosexuality became a major concern of the police services. Many homosexuals reckon that the cult of homosexuality started to wane in the upper classes by 1931 and definitely by 1933, and that the consequences of the e conomic crisis and the international threat of fascism delivered a fatal blow to the mov ements for sexual reform. The way the fight against the plague was intensified and the increa sing number of arrests corroborate these complaints. It seems that in 1931 the question of homosexuality became so threatening that, for the first time in England, a conference on homosexual crimes was held in London, at 1 361. MEPO 3/994. 316

Criminals before the Law Richmond Terrace.362 It was intended to officially define an action plan and to coordinate the efforts of the various parties concerned. Present were General B.A. Montgome ry Massingberd, General Deedes (director of personnel), General Corkran, Colonel H. D.F. Macgeagh, Norman Kendal, and Brigadier J. Whitehead of the Metropolitan Police, the Public Prosecutor and his assistant N.S. Pence. Questions on the agenda included how to improve the police s methods of detection, disciplinary measures in the army, the possibility of creating a homophobic train of thought within the regiments, protecting the soldier against this kind of crimes and collaboration between the legal and mili tary authorities. Several points were raised from the very start of the conference. The Public Pro secutor pointed out that his services were not concerned with this type of crimes unless sodomy or public indecency were involved. The majority of cases implicating sold iers concerned the Vagrancy Act and were judged summarily. He could therefore interve ne only in the event of blackmail. The press was at the heart of the discussion: ma ny articles had pointed to the brigade of the Guard as the center of male prostitution; the Champain trial (evoked by name) had done much harm: since then, indeed, the police were c onstantly under attack; they were suspected of being over-zealous, of producing false witn esses; the policemen patrolling the usual meeting places were very unpopular. Lastly, t he legal outcome was becoming less and less reliable. The two representatives of th e Metropolitan Police brought up the difficulties which they encountered in their work; the pro portion of soldiers of the Guard implicated in homosexual crimes was set in its proper context: of 127 cases of soliciting in 1930, only 7 were reported as having to d o with guards. The agents employed were absolutely trustworthy and they were used only one month out of two. The police did not think that the homosexual criminals were or ganized into gangs, even if many seemed to know each other. A young soldier could fall i nto the hands of such people and be corrupted. As for the recurring question of putting Hyde Park off limits for the soldiers, N. Kendal did not think that that would improve the situation. He also specified that he did not want to conduct a very intensive campaign, in any case not more than what was being done at the time. The military authorities called for a campaign to shift public opinion and some more police action in order to d emonstrate

clearly that this type of crimes would not be tolerated. And they came up with a black list of suspects based on the revelations of a guard in the brigade named Evans. He apparently admitted that other guards had initiated him to these practices and h e drew up a list of those who were involved, as well as the rates each one charged. The military authorities gave assurances that they wanted at all costs to protect the young s oldiers from contamination by any person inside or outside the regiment. Any man who was l et go from the Guard should be examined by a special subcommittee. General Corkran added that he hoped to develop a strong feeling of homophobia in the regiment. T he young soldiers would be informed upon their arrival of the danger of sex crimes. Colonel Macgeagh stressed that such an intensive campaign would only be effective if it we re supported by a similar campaign in the police. The real leaders were the civilia ns who paid the money. The Public Prosecutor proposed that young soldiers attend a conf erence on homosexual crimes in order to be informed of the reality of these crimes. The y would be told what type of people was likely to approach them, the amount of money off ered and the disastrous consequences of such practices. Lastly, General Corkran point ed out 362. Homosexual Offences Conference (HO 45/24960). 317

A History of Homosexuality in Europe that, each year, of many suspect guards were returned, and it feared that they d o not become recruiting agents. Thus, the fight against homosexual crimes was now being coordinated at all level s: the police, the military and the legal authorities. The liberation of morals was thus basically arrested from the very beginning of the 1930s. The Obsession with Lesbians: The Temptation to Repress According to English law, female homosexuality did not exist. The notion is neve r mentioned: to conceive of a female form of homosexuality and the corruption of one woman by another woman is to consider the possibility of an autonomous female se xuality, independent of the man, and thus of a woman having power. It is impossible in th e context of a legislation that was essentially established in the 18th and 19th c enturies. Besides, there were no historical antecedents in England. The inter-war period offered a radically new view of the role of the woman. The constitution of a class of old maids that was structural to the society raised the delicate problem of the financial and legal independence of woman, while the obvious subj acent sexual question was modestly overlooked. The idea of a of homosexuality that was contagious by corruption impelled the legislative authorities to take measures against lesbia ns, especially as the increasing numbers of independent women gave reason to believe that the phenomenon was spreading. The draft legislation of 1921 Concern over the supposed expansion of lesbians practices in England led to a fi rst attempt at repression in 1921.363 Three conservative deputies, Frederick MacQuis ten, Sir Ernest Wild and Howard Gritten, asked that a clause be added to the Criminal Law Amendment Act extending the penalties planned for male homosexuality to cover le sbian acts as well. This clause, entitled Acts of Indecency between Women) provided tha t: Any indecent act between women is a misdemeanor and must be punished in the same manner as any identical act committed by men according to Section 11 of Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885. To justify this request, MacQuisten noted that such a meas ure should have been inserted into this country s criminal code long ago and he emphasiz ed the propagation and the dangers of the vice of lesbianism: what member of the Ho

use of Commons, he asked, had not been informed of this underground wave of degradation and dreadful vice which threatened modern society? One of his friends had been see n ruined by the tricks of one of these women, who had gone after his wife. Citing t he risks that such a depravity posed for the Empire, he recalled that, when these moral fa ilings become commonplace in a country, the fall of the nation is near at hand and that the clause was intended to crush a demon that can undermine the foundations of the greatest civilization. Sir Ernest Wild gave his support to this eradication of ev il, regretting that they had to pollute the House with the details of these abominati ons and saying that it would be stupid to deny that many people in our society are guilty and 363. HO 45/12250; see also Joseph Winter, The Law that Nearly Was, Gay News, n 79; Richard Davenport-Hines, Sex, Death and Punishment, op. cit., p.151-153; Hansard, House of Commons Debates, vol.145, col.1799-1807; Hansard, House of Lords Debates, vol.46, col.567-577. 318

Criminals before the Law not to punish vice when its existence is proven. Sapphism was called a disease and it was said that the asylums are full of nymphomaniacs and women who were dedicated to this vice. Wild then expressed his worries about the influence of lesbians on so ciety, noting first of all that they inhibit childbirth, since it is well-known that a w oman who devotes herself to this vice no longer wants to have anything to do with the oth er sex. They waylay young girls and lead them to depression and madness. The lesbian thre at was denounced as a modern and urgent problem; Rear-Admiral Sir R. Hall called it a combat between men and women. Few voices were raised to oppose the amendment. Colonel Josiah Wedgwood, a Labour deputy, stressed that such a measure would ope n the door to all blackmailers; and he feared that is adoption would only serve to propagate practices which otherwise most people would never have known about. I do not beli eve that there are many members of the Labour party who know what this clause covers , he commented. Colonel J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon was the only other deputy to issue rese rvations. According to him, fear of punishment had never succeeded in getting rid of homos exuality; there were only three ways to deal with them: execute them, lock up them in the mad house, or leave them alone entirely. The MacQuisten amendment would only introduce obscene thoughts into the minds of innocent people. The amendment was adopted by the House of Commons on August 4, 1921 by a vote of 148 to 53, but the House of Lords prevailed: Count de Malmesbury declare d at the very start of the debates that the clause had not been studied carefully enough; he was supported by the Public Prosecutor, Lord Desart, who stressed that an amendment of such importance should have been presented by the government itself rather than by a deputy. He found the threat of proliferating lawsuits and the risk of blackmail outweighed the charges of increasing sapphism, the true scope of which he doubted. We know all those romantic, almost hysterical, friendships that young women experie nce at a certain time in their lives. Let us suppose that under certain circumstances a y oung woman who got wind of the [law] thinks: How easy it would be to file a complaint. e pointed out that no woman of any social standing would be able to face such a ch arge, as the very hint of it would ruin her. Thus, he believed, blackmail would not only b e certain, but inevitably successful. Lord Birkenhead, Minister for Justice, then made much of the danger of letting women know that such monstrosities existed; according to him, 999

women out of 1,000 had never heard of such practices. The fatal blow was carried by the Archbishop of Canterbury, which said he was convinced that the law was futile. T he House of Lords sided with him and the amendment was thus abandoned. The draft legislation of 1921 was the first (and the last) attempt to make femal e homosexuality illegal in England. It testifies to the emergence of the woman as an independent social actor. The obsession with lesbians reflects the dominant male class s fear of any attack on its sexual and social prerogatives. When a woman is bad, she is bad and, if she is bad, she will lead you to hell, quipped Sir Ernest Wild, who in one of his classic poems described the ideal woman as, feminine, capricious and weak. 364 The failure of the law was hardly a triumph for lesbians, quite the contrary. Th e arguments used to criticize the law were its ineffectiveness in doing away with the vice, the risk of blackmail, and especially the fear of spreading sapphism to an even wider audience. Not one person stood up to defend homosexual love. Paradoxically, in a ban 364. Cited by Richard Davenport-Hines, Sex, Death and Punishment, op. cit., p.15 2. 319

A History of Homosexuality in Europe doning the law, the Parliament still accentuated its contempt for lesbians, whos e practices did not even merit punishment as homosexual activity. The trial of Radclyffe Hall The draft law had failed, but the fight against lesbianism went on. It took simp ly a different path. Radclyffe Hall now became the symbol of the dangerous lesbian an d her trial was one of the paramount examples of anti-lesbian hysteria in England in t he interwar period. It highlights two essential points: the increasing influence of literatu re as a means of disseminating information on homosexuality, and the disguised repressio n of female homosexuality. An icon of the congenital invert, Radclyffe Hall s name was well known to the public in 1920 thanks to the poems and novels which she had already published. H er masculine appearance, her severe garb had made her a fashionable celebrity. Scandal struck her first in 1920, when Sir George Fox-Pitt accused her of immorality and of hav ing broken up the marriage of Admiral Ernest Troubridge. Indeed, Una Troubridge had left her husband after meeting Radclyffe Hall, before asking for a divorce. Radclyffe Hall sued Fox-Pitt for slander, and the verdict was pronounced in her favor. After the The Unlit Lamp was published, Radclyffe Hall set out to write a book on the fate of the invert, T he Well of Loneliness. This 500-page novel was written between June 1926 and April 1928; th ree publishers turned it down, but Jonathan Cape agreed to publish it and a first edition of 15 00 copies came out on July 27, 1928. The book was severe in format and priced rathe r high. The first reviews were sober, sometimes favorable. The Times Literary Supplement applauded the generosity of the writer, but denied the literary value of the book a recurr ing reproach, for example, for the works of Leonard Woolf and Vera Brittain, both ra ther favorable to homosexuals. In August, a second edition of 3,000 was printed. On A ugust 19, 1928, the Sunday Express ran a front-page headline: A Book which Should Be Banned . The editor, Douglas James, found The Well of Loneliness an intolerable work, the firs t of this genre in the annals of English fiction, and said its distribution could only be h armful, since people of any age could read it. I would prefer to give a boy or a girl in good health a flask of hydrocyanic acid rather than this novel. Poison kills the body, but mor al poison

kills the soul, he concludes, and the book must thus be banned. 365 The Sunday Chron icle and People followed the example of the Sunday Express. The Daily Herald, a Labou r newspaper, and the Evening Standard posed the problem of censorship and accused Douglas of trying to increase sales by fanning the flames of scandal. Amidst all this flap, the publisher decided to send the book to the Ministry of the Interior for a ruling on whether or not the work was obscene. William Joynson-Hicks ( Jix ) ordered him to stop the publication on August 21, and the next day Jonathan Cape withdrew the book from sale. The same day, Cyril Connolly published his review of the work in the New Statesman; he found i t long, tedious and devoid of humor, a sermon on inverts, animal welfare and respect for nature. In reaction to these attacks, a defense was organized; many readers had been stunned by the vehement assault on the book and claimed that it was overkill. Vi ta SackvilleWest, who was in Potsdam when all this exploded, underscored the difference between relaxed Germany and puritan England: The Well of Loneliness issue causes very 365. Cited by Michael Baker, Our Three Selves: A Life of Radclyffe Hall, London, Hamish Hamilton, 1985, 386 pages, p.223. 320

Criminals before the Law violent reactions at home. Not only because of what you call my propensity, nor because I think that it is a good book, either; but sincerely on principle (I plan to writ e to the Minister to suggest he bans Shakespeare s sonnets).... I nearly exploded when I read the various articles in New Statesman. Personally, it would not displease to me to a bjure my nationality, to make at least a gesture; but I do not wish to become German even if, at the nightclub last night, I saw two ravishing young women singing verses that we re frankly Sapphic. 366 Radclyffe Hall gained the support of the writer and critic Ar nold Bennett, E.M. Forster, Leonard and Virginia Woolf. Forster proposed to write an open letter of protest to be signed by intellectuals. Initially enthusiastic, Radclyf fe Hall sabotaged the plan by requiring that the letter be accompanied by an explicit homage to th e quality and the moral integrity of the work. The book went its way in Paris, where it was published by .ditions P.gase and was distributed throughout the world, including Great Britain. Volumes were bloc ked at customs, bookshops were searched by the police and copies were seized. Jonathan Cape and Leonard Hill, .ditions P.gase s agent in London, were summoned to appear befor e the magistrates court in Bow Street, in order to determine whether or not the boo ks were to be destroyed. The defense counsels tried to bring in favorable witnesses. It very quickly became clear that few writers for the general public were prepared to defend the book s literary qualities, and even then the few authors who agreed to testify were the mselves homosexual or bisexual. John Galsworthy, president of the PEN-Club and a homosex ual, refused to defend the book, as did Hermon Ould, also homosexual and General Secr etary of the PEN-Club. Evelyn Waugh did not want to hear a word about it. Havelock Ell is refused to testify, saying that since his book Sexual Inversion had been convict ed for obscenity he was not a valid witness but on the contrary was likely to aggravate the situation. Arnold Bennett said he was against the rehabilitation of a book that had been legally prohibited and G.B. Shaw called himself too immoral to be a credible wit ness for the defense. Finally, forty witnesses were collected, including E.M. Forster, Vi rginia Woolf, Hugh Walpole, A.P. Herbert, Pr Julian Huxley, the deputy Oliver Baldwin, Desmond MacCarthy, director of the Saturday Review, Dr. Norman Haire, a sexologi st, Lawrence Housman, of the BSSP, the actor Clifford Bax and the novelists Rose Mac aulay, Storm Jameson, Sheila Kaye-Smith and Naomi Royde-Smith. Many had been reluctant

to testify. Storm Jameson complained to Virginia Woolf that he was afraid he would be called upon to defend The Well of Loneliness on its merits as a work of art; Vir ginia Woolf assured him that that would not be necessary.367 Virginia Woolf herself was assa iled by doubts and describes the dizzying atmosphere in the lead-up to the trial: Leonard and Nessa [Vanessa Bell] say that I should not go there, that it would cast a shadow on Bloomsbury. All of London is agitated. Most of my friends are trying to escape g iving testimony, for reasons which one can guess. But in general they just claim that their fathe r has heart trouble or a cousin has just had twins. 368 The trial began on November 9. The judge, Sir Charles Biron, was very hostile fr om the outset, and although witnesses claimed that there is nowhere an obscene word, a lascivious passage, he accepted the view of the chief inspector John Prothero, who had 366. Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, August 1928, in Louise de Salvo and Mitchell A. Leaska (ed.), The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, London, Hutc hinson, 1984, 473 pages, p.335. 367. Michael Baker, Our Three Selves, op. cit., p.236. 368. Ibid. 321

A History of Homosexuality in Europe supervised the raids on bookshops and who affirmed that the book is indecent, bec ause the subject is indecent. The case was lost before it began. Biron rendered his ju dgment on November 16, saying that the book referred to unnatural acts, to the most horribl e and disgusting obscenity ; he rejected the absurd proposition that well-written obsceniti es are not obscene and concluded: I have no hesitation in saying that this is an obsc ene work...I thus order that the book be destroyed. On November 22, a letter of prote st signed by 54 intellectuals, including Arnold Bennett, G.B. Shaw and T.S. Eliot, was published by the Manchester Guardian. Attorney General Thomas Inskip confirmed the judgment in appeals, saying that he knew only two literary references alluding t o such women: one in the first chapter of the epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, the ot her in the sixth book of Juvenal. According to him, this book was the most subtle, demoraliz ing, corrosive, and corruptive that has ever been written. 369 Thus, The Well of Loneliness was interdicted in Britain,370 but became a best se ller in the United States. It sold a million copies in Radclyffe Hall s lifetime. Neverthe less, the scandal had unquestionably been a blow to the writer, and in 1929 she decided to leave England. Radclyffe Hall and her friend Una Troubridge then set to traveling abro ad, and spent long periods in France, where Gallimard published the book. The book s fate was, however, paradoxical. The trial marked the apex of anti-lesbian phobia in Englan d after the First World War. But the attacks on the book were indirectly aimed its autho r, whose masculine getup and militant sapphism made her one of the most visible figures i n London. The Well of Loneliness was in fact remarkably discrete about lesbian sex acts, the most explicit sentence in the book being: And that night, they were not separated . 371 Virginia Woolf and Compton Mackenzie published Orlando and Extraordinary Women a t the same time, without any worries. The book was mainly reproached for not conde mning homosexuality. However, the legal and moral authorities did not want the possibility of a paral lel life, independent of the existing social structures, to be evoked. To understand the position of the legal authorities vis-.-vis female homosexuality, it is interest ing to compare the fate of The Well of Loneliness with that of Extraordinary Women. The latter was

not challenged in the courts, although that possibility had been raised. Extraordinary Women Compton Mackenzie s Extraordinary Women was published in August 1928, in exactly the same period as The Well of Loneliness.372 This novel describes the l ife of a circle of lesbians living in the island of Capri during the First World War.373 The book w ent relatively unnoticed, but received a favorable review in the Saturday Review on September 8 , 1928. The New Statesman, a leftist newspaper whose editor was homosexual, publis hed a very interesting article on August 25, 1928. The book was praised not for its li terary qual 369. The Times, 31 October 1928, 10 November 1928, 17 November 1928 and 15 Decem ber 1928. See also Michael Baker, Our Three Selves, op. cit., chap.18 and 19; and Jean Raison, Publish and Banned, in Gay News, n 148. 370. It was interdicted until 1949. 371. Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness [1928], London, Virago Press, 1982, 447 pages, p.316. 372. See in the Public Record Office: Compton Mackenzie, Extraordinary Women (HO 4 5/15727). 373. See chapter five. 322

Criminals before the Law ities, but because it shined a light on the plague of modern society, sapphism; in a few lines the newspaper summarized the public opinion with regard to lesbians: Twenty years ago, such a topic would have seemed outrageous and completely unacceptable for a novel; but it is impossible to overlook it in this post-war w orld populated by girl boys and boy girls. It used to be a problem of psychopaths and less one spoke about it, the better. It is now a relatively widespread social phenome non that stems, no doubt, from Mrs. Pankhurst s suffragette movement and her hatred of the men, but also from broader causes relating to the war and its after-effects. One can no longer expect the novelist to close his eyes to this aspect of modern life .. . and although in 1913 Extraordinary Women would have been regarded as a overblown and scandalous work, and may have been censored like The Rainbow, we wonder today whether Mr. Compton Mackenzie has not done the public a service. This book is more deserving of applause than of opprobrium. It has, at least, th e courage to offer a faithful description of a modern social disease in a sense it is a minor illness, a kind of hypochondria, a factitious passion that will pass like all fashions in our society, since to a large extent it of course is more a matter of fancy t han of facts, easily dissipated by the arrival of a man worthy of the name . The book is tedious. But its tedium arises from intrinsic monotony of the Sapphi c life. If it does not say so outright, it at the very least suggests that women c annot fall in love with other women while remaining healthy and decent beings. This article reflects three of the recurring themes in the obsession with lesbia nism: first of all, an assimilation of lesbians with the feminist trend; then, present ation of lesbians as sick and perverted beings living in sorrow and bitterness; this image allows a salutary contrast with the supposed flourishing of the woman safely ensconced in a proper home; finally, and paradoxically, the actual existence of lesbians is denied, si nce sapphism is attributed to confusion and the lack of men. In spite of these favorable reviews, the Minister of the Interior, the House of Lords and the Public Prosecutor received several letters from private individuals who drew a parallel between this book and that of Radclyffe Hall and asked that it be banne d. This led to an exchange of letters between Minister Hicks and Judge Biron, which are all the more interesting since they were the two principal figures leading to the bannin g of The

Well of Loneliness. The main arguments raised against banning this book were of a legal and moral order. Sir Charles Biron stressed that it was a satire and that the charac ters see their life and their happiness broken. Whereas The Well of Loneliness seeks to ex cuse those who give themselves up to vice, Extraordinary Women draws a most unpleasant pict ure of these practices and the degrading condition to which they lead. The minister cons iders the book sickening and is indignant at the moral corruption into which English soc iety had sunk: It is perturbing to note that these books were written independently of one another; two books on this same subject testify to breadth of what Miss Hall kno ws, and of what Mr. Mac Quenzie [sic] supposes as for the development of abnormal sexual intercourse; and these two books are not the only ones that have been brought to the attentio n of the Ministry of the Interior treat of this subject which is ambiguous at the very least. The danger of this category of books lies in the fact that women who do not have a healthy home environment may become interested in this disgusting subject and, out of cu riosity, go as far as to put it into practice. However, in a letter addressed to Hicks, Lo rd Douglas commented that the fact that the characters are disgusting did not place the book in the category of criminality. The matter was buried. Two elements are outstanding: the authorities showed considerable tolerance for embarrassing books, as long as they are likely to dissuade possible homosexual s ympa 323

A History of Homosexuality in Europe thizers, while another book, considerably less explicit but favorable to lesbian s, was banned; then, among the letters sent to the minister calling for the book to be banned, two were more or less overtly in the name of homosexuals. The authors of these l etters considered Mackenzie s book defamatory and damaging to the image of the homosexual in eye of oneliness reserved, Women was addressed the public. They underscored in particular that, whereas The Well of L was by its high price, for a limited and cultivated public, Extraordinary to the general public. These arguments were ignored.374

WEIMAR GERMANY, PERMISSIVENESS AND REPRESSION (1919-1933) The situation of Germany under Weimar is particularly interesting as it constitu tes a synthesis of the various trends that were visible in the 1920s repressive forc es on one side, liberal forces on the other. In Germany, homosexuality was not only a private phenomenon, but also a public engagement: there were activist organizations call ing for homosexual rights. Government institutions had to face an organized opposition t hat was seeking the abolition of repressive laws. The Legal Context Little is known about the repression of homosexuality in the old Germanic laws.3 75 According to Tacitus Germania, infamous people were to be buried alive. Lex Visigot horum and Glosse zum Sachsenspiegel Buch III Article 24 threatened them with castratio n. The criminalization of sodomy dates back to the Middle Ages. In Schwabia, men fo und guilty of sodomy had been hanged since 1328. Article 116 of the Constitutio Crim inalis Carolina of 1532 punished sodomy with death by fire. However, the exact signific ance of the word sodomy is difficult to determine: it could relate to relations between me n and women, men, men and animals, on the Sabbath with the devil, heresy, etc. In the century of the Enlightenment (Aufkl.rung), cruel executions were abandoned. Jurists of t he 18th and 19th centuries sought to found a natural law that respected human nature. Sodo my was no longer a sin, but became an unnatural act, for it was counter to reproducti on. Thus, in 1794, the Prussian penal code punished sodomy and the other unnatural si ns, which cannot be named here because of their abomination, with forced labor and a caning.376

Following the adoption of the Napoleonic Code started to revise their penal codes; in 1751, the stake, after decapitation; in 1813, it abolished the tween consenting adults. Wurtemberg did the same in

in France, several German states Bavaria still burned sodomites at laws condemning homosexual acts be 1839, and Brunswick and Hanover in

1840. In Baden, only acts committed in public were punished, and in Saxony, Olde nburg and Thuringe the maximum sentence was one year in prison. This shift did not go far, 374. Several pencil notes from the Minister and the Public Prosecutor suggest th at the information about others could be taken from tendentious letters. 375. Such a step backwards was hardly innocuous: by 1935, Nazi jurists were work ing to prove that the condemnation of masculine homosexuality was an old German tradition. 376. Part 2, title 20, 1069 and later. See Judge Oyen, Merkblatt betreffend die w idernat.rliche Unzucht, 1935, BA, R 22/973. 324

Criminals before the Law however; after the unification of the German states, the very restrictive Prussi an laws were used as the basis for the German penal code. In the Prussian penal code dat ing from April 24, 1851, 143 related to homosexual acts: it condemned unnatural sex acts b etween two men, and men and animals; it was extended to Hanover (annexed in 1867), then to the Confederation of Northern Germany in 1869 (when it became 152). Lastly, in 1872, its provisions were incorporated into in the penal code of the Reich in 175: Unnatural sex acts (widernat.rliche Unzucht) which are perpetrated, be it between persons of t he male sex or men and animals, are grounds for imprisonment, and possibly the loss of c ivil rights. The article was formulated in vague terms, and jurisprudence chose to int erpret it restrictively. The unnatural acts punishable by law were acts similar to coitus (b eischlaf.hnliche Handlungen). The expression is quite unclear and it led to discussion; jurists wondered whether it implied that the participants had to be naked and wh ether sperm had to be exchanged. During trials, medical experts were asked to prove th at a homosexual act had taken place. Only a restricted number homosexuals were punish ed under this law, but it was resented as a constant danger because it encouraged b lackmail. Institutional Waffling: Draft Laws Come and Go The reform of the German penal code took several years to implement; with each preliminary draft, the question of 175 was raised anew. There were many about-fac es, with preliminary drafts alternatively proposing the reinforcement or the aboliti on of the law.377 This lack of continuity illustrates the contradictory forces that were a t work within German society, which was divided between a desire for tighter controls a nd an aspiration to liberalism. This divide was revealed at even at the heart of the R eichstag, where two camps clashed, one asking for the paragraph to be abolished, the other one calling for it to be retained or strengthened. Before the war, two drafts had already been proposed. That of 1909, in the conte xt of the Eulenburg affair, would have reinforced the law, in particular in cases o f prostitution and relations obtained by force or influence, and it would have extended it to female homosexuality. That of 1911 envisaged, on the contrary, removing homosexu ality from the list of punishable offenses; that was abandoned in 1913. The 1919 plan was nearly identical to that of 1913, but the 1925 plan show a tur

n toward repression. At this time, the Weimar coalition (the SPD, Zentrum, and the German Democratic Party, DDP) were replaced by a more conservative government.37 8 Among the conservative ministerial functionaries who wrote the draft law was min isterial director Bumke, who had participated in the writing of the 1909 draft. The 1925 draft did not take up the question of lesbianism, but it asked that, in particula rly serious cases, a five-year prison sentence be required and that all unnatural acts fall w ithin the compass of the law. The draft used the same expressions as that of 1909 in denoun cing the homosexual threat: Moreover, it emanates from that that the German opinion co nceives sexual intercourse between men as an aberration which has as a characteristic to 377. The text of all the draft bills on homosexuality are provided in the Append ices. 378. After the legislature elections of 1924, the government was enlarged twice, thanks to the integration of the DNVP, forming a bourgeois government oriented toward the righ t, and having a majority (two Catholic parties, Zentrum and BVP, the conservative DNVP, the two liberal parties, DDP and DVP). In 1925, the old marshal Hindenburg, the conservative candidate, w as elected president; the regime then took off in an ultraconservative direction. 325

A History of Homosexuality in Europe undermine the character and to destroy moral sensitivity. If this aberration wer e to spread, it would lead to the degeneration of the people and a reduction of its p ower. In response to protests from the homosexual movements, which were campaigning on the basis of the innate nature of inversion, the lawyers jurists answered that a considerable proportion of homosexuals had been seduced or contaminated: If 175 were removed, then the danger would exist that these attempts [of seduction and propa ganda] would go on even more publicly than today and in particular that young men will be led into temptation not only by direct seduction, but also by an influence reinforce d in words and writings. Then homosexual conduct would irrupt in circles which, thanks to c urrent prohibitions, have heretofore been spared. 379 Something dramatic happened on October 16, 1929.380 The commission, supported by the Socialists and the Communists, voted 15 to 13 to abolish 175. Among the fi fteen were the president of the commission, the very influential private councilor Kah l, a member of the DVP, two democrats, nine from the SPD and three from the KPD. Voti ng against were the five members of the DNVP, two from the DVP, one from the Volksp artei, three from Zentrum and two from Wirtschaftspartei (economic party). The followin g day, however, a coalition of deputies from the SPD, the democrats, Zentrum, and the national-German party, and Kahl, succeeded in creating a new law against homosex uals, under the title of 297, serious impudicity between men (which did not, however, cov er nonvenal relations between consenting adults). Only the three deputies of the KP D voted against, thus showing the fragility of the movement in favor of homosexuals. 297 condemned male prostitution, acts with minors and abusive seduction obtained by authority, influence and threat on people in positions of dependence. This new motion was n ever put into force, however, as the economic crisis changed everyone s priorities. The 1933 draft law reprised much of the text from 1925. Thus, by far the majorit y of drafts that were considered penalized homosexuality. Only the 1911 and 1929 draf ts pondered the reduction of penalties for acts between consenting adults. The general line from the early 1920s to the early 1930s was the penalization, and even increased pena lization, of homosexual acts. Real Repression

By studying the evolution in sentencing, the attitude of the police, and several homosexual trials, we will try to see what was the policy actually in practice u nder the Weimar Republic. Changes in sentencing Changes in sentencing for homosexuality convictions entered between 1919 and 1934 did not go in a straight line. The average number of arrests was higher dur ing this period than at the turn of the century, which may perhaps be explained by the gr eater visibility of the German homosexual community in the 1920s, but which may also reflect 379. Cited by Hans-Georg St.mke, Homosexuelle in Deutschland, eine politische Ge schichte, Munich, Verlag C.H. Beck, 1989, 184 pages, p.66-67. 380. 1928 was the last year that the SPD made progress, and even became the lead ing party in Germany; the KPD also gained considerably. 326

Criminals before the Law stepped up police activity. Between 1902381 and 1918, the sts is 380. Between 1919 and 1934, it is 704. In England, the average the same period is only 574 (702 over the years 1919-1939).382 The particularly high and thus we can be sure the German institutions were average number of arre number of arrests over German figure is thus not lax.

Certain years show clear evidence of a crackdown. The highest number of arrests was recorded in 1925 and 1926, with 1226 and 1126 respectively an increase of 32 .4% between 1924 and 1925. The process had begun in 1924, when a 69% increase in arr ests was recorded compared to 1923! The political situation may have had something to do with this abrupt increase, since it was in 1924 that the Weimar coalition fell apa rt. In 1928, the number of arrests stabilized between 600 and 750, an average number but higher than it was earlier in the period, when it hovered at around 500. In 1919, the percentage convicted was 71%. In 1925, when the arrest rate was highest, 83% wer e convicted, and in 1933, 86%. This clearly indicates a lesser degree of legal tolerance duri ng the period. Those arrested had less and less chance of being released or exonerated at the end of their trial. Moreover, more and more often the convicts were recidivists (20% in 1920, 40% in 1933). The majority of those convicted were given prison sentences. The m ost benign cases got out on bail with a reprimand or a fine. The fine, and the loss of civic rights, might be accompanied by a prison sentence. The loss of civic rights touc hes affected only a very limited percentage of people: 2.5% on average, throughout t he period. On the other hand, fines were more widespread at the beginning of the period (be fore 1925): approximately 30% received fines, while in 1933, only 12% did. This does not mean that fines were replaced by prison sentences, for in 1919 more than 97% of those convicted received prison sentences versus 85% in 1933. It is more likely that the additio n of a fine was gradually abandoned. Moreover, the length in prison terms did not go up. Only 9% of those who received a prison sentence got more than one year, and 5.2% in 1933. Some 23% of the people imprisoned in 1919 got three months to a year, c ompared to 29% in 1933. The majority were sentenced to less than three months in prison: 68% in 1919, 65% in 1933. The statistics from L.nder enable us to map a hierarchy of th e most repressive areas. In 1925, Prussia was far in the lead with 730 cases, followed

by Bavaria (207), Saxony (139), Wurtemberg (69), the Hamburg region(48), the land of Baden (46), Thuringe and Hesse (28), Mecklenburg (21), Brunswick (9) and Oldenburg (8). The conviction rate also reveals variations in legal repression. The rate was on ly 75% for the Hamburg region, 78% for Prussia and Wurtemberg, 80% for Mecklenburg, but 87% for Oldenburg, 88% for Saxony, 89% for Hesse, 90% for Bavaria, 98% for B aden, and a whopping 100% for Thuringe and Brunswick. The figures for each city are gi ven in 1930, and they are very indicative. The number of convictions is not proportiona l to the population, nor to the homosexual community present: in first place was Dresden, with 98 cases, followed by Munich (75), which reflects Munich s reputation for extreme hostility to homosexuality and the strong Nationalist-Socialist influence. Then came Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Frankfurt-am-Main, D.sseldorf and Berlin tied, followed by Hamburg, Bremen and L.beck. Berlin, the international capital of homosexuality, counted only 41 cases, and Hamburg, a harbor city notorious for male prostitutio n, had 381. The statistics first distinguished between homosexuality and bestiality in 1902. 382. Great Britain in those days had 45 million inhabitants; Germany, 65 million . In proportion to the population, the repression was a bit more intense in Great Britain than i n Germany. 327

A History of Homosexuality in Europe 24! That explains the relative sense of impunity among homosexual Berliners, and the homosexual flight from the provinces to the capital, as well. Looking at the age distribution in 1928, one can see that the age bracket most affected was the 18- to 21-year-olds. Most of those arrested were between 18 and 50. The distribution by profession in 1928 is very significant. Most cases relate to wor kmen in industry or the craft industries (306 out of 804), then workmen engaged in trade and transport (146), then farm laborers (134). The working class is over-represented compared to business owners, foremen or managers, and the liberal professions. One possib le explanation would be that the popular classes more frequently resorted to pick-u ps in the street, whereas the middle and upper classes had access to more discrete means o f finding partners. It is also possible that respectability and influence protected certai n people. The legal statistics thus contradict the generally accepted view: as far as its institutions, Germany did not practice a more liberal policy with regard to homosexuality than England. The difference in perception comes primarily from two phenomena: the co ntinually increased police presence in England, which created a climate of tension in the British homosexual community; and the ambiguous attitude of the German police wh ich practiced a tacit tolerance of the most current homosexual manifestations (balls , clubs, bars, etc.), but which severely repressed homosexual practices: soliciting, pand ering in the urinals, sodomy, etc. The police play disturbing games As in England, plainclothes policemen were stationed in strategic places (urinal s, train stations, parks) and were charged with identifying suspicious individuals. Nevertheless, it was permissible to frequent homosexual meeting places, even if the police exerted a discrete surveillance, especially when the masked balls were going on. Dancing between two people of the same sex was tacitly accepted. While homosexual and le sbian clubs were sometimes inspected, the purpose of such proceedings is open to quest ion: We saw those raids as more of a big joke than a real danger, and nothing much ev er happened, anyway. The police wrote down some names, gave us a warning, and left. 383 In the same vein, Christopher Isherwood noted: The Berlin police tolerated the bars. No cu stomer was likely to be arrested just because he was there. When the bars were raided, which did not happen often, it was only the boys who had to show their papers. T

hose who did not have any or who were wanted for a crime would dash out the back door or go out a window when the police arrived. 384 It seems that the purpose of these raids was more to round up suspects than to arrest homosexuals. The Berliner Tageblatt of November 14, 1919 and January 23, 1920 talked about raids in homosexual clubs (that detail was not specified by the newspaper) , in particular Monbijou and Domino. At this point in time, police chief Hermann was conducting a major campaign against gaming clubs, and raids took place almost every day (with varying degrees of success, for look-outs would keep an eye on the street and alert customers, who scattered to nearby bars). Some 800 people were arrested November 14, 1919. Rather than homosexuals, it must have been the male prostitutes and traffi ckers 383. Charlotte Wolff, Hindsight, London, Quartet Books, 1980, 312 pages, p.76. 384. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind [1929-1939], London, Methue n, 1977, 252 pages, p.29-30. 328

Criminals before the Law Graph 2. Changes in Sex Crimes ( 175 of the Penal Code) in Germany (1919-1934) 329

A History of Homosexuality in Europe who were the targets of such operations. In fact, a tradition of tolerance had b een established in Berlin between the police and the homosexual movements since the agreement between Berlin police chief Leopold von Meerscheidt-H.llesem and Magnus Hirschfe ld at the end of the 19th century. Thereafter, police chief Hans von Treschkow also collaborated with the WhK.385 However, there were files on homosexuals (Rosa Listen) existed, especially under von Meerscheidt-H.llesem, including the names of several promin ent figures. This was enough to enable the police to keep a lid on the homosexual co mmunity, but would have been hard to use as the basis for a massive crackdown. And as Hir schfeld noted, If the police wanted to handle homosexuals the way they do common criminal s, given the fact that Meerscheidt-Hulle s list of pederasts includes thousands of na mes they would shortly find that the current law is unenforceable. 386 The lists did have tragic consequences, however, for after the Nazis came to pow er they were used as a basis for identifying homosexuals. Certain cities distinguished themselves in their treatment of ions. The Dresden police,387 who had topped the list for the number , imposed special sanctions: three days in jail for staying in oximity of such places without any purpose, staying in these places in homosexual infract of arrests in 1930 the urinals or in pr order to prepare or to

pursue an intimate relation with a homosexual or to act in a suspicious manner w ith men, sheltering homosexuals and spending the night with such people, roaming about here and there without any purpose or objective, and loitering in the vicinity o f the old market, the Post Platz, Wiener Platz, or the station, and exposing oneself witho ut any reason in the same squares and public places, and soliciting men. The Dresden polic e were provided with a standard form for apprehending homosexuals and male prostit utes. The WhK also complained in March 1930 in the Mitteilungen des WhK about the attitude of the Munich police. While the police administration of other German ci ties keeps a discrete eye on homosexual establishments, in order to control the black mailers and other elements, the Munich police torment the customers of these establishme nts with endless raids and investigations. They describe a raid carried out on Januar y the 910, 1930. Fifty police officers burst in, goose-stepping. Nobody move, stay where you are! they barked. Everyone was asked to show his papers. Those who did not have any w

ere arrested and taken along to the station. The rest had to leave, whether or not t hey had paid their tabs. Many were mistreated and one man was beaten. They were let go o nly the following day at noon. Thus, the German police seem to have had a mixed attitude ; in many cities, particularly Berlin, tolerance was the rule. Other cities, either b ecause of regional politics or the pressures of public opinion, were far more repressive. Case studies A number of very complete files exist on petitions for clemency filed under Weimar. They display all the information about the petitioner, a report of the f acts, a 385. In his memoirs, Von F.rsten und anderen Sterblichen (Berlin, Fontane, 1922, 240 pages) von Treschkow manifests a certain tolerance with regard to homosexuals, albeit n ot without some prejudice. He felt that 175 made no sense. 386. Magnus Hirschfeld, Les Homosexuels de Berlin (1908), Lille, Cahiers Gai-Kit sch-Camp, 1993, 103 pages, p.98. 387. Dr Hans Muser, Homosexualit.t und Jugendf.rsorge, Paderborn, Verlag Ferdina nd Sch.ningh, 1933, 184 pages. 330

Criminals before the Law statement of the principal charges, then the reasoned opinions of the various ex perts entitled to make a judgment about the legitimacy of the plea. These opinions, wh en they are detailed, are an invaluable source of information and enable researchers to evaluate how tolerant the judges were with regard to homosexual acts. Benno Sahmel filed a clemency plea with the court in Tilsit, June 19, 1931.388 S ahmel was born on December 9, 1905; he was a shop clerk, unmarried, without any assets . He was already convicted, and along with him Kurt Seidler, 48, unmarried, a retired salaried worker, and Heinrich Dumat, 20, apprentice pastry-cook. Sahmel, who is described as of a homosexual disposition, met Seidler, who was of the same disposition, in 1928. The y entertained sexual relations until the end of 1930, one taking the member of the other in his mouth, until ejaculation. Dumat had relations of the same order with Seidler. Moreover, Sahmel received from Seidler considerable sums of money, which aggravate d his position. Sahmel was sentenced to three months in prison, Seidler was fined 300 RM with an alternative sentence of two months in prison, and Dumat got a fine of 50 RM or ten days in prison. Sahmel, who did not discharge his sentence, filed for clemen cy; this was rejected without much discussion: he was an individual with a bad attitude. Th is was a very simple case: sexual relation between consenting adults, without sodom y. There was, however, an aggravating circumstance: the defendant was more or less paid for his favors. Three months in prison already represents a fairly stiff sentence (r emember that more than 60% of those convicted were given less than three months). The ot her two received considerably lighter sentences, so it is clearly the aggravating circum stance which made the difference. Dumat s minimal sentence also shows that the duration a nd the number of relations entered into the calculation of the penalties. Another example is Franz Bartel, who appealed to the regional court of Prenzlau in 1931. He, too, was turned down.389 Bartel was born on April 23, 1897 in Templin; he installed stoves, unmarried, with no income. On June 2, 1930 he met Lindenberg i n an inn. After having had a few drinks and playing at dice, Lindenberg accompanied his co mrade, already quite intoxicated, to his apartment. Along the way, Bartel tried to grab his genitals. In the room, they took off their shirts and lay down on the bed. Lindenberg fell

asleep immediately. While he was asleep, Bartel tried to introduce his member int o the anus of Lindenberg. Bartel was convicted during a trial in Prenzlau in 1931 and w as sentenced to three weeks. Lindenberg was acquitted. It seems that the state of intoxicatio n did not in this case justify a remission of penalty, apparently because the jury felt that a healthy man, even in a state of intoxication, would not naturally do such a thin g. The fact that only an attempt was made probably explains the relatively light sentence. More serious was the case of Heinrich Kiefer, who appealed to the regional court of D.sseldorf on September 14, 1929.390 Kiefer was 26 at the time of the incident, unmarried, unemployed, and with dubious means of support. In February 1928, Kiefer was a ch ef associated with a hotel. At that time he committed indecent assault upon an appr entice cook. The apprentice tried to push Kiefer away, without success. Kiefer also wen t after the boy in his room and grabbed him again. On April 7, the apprentice lodged a c omplaint with the police against Kiefer, but during a confrontation the latter rejected a ny responsibility. The same day, the boy threw himself under a train, leaving his mother a letter 388. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a (2.5.1), n 17272. 389. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a (2.5.1), n 17276. 390. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a (2.5.1), n 17245. 331

A History of Homosexuality in Europe explaining that this man had taken his honor and that he could no longer work wi th him. Kiefer was sentenced to ten months in prison. The sentence could have been even longer, since there was repeated violence. The appeal for clemency was rejected. The pub lic prosecutor and the counsel for the plaintiff both rose against such a request. The lawyer m ade every effort to get a tough sentence against Kiefer, saying that even if the boy had not committed suicide, he would have been corrupted and poisoned in his spiritual lif e by this bestial criminal; and if he had had the strength and the will to resist the moral attacks, the stinking breath of this criminal would have remained with him for t he rest of his days. Leo Romanowski s petition for clemency, presented to the regional court of K.nigsberg on February 13, 1923,391 is a large file. Romanowski was a recidivist , a general practitioner, 34, and accused of a series of indecent assaults. His edifying cas e is described in exhaustive detail. He had pursued adolescent boys, offering cigarettes and po cket money. Romanowski was sentenced to one year and nine months, a particularly heav y sentence, due to the implication of minors and the repetitive assaults. Not only had Romanowski continued his advances on the boys, but he had already been convicted in April, 1922 for exhibitionism (in front of a girl). The request for mercy was we ll founded. The defendant had twelve brothers and sisters, all normal. He was deeply depressed, by nature perverse and obviously also an onanist. He had already fulfilled one year of the sentence, and the rest of it was commuted to three years, suspended. This de cision was cancelled on April 11, 1928 because of a new trial. During the summer of 192 7, Romanowski had gone after another schoolboy. Romanowski was sentenced this time to six months in prison. This third sentence was fairly heavy, but it is clear that extenuating circumstances played in his favor this time: he had not seduced a minor, since G oltz had already had homosexual relations. It is interesting to note that, according to j ustice, a young man was normal by definition. The first homosexual act, whether it was conse nsual or not, was always regarded as a seduction and thus an act of violence. However, if thereafter the boy goes in for homosexual acts, he himself is regarded as suc h. On the petition for clemency, opinions were divided: the legal counsellor (Gerichtshilf e) argued for a prison sentence that took into account the time already served. He recalle

d that the defendant had tried to fight against his nature and that he had even tried (with out success) to have relations with women. He had even contemplated marriage. Moreov er, Romanowski had been ruined by the inflation and did not have the money to go to a country where homosexuality was not illegal. His brothers and sisters could not help him. Finally, the defendant also benefited from extenuating circumstances, since the victim was a homosexual. The sentence was useless, since it would not cure the defendan t. On the other hand, it would make him lose his job. Lastly, one ought to consider th at the new penal code, when it came into effect, would no longer condemn homosexuality. The public prosecutor and the court decided against the remission of sentence and cl emency was not granted. Otto Gerpott, a 27-year-old single general practitioner, came before the regiona l court of Torgau on April 12, 1929.392 Six young men appeared with him, they were 16 to 18 years old at the time of the incidents. In 1927, Gerpott had engaged in unnatural acts with each one of them. He was sentenced to a year and a half in prison and two y ears of 391. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a (2.5.1), n 17209. 392. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a (2.5.1), n 17257. 332

Criminals before the Law loss of civic rights. The sentence was very heavy the unusual duration and the l oss of civic rights was extremely rare. This severity may be attributed to the youth of the boys and the number of punishable acts. Gerpott was regarded as a seducer, the very pro totype of the homosexual bogeyman. The request for leniency was of course rejected, for the defendant had shown many times over that he was a danger to youth; his good conduct could not be considered a predictor of his future attitude. Another appe al was filed in November. The lawyer said that the defendant had a job waiting for him in Dresden, and he would be able to open an office again. He came from a good famil y, he had studied hard, and during the war he served as an army medical officer in the nav y. After 1925, his homosexuality was confirmed and he had started to drift. The lawyer th us argued that the rest of the sentence be suspended; and it was. A new appeal was filed in January, 1930, to restore his civic rights and to attenuate the prison sentence. But the situation had deteriorated. The lawyer acknowledged that the conduct of the defendant had changed: he did not show any remorse and he spoke very cynically about his earli er actions. All further appeals were rejected. Ernst Domscheit represents another case involving a seducer. The regional court of K.nigsberg heard his appeal on June 17, 1930.393 Domscheit, 38, was married a nd the father of two children. He was on State support. He had fought during the First World War, was decorated, and preserved the character of a lieutenant. His reputation wa s good. However, in July 1928, he had assaulted a thirteen-year-old schoolboy, his friends son. He fondled him again during subsequent visits. After assaulting the child o n New Year s Day, he was tried and sentenced to eight months in prison. That was a heavy sentence, but lower than Gerpott s, for only one child was involved. The appeal asked for a suspended sentence, with a fine of 100 RM. Domscheit s reputation worked in his fa vor, as well as the family s financial situation. But clemency was refused. A new reque st was filed. The lawyer explained that Domscheit was not a degenerate; and the trial h ad already destroyed his life there was no point in adding to his misfortune. Appen ded to the file was a letter from Elsa Domscheit, his wife, beseeching the Prussian Min ister for Justice to bear in mind her tragic position: the children had nothing to eat, th ey had no winter clothes, and she herself could do nothing but weep day and night. A few d ays later Domscheit send a petition, himself; but all in vain. A third hearing was held on

January 12, 1931; this time, clemency was granted fine of 100 RM.

a suspension until January 31, 1934 and a

To conclude, we will look at the appeal filed at the regional court of Wiesbaden on June 30, 1931.394 The case is complex, for it involves foreign nationals and a n otable figure. It also illustrates the methods used by the police. The two accused are Jacob M. ller, a tailor, Austrian, born in 1903, and the Czechoslovakian consul in Frankfurt-am-M ain, Zdenek Rakusam, born in 1887. The consul general of Czechoslovakia contacted the public prosecutor to ask that the incident be kept out of the press. Rakusam had gone back to his country and did not show up for the hearing; he held a diplomatic pa ssport and there was little chance of obtaining his extradition. The public urinal loca ted close to the Saint-Boniface church at Wiesbaden was a favorite with homosexuals, and ther efore it was under constant police surveillance. On the afternoon of June 29, 1931, th e police observed that two men had stayed in the urinal for an abnormally long time, like homo 393. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a (2.5.1), n 17263. 394. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a (2.5.1), n 17275. 333

A History of Homosexuality in Europe sexuals who are trying to establish a contact. Schietinger had been observing the scene for five minutes, when he noted the wall which enclosed the urinal allowed a vie w of the occupants feet that the two men had changed places and that other men had gon e in at that moment. A man coming out of the urinal gestured to him to indicate wh at was going on in there. The two were arrested. M.ller swore that he was not homosexua l, and that after being struck speechless by the other man s conduct he had tried to push him away. The court found that story far-fetched, for if M.ller had wished to refuse , he could easily have done so, either by struggling or by calling for help. M.ller was sen tenced to thirty days and a fine of 120 RM. No clemency was granted. The sentence was abou t average, but on the high side for a case involving only masturbation and fellati o. The incident took place in front of witnesses, which entailed a disturbance of law a nd order and provocation of scandal. These reports elucidate several important points. First, they are all extremely precise: the sexual practices are described with great meticulousness. The judge s did not condemn all homosexual acts uniformly. The duration and the nature of the penalt y was always a function of the act itself: touching the sex organs through the trouser s did not merit the same sentence as mutual Onanism or sodomy. The number of times that th e act was practiced, and the age of the partner, also played a great part in the evalu ation of the misdemeanor or crime (German judges separated the two charges clearly, even if t he defendant was often accused of both a misdemeanor and a crime against morality (Vergehen und Verbrechen gegen die Sittlichkeit). As in England, many the cases were based on police surveillance of suspicious places. Agents were assigned to the urinals and other strategic places frequente d by homosexuals; they were to catch the men in the act, if possible, or at least to ensure a deposition by a witness so as not to risk a possible defeat in court. Another portion of th e arrests resulted from denunciations, especially in the case of children or adole scents who had been victims of violence by an adult. In those cases, the sanctions were muc h more severe, but they depended more on the age and innocence of the victim than on the circumstances of the act. Thus the incident of the apprentice cook and Werner Broschko was viewed as a rape, but still did not entail a sentence as heavy as that of Ge rpott, which entailed the seduction of several young people, obviously consensual, or Romanow

ski, who was certainly recidivist but who limited himself to awkward attempts at mast urbation and exhibitionism. And finally, it is possible that, in other cases, the arrest might follow a denunciation on the part of third-party witnesses. Lastly, we note that the majority of petitions for clemency did not succeed. Sev eral arguments were used in favor of the prisoners: some were traditional, like good conduct, good reputation, first offense; others were more specific: the defendant is manl y, he participated in the war effort or, on the contrary, is a congenital invert, one who has tried without success to find a remedy for his condition; a prison sentence cann ot cure him. This argument was generally counter-productive, as the public prosecutor ju dged the individual to be all the more dangerous since he could not control himself. Then the financial situation and marital status might be raised: the disastrous consequen ces of the crisis were often highlighted. Unique to the early 1930s was the pretext of the new draft law showing that, before long, homosexuality would not be condemned. Most of the time, leniency was withheld in the name of morals; the defendant was described as a vi cious person and especially dangerous to youth. The commute sentences generally consis ted of a probationary period part of the sentence was suspended or commuted to a fine 334

Criminals before the Law and the original sentence could be re-imposed if the defendant did not meet his obligations. Censorship A final dimension by which to measure German anti-homosexual repression is a study of censorship. First, one ought to mention that the vast majority of the f iles preserved by the Prussian police pertaining to censorship of obscene illustrations, writin gs and representations are unrelated to homosexuality.395 The most famous instance of homosexual censorship was the banning of Richard Oswald and Magnus Hirschfeld s film, Anders als die Andern. Several homosexual per iodicals were also banned, such as Die Freundschaft in 1921396 and Bl.tter f.r ideale Fra uenfreundschaften, a lesbian publication, which appeared on police lists dealing with indecent publications in 1924.397 We will look at two cases of censorship to see what factors came into play. In 1 928, the December issue of the homosexual periodical Die Insel was banned.398 Berline r Morgenpost reported the incident, and explained that the review was condemned for publishin g an excerpt from the book by Peter Martin Lampel, Jugend in Not (1928). Lampel ha d done a survey on the life of children on public assistance and in one chapter he talked about their homosexual relations. That was the passage that Die Insel reprised. The Attorney General explained in a letter dated February 26, 1929 that the review w as registered on the pornography and smut list because the publication of the Lampel excerpt was intended to excite the sexual instinct of the reader and to gratify sexual o bsessions. The Attorney General did not attack Lampel s book, which was not censored, for he considered that the homosexual passages were there for information purposes whereas, taken out of context, they could only be intended to satisfy the erotic impulse of the reader especially in a homosexual periodical. Moreover, as the newspaper was available on the newsstand, it could fall into the wrong hands, such as those of adolescents. On August 31, 1926, the homosexual publisher Friedrich Radszuweit complained to the Prussian Minister for Justice about actions taken against Das Freundschaf tsblatt with regard to the advertisements which appeared in the newspaper, and which he said the police always interpreted in a negative way. He asked for a hearing in order to clarify the position of homosexuals. The Attorney General responded to a request for informa tion

from the Ministry for Justice by explaining that this homosexual periodical was only condemned once, for an advertisement published in Number 7: Soldier, fired because of his homosexual inclinations..., seeks work of any kind. General Delivery, Potsdam HR 24. The newspaper was fined 100 RM on June 25, 1926 because from the majority of rea ders such an advertisement could elicit only obscene thoughts, since the periodical o nly covered sexual topics. As in the case of Die Insel, it is the homosexual charact er of the periodical that renders suspect the articles or the classified advertisements that are bann ed. 395. These are only a portion of the original files, of course, but they are alm ost entirely devoted to issues of abortion, birth control propaganda, and Nacktkultur, especially the theater shows featuring nude dancers and so-called art photos. 396. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a, n 5339. 397. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep.84a, n 5341. 398. GStA PK, I.HA, Rep. 84a, n 17347. 335

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The police were sometimes alerted by denunciations by private individuals. The Prussian Minister for Justice received a letter from a German national living in Florence, Martin Vogel, in 1931. He complained of finding books that he considered obscene on the display stands of the secondhand booksellers. He quoted several titles, includin g certain works by Magnus Hirschfeld. An investigation was started. The Attorney General s response was very clear. The work directed by Magnus Hirschfeld, Geschlecht und Verbrechen, can in no event wound the sensibilities of a normal man, because the scientific character of the work underlined first and foremost. Such a book, with its histo rical overview, is intended to enrich knowledge of the relations between sexuality and crime and has a particular value, especially nowadays. 399 In fact, censorship was neither systematic nor blind. The judge did not censor a ny homosexual publication a priori, but only those which were disturbing to the law and order. There again, just as there were nuances in the gravity of the homosexual ac t, there were degrees in obscenity. FRENCH HOMOSEXUALS OUT ON PROBATION (1919-1939)

In France, this vice is not grounds for imprisonment, thanks to the morals of Ca mbac.r.s [who drafted the civil code under Napol.on Bonaparte] and the longevity of the Napoleonic Code. But I do not accept that I am tolerated. It wounds my love of love and freedom. 400 France is a special case in this study, since it was the only country not to con demn homosexuality. While the French police used the same methods as the British and German police with regard to homosexuals, French judges had to confront homosexu ality only in very special cases. However, behind this theoretical impunity, a practic e of monitoring homosexuals developed that was based on a certain homophobia in the legal and police sectors. Was France the Land of Homosexual Tolerance? France enjoyed an excellent reputation in the inter-war period among the homosex ual community, especially the foreigners. Lesbians in particular elected Paris as th eir international capital and celebrated its moral liberalism: Paris always seemed to me the only city where one could express oneself and live life his own way. In spite of harmful effects inflicted by foreigners, it continues to respect and even to encourage p ersonality. 401 Klaus Mann evoked Parisian life in these terms: The florists are teasing two

customers. Ah, two big flirts!

they exclaim joyfully, and giggle while holding out bunches of

red, yellow and blue flowers. One of them, particularly mischievous and playful, asks an impish question: Or one big flirt and his boyfriend? and doubles over in laughter. And even the imposing police officer who threads his way between the baskets observe s goodnaturedly: Ah, we do have fun in our Paris. 402 399. GStA PK, Rep.84a, n 17355. 400. Jean Cocteau, Le Livre blanc [1928], Paris, .ditions de Messine, 1983, 123 pages, p.123. 401. Natalie Barney, Souvenirs indiscrets, Paris, Flammarion, 1960, 234 pages, p .21. 336

Criminals before the Law Beyond these idyllic descriptions, how real was the French tolerance? Homosexuality Unknown to French Law Since the revolutionary laws of 1791 and the penal code of 1810, homosexuality w as not repressed under French law.403 Under the Ancien R.gime, in fact, it was not a question of homosexuality but of sodomy, a term indicating an act and not a category of p eople, but whose elastic definition could also cover the concept of heresy, without sexual overtones. Royal justice and the canonical law punished both these crimes with burning at t he stake. French law, grounding itself on the great revolutionary principles, only punishe d if there were victims. Consequently, sexual perversions, if they were voluntarily consented to, did not enter the scope of the law. Lastly, the principal writer of the civil co de, Jean Jacques R.gis Cambac.r.s, was homosexual and some have deduced that this account s for the particular tolerance of French law on this subject. The judges are interested Still, just because homosexuality is not mentioned as a crime in French law, tha t does not mean that the judges had nothing to say about it.404 The legal institut ion started to discuss homosexuality in the 19th century, thus going beyond its purely repre ssive role. This discourse was characterized by pejorative and stigmatizing adjectives ( immor al acts , guilty excesses, shameful passions ) which evaded any attempt to define a perver se act. Precise definitions were only formulated much later. Justice in those days was quite dependent on medical theory, which had been far quicker to come up with de finitions and classifications of perversions. The homosexual question could thus be tackle d in the context of public indecency and indecent assaults, in particular on minors. The correctional court of the Seine convicted one B.nard for exciting minors to debauchery.405 He apparently took two 18-year-olds to a hotel room, and reciproc al activities took place. He gave them money for dinner and cigarettes; the following day, he did it again. The Paris Appellate Court annulled his conviction because the background of two boys clearly contradicted the count of indictment. Both had been soliciting befo re they met B.nard and, in fact, he could not have been an agent of corruption with resp ect to them since, being inverts, they already had been earning their living for some t ime by

exploiting their defects; under these conditions, the charge of ors to vice could not be upheld against B.nard.

excitation of min

The legal wording is, as always, important to obtaining a conviction. While the Appellate Court rejected this version of the facts, it did not exclude the possi bility of 402. Klaus Mann, La Danse pieuse [1925], Paris, Grasset, 1993, 272 pages, p.264. 403. See Jean Danet, Discours juridique and perversions sexuelles (XIXe-XXe si.c le), Nantes, universit. de Nantes, 1977, 105 pages. 404. See Jean-Paul Aron and Roger Kempf, Le P.nis et la D.moralisation de l Occide nt, Paris, Grasset, 1978, 306 pages. Jean Danet s work, Discours juridique et perversions sexuelles, s heds light on the tribunals attitude to homosexuality. He shows that, if the law spells out interdictions an d sanctions, the tribunals were not satisfied with strictly applying the penalties. The first half of the 1 9th century was spent in defining various perversions; the end of the century was a time for pub lic debates on homosexuality and onanism; the period from 1900 to 1939 was above all preoccupied with pederas ty. 405. The appeals court of Paris, 11 October 1930 GP 1930, 2e sem., p.886, cited by Jean Danet, Discours juridique et perversions sexuelles, op. cit. 337

A History of Homosexuality in Europe pressing other charges. B.nard was not found guilty only because he was not thei r first customer; minors are considered guilty when they can no longer be regarded as in nocent victims of a corrupter-initiator. Here we find again the distinction made by the German judges. Another incident involves a minor, Joseph Gilles, 18, who was found on November 10, 1931, in Paris, wandering on the public thoroughfare, staying in a furnished room and deriving his resources solely from prostitution. 406 Gilles was arrested for vagra ncy and placed on probation in the paternal society of Mettray, 407 under the guardianship of a trusted person, Mr. Barth.lemy. His seducer was sentenced to six months and a 200f ranc fine. Like male homosexuality, female homosexuality was not condemned by French law; and there is no sign of any particular desire to fight lesbianism in the in ter-war period. The question only came before the judges when minors were involved, in w hich case the incidents did come under the purview of the law. In the Parrini affair, a woman was accused of corrupting young girls. The records of the Aix Appellate Court (D ecember 6, 1934) state that Parrini had molested several female minors, and concludes by saying that, If article 334 (334-1) of the penal code does not, in theory, cover acts of personal and direct seduction, the natural physiological manifestations of one sex for the ot her, this text finds its application when, as in the present case, they are unnatural acts , which must be regarded as acts of perversion, depravity and excitation to vice, acts which make of their author an agent of corruption. La Semaine juridique408 noted that this ruli ng was not in conformity with the doctrines of the Supreme Court of Appeals. The court in A ix had sentenced Claire Parrini to three months in prison, suspended, and a 25-franc fi ne. But the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned it: Whatever acts of vice they may have commi tted, only those who have engaged in procurement to satisfy the passions of others are liable under article 334-1; it is only stated in the judgment under discussion t hat Claire Parrini attracted young partners and engaged in indecent practices on them, with out these scenes necessarily occurring in the presence of anyone other than her part ners. These statements do not show that the accused engaged in these practices for the satisfaction of other passions than her own; it follows that the application of art. 334 al.1

is not justified and that, consequently, the judgment lacks a legal basis. Thus, on the whole, the judges repressive power over homosexuals was very limited. Still, it is important to note that the finer details of the law were applied only reluctantly; and it would be a mistake to think that the system of justice in France was completely indifferent to homo sexuality. Censorship Even if it was not directly covered by the law, the question of homosexuality co uld still be tackled via obscene and pornographic publications. The leading magazine s that were tried were Frou-Frou and Gar.onne, light-weight periodicals that were known for their clever classified advertisements. Reports on these magazines do not make e xplicit references to homosexuality; however, in 1925 the general council of Seine-Inf.r ieure called attention to the proliferation of publications that were an outrage to de cency, and 406. TGI Seine, 26 February 1932 GP 1932, 1re sem., p.778, cited by Jean Danet, ibid. 407. This was the reformatory where Jean Genet was. 408. 1935, p.259-260; document provided by Claude Courouve. 338

Criminals before the Law to the propagation of doctrines that questioned the traditional organization of society.409 What they had in mind was mainly homosexuality, the liberation of mo rals, divorce and contraceptive practices. Given that concern, publications which were in no case obscene but which might diffuse subversive ideas, could fall afoul of the c ensors. As a case in point, the homosexual review Inversions. This magazine was very short-li ved, for it was immediately attacked for obscenity. However, there were no legal grounds for banning it. This affair is therefore particularly revealing as to how homosexual ity was dealt with in France.410 In fact, it was an accumulation of complaints, both official and anonymous, that caught the attention of the justice system.411 The first edition of Inversions a ppeared on November 15, 1924, and complaints poured in immediately: on November 5, 1924 a deputy, Mr. Pr.vert, gave to the president of the chamber written question no. 1 359, asking the Minister for Justice if the legislation authorized a homosexual magaz ine called Inversions to announce its publication by way of advertisements in the press. He was told that indecency charges had already been filed against the manager. Then, on Nove mber 26, 1924, the Minister of Justice received a letter from Mr. de Forge, vice-pres ident of the Association of War Veteran Writers, who was indignant that the review would proud ly proclaim its wretched program. De Forge stressed that he wrote as the father of a family, and if tomorrow my son, attracted by this rag with the eye-catching title, buys i t and becomes perverted, what will be your responsibility in the matter? In Germany th e police pursue Die Freiheit [sic, he probably meant Die Freundschaft], in obscene journa l of the same kind, which is only sold under the table [in fact, it was sold very legally in t he kiosks]. Inversions is sold on the boulevards, posts its address and is calling for class ified advertisements. After the second edition came out, there were more complaints. The Ministry of t he Interior forwarded to the Minister of Justice an excerpt from the Mercure de Fra nce of December 15, 1924 with an advertisement for Inversions, which had been sent in b y Louis Coquet, a retired, disabled colonel. The very moral fiber of France was calling fo r the magazine to be prohibited. This posed a problem, however. The Attorney General a dvised the Minister of Justice on December 23 that a conference on homosexuality had be

en announced by the Club du Faubourg and various newspapers, such as L .re nouvelle. Books like Gide s Corydon and Dr. Nazier s L Anti-Corydon would be discussed.412 The prosecu tor s conclusion was simple and indicative: A subject that is shocking is not in itself punishable. However, he informed the Minister of Justice of the state of the inve stigations. The publisher, Mr. Mazel, had been contacted: he was away while the magazine was being printed and did not know the nature of the publication. He now offered to break his contract. The address listed for the magazine at 1 Bougainville was on ly the address of the Bougainville Hotel, where the mail was delivered; it was collecte d by Gaston Lestrade, 23 years old, who occupied a modest room in this hotel which, fo r reasons of economy, he shared with a tapestry maker. The prosecutor s final words a re stunning. He had read Inversions himself, and considered it to be aesthetic and of quality: I 409. AN, BB 18 6173 (1925). 410. For the entire affair, AN BB 18 6174/44 BL 303. 411. This was frequently the case. Other publications were denounced by individu als as being bad for morals, for young people, or for France (AN, BB 18 6172/44 BL 228). 412. This conference took place 20 October 1924, at 10 boulevard Barb.s; 500 peo ple participated. 339

A History of Homosexuality in Europe have not seen any dirty expression or obscene terms in it. He recalled that in it s March 25, 1911 judgment the Supreme Court of Appeals, interpreting the laws of 1882, 1 898 and 1908 on public indecency, said that there can be no lawsuit if obscenity were no t shown. The prosecutor then completed his letter with an edifying about-face: It is neces sary to take account of the manifest change in public opinion, which shows itself to be in favor of the repression of public indecency and the protection of youth from depravity... . This publication, although it does not contain anything obscene, is indeed highly con trary to morality; it is scandalous, it is dangerous. And he thus recommended condemning i t for public indecency. Gilles Barbedette and Michel Carassou relate how the rest of the story unfolded in their book Gay Paris 1925. The first judgment declared Beyria guilty of public i ndecency and Lestrade guilty of complicity. Beyria was sentenced to ten months and 200 fr ancs, Lestrade to six months and 200 francs. Both appealed; the matter came before the Paris Appellate Court on October 13, 1926. The Advocate General asked for the session to be held behind closed doors. The Court pointed out first of all that, From the very first lines, this publication informs its readers of the spirit in which it is conceived and the goal that it pursues: Inversions is not a review of homosexuality, but for homosexuality. 413 The Court then developed an implacable line of argumentation, acknowledging that it i s true that the magazine in question is correct in form and that no indecent terminolog y is found therein, but observing that obscenity may be present by implication and abstracti on, without any obscene expression being quoted. Then came the decisive factor, the fact that the publication defended homosexuality: The law of August 2, 1882, sufficient to repress abuses at the time when it was legislated, at present leaves decency and public morality defenseless against the new forms that pornography (ever skillful at slipping th rough the tiniest legal cracks) has managed to invent. Inversions was thus condemned by the law taken in its broadest sense, that of flagrant indecency. The Court cited many extr acts from the review as examples of attacks on proper morals and concluded that almost every page of this publication constitutes a cynical apology for pederasty, a sy stematic appeal to homosexual passions and a ceaseless provocation of the unhealthiest cu

riosities; that also, in spite of the studious care to avoid any improper language, such ar ticles constitute not only an attack on morals and a propaganda liable to compromise the future of the race through its neo-Malthusian tendencies, and also ventures into obscenity , if not by words, at least by the indecency of some of the topics covered and by the gen eral tenor of the publication. Here, the social question takes the lead: the fear of a gener alized perversion of the society is compounded by another, more pernicious, fear of a homosexual plot that could destroy the foundations of the society from within. Quoting a pe rsonal advertisement from a reader in Berlin seeking a correspondent in France, the Cou rt asserts that the publication, in terms that are superficially prudish but transpa rent enough for those in the know was serving as a liaison between homosexuals in vari ous countries and consequently was an active agent of propaganda for spreading peder asty, and was thus a licentious provocation, cunningly inciting readers to the most rep ugnant of vices. The Court thus could only come to one conclusion: it upheld the judgmen t and accepted as the only extenuating circumstance the fact that Beyria and Lestrade did not 413. The minutes of the Cour de cassation are cited by Gilles Barbedette and Mic hel Carassou, Paris gay 1925, Paris, Presses de la Renaissance, 1981, 312 pages, p.269-274. 340

Criminals before the Law take part in writing the articles, but only accepted submissions and published a nd sold them. They were thus sentenced to three months imprisonment and a 100-franc fine . Homosexuals under Surveillance Why would the police spy on homosexuals, when they were not regarded as criminal s? A preliminary answer can be found in the Ministry for Justice observation on the preliminary draft of legislation concerning the prevention of venereal diseases: It seems that in certain large cities, given the current concern for policing morality, t he local authorities actually order a certain number of arrests and detentions on an admi nistrative basis. But these are practices that the law does not cover. The legal basis and the intention of these practices would be highly controversial. 414 In other words, police monit oring of homosexuals was not justified by law. However the government, especially at the local level, found that unacceptable. In fact, the French law was very advanced in its attitudes; any deficiency in this regard can probably be chalked up to the efforts of individuals intent on carrying out a veiled attack on a political opponent. The Homosexual as an ordinary delinquent Very often homosexuality, which could not be regarded as a crime in itself according to French legislation, was perceived as an aggravating factor in any c riminal event. A suspect wanted for a crime or a misdemeanor that had nothing to do with morals would still be written up as a homosexual in the police report. .douard Riguet, wanted for drug dealing, was described as frequenting many pederasts. One may suppose tha t spending time in this bad company did him no good and would be regarded as aggra vating factors when he went to trial.415 In a similar way yet on a far different scale, Ferdinand, Duke de Montpensier, prince of Bourbon, sixth child of the count de Paris, was listed between 1915 and 1931 as an inveterate bon vivant, addicted to morphine and young homosexuals. It is not clear whether he was under police surveillance for his drug use or his homosexual activities. Ferdinand de Bourbon uses narcotics every day; moreover, he indulges in pederasty and his villa Bellevue in San Remo is the scene of continual orgies. Files were kept on the social, cultural and political elite of the country were and information concerning their principal weaknesses was noted. The marquis de Bour y,

deputy of the Eure, suffered unfortunately from vice which makes him dependent ha nd and foot on a band of young men without consciences. He has taken as his so-call ed Secretary a professional homosexual, Messein (called Messaline), who lives with him in Par is as well as at his ch.teau. This individual, who used to have his favors to himse lf, is now the procurer feeding his wretched vices with little boys or young adolescents. A close associate Messein, Huguette Despres, was addicted to cocaine and morphin e. In 1916, she was signed into Sainte-Anne s, where she got into scenes of unimaginab le orgies between people of both sexes, pederasts and lesbians. Homosexuals were sometimes the victims of blackmail: Miss A.S., whom I was called to treat, found herself the easy prey of two inverts who reside at 17 Tru daine 414. AN, BB 18 6186. 415. For this case and the next, see AN, F7 14837. 341

A History of Homosexuality in Europe avenue. These two individuals ran an opium den. Linking drugs and homosexuality i s old hat; people came into the police s sights because of their use of narcotics, but t he discovery of homosexual activities only increased the interest of the police. An event a l ittle bit anterior to our period shows how homosexuality and delinquency were linked i n the mind of the police. April 19, 1916, an anonymous letter of denunciation drew the attention of the police to a college professor, Marcel Seyrat, claiming that a certain Marc el C.rat [sic] pursues immoral acts with young men and sells cocaine to all the women of Montmartre. 416 An investigation was opened. A letter from the prefect of police to the Mini stry of the Interior dated August 22, 1916 reveals that Marcel Seyrat goes to Montmart re establishments, such as the brasserie Leon, 76 boulevard de Clichy, where he meets drug dealers and pederasts. Furthermore, he had the manners and the style of the latter, and thus it could be that he shared their morals. However, he was not found in th e special files of drug dealers and pederasts and was described as a rather timid la d, effeminate, of good character and enjoying an excellent reputation at Pouillac. All this goes to show that the monitoring of homosexuals was a customary procedure; their meeting places, their practices were known; and above all, it shows that special files w ere kept on homosexuals, even though it is difficult to determine whether that was done in a ny systematic way.417 Further reports on Marcel Seyrat detail his relations and habits, includ ing the fact that he was known for receiving visits from beardless young men rather o ften. He was known to be a follower of pederasty and he lost a job at Serga Concert beca use of the very particular customers that his presence attracted, but none of these e lements apparently led the police to do anything. All of this applied to lesbians as well as homosexuals. One Grignette, known as Albano, was listed in the police files as providing opium to the courtesan .mili enne d Alen.on. She is designated as a lesbian; little else is noted. Similarly, Mrs. M arie Lesage, a painter and a lesbian (underlined in the police report) and a friend of Jean G uitry, is written up as a regular at Triboulet, on Pigalle St., where she was known to use morphine, cocaine and opium.418 However, a report from February 22, 1917 describes her as depraved, lesbian; she has had many [male] lovers and is always going to houses o f ill repute. This is perplexing: does the term lesbian have any real significance? The sexual

definition seems not to have been very clear; in a police report, the term lesbi an seems to have been shorthand for vice and depravity in general. It is clear that the banker Marthe Hanau s reputation did not play in her favor during her trial. Known for her extravagance, her masculine appearance (strictly tailored clothes, short hair, cigarette-holder), she would show up with her partner Jos.p he in the usual places le Boeuf sur le Toit or le Monocle. An atheist, Jew, divorced, and lesbian, she was a perfect target for the judges when the financial scandal erupted in 19 28. Convicted in 1930, she was sent to the women s prison until July 1935. There are unfortunately few documents to round out these observations. Suffice i t to say that the homosexuality of a suspect was regularly noted in police reports , where it 416. AN, F7 14840. 417. It is quite probable that people who were written up for various misdemeano rs (drugs, theft, prostitution, etc.) were also reported as being homosexuals, if they were . In his book Chez les mauvais gar.ons (Paris, R. Saillard, 1938, 221 pages), Michel du Coglay asserts that, of 250,000 homosexuals in the Paris region, the police had files on 20,000 to 25,00 0. These figures are no currently verifiable, as there are no relevant archives. 418. AN, F7 14840. 342

Criminals before the Law was seen as an aggravating circumstance, even if it was not the reason for the p olice interest in the first place. Homosexuality and prostitution: military surveillance The links between homosexuality and prostitution are difficult to analyze, for there are few traces of police surveillance. Female prostitution undoubtedly mad e up the vast majority of the files because it was regulated and that allows for easier m onitoring. The boys mostly worked independently, in the street. They were thus harder to tr ack, especially as many of them were amateurs who only occasionally prostituted thems elves. However, there are some scattered references to male prostitution. For example, on February 10, 1914, the Minister of the Interior sent a note to the prefects prohi biting any person owning a residential hotel or furnished rooms, a caf., cabaret, bar or pu blic house, from allowing into their establishment on a regular basis, for the purpose of en gaging in prostitution, girls or women of vice or individuals of unusual morals. 419 In fact, police surveillance of homosexuals was focused on certain quite precise areas where law and order and state security could be threatened. The archives42 0 reveal that very close monitoring, using methods similar to those used by the English p olice, was in effect in the French ports in order to keep an eye on relations between sailo rs and civilians. It should be emphasized that homosexuality was only of secondary impo rtance in the monitoring of maritime locales; files were kept on homosexual sailors jus t as they were on communist sailors, and sometimes establishments suspected of harboring o ne or the other category are listed together. Unlike in England or Germany, the search for homosexual sailors (and civilians) was not an aim in itself: these individuals w ere not reproached for a sexual preference which simply exposed them to scorn; rather, l ike frequenting prostitutes, homosexuality was seen as a sign of poor character. The problem, in both cases, was the habit of frequenting seedy establishments, and soliciting in the streets. Moreover, and this is what mattered most, homosexuals talk: wherever th ey meet with a partner, in a hotel or on the street, they become chummy and might become chatty. The military authorities were afraid of the sailors saying too much, and giving away state secrets, as well as whatever propaganda their lovers might pass along.

Police reports are available for a period from 1927 to 1932, covering the cities of Toulon, Brest and Lorient large naval ports and naval bases. The reports were wr itten by the special police station of the city concerned; some were intended to share information with other commissariats in order to coordinate the search for suspects (between Toulon and Cannes, Toulon and Draguignan); some were notes to the naval authorit ies. In addition, police reports were sent each month to the prefect, who would send the m to the Ministry of the Interior under the title, Surveillance to identify civilian and m ilitary homosexuals. Thereafter, the Ministry of the Interior might communicate to the Mi nistry for the Navy the names of suspect sailors. The reports usually bore similar capt ions: Homosexuals, Homosexuals in the Marines, Incidents of Pederasty. Most of the monthly reports were made up exclusively of lists of names, distinguishing civil ian and military homosexuals, and the suspicions that were entertained in regard to each individual, the place in which he was discovered, the charges that could be levied against h im. 419. AN, F7 14663. 420. AN, F7 13960 (2): pederasty in maritime circles (1927-1932). 343

A History of Homosexuality in Europe In certain cases, the surveillance work is described and the police officer char ged with the report often allows himself to comment on the homosexuality of the suspect and h is practices. They were generally categorized as passive or active homosexuals. Like the soldiers of the Guard in England, the sailors, the blue collars, had the advantage of a specific romantic allure. The glamour of the uniform, a fascination with travel, and sexual availability combined to keep the myth alive. One police repo rt notes that: The sailor, whether he s a hunk or a little cutie, is particularly sought aft er and a clandestine industry has developed to exploit this taste. 421 Most of the homosexu als in the military were in the navy, and they took advantage of shore leave to earn a little easy money and various other perks. One report notes that many sailors from one vessel earned a lot of money in Cannes and Nice, working as fags. 422 Another sailor, Georg e Baldassi, spent his shore leaves in the company of notorious homosexuals from whom he accepted, as the price of his shameful favors, drinks, food, cigarettes and cash. 4 23 The sum received varied between 15 and 20 francs for fellatio or masturbation an d 40 to 50 francs for a night. Soliciting might be direct, but some had pimps or r eceived regular customers. Sometimes the scene was just a set-up for robbery, often by p ick-pocketing. 424 The prostitution was often not formal: the sailor did not ask for a specific amount of money before leaving with his customer ; the remuneration was implied and

the client would give the sailor money as a gift, not as payment for sexual favo rs. For this reason, payment was not always guaranteed. Sometimes, moreover, the sailor would not accept money and was satisfied to let his partner pay for a meal, a show and a r oom. The sailor might even be paid if he refused sodomy or another favor, apparently in o rder to make sure he kept his mouth shut and to avoid a change of humor, as a sailor who flew into a rage could easily attack his partner. Indeed, none of the sailors claimed to be homosexual, and most explained that they engaged in prostitution solely to make some money. The quartermaster of the destroyer George Leloup was surprised on May 15, 1932, at 00:30, in Toulon in the company of a known homosexual, and vehemently denied the assignation. The police officers saw this as obviously bad faith, just an attempt to avoid getting his friend in trouble and thus losing his desired and shameful services. 4 25 Indeed,

the police surveillance did make these rendezvous more complicated and the sailo rs friends employed various dilatory tactics in order to protect their partners. Some of the sailors engaged in homosexual acts only occasionally; others made a virtual second job of it and admitted to going out with many inverts, or had one designated friend. Lastly, certain civilians got their names on the lists when they made advances on sailors who were not interested. One German, Alfred Pockrandt, follo wed an 18-year-old sailor into a urinal in Toulon, and at the moment when he was urinati ng, grabbed him 426 Shocked, the sailor left, screaming at the importunate one; he, ter rified, called to a policeman for help! Pockrandt good-naturedly explained that he detes ted women, and liked to masturbate. 421. Information report on clandestine prostitution of the State s sailors in dive rse establishments in the capital. 422. Report dated 14 March 1928 (Brest). 423. Report dated 14 September 1932 (Toulon). 424. Report dated 23 January 1932 (Toulon). 425. Report dated 17 June 1932 (Toulon). 426. Report dated 19 May 1932 (Toulon). 344

Criminals before the Law This shows a clear difference between England and Germany. The homosexual is not perceived as a criminal in power and he calls on the police when he fears he will be attacked. However, it is unlikely that this attitude was widespread, not because homosexuals were afraid of having a police record but because, if they had any social standi ng, they feared that word would get out. And the police reports named everyone who was suspect, without always having irrefutable evidence of their homosexuality. One Eugene Boulch thus refused the advances of two civilians, but he was fully cognizant that his own conduct was not beyond reproach: While denying that he was an active homosexual, [he] admitted to having acted somewhat carelessly in going to Bonavita and Lafitte. He promised to be mo re circumspect in the future. 427 In fact, any sailor on leave in Toulon was a potential delinque nt. Visiting certain places or people of dubious reputation, and showing suspicious attitudes, were all it took to confirm the assumption that he was a homosexual. Homosexual civilians that were reported by the police do not fall into any one c ategory; every age group is represented, between the ages of about 17 and 50; the suspect s professions are also varied, but most were working class and lower middle-class. The workmen hung out at the same establishments as the sailors and frequently worked at the port, making it easy to establish casual acquaintanceships. These relations were more likely to go unnoticed than those that took place downtown, where a discussion b etween a sailor and a well-off man, generally late in the evening, would readily catch the attention of the police. As a case in point, a retired consul initially gave a false name when he was arr ested, then he admitted, not without a touch of humor, to being an invert, but said that above all he had to think of his reputation. 428 These men often preferred to act in a c ity where they were not known. However, the police regarded certain suspects as notorious inverts : either well-known men of the city, or men who had already been arrested a few years or a few months before. There was in fact a whole homosexual harbor subcul ture that barely bothered to hide, whose members knew each other, and many of whom to ok suggestive nicknames like Zaza, Mauricette, Ramona, Georgette, or Loulou. The January 23, 1932 police report shows photographs of several inverts and tran svestites who enjoyed a vogue in Toulon analogous to that of the great courtesans. For

these men, the port (especially that of Toulon) was their hunting ground, a priv ate preserve for homosexual pickups. The police quote, for example, Robert Lafitte, o ne of busiest passive homosexuals in Toulon : obliged to operate with more and more disc retion and finding increasingly slim pickings, Lafitte fulminated against the police, reproaching them for the destruction of what he regarded as one of the principal attractions of the city and one of the causes of the hotel industry s success. 429 Some, like Andre Brissand, far from being shy, accentuated their eccentricities in a bid for attention: he would purposely exaggerate his effeminate face and cynicall y glorify in being a passive pederast. 430 In the same way, according to the police report, Christian B.rard, a painter,431 George David, writer, and many young men would gather at C los Mayol in the company of young sailors. They were almost open in displaying their vice 427. 428. 429. 430. 431. 345 Report Report Report Report B.rard dated 17 June 1932 (Toulon). dated 19 December 1931 (Toulon). dated 17 June 1932 (Toulon). dated 11 September 1931 (Toulon). was in Cocteau s circle, which may be what is referred to here.

A History of Homosexuality in Europe and would walk the streets dressed in eccentric costumes. They spent the winter in Paris and the summer on the Riviera.432 They had no trouble admitting to their homosex ual proclivities, but they refused to sign any declarations. These almost openly dec lared homosexuals were not ashamed, but were deeply unhappy with the police procedures : they resented the surveillance, and often felt their private lives were invaded, and they are sometimes constrained to go down to the station to testify, in a humiliating pro cedure. Alongside the local Toulon people there were those who were just passing through , who chose Toulon because of its sexual advantages. Andre Chanvril was one of the lat ter. This civil servant frequently comes to Toulon, with the sole aim of meeting friends t here, to satisfy his perverse instincts. 433 And the port naturally attracted many foreigne rs, who are well represented in the police reports.434 How did these homosexuals recognize one another? First of all, they used the ves t or jacket pocket handkerchief to signal their sexual preferences; a handkerchief that was wide and folded over signaled a passive; if it was divided in two parts, it mean t equally passive or active; divided into three, it meant active. Then, the simplest mecha nism was to go strolling at nightfall, in certain parts of Toulon where sailors congregated, places that were well known to the homosexuals and to the police. La Place de la Libert., la Place d Armes and la Place Saint-Roch were favorite meeting places, but there was also V auban Avenue and the boulevard de Tess. between 7:00 and 9:00 pm. Cruising by car, one might try the boulevard du Nord. Having picked up a sailor, one generally went to a bar in the city, some of whic h principally served homosexual customers: at the bar Seguin, in Nice, in the vault , the owner would pass behind the chairs in a certain way to indicate that one could g o up to the rooms. The reports emphasize that it was difficult to give a list of these b ars for the addresses and the names changed every season. In Marseilles, in the bar Chez .ti enne, the owner kept a list of sailors, served as a go-between, and took a commission of 1 0%. Excelsior and the Caf. Suisse were also sites for homosexual assignations. In Br est, there were the Caf. des Pingouins and the Caf. du D.part. For Toulon, we have an almos t exhaustive list of bars: in 1929, there were the Marna bar, Jacky, the de la Rad e a

virtual commodities exchange for naval products, the Cigale, Camille, and the Dub ois dance hall; in 1930 the Zanzi-Vermouth, Chez Madeleine, and the dance hall Finim ondi (ex-Dubois, so famous that passengers from the English steamers serving the line s to the Far East would go there just out of curiosity); in 1931, the bar Neptunia, the s nack bar at the theater, the Regence, the Palace, and the Claridge. Then, the two men would go to a hotel; there again, the same names keep coming up: the Hotel Belvedere, the Terminus (on the boulevard de Tess.), the hotel du Nord, the hotel de France (on place Puget), the Hotel Giraud (rue de l Humilit.), and the Ho tel des N.gociants (rue de la R.publique). Apparently the personnel there were unusually obliging. They were also closely watched by the police, who frequently raided th e rooms. Some ran classified advertisements, in the newspaper Frou-Frou, for example. One could also meet sailors at dance halls like the Dancing Populaire in Toulon. Others kept address books with lists of sailors who were sexually available, and made 432. Report dated 11 September 1931 (Toulon). 433. Report dated 19 May 1932 (Toulon). 434. Four Italians, three English, two Dutch, two Chilians, two Spaniards, a Bul garian, an American and a German were identified. 346

Criminals before the Law their own contacts directly: [the ma.tre d h.tel] was an active pederast and had a book with the names and addresses of sailors at the flight center in Fr.jus-Saint-Rap ha.l. 435 The police methods were based on a good knowledge of the homosexual rendezvous places and their tactics: in addition to making arrests in public places or hote ls used by prostitutes, most were caught in the urinals, the traditional meeting pl ace. All these individuals were identified during round ups carried out on February 24 an d March 11, inside the WC at the Champ-de-Mars, where homosexuals have been meeting each other for some time, their shameful conduct causing protests from the inhabitant s of the district. 436 One might be accosted inside or outside the urinals in various ways. Yvan Philip was surprised near a urinal in intimate conversation with a notorious invert, whic h made him a suspect as well. Similarly, Joseph Barch was challenged caught in the urinal at the Champ-de-Mars. He had gone in there at 20:15 in the company of two civilians whose hesitant step gave the impression that they were on their way to a rendezvous. At 21:10 the inspectors entered, but found the men in proper positions; their explanation s were embarrassed, but they denied being homosexual. Staying overlong in the urinal was certainly a tip-off for the police. For the t wo suspects who claimed to have gone in only to satisfy nature s call, they concluded that the visit was peculiarly late and at the very least abnormal in duration, approximat ely thirty minutes; plus there was the obvious immorality of those who were assiduous in thei r use of urinals. 437 Sometimes people were stopped by chance; two police officers on bicycle making their rounds on the boulevard du Nord once stopped in front of a parked car and thus discovered two men going at it. They were arrested and sentenced to two months at the prison of Toulon. Alternatively, they might pick up a known homosexual and track down his partners; thus a very close watch is kept on [the] entourage [of Guilhot Lafitte] . 438 Some homosexuals were also identified by denunciation: one student denounced bot h a notary and a professor of Greek as pederasts.439 But the police also had an arsenal of supposed psychological data that would enable them to easily identify inverts. The reports dwell on physical characteri

stics: Based on his looks and where he hangs out, he appears to be likely to engage in h omosexuality. 440 Effeminate, he softens the features of his face by clever use of make-up, dep ilation and correction of the eyebrows by an arched line using a soft lead pencil. 441 Larg e, thin, effeminate face and gestures, [he] represents the typical passive homosexu al. 442 The police always guard against any question by taking a critical view: the acts are shameful, unnatural. The reports affect to use scientific terminology, which lends a certain air of legitimacy to the police surveillance. By adapting the current di scourse, the 435. Report 436. Report 437. Ibid. 438. Report 439. Report 440. Report 441. Report 442. Report mes up frequently. 347 dated 2 December 1932 (Toulon). dated 26 April 1932 (Toulon). dated dated dated dated dated 21 March 1932 (Toulon). 18 March 1929 (Renseignements g.n.raux, Paris). 8 September 1930 (Toulon). 17 June 1932 (Toulon). 26 April 1932 (Toulon); the phrase typical passive homosexual

co

A History of Homosexuality in Europe police assign themselves a role in the fight against perversion. A report casts doubt on the word of Augustin Garnier, who denies having slept with a sailor, because he is a homosexual fundamentally inverted [!] for which the blue collar is a derivative of his morbid lasciviousness. 443 Very often homosexual themselves used medical terms: I am a hom osexual since birth and there is nothing I can do against this vice which is incurable f or me, as it is for so many other individuals. 444 [The suspect] says he is impotent, and is therefore inclined to take his pleasure with men. 445 The reports show a very clos e interest in suspects sexual practices; they always emphasize whether they are pass ive or active homosexuals; they distinguish the type of act requested, but they are al so aware of couples, of lasting relationships.446 The French police thus spoke very differently than the British: it goes beyond a discussion of criminal investigation to become a tool in the regulation of social life. The report from the chief of police of Toulon and the Seyne to the Director of Gener al Security447 is presented in the form of a virtual summary of all that was known (and of all the prejudices) in those days about homosexuality. It distinguishes the native in vert from perversion acquired by contact or frequentation, and notes that the obscure though real causes lie in the morbid degeneracy of a considerable number of indi viduals. The author also claims that, the actual invert, who generally comes from the well -to-do classes, has a medical problem and acts out of instinct, out of physiological ne ed rather than vice. He is not dangerous, but effeminate and soft. They tend to have a circ le of males around them whose perversion is acquired, former convicts, soldiers, real p ublic dangers, and various lowlifes. In support of this assertion, an article dated Mar ch 1929 in Number 3 of the Annals of Forensic Medicine is cited, and the testimony of an ar my medical officer on the question of tattooing.448 In addition to what one could call ordinary police reports, more serious affairs were discussed that more clearly reveal the links between the national navy and prost itution and that expose the circuit that existed between Paris and the French ports. In Brest, a survey was conducted among sailors who were engaging in prostitution in the capi tal. One sailor had gone to Paris several times on leave; he lived there with his lov er, who fed

him and gave him pocket money. He was also offered good money (200 francs) for h is services by one of his lover s friends. That was the extent of his activities: I also went t o rue de Lappe, but I did not do anything there. 449 Two of his friends were polled, too. They went to the Bousquet dance hall in Par is (on rue de Lappe); they were often approached by homosexuals who took them to a hotel where they engaged in pederasty. Often networks were formed, starting with one sai lor who became the friend of a Parisian. He would then recruit other sailors and bri ng them to Paris; walking into various bars, they quickly discovered the advantages conf erred by 443. Ibid. 444. Report dated 7 August 1930 (Toulon). 445. Report dated 11 May 1932 (Toulon). 446. Report dated 7 June 1932 (Toulon). 447. Report dated 23 January 1932 (Toulon). 448. Some of them indicated homosexual practices in various ways: a tattoo of a boot on the foreskin, for homosexuals of the lowest classes, a tattoo of a star with five or eight points marked (or not) with one to three blue dots, sometimes with the word Love, inscribed in the d eltoid region, right or left; and different signs inscribed on body parts that are normally hid den, such as blue dots on the eyelid or blue spots on the hands where the thumbs meet the index fingers . 449. Report dated 23 April 1929 (Brest). 348

Criminals before the Law their uniforms. The sailor Roger Adrot went to Paris on leave and visited a popu lar dance hall; he met a man there and understood immediately that he was being flirted wi th. He accepted his advances, expecting to get some money from him. 450 A more serious incident featured some apprentices from the training ship Armorique. In Paris, a pimp engaged minor sailors during their holidays for prostitution. The boys solicited at the Th.o restaurant, 86 rue de Bondy, and at the Noaygues dance hall, rue de Lappe. They then took their customers to hotels. Several of the young sailors recruited new comrades. The reports says that they thus propagate among the crews a vice that is already unfortunately far too widespread. 451 This all tainted the reputation of the navy and the army, and therefore the honor of France, and the public was upset. The senator of the English Channel region submitted an article452 under the heading, Must we go on tolerating the scandals of Toulon? He reported that several prefects had simultaneously warned the sailors in their areas about the frequent incident s of indecency and suggested that the public prosecutor s office would be taking up the matter. It is difficult to believe this was all just a coincidence; these action s must have been instigated by the Ministry of the Interior. The article ends by asking: Is M . Tardieu aware of the repulsive excesses that dishonor Marseilles, Toulon, Nice and our o ther ports? La Croix published an article on September 13, 1929, Let s watch out for our sailors moral well-being, warning that in Toulon several night clubs, especially po pular with foreigners, are the scene of orgies like those that the friends of the Kais er were known for in Corfu, a few years before the war and that infamous touts, stationed at the unloading docks, pick up young sailors on leave and bring them there. The author of the article, Commander G. Mabille Duchesne, stressed the lack of police control and the inability of the maritime authorities to intervene in matters involving civilian s, and asked for better cooperation between the various authorities. These articles reflect a new awareness among the public of the problem of male prostitution related to military personnel. One might wonder whether these conce rns led to the increased surveillance, or whether it was the new measures that were bein g taken in the maritime regions that brought the problem to light. There is insufficient documentary evidence to say for sure what caused the polic e surveillance, but for our purposes, it is enough to know that the special monito ring of

homosexuals who went with sailors began in Toulon around 1925. Several reports r efer to instructions from the prefect of Toulon dating from February 2, 1925. The city s c hief of police, Mr. Fabre, in a report dated June 24, 1927 addressed to the prefect of T oulon, recalls that, since he had arrived on the job, he had noticed the rather large n umber of homosexuals existing in that city. He had therefore written a report on December 16, 1924 inviting counter measures. One may thus suppose that the prefectural directives of 1925 were direct consequences of this report. The police chief furthermore remarked t hat in agreement with you he had since then mounted a very tight monitoring of establishme nts frequented by homosexuals and provided, progressively as they were discovered, lists of the names of civilians and military men with their complete description . These details suggest that no particular monitoring had been conducted before then, an d that it 450. Report dated 14 March 1928 (Brest). 451. Report dated 11 December 1929 (Paris). 452. Regrettably, there is no traceable attribution or reference (report from 3 January 1930, Toulon). 349

A History of Homosexuality in Europe had not been customary to keep tabs on homosexuals, at least not in Toulon. Seve ral homosexuals arrested by the police also complained about this new atmosphere, pr otesting against what they considered to be arbitrary and unprecedented persecution. In his December 1, 1931 report, Mr. Fabre explained in detail how he understood his mission: It is up to the public powers to limit the danger which threatens our yo ung people and to stop it from spreading. Allowing it to run free would bring major and irreparable harm to every sector of society in our country. Our role is to monitor, pursue, an d indict homosexuals who show up in Toulon and Seyne. It seems that the new police chief was behind this change in tone and that the subject of homosexuality was a parti cular concern to him, personally. He noted for example that: [his] attention had not be en diverted from this situation for one minute. That is a surprising assertion since this wide scale police action was not supported by any legal basis: Notwithstanding the abs ence of applicable regulations, I exerted a semi-official pressure, which was fairly eff ective, on the tenants of those houses where homosexuals were known to reside: seven out of eig ht were found to be involved 453 (my emphasis). The police chief obviously regretted that he could not pursue the legal consequences of the discoveries made during these una uthorized searches in the homosexual circles of Toulon. He further remarked that no action could be taken against the very many civilian inverts and that the sailors could only be brought to the attention of the military authorities for disciplinary measures. The question of homosexual bars came up on several occasions; for instance, the prefect of the Var wrote to the Minister of the Interior, saying: I do not see ho w I can legally close the establishments on the list that has been provided to me. 454 The civil authorities settled for pressuring the tenants in some semi-official way so that they would do whatever they had to, to get rid of the homosexuals themselves. The military authorities on the other hand could assign soldiers and sailors to keep an eye on establishm ents known to be homosexual rendezvous points. The vice-admiral maritime prefect of T oulon also mentioned the regrettable legislation which made any efforts to crack down ino perative. Except in very rare instances, cases against French civilians resulted in dismis sals and acquittals. It would be highly desirable that the texts in force be modified in

order to allow an effective repression of homosexuality. 455 The available documen ts show that the only times civilians were convicted was in the context of public i ndecency and inciting minors to vice. The December 1, 1931 report gives a list of inverts t hat have been identified, then enumerates the convictions for public indecency: in 1929, there were 24 French civilian inverts, 12 foreigners, 35 sailors or quarter-masters, and on e candidate in the marine reserves, for a total of 72 men. In 1930, 37 French civilian inver ts were listed, with 3 foreigners, 19 sailors or quartermasters, a sergeant, and a soldier from the 8th regiment of Senegalese riflemen, or 61 total. From January to October, 1931, 28 French ci vilian inverts, 5 foreigners and 8 sailors were listed, a total of 41. The sentences varied according to the circumstances. A first conviction for publ ic indecency might merit two months in prison and a fine of 25 francs, with four mo nths in prison and a 50-franc fine for a second offense. Sentences clearly went up for r epeated offenses. First sentences might be four months in prison, suspended, or two mont hs in prison, firm. The harshest sentence (six months in imprison) was given for moles ting a 453. Report dated 24 June 1927 (Toulon). 454. Report dated 30 June 1927 (Draguignan). 455. Note dated 6 May 1927. 350

Criminals before the Law ten-year-old child. Most sentences varied between two and six months with or wit hout suspension, sometimes accompanied by fines. Various factors could enter into the calculation, including, for sailors, a record of insubordination in the service. One sailor w as stripped of his rank twice, the second time for propositions of a certain type th at are unnatural and immoral. When he continued to entertain relations with a sixteen-ye arold sailor, he was sentenced to three months in prison and discharged from the navy. 456 In Lorient, a lieutenant commander who became the object of too much gossip ended u p admitting the facts and requested permission to retire. In fact, it was the mili tary who were most affected by the surveillance. Civilians could not be convicted directl y for their homosexuality. But when the police stopped anyone they could identify individual s and, if they were later incriminated in crimes or misdemeanors, they could be sure th e judges would not be lenient. Two conclusions can be drawn from these various reports. There was no concerted repression of homosexuality by the civil, military and police authorities. Never theless, it seems that in the harbor towns, special instructions were given by the security services to the prefects of the maritime departments to monitor homosexual activities.457 Th ese orders testify above all to an ongoing confusion between homosexuality and subve rsion. This means that, among those listed as inverts, foreigners were subjected to spe cial measures and decrees of expulsion would be delivered as soon as possible. Spania rds, Italians and others were among those caught. The consequences of such surveillan ce could be very serious. One Italian workman who was about to receive naturalized citizenship was expelled. It seems that the case of a foreign homosexual who had already been granted naturalization also came up, and the prefect of the Var deplored th at, according to the laws then on the books, it was not possible to strip him of his new nationality. Once again we see that the civil authorities compensated, when they could, for the lack of legislation on homosexuality by eliminating wholesale those homo sexuals who were most vulnerable. The foreign homosexual was considered most dangerous, as he might be a spy: I will most particularly endeavor to discover foreigners, especially those of Germ an nationality, who strike up relationships with navy personnel. 458 In the same vein, reports fro

m the Ministry of the Interior frequently expressed concern about communist and antimil itarist propaganda, communist and homosexual propaganda in the military ports, and public establishments that are popular with sailors who are communists or homosex uals. In 1927, the Navy Ministry forwarded to the Ministry of the Interior lists of bars, and communist and homosexual places of assignation. This continual associat ion implies that the French authorities considered these two activities to be closel y linked and liable to undermine discipline in the army and the navy. An excellent exampl e is that of Joseph Dubois, who ran the Dubois dance hall in Toulon. The police report of December 12, 1928 described the dance hall as a rendezvous point for all kinds of dubious individuals, homosexuals and fugitives from justice. The owner was an anarchist, an active protester who overtly preached antimilitarism. He would buy L Humanit. and leave it on the tables for customers to read. 456. Report dated 24 April 1929 (Toulon). 457. De la p.d.rastie en la marine (7 December 1929, Paris). 458. Report dated 11 February 1929 (Nice). My emphasis. 351

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Homosexuality was used for political ends by all sides. Never mind the deleteriou s effects this may have particularly on the morals of young men, and especially Na vy recruits the blue collar apparently being a stimulus we have to consider that it gives a boost to the Communists who use it for propaganda purposes. 459 In fact, on Janu ary 15 and 23, 1930, the socialist newspaper Le Rappel du Morbihan decried a homosexual scandal which incriminated a naval officer among others. The newspaper insinuated that attempts had been made to quash the story: A scandal, certainly, but an even wors e scandal if this affair were kept quiet for the sole reason that the accused is i n a position of influence. 460 If today we break the rule of silence which we have observed up to n ow, it is because of the efforts that have been made to keep a lid on this scandal. 461 Homosexuality, in the communist as well as the socialist press, was regarded as a vice of the privileged classes, one means among many of exploiting the lower cla sses. However, as we have seen, it was mainly sailors who prostituted themselves, for obvious pecuniary reasons. But homosexuality within the navy was not limited to the lowe r ranks, as the B.arn affair shows. An article in the November 28, 1928 L Humanit. reveals a scandal on board the aircraft carrier B.arn; a sailor lodged a complaint against the off icers for special morals. It seems that he was attacked by sixteen opium smokers. According to the newspaper, after eight days of maneuvers in the waters off Bizerte, the crew was ready for a break. The officers, aiming to provide some entertainment, decided to crea te a jazz, which the crew dubbed a pedo-jazz. After a wild evening, a sailor was forced. The victim was arrested and locked up. The newspaper concluded: Here is a cynical dis play of the morals of the degenerate bourgeois men who command our navy comrades..... Such acts are representative of the fascistic and reactionary bourgeoisie in action. The few elements from the investigator s report place the event in context. The victim was a notorious Communist, and the police report described him as an effemi nate homosexual who wore cologne and was very concerned about his personal appearance. To the police, he was a damaged and dangerous individual and furthermo re he had been sentenced in 1927 to one year in prison for desertion during peace t imes. In addition, it seems that this sailor had a relationship with a naval officer, who had already been tagged as a homosexual in 1924 and 1925. This officer, moreover, was a drug user. As far as the police were concerned, this report was highly dangerous from the nati

onal point of view; intimacy between an officer and a simple sailor was in itself damaging to the hierarchy and to internal discipline, and tarnished the honor of the navy. Moreover, relat ions between an officer who was a drug addict and therefore not very reliable, who wa s in fact perhaps too talkative, and a communist sailor would seem to be the very incarnat ion of the civil and military authorities worst fears with regard to homosexual relation s. The police report cite the presence on board this ship of a veritable nest of homosexua l sailors ... who mutually appeased their disgusting passions in truly scandalous scenes. 462 From all this it is easy to imagine that the jazz evening got out of hand; wheth er the sailor was a victim or not is more difficult to determine. For the police the is sue was clear: the sailor was in contact with l Humanit. which represented him as a victim of the maritime authorities. This made it into a matter of antimilitarist propaganda under cover o f 459. 460. 461. 462. 352 Report dated 1 December 1931 (Toulon). Le Rappel du Morbihan, 15 January 1930. Ibid. Report dated 1 December 1928.

Criminals before the Law pederasty. Homosexuals and Communists were working together, the latter using th e former to disseminate their propaganda. On the other hand, for the Communists, t he denunciation of homosexual abuses was an opportunity to cast aspersions on the o fficer ranks, who were only servicing their vices and exploiting their crew for sexual ends. Homosexuality is only a pretext under which to stigmatize an adversary. What conclusions can we draw from these documents? The police reports give a concrete idea of the homosexual subculture in the port cities, which appears to have been quite organized. They also reveal various practices of surveillance that bordere d on illegality. Beyond the ports, it is difficult to draw any conclusions as to police activitie s, since there is little documentary evidence covering the remainder of France. * * * Thus, the 1920s may have been years of relative liberation for homosexuals, but they were not free from concern. A close look at the efforts that were made to c ontrol homosexuality eliminates any notion of laxity on the part of the authorities. In E ngland, the controls were tightened and became more systematic in 1931. However, the Bri tish police, zealous as they were, could only prevail in the most obvious cases: thos e which occurred on the public thoroughfare and which violated morals, generally involvi ng male prostitutes, soldiers of the Guard or unrepentant johns. There was little they c ould do about acts committed in private, between consenting adults, unless someone made a denunciation. In Germany, under the Weimar Republic and contrary to the generally accepted view, the repression was indeed real. There was hardly a dip in the number of co nvictions, and the draft legislation attests to the weak current of sympathy for homosexual ity. Even if the leftist parties were partly won over to the homosexual cause, homosexual lobbying efforts for the most part failed. Germany s reputation for tolerance in the 1920s can only be chalked up to specific cases like Berlin, where the police were benevolent, a s the statistics attest, and where homosexual manifestations were tolerated. Once more, except in the case of denunciation, acts made between consenting adults and in private had little risk of leading to the courthouse. Lastly, while France rightly enjoyed a reputation of tolerance in the absence of

criminal laws, there were still some concerns. This impunity irritated many who sought other means of getting rid of homosexuals altogether, targeting those who were m ost vulnerable or who called attention to themselves by other deviant practices such as drug use. Homosexual propaganda remained severely restricted by the censor, while the close watch on maritime and communist areas legitimized a meticulous surveillance of hom osexuals in the port cities. These larger trends tend to be overlooked: homosexuals want to believe the Roaring Twenties were characterized by a great liberation of morals, and toleranc e on the part of the masses. The Depression of the 1930s exposed the tensions that st ill lurked at the heart of society. Homosexuals saw their position brutally shaken. This ca me as a horrific shock for all those who believed in the infinite progress of human reas on. The superficial tolerance, fragile and illusory, was of very limited duration. The b acklash was all the more terrible. 353

CHAPTER EIGHT THE END OF A DREAM: THE GERMAN MODEL BLOWS UP In the 1920s, Germany s militant activism and its flamboyant homosexual scene had seemed like a model for European homosexuals. However, the tolerance was par tial and never extended beyond certain large cities like Berlin. Thus, the Nazi polic y with regard to homosexuals was not a complete break with what had gone before. In this area as in others, Nazism exploited preexisting trends in the population . However, it considerably increased the repression, issuing hysterical rhetoric o n homosexuality and giving concrete examples to reinforce a great number of the homophobic fantasies that may have been suggested in the previous years. We cannot present here an exhaustive assessment of homosexuality under the Nazi regime, many details of wh ich remain obscure.463 Nevertheless, a study of the years 1933-1939 will enable us t o get at one particularly painful question: how could the country that symbolized homosexual liberation also be the site of such intense persecution, a reversal that took place in just a few years time? Here, we will try to analyze the destruction of that model (rather th an describing anti-homosexual repression under Third Reich as a whole, which extend ed beyond 1939), while showing how it affected neighboring countries.464 463. After the war, 175 was still in force. Most homosexuals had gone back in the closet during the war and were reluctant to drop their anonymity afterwards, given the unfavor able climate. Those homosexuals who had been deported were shy to complain, both because of the pain such recollections brought up and because they were considered the least glorious victims. Some of th em kept the real reason for their internment secret even from their families and close f riends. 464. For the period after 1939, see especially R.diger Lautmann, Seminar: Gesell schaft und Homosexualit.t (Frankfurt-am-Main, Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, 1977, 570 pages), Heinz-Dieter Schilli ng, Schwule und Faschismus (Berlin, Elefanten Press, 1983, 174 pages), Burckardt Jel lonek, Homosexuelle unter dem Hakenkreuz (Paderborn, Sch.ningh, 1990, 354 pages), Claudia Schoppmann, Nati onalsocialistische Sexualpolitik und weibliche Homosexualit.t (Berlin, Centaurus, 1991, 286 pages), and the collection of archives edited by G.nther Grau, Hidden Holocaust? Gay and Lesbian Persecution i n Germany, 1933-1945 (1993; London, Cassell & Cie, 1995, 308 pages). 355

A History of Homosexuality in Europe 1933-1935: DESTRUCTION OF THE GERMAN MODEL The Nazis came to power on January 30, 1933 and in the first few years the Germa n model was wiped out: the homosexual scene was destroyed, the organizations and t he newspapers disappeared, and homosexuals slipped back into the shadows. The repression increased day by day, without following any predetermined plan. It wa s only after The Night of the Long Knives and the vast homophobic public opinion campaign following it that the legislation was updated to reflect the new attitude. You re Fired Hitler s advent to power was immediately followed by an anti-homosexual repression campaign.465 The Prussian Minister of the Interior, Hermann Goering, enacted three decrees to fight public indecency. The first related to prostitution and v enereal diseases, the second one closed bars that were used for indecent purposes. This definition included bars frequented only or mainly by people who practice unnatural sex acts . 466 The third decree prohibited kiosks, bookshops, and libraries from selling or len ding books or any publications which, either because they comprise illustrations of nu des, or by virtue of their title or their contents, are likely to produce erotic effects on those who vie them. 467 They risked a fine, or loss of their license or loan authorization. Obviously, the homosexual periodicals fell under this rubric. These decrees were enough to dissolve the homosexual subculture, and quickly. I n the first months following Hitler s arrival, most of the homosexual bars and clubs were closed in all the major towns of Germany. Goering s second decree, dated February 23, 1933, made the repression official.468 It ordered the closing of brothels and ot her establishments of that genre as well as bars frequented by homosexuals: Such establishments cannot be tolerated anymore. The revival of Germany depends, in the final analys is, on the moral revival of the German people. 469 Consequently, suspicious bars were watched closely; if any infraction were confirmed, their licenses were withdrawn. The consequences were immediate. On March 3, 1933, Berliner Tageblatt published an article announcing the closing of the best-known homosexual and lesbian bars and clubs in Berlin.470 However, the bars did not all disappear at once, and the pol ice used some of them to continue their surveillance. Working class taverns, where homose xual

465. The Reichstag fire (27 February 1933) served as a pretext for the eliminati on of the regime s main opponents. The event came to be seen as providential. It has long been susp ected that the national-socialists, and especially Goering, were behind it. Nonetheless, there is no proof. Goebbels seems to corroborate in his journal the hypothesis that the culprit was just a s imple pyromaniac from Holland, a communist sympathizer named Marinus van der Lubbe. It is possible tha t he was used by the Nazis to give Hitler a pretext for eliminating his communist adversaries. Th e Nazi leaders accused the communists of having set fire to the Reichstag and arrested 4,000 KP D militants. The communist press was banned and the social-democrat press was shut down for 15 da ys. The fire also provided a pretext for the signing of a presidential decree on 28 February abrog ating the constitutional guaranties of personal liberty. See Marlis Steinert, Hitler, Paris, Fayard, 1991 , 710 pages. 466. Cited in Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.26. 467. Ibid. 468. Already in 1932, the chief of political police from the Berlin prefecture, Rudolf Diels (who, after 1933, became the first head of the Gestapo), had banned homosexual dance p arties and gatherings. 469. Cited in Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.28. 356

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up prostitution had been frequent in the 1920s, either closed or changed their styl e. Christopher Isherwood testified to the evolution of his favorite bar, Cozy Corner, in 1933: For the last few years, politics had more and more divided the boys in the bars. They joined one or another of the street gangs which were encouraged (although not of ficially recognized) by the Nazis, Communists or nationalists. From now on the non-Nazis were in danger but many of them changed camp and were integrated ... gay bars of all kinds were subject to raids henceforth and many were closed.471 Homosexuals had to turn to the urinals once again as the only place to meet. Thi s recourse was, of course, fraught with danger because of the police surveillance. 472 A new wave of raids in the bars took place after June 1934, in conjunction with R.hm s putsch, as The Times said on December 11, 1934. On December 10, busloads of S S men armed with machine-guns raided three small bars in the western part of the c ity. The customers, some of whom wore SA uniforms, were arrested as were all the personne l and were taken along to police headquarters. According to the newspaper, these bars had a specific reputation and the raid was intended to complete the clean-up of June 30. On December 19, The Times announced that raids had been going on all over Germany for a week, and that several hundred people had been arrested. This oper ation was touched off by a trivial accident: about fifteen days before, a private part y was being held in an apartment in Berlin. The hostess was the only woman present. In the w ee hours of the morning, two of the guests accidentally knocked a flowerpot from the balc ony into the street. The object struck a passer by and attracted the attention of the pol ice, who went up to the apartment and found many prominent Berliners, including several members of the NSDAP and Russian .migr.s. The search of the apartment unearthed political documents concerning the events of June 30. This discovery impelled th e authorities to re-start the clean-up of the milieux associated with the Brownshirts. Goering s third decree, dated February 24, 1933, targeted obscene publications. Kiosks, newsstands, exhibits, libraries, or bookshops that held licentious books and periodicals were to be placed under surveillance. The owners had to certify to the police th at they would not offer such publications to their clientele, on penalty of a fine, and the right to sell or lend publications could be withdrawn. The sixth point of the decree s tressed that the police were in cooperation with the religious authorities in the fight against

obscene publications. This was a continuation of the policy carried out by certa in parties, like the DNVP, under Weimar, in the context of the campaign against pornography a nd smut. This decree was welcomed in traditional circles, as an article in the Deuts che Allgemeine Zeitung (April 6, 1933) testifies: The Vatican is pleased to see Germany s national fight against obscene material. 473 Following the decree, all homosexual magazines were put out of business. A repor t from August 26, 1933, concerning the manufacture, distribution and use of Marxist and 470. Luisen Kasino, Zauberflote, Dorian-Gray, Kleist-Kasino, Nurnberger Diele, I nternationale Diele, Monokel-Bar, Geisha, Mali und Igel, Boral (also called Moses), Kaffee Hoh enzollern, Silhouette, Mikado, Hollandais. 471. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind [1929-1939], London, Methue n, 1977, 252 pages, p.98. 472. To see how the Nazis arrival affected homosexuals in small towns, see Corne lia Limpricht, J.rgen M.ller and Nina Oxenius, Verf.hrte M.nner, das Leben der K.lner Homosexuell en im Dritten Reich, Cologne, Volksblatt Verlag, 1991, 146 pages. 473. Cited in Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.30. 357

A History of Homosexuality in Europe erotic literature, 474 attests that as of that date all the homosexual periodicals ceased to exist. Significantly, they were lumped together with Marxist and affiliated lite rature and periodicals (concerning the youth movements, the trade unions, sports, fashion), heterosexual pornography and erotic literature, the so-called scientific literature on sexuali ty, literature on abortion and contraception, and everything that was presented as a rt, especially the naturist publications. To complete the destruction of the homosexual scene, the homosexual movements had to be broken up. The decree on the protection of the people and the State of F ebruary 28, 1933 suspended freedoms and allowed the elimination of opposition movements. Most of the homosexual movements disbanded. On May 6, 1933, Magnus Hirschfeld s Institut f.r Sexualwissenschaft was broken into and ransacked by the Nazis; docu ments and books from the library were publicly burned on May 10, as well as the works of Havelock Ellis, Freud and other sexologists. Magnus Hirschfeld was fortunate to be traveling abroad at the time. Christopher Isherwood, who was present, reported emotionally on this display of brutality and savagery that marked the end of the great German homosexual moveme nt: On May 6, the Institute was plundered by a group of a hundred students. They arrived by truck, early in the morning, with a brass band. Hearing the music Erw in [Hansen, a communist employee of the Institute] looked out the window and hoping to prevent the damage that obviously was imminent politely asked them to wait one moment while he went down to open the doors. But the students preferred to enter as warriors; they broke down the doors and swarmed into the building. They spent the morning pouring ink on the carpets and the manuscripts and loading the trucks with books from the Institute s library, including those which had nothing to do with sex, history books, art journals, etc. In the afternoon a bunch of storm troopers arrived and did a more meticulous search, for they obviously knew what they were looking for. (It has been suggested, since then, that certain famous members of the Nazi party had been seen by Hirschfeld and that they were afraid records of thei r disease, revealing their homosexuality, could be used against them. But, if that were the case, they surely would have examined the Institute s files more discreetly.) Christopher was later told that all the really important papers and books had be en carried abroad by friends and envoys of Hirschfeld, not long before. A few days

later, the books and papers that had been seized were burned, as well as a bust of Hirschfe ld, on the square opposite the Opera. Isherwood was among the crowd of onlookers; he manage d to utter the word shame, but not very loud. 475 The report of the Nazi newspaper Der Angriff is more concise: A team of German students yesterday occupied the Institut f.r Sexualwissenschaft run by the Jew M agnus Hirschfeld. This institute which has operated under the cover of scientific purp oses and was protected for fourteen years by the Marxists was simply, as the search revea led clearly, a den of filth and smut. 476 The WhK dissolved in June 1933.477 Hitler s ad vent also put an end to Gemeinschaft der Eigenen. Nazi troops ransacked Adolf Brand s house478 and seized all his material, photographs, books, and articles. His publ isher, who produced Der Eigene, had to close.479 The Bund f.r Menschenrecht was also a vict im and seems to have gone out of existence in March 1933.480 474. GStA, I.HA, Rep.84a, n 5343. 475. Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind, op. cit., p.101. 476. Cited in Livre brun sur l incendie du Reichstag et la terreur hitl.rienne [19 33], Paris, Tristan Mage .ditions, 1992, 2 vol. 358

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up The homosexuals all had to find strategies to survive. Some emigrated, others married. Bruno Balz, who wrote for several homosexual newspapers, married in 193 6 after having served a prison sentence. G.nther Maeder, a former associate of WhK, marr ied in 1940. Certain artists managed to survive, more or less protected by the regime, like the directors Rolf Hansen and Hans Deppe. Certain homosexual artistic circles surviv ed for a time, like that of Richard Schultz and that of the producer of the UFA films, Ni kolaus Kaufmann. Traces of the homosexual scene could still be found. In Kassel, a circ le of friends made up of former members of Bund f.r Menschenrecht still managed to fun ction in 1938. In Wurzburg, a homosexual bookshop was found in the address book of an arrested clergyman; homosexual newspapers were also found in the possession of a nother clergyman. However, such discoveries were rare. In less than six months, the Ger man homosexual scene had been reduced to zilch. First Victims: Corrupters of Youth and Male Prostitutes

Before the adoption of the new 175, the fight against homosexuality concentrated on certain particularly visible categories. On February 10, 1934, a decree of th e Ministry of the Interior ordered the regular monitoring of professional criminals and habitual sex criminals. These measures affected homosexual pedophiles and male prostitutes, am ong others. The police were authorized to impose restrictions481 on these criminals, and they could use preventive custody in the event of not-cooperation.482 The regional poli ce were to file regular reports on these people to the regional office of the crimi nal police. Files on these individuals, with their photographs and their fingerprints, were to be kept up to date. Following these measures, a meeting was held in Hamburg on October 5, 1934, to discuss cooperation between the Office of Youth and the Hitler Youth to address the problem of Hamburg s main rail station, which was a center of homosexual prostitut ion. At this meeting there were clearly two ways of looking at homosexuality. The two Hitler 477. After trying to re-establish the Institute in Paris, Magnus Hirschfeld took refuge in Nice, where he died 14 May 1935. His intimate friend Karl Giesen committed suicide in 1938. Richard Linsert died suddenly in early February 1933. Kurt Hiller had fled in March to F rankfurt-am-Main and was arrested 23 March 1933, but was released five days later. He went back t o Berlin and was

arrested again on 2 April, then was released until he was sent to the Oranienbur g concentration camp on 14 July. He got out nine months later; he left Germany and took refuge i n Prague, then in London. He died in 1972. Helene St.cker emigrated in 1933 and was a refugee in t he United States, after passing through Switzerland and Sweden. 478. There were five perquisitions between 3 May and 24 November 1933. 479. His assistant Karl Meier managed to save a small amount of the material. Br and himself was not worried: unlike Magnus Hirschfeld and Kurt Hiller, he was neither a Jew nor a leftist. Besides, he had friends within the NSDAP. And finally, he was married. Brand died in 1945, a t home, during an American bombing raid. 480. Its main newspapers, Bl.tter f.r Menschenrecht, Die Freundin, Das Freundsch aftsblatt, went out of print at that time. The publishing house of Friedrich Radszuweit in Potsdam was ransacked. His adopted son was sent to the Orianenburg concentration camp, where he was assassi nated. The magazine Die Freundschaft also disappeared at that time. 481. In particular, the following were forbidden: change of residence without po lice authorization, going out at certain hours (11:00 pm to 5:00 am in summer, 11:00 to 6:00 in wint er), driving or using cars or motorcycles, entering certain public places, walking in the parks and woods. See Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.38-39. 482. In the case of sexual criminals, these limitations applied only to those wh o had been convicted twice. 359

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Youth representatives drew an alarmist picture and called for energetic measures to be taken; the Hamburg police took a more traditional view, in which the fight again st homosexuals was not a priority, did not require large-scale operations and need not be the subject of hysteria. The report provided a list of hotels, youth hostels, and pe nsions that young suspects used as refuges, a list of the principal gathering places and a l ist of people who had homosexual activities in October 1934.483 Soon these measures were widened. The excitement that followed the elimination of R.hm served as a pretext for the creation of a special office charged with ha ndling homosexual matters (Sonderdezernat Homosexualit.t) under the Gestapo.484 At the end of the year, all the regional offices of the criminal police were required to pr ovide a list of the people who were known to be homosexuals, especially those who were members o f any Nazi organization. These lists were to arrive at the Gestapo offices before December 1, 1934.485 According to a report made for Reichsf.hrer SS Himmler, of the 1170 men in preventive custody in June 1935, 413 were homosexuals, 325 of them interned in the Lichtenbu rg concentration camp.486 By this date, anti-homosexual repression already entailed inhuman conditions and preventive custody was a pretext for serious abuse, as testified by an anonymous l etter from a German homosexual, addressed to Ludwig M.ller, bishop of the Reich, in Ju ne 1935.487 According to the letter, raids organized by the Gestapo and carried out by young SS soldiers, for the most part from southern Germany, were being conducted in Be rlin and all over the country. Prisoners were brought to the Gestapo buildings where they were kept waiting, standing against the wall, for twelve hours or more without anythi ng to drink or eat. They were not allowed to go to the toilet for six hours. The SS, m embers of the Adolf-Hitler regiment, beat and insulted them.488 The operation was supervis ed by Obersturmf.hrer Josef Meisinger.489 Then, they either were let go or were sent t o Kolumbia-Haus, in Berlin-Tempelhof, a center detention especially for homosexual s. The prisoners were under constant torture there, physical as well as mental. The next stage was the concentration camp of Lichtenburg. There too, the prisone rs were tortured. They had to do sports in the morning until they dropped from exhaustion. The punishment was public, and some were sent to the Bunker. The aut hor of

the letter insisted that the prisoners had not been tried. A few hundred had alr eady gotten out of Lichtenburg, but many in a very alarming state. The author protested agai nst these actions and called for the Church to intervene. He was persuaded that these abus es were unauthorized and that the F.hrer would condemn them if he were informed of what was going on. He asked for an investigation at Kolumbia-Haus and Lichtenburg, saying that the culprits should be brought to justice. 483. Cited in Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.43. 484. Sonderdezernat II 1 S. 485. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.46. 486. Ibid., p.60-61. 487. Ibid., p.55-58. 488. This testimony is corroborated by a report from a member of the Adolf-Hitle r regiment who described the raids, ibid., p.51-53. 489. Head of Division II 1 H1, in the Gestapo. From 1936 to 1940, he was the Rei ch s Bureau Chief for the repression of homosexuality and abortion. It was he who organized the ac tions against homosexuals, especially the political scandals (R.hm, von Fritsch). Meisinger was a brutal ma n who was feared even within the SS. 360

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up Beefing Up the Legislation Legislative reforms marked a new stage in the Nazis fight against homosexuality. Until September 1935, only isolated and badly coordinated measures were taken. T he Nazi State first wiped out all organized forms of homosexual life, striving to e liminate any sign of homosexual activity and community. The essential structures having been destroyed, the next step was to do away with individual homosexual activity. The object of the Nazi ire should be well defined: it was not the homosexual himself, but the homosexual act, and homosexual desire. Homosexuals did not represent a separate category of individuals and could, at least it was hoped, be reinstated in the community. Th e homosexual was not targeted by the regime unless he engaged in homosexual activity (sex act s, seduction, propaganda, meeting) and his culpability varied according to a scale of definite criteria. However, he was a victim in any case, since he could survive only by d isavowing his essential nature. In October 1933, on Hitler s orders, the Reich Minister of Justice G.rtner had created a Commission on Criminal Law (Strafrechtskommission) to draft a new pena l code. Count Wenzeslaus von Gleispach, a specialist in criminal law, from Vienna, was in charge of the section on Sex crimes. In June 1935, the sixth amendment to the pena l code was adopted; it considerably reinforced the repression of male homosexuality. On the other hand, it left out lesbianism entirely. The new 175 The Nazis did not advance any new arguments for making stronger laws against homosexuality. They mostly relied on medical theories that described homosexuali ty as a form of degeneracy. There was a need to prevent the contamination of innocent pe ople, especially young people, who could fall under the influence of homosexuals. Judge Oyen490 considered that homosexuality might be an innate predisposition, but that the fact that there were cases of seduction justified making it a crimi nal act. The mere fact that homosexuals felt no attraction whatsoever for the female sex was not a sufficient reason to spare them. Oyen ridiculed the proposition: would one acquit a man guilty of rape on the pretext that no woman would have him? Added to that were t he arguments of public morality and political pragmatism: Moreover, there is no ques tion that the healthy moral sense of the vast majority of the population would find i t completely incomprehensible that the current government recognized, so to speak, the legitima

cy of homosexual conduct by abolishing the threat of punishment. The deliberations of the Commission on Criminal Law were also unambiguous. G.rtner, the Minister for Justice, noted: The question of removing homosexuality from the rubric of criminal law is not on the table. Pr. Gleispach, who reported on th e Commission s work, noted that the idea of de-criminalizing it was popular among certain sex pathologists who were mostly not of Aryan stock. He asked that criminality not be 490. To see where the 1935 law came from, we may consult the instructions of Jud ge Oyen, who published a complete history of anti-homosexual measures. He also expounded his own point of view and called for reinforced legislation. We can also consult the deliberation s of the Commission for Penal Rights (Strafrechtskommission) which touched on the reform of 175, duri ng its 45th session, on 18 September 1934. BAB, R 22/973. This document is not dated, but is anterior to the reform of the Criminal Code, which took place in June 1935, and is posterior to 1933. 361

A History of Homosexuality in Europe limited to acts resembling coitus, because for the most part, sexual relations betw een homosexuals do not take the form of acts resembling coitus. Dr. Lorenz, director of the County Court and co-rapporteur, summarized the dangers of male homosexuality: It is a danger to the State, for it damages men s character and their civic life in the mo st serious way, disrupts healthy family life and corrupts young males. Finally the Justice M inister of Saxony, Thierack, elaborated on the varieties of the homosexual threat. He di stinguished three categories: young men, male prostitutes and, most dangerous of all, descendants of degenerate families or older men who no longer enjoy normal relat ions. The last group seduces young people, often by offering them money. These various considerations led to the adoption of a considerably reinforced 175. The new 175 came into effect on September 1, 1935, in accordance with the amendment to the German criminal code, article 6, adopted on June 28, 1935.491 I t presented several innovations. First the term unnatural sex acts (widernat.rliche Unzucht) was replaced by sex acts (Unzucht), which widened considerably the scope of application of the law. As of 1935, any act inspired by sexual desire with re gard to another man fell under the jurisdiction of the law: that included masturbation a nd any contact with a sexual intent, for example caresses or naked wrestling. Ejaculati on was not necessary to prove that a crime had taken place. There was a very clear inte nt to cover every possible form of homosexuality. Since the end of the 19th century, doctors and lawyers had struggled to define homosexuality as precisely as possible. The new law was the result of this obses sion. The Nazi legislation carries to an extreme the judiciary s desire to exercise control. For that power to be total, the homosexual act has to become vague, and thus largely a fa ntasy. 175a, in comparison, was not very original. It repeated the innovations that had been tried out in several of the 1920s legislative drafts. Aggravated homosexual acts (prostitution, use of the force or authority) had been targeted with specific pe nalties in all the drafts since 1909. In fact, the principal innovation of the June 28, 1935 am endment was the great freedom it allowed judges in sentencing. They were invited to take int o account not only the law but also the guiding principles of criminal law, general healthy s ense and the unwritten sources of the law. That meant that the principle, no penalty whe re there is no law, was abrogated and that the judge was free to condemn an act if h e considered

it immoral. Lesbians Lesbians found themselves in a very special situation.492 The Nazi ideology accorded Aryan women a very limited place, and confined them to the roles of mot her and guardian of the hearth. When the Nazis came to power they immediately excluded women from any influential positions they may have occupied.493 Moreover, the fe minist movements were called upon to dissolve or be incorporated into National-Socialis t organizations (Gleichschaltung).494 The Order in Council for the protection of the people and the State of February 28, 1933 eliminated all opponents, and especially femin ist asso 491. See the text in the Appendices. 492. See Claudia Schoppmann, Nationalsozialistische Sexualpolitik , op. cit. 493. As of 7 April 1933, women could no longer work as bureaucrats; as of May 19 34, they were no longer allowed to practice medicine, or dentistry after February 1935. From t hat point on, women who worked could only fill unskilled positions. 362

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up ciations that were politically active, like the International League of Women fo r Peace and Freedom (Internationale Frauenliga f.r Frieden und Freiheit) led by Helene S t.cker. On May 10, 1933, Robert Ley, Nazi leader of the Labor Front, announced the creat ion of a Women s Front and asked Lydia Gottschewsky to integrate the 230 female civic and r eligious organizations into it. As of November 1933, no new women s groups were to be formed.495 The Deutsches Frauenwerk (DFW) was founded on October 1, 1933 as a rallying point of all Aryan women; Gertrud Scholtz-Klink became its leader in February 1934. She was also le ader of NS-Freundschaft (NSF), an elite organization. In 1941, the two organizations had 6 million members, a third of them in the NSF. As a whole, the Nazi women s organiza tions had 12 million members.496 The question of lesbianism never became a priority. However, during the debate o n the reform of 175, some people did speak out in favor of applying criminal penalt ies,497 using the old arguments that normal women were in danger of being seduced by lesbi ans, and the risk of depopulation. The president of the Reichsrat, Klee, intervened o n this point during the 45th session of the Commission on Criminal Law, in Septemb er 1934. However, most specialists agreed that sapphism was not very dangerous, as seduced women could always be led back to the correct path. Thierack, who became a Minis ter for Justice in 1942 noted, Unlike men, women are always ready for sex. 498 Moreover, women being excluded from power, it was superfluous to condemn lesbians. The cri minologist E. Mezger noticed that the repression of lesbianism did not arise naturally from the condemnation of male homosexuality, but that it was a question of weighing tw o different evils. 499 It was to be also feared that such a law would not lead to judgments in chain, in particular with regard to prostitutes and abusive denunciations agains t innocent women. Again, here are the same arguments that prevented the condemnation of les bianism in England in the early 1920s. This position never was completely accepted by certain lawmakers. Rudolf Klare became an ardent partisan in the fight against lesbianism. In his book Homosexua lit.t und 494. Gleichschaltung was the name given to the national-socialist revolution: th e term could be translated as uniformization, coordination or mise au pas. The plan was to make the Re

ich conform to one standard, according to the motto Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein F.hrer ( On e people, one empire, one leader ) and to install totalitarianism. 495. Numerous conservative associations, like the K.nigin-Luise Bund (Queen Loui se League) and the Frauenbund der DNVP (DNVP Women s League), were accepted on the basis of certa in conditions, such as the exclusion of Jews and adherence to the principles of Nazism. The BDF (Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine, Federation of German Women s Associations), which brought together sixty organizations and had 500,000 members, was dissolved, as was the General Association of German Teachers. The Association of German Catholic teachers and the Association of German protes tant Teachers refused to disband. Many women from educated families considered that their soci al position put them above the police terror. 496. In order to understand why so many women were willing to follow a party who se ideology was clearly misogynist, see Claudia Koonz, Les M.res-patries du Troisi.me Reich, Paris, Lieu Commun, 1989, 553 pages. 497. The question is particularly sharp in comparison with Austria where, since 1852, homosexual acts between men and between women had been punishable by five years in prison. After the Anschluss, this situation created insolubles problems. It was never definitively decided whether an Austrian committing a homosexual act in Germany should be sentenced according to the Austrian law or let go, according to the law of the Reich. 498. BAB, R 22/973. 499. Ibid. 363

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Strafrecht (1937),500 he expresses approval of the 1935 law, but wishes that mor e could be done to eradicate lesbianism; according to him, female homosexuality was just as alarming a phenomenon as male homosexuality, and it ought to be repressed to the same degree.501 Jurist Ernst Jenne published an article in Deutsches Recht in 1936 en titled: Soll 175 auf Frauen ausgedehnt werden? ( Should 175 be broadened to include women? ). In his view, women like men must have a healthy sexual life. The fact that evide nce is difficult to gather or that false charges may be brought was true for men as well as for women, and that was not a valid argument against extending 175. It is impossible to calculate how much lesbians were affected by retaliatory mea sures. Like the men, they saw their bars closed and their newspapers banned. However, most lesbians managed to survive under Nazism by adopting various strategies. So me conformed to the system, like Gertrud Ba.mer; others chose to make an unconsumma ted marriage with a homosexual; others, like Charlotte Wolff, emigrated. Many lesbia ns let their hair grow and wore feminine clothing to avoid calling attention to themsel ves. Some sought to dissimulate their recent activities. Elsbeth Killmer, formerly a writer for Die Freundin, Selma Engler, editor of BIF, and Ruth Margarete R.llig, author of the book Les Lesbiennes de Berlin, managed to camouflage their homosexuality and continued their careers as writers or artists.502 The Jewish painter Gertrude Sandmann fak ed a suicide in order to escape the Gestapo, was hidden in an apartment for years b y her friends and managed to survive. The risk of denunciation was grave. Two dancers accused the ballet mistress Sabine R., from the Theater am Nollendorfplatz in Berlin,503 of indecent activities with certain ballerinas. They sent a letter to the Ministry for Propaganda in February 1934. Their charges were made in retaliation for a non-renewed contr act. The director of the theater supported the defendant, however, and she was not prosecuted. The two dancers were convicted of calumny. Certain lesbians were, however, prosecuted, most of the time for reasons other than their sexuality. Burbot Hahm, the president of the lesbian club Violetta, w as arrested for seduction of a minor. She was thrown in prison, then sent to a concentration camp. She came out of there half paralyzed. Hilde Radusch was condemned as a Communist . Others were arrested for being asocial, or prostitutes. In the category of politic al prisoners, the name list for the convoy to Ravensbr.ck on November 30, 1940, shows the name of Elli S. 26 years, lesbian. 504

Legal sources almost never mentioned lesbians. Still, it was possible to convict women in certain quite specific cases, under the terms of 174 which carried a sen tence of more than six months in prison and up to five years of forced labor. This applie d to teachers who commit indecent acts with their pupils, adoptive parents or nursemai ds with their children, churchmen, professors, teachers with their minor students a nd pupils. Lesbians were sometimes pursued by the police, but it is not clear for what aim and with what consequences. Thus a report from the secret service for the Office on Racial Policy of the NSDAP noted on June 20, 1938: Sufficient material is now available on the 500. In 1937, in Deutsches Recht, he ran an article in which he recalled that an cient German laws had imposed the death penalty for homosexuality. 501. See also Zum Problem der weiblichen Homosexualit.t, Deutsches Recht, December 1938. 502. See Claudia Schoppmann, Nationalsozialistische Sexualpolitik , op. cit. 503. BAB, R 55/151. 504. Cited by Claudia Schoppmann, in Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.13. 364

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up extent and the distribution of homosexuality. In order to fight female homosexua lity (lesbianism) also, we urgently ask for information on the observations made by our colleagues themselves or external reports given to our colleagues. To this end, the address es of people known as lesbians must be provided to us as soon as possible. The repo rts must be sent to the Office of Racial Policy (Rassenpolitisches Amt) Reichsleitung Rechtsstelle Berlin W8, Wilhelmstr. 63. 505 A report from the security services of Frankfurt-am-Main, addressed to the offic es of the State police on January 9, 1936, mentions the case of the blonde Heidi and M rs. K : Mrs. K has a homosexual (lesbian) dependent relationship with the blonde Heidi. Mrs. K was the former wife of an SS officer, whom she divorced. She works in an office, but it could not be established where she lived. Heidi was a young woman of 22 or 23 years, very elegant, from Langen, in Hesse. Her father was a hotelier, but befor e that he was an influential member of the SPD and police chief in Krefeld. In 1933, he sp ent a year in a concentration camp. Heidi received many people in her two-room flat in Fran kfurt, all of suspicious appearance: Bolsheviks, artists and intellectuals. It was said that sexual orgies were held there. Heidi went to the Caf. Bettina, in Bettinastrasse, and B auernsch.nke, which was also a homosexual locale.506 Generally speaking, however, it is fair to say that lesbians were not subjected to persecutions comparable to those of homosexuals. If they agreed to abdicate thei r personality and conform to the prevailing standards, they had little reason to be worried. 1935-1939: THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL TERROR The new legislation was used as a basis for beefing up the fight against homosex uality. Under the impetus of the Reichsf.hrer SS and police chief Himmler,507 the campai gn against homosexuality was centralized. Great political battles were waged agains t the Catholic clergy and General Werner von Fritsch, and the party redoubled its vigilance with regard to homosexuality in the SS and Hitlerjugend. One question remained: what to do with the homosexual who were arrested? There were two thoughts on that: eradication and rehabilitation. Both approaches dehumanized homosexuals, and set them up to be treated like numbers or, at best, guinea pigs. Stronger Repression

The period from 1935 to 1939 saw an abrupt acceleration of the repression. What was unique in the Nazi treatment of homosexuality, compared to that of Weimar or England at the same time, was its totalitarian impulse: all homosexual acts must be listed, recorded, and repressed. Nothing must escape the control of the State. 505. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.81. BAB, NSD 17/12. 506. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.80-81. 507. Himmler became chief of police in 1936. 365

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Centralization and rationalization of the campaign against homosexuality There was a pause in the pressure against homosexuals in 1936. On the occasion o f the Olympic Games in Berlin, Himmler gave the following order (on July 20, 1936) : In the coming weeks, I prohibit any measures being taken against foreigners in the name of 175, including interrogations or summonses to appear, without my personal authorizati on. 508 And the repression began again as soon as autumn fell. From that point on, the fight against homosexuality was highly organized and sys tematic. 509 A secret directive from Himmler on October 10, 1936 regarding the fight against homosexuality and abortion was used its basis.510 A special office was cr eated within the Office of Criminal Police of the Reich (Reichskriminalpolizeiamt, RKP A).511 The activities of the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality an d Abortion (Reichszentrale zur Bek.mpfung der Homosexualit.t und der Abtreibung) were first to record, file and classify every case of homosexual that was report ed to it. In 1940, the files of the Central Office counted 41,000 names of convicted or suspe cted homosexuals.512 Special files were kept on male prostitutes and pedophiles (174 a nd 176). The files were used to provide various institutions, especially the German Institute for Psychological Research and Psychotherapy led by Pr. Matthias Heinrich Goerin g, with selected individuals on whom research on homosexuality could be conducted. The creation of the Central Office did not mean the disappearance of the special Ges tapo office in charge of these matters.513 Both were headed by the same person, Obers turmf.hrer Josef Meisinger.514 At a conference given April 5 and 6, 1937 for experts and doctors in his service , Meisinger explained the goals and the tasks of the campaign against abortion and homosexuality. 515 In his words, homosexuals were not to be merely punished, they were also to be rehabilitated. This task accorded with the assimilation of abortion and homos exuality. Both inhibited reproduction, and therefore lessened German power. Homosexuals no t only had to be prevented from attracting any followers, but redirected toward nor mal, i.e. procreative, sexuality. 508. Heinz-Dieter Schilling, Schwule und Faschismus, op. cit., p.28. 509. Himmler had just reorganized the criminal police (Kripo) on 17 June 1936. 510. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.88-91. The secret directive dated 10 October 1936 was then

covered up. On 9 February 1937, it was specified that it would be preferable to use special agents to fight homosexuality. This comment seems to indicate that the policemen responsib le for dealing with homosexuals needed to have special training. That seems likely, since Himml er himself expressed that view several times to a police audience. 511. The RKPA was founded on 20 September 1936. In 1939, it was merged with the RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt, Central Security Service for the Reich). The various departments of the Reich then came under Bureau V for fighting crime (the former RKPA), and the Rei ch Bureau for combatting homosexuality and abortion became Group B, division 3: Immorality. 512. For example, in 1938, statistics show 28,882 registered homosexuals of whic h 7,472 were corrupters of youth and 587 were prostitutes. See Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.1 16. 513. In October 1934, the Sonderdezernat Homosexualit.t became the Sonderreferat II S1. In May 1935, it took the designation II 1 H 3, under the direction of Commissar Kanthack, who was replaced in 1939 by Commissar Schiele. 514. In 1940, Meisinger was replaced as head of the Central by Erich Jakob, who ha d been heading up the police anti-abortion service in Berlin since 1935. In June 1943, Dr. Carl-Heinz Rodenberg, a proponent of castration for homosexuals, was named scientific director. 515. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.110-115. 366

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up The work of the Central Office rested above all on cooperation with the local police. They were to report any incidents and even cases that were merely suspic ious, for violations related to 174 (sex crimes with dependents), 176 (children forced to co mmit sex crimes), 253 (blackmail related to homosexuality), 175 (sex crimes between men ), 175a (aggravated cases of 175). In the latter two instances, a report was necessar y only if the person concerned was a member of the NSDAP or of one of its organizations, occupied a position of command, belonged to the armed forces, was member of a re ligious order, a civil servant, a Jew, or occupied an important post before the change o f regime.516 These details illustrate a desire to be selective. They seem to indicate that th e average homosexual was not the chief concern of the Central Office, and that they would let the local police handle them. The homosexuals who were regarded as dangerous were th e pedophiles, the corrupters of youth and people who took advantage of a position of power or a position within the party. This selection reflected Himmler s phobias, as he was particularly worried about homosexuals harmful influence at their work places , and their capacity to form coteries. In fact, there were always differences in how homosexuals were treated. Some, li ke repeat offenders, received very stiff sentences; others were arbitrarily shelter ed. Special measures were taken in favor of actors and artists.517 Himmler gave a decree on October 29, 1937, addressed to the Gestapo,518 the local offices of the State police, th e Office of the Criminal Police of the Reich and the local offices of the criminal police, stipu lating that any detention of an actor or an artist for unnatural acts requires prior approval , unless he is caught in the act. A memorandum from the criminal police in Dresden, dated Sep tember 8, 1938, relating to an arrest that had taken place, proves that this decree was effective:519 But the arrest cannot be sustained without the approval of the Reic hsf.hrer SS because it concerns actors. Conversely, in a directive from December 14, 1937, the Minister of the Interior toughened up the terms of detention for other categorie s of homosexuals. 520 Preventive custody in reform camps or labor camps was now applied to recidivists and male prostitutes. Such detention was to last as long as necessary . The need for this detention was to be reviewed after not more than two years, but no t sooner than twelve months.

Tighter sentencing (1935-1939) When 175 was modified in 1935 and repression was increase, it led to a significan t rise in convictions. If one compares the statistics of the period 1935-1939 with those of the period 1919-1934,521 one notes that 1935-1939 saw the greatest repression of hom sexuality in Germany between the two wars. In 1934, the number of people tried for homosexuality was 872. In 1935, it was 2 ,121, and in 1936, 5,556. In other words, between 1934 and 1935 there was an increase of 143%, 516. This also applied to prostitutes. Cases involving people under the age of 2 5 were to be specially marked. See Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.87. 517. The most famous case was that of the actor Gustaf Gr.ndgens, a notorious ho mosexual, whom Goering named to as director of the State Theater. In 1936, Klaus Mann did a portrait of him in M.phisto. 518. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.137-138. 519. Ibid., p.137. 520. Ibid., p.138-144. 367

A History of Homosexuality in Europe and between 1935 and 1936 an increase of 162%! The number of convictions also in creased: 1901 in 1935, 5,097 in 1936. For 1937 we have only the number convicted (includi ng for bestiality), 8,271 people; that is an increase of 62%. In 1938, 9,479 people were tried (best iality included) and 8,562 convicted. Finally, in 1939, 8,274 people were tried (bestia lity included) and 7,614 were convicted. The shift in 1939 can, in my view, be attrib uted to the war, for the following years also mark a very significant decline: 3,773 convict ions in 1940, 3,739 in 1941, and 2,678 in 1942.522 Going to war and a drop-off in convictions, no doubt because the fight against homosexuality could no longer be a priority and the fo rces of the country were mobilized around other goals. Moreover, a number of homosexuals cou ld have enrolled in the army as a form of cover. The apogee of repression then was the year 1938, with 9,479 people tried and 8,5 62 convicted. The average number of trials between 1919 and 1934 was 704; but betwe en 1935 and 1939 it was above 6,000. The number of convictions also increased. In 1933, 86% of those tried were convicted. In 1935, the proportion convicted was 89%; in 1936, 91%; 1938, 90%, and 1939, 92%. We have detailed statistics only for the years 1935 and 1936. In 1935, 1,901 wer e convicted, 12 to forced labor, 1,703 to a prison sentence, 129 to a fine, 108 to the loss o f civic rights. In 1936, 5,097 were convicted: 192 to forced labor, 4,617 to prison, 183 to a fine, 291 the loss of civic rights. The fine and the loss of civic rights could be tacked onto another sentence. In 1935, more than 90% of those convicted had to do prison time or for ced labor. In 1936, 94% did. In 1933, only 85% of those convicted received a prison sentenc e but in 1919, it was 97%. That means that this was a return to very severe repression, a return to the rates that prevailed at the beginning of the period. The sentences also reflected a harsher repression, since more and more of the se ntences were for more than three years of forced labor. In 1936, 12 sentences of forced labor were given for misdemeanors against 175, of which five were for more than three y ears. There were 180 sentences for crimes against 175a, including 46 that were higher t han three years. Fines accounted for only 6.7% of the sentences in 1935, and 3.6% in 1936, showing clearly that the judges wanted to punish homosexuality in other ways. By

comparison, fines accounted for 30% before 1925 and still 12% in 1931. The loss of civic rig hts also increased, from an average of 2.5% of convictions to approximately 5.6%. These statistics confirm the intensification of homophobic policies, which were already quite visible in any event. But they were still far below the figures re corded by the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion and the spe cial office of the Gestapo, which would amass nearly 90,000 homosexual files between 1937 and 1940.523 This discrepancy reflects very different situations. The monitoring of homosexuals was extreme and meticulous; the files covered every suspect and not only cases that were tried or proven. Even so, probably not every case appears in the legal statistics. Indeed, it has been seen that recidivists, corrupters of youth, and male prostitut es were subjected to special treatment.524 They could be sent to labor camp before being tried, 521. In order to be able to make valid comparisons, I have used as my source the Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, vol.577, published in 1942, which offers the avantage of being both reli able and detailed. It distinguishes between homosexuality crimes under 175 and those related to best iality. This is an important distinction as the numbers are considerable. In 1933, 778 persons were tried for homosexuality and 213 for bestiality. Unfortunately, after 1937, the statistics no longer dist inguish between the two. See tables in the Appendices. 522. After 1943, there are gaps in the statistics. 368

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up and perhaps without ever being tried. Some prisoners could be let go if their co nduct was considered to be satisfactory, i.e. if they testified to an attraction for women ; but they also could die as a result of the torture, malnutrition or medical experiments homose xuals being particularly in demand in this field. For these reasons, it is hard to say how many homosexuals were actually victims of Nazi repression. Practices of the police and the judiciary To determine whether National Socialism made any significant changes to the tradi tional way of handling homosexuality and to find out about the police practices, the directives issued by local police headquarters are helpful. The criminal police in Kassel, on May 11, 1937,525 call homosexuals enemies of the State, saying that: they are const antly seducing and contaminating young people. Male prostitutes are described as partic ularly dangerous but not all homosexual. Therefore it is decided to keep a constant wat ch on the roads, the stations, parks, urinals, labor exchanges, and bars to eradicate male prostitutes completely. Hotel doormen, porters, taxi drivers, medical employees, hairdressers and bath attendants are to be questioned about their customers. Schools, youth m ovements, military institutions and monasteries will be subject to investigation. Pupils a nd members of these organizations will be questioned about their leaders and their comrades. All the known homosexuals must be on file, with their photograph and their finge rprints. If one cannot prove the crime, the suspect must not be let go. A search must be conducted in order to find letters from friends or other homosexuals. If the sea rch does not turn up any material, the suspects must receive a detailed warning, be kept under surveillance and monitored more and more closely. The interrogations must be carried out with tact, in particular in the case of minors and victims of blackmailers: Someb ody who is being made to talk must lose his inhibitions when he testifies to the police. He must be convinced that without his cooperation, he will never get rid of his tormentor, an d that the police will treat his declarations with understanding and the greatest discr etion. These directives are very instructive. They illustrate first of all the means us ed and the importance attached to the fight against homosexuality. The city was divided up in a rational way, and all the places where homosexuals were likely to be were placed under surveillance. The surveillance was not left to the police alone; the population

was mobilized in order to watch or identify suspects. Certain traditionally homophile organiza tions were favorite targets, like schools and youth movements, or the monasteries whic h were at the center of the homophobic campaign of 1937. Psychological methods were popular. The homosexual is not a normal criminal. To apprehend him, one must use tact 523. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.131. The military psychiatrist Otto Wuth, wh o published a memorandum on homosexuality in the Wehrmacht in 1943, noted that cases recorded throughout all the police organizations of the Reich reached 32,360 (including 308 in the military) en 1937, 28882 (including 102 in the military) in 1938 and, for the first half of 1939, 16,748 (including 327 in the military). The statistics after that are incomplete. During the first half of 1942, 4,697 h omosexuals were registered (including 332 in the military). 524. As of 1940, homosexuals who had seduced more than one partner were also sen t directly to the concentration camps. Otto Wuth counted 7,452 corrupters of youth and 800 pro stitutes for 1937; in 1938, 7472 corrupters and 587 prostitutes; and for the first half of 1939, 4, 162 corrupters and 300 prostitutes; for the first half of 1942, 1257 corrupters and 114 prostitutes . All these numbers refer to people who were charged, not convicted, which makes it difficult to do any ca lculations. 525. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.95-96. 369

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Graph 3. Changes in Sex Crimes ( 175 of the Penal Code) in Germany (1919-1939) 370

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up and, if possible, gain his confidence, so that he gives you information. If the defendant shows any desire for redemption, his rehabilitation should be facilitated. This att itude reflects the particular status of the homosexual and the nuances of treatment. T he corrupter of youth is a danger, a monster for whom one may have no pity, for he spreads evi l and undermines the morals of the German people. Seen as incurable, he is beyond any rehabilitated. On the other hand, the male prostitute is not necessarily homosex ual and can be reintegrated into society, just like the young man who was seduced. Homos exuality is not in itself a criterion for social rejection: it is the practice of homosex uality, and its repeated practice, that makes the homosexual an enemy of the State. These nuances required unusual psychological talents on the part of the policeme n and it seems that the complexity of the orders sometimes led to mistakes. Summoned to stamp out homosexuality, while integrating the psychology of the criminal, certa in police officers missed the point of their mission. A major scandal erupted in Frankfurt -am-Main in September 1937 when the president of the County Court (Oberlandesgericht) of Frankfurt wrote to G.rtner, Justice Minister of the Reich, to let him know that abuses had been committed in certain events concerned with 175. These errors were a cons equence of the Reichsf.hrer SS Himmler s trip to Frankfurt, where he gave a particularly vibrant speech against homosexuality before an audience of policemen, enjoining them to fight homosexuality with all their strength. Some of them seem to have badly mis interpreted the message. G.rtner passed the files on to Himmler on January 24, 1938. All of them concerne d cases of entrapment by the police.526 Officer Wildhirt used a seventeen-year-old boy to trap a homosexual on April 7, 1937; a sergeant allowed a certain fellow to give him fellatio in order to establish proof of his culpability (June 25, 1937). The Minister for Justice concluded: Although I do not deny that a merciless campaign against homosexuality is urgently required to maintain the strength of the German people, I find it intol erable for the reputation of the police that officers be permitted to offer their own body in order to trap homosexuals. Leaving aside the question of whether senior police officers a re allowed to encourage others to make themselves accessory to illegal acts committ ed by homosexuals, one cannot in any event justify the use of young people, who are ea sily influenced

and who face a particularly grave danger of corruption, in order to trap crimina ls in the way described in the first case. Himmler responded that he, too, deplored the use of such measures to trap homosexuals and that [he] had had the officers in question informed that their behavior is unacceptable, and that in the future such method s of trapping homosexuals are not to employed any more. This dossier illustrates the c onfusion that the anti-homosexual campaign could cause in certain minds. It also shows that the police methods were not so different from those used in England at the same time. Specific of Germany Nazi, on the other hand, were the sweeps carried out by special mobile units of the Gestapo in certain cities. They might go after one p articular site, like a school, and might be based on a denunciation. In Hamburg, on August 28, 1936, a clean up of the bars was launched in. Several hundred men were arrested. On De cember 23, 1937, an operation was launched at Halle, in Saxony.527 526. BAB, R 22/1460. 527. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.133. 371

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The Nazi system encouraged denunciations. By abundantly distributing antihomosex ual propaganda in the newspapers, the population was incited to take part in the fight; the State encouraged the baser instincts and transformed the average citi zen into a dispenser of vigilante justice. In 1934, the carpenter Josef Holl denounced the Benedictine father Wilhelm Dutli (Pater Nokter II) to the Bavarian police.528 Holl, who was working on the joinery of the monastery of Sch.ftlarn since 1933, accused the father of a crime against 175 and of subversive political activities. The father was Swiss and he s ubscribed to foreign newspapers, which according to Holl contained anti-national articles. Furthermore, Holl had a 21-year-old colleague, Ludwig Weigelsberger. Since July 11, 1934, relations between Weigelsberger and Pater Nokter became very intimate. Dutli regretted his acts deeply and promised not to do it again. Appended to the file, a police report from November 28, 1934 notes that a search was conducted but that no sedi tious newspapers were found. There does not appear to have been any follow-up with reg ard to father Dutli: since he was of Swiss nationality, he could not be sentenced anywa y. Foreign nationality was not always a safeguard, however. People from the territo ries annexed by Germany were not shielded like the Swiss. After Czechoslovakia was dismembered on March 15, 1939 and the Sudetenland was annexed by the Reich, inha bitant of the Sudetenland could be sentenced according to the laws of the Reich. Worse yet, the laws were retroactive! As a most dramatic example we may consider Anton Purkl, who was imprisoned in Dresden in 1939 for unnatural crimes. Purkl was born in 1887; he was married and father of a child. In 1913, he was kicked out of the Wandervogel. During the war, he wa s taken prisoner in Russia. In 1923, he joined the youth movement led by the architect H eins Rutha, who professed the theories of Bl.her. He had never been convicted before. He was charged with engaging in indecent contacts with one of his minor pupils (174), an d a variety of other indecent acts involving men (175a) and boys. The counts of indic tment read like a virtual sexual biography of the defendant. In this enumeration the w ill of the Nazi regime is clear: it was not enough to condemn Purkl for the charges against him. Purkl was both a corrupter of youth and a recidivist. On December 22, 1939, Purkl and several others were sentenced to three years in prison and six months deprivation of civil rights.529 It is specified that the fact that these acts occurred in the Sudeten land prior to

February 28, 1939 does not in any way prevent the execution of the sentence. Pur kl filed many appeals, but all were rejected. Some Specific Cases While the Reich police were in charge of routine cases, the Gestapo was used for specific cases. The Reichsf.hrer SS and chief of the police Himmler was worried from the start about what role homosexuality might play within the party. The SS was of p articular concern. Himmler feared that homosexuality could take root there, corrupting young recruits and encouraging the formation of cliques, which he had specifical ly 528. BAB, NS 19/889. 529. He was sentenced to one year and four months in prison and one year and one month in prison for the two incidents involving the schoolboy; one year in prison for the case with Oswald, six months for Weinmann, four months for Hetz and three months for the unnamed perso n. As one can see, acts with minors were punished far more severely. This was not an exception under the Nazis; even under Weimar, the judges could not find strong enough words against pedophi les. 372

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up denounced in the SA. And the Hitler Youth, like all the youth groups, had a tend ency to attract homosexuals. Himmler also tried to purify the Wehrmacht, without much success. Lastly, two big homophobic campaigns with a political subtext were laun ched between 1935 and 1938. Both were failures, but they contributed to fanning the p ublic s fears of homosexual contamination in every level of society. Homosexuality in the Hitlerjugend and the SS

Homosexuality within the NSDAP or the organizations subordinate to it was a subject of concern to the Nazi leadership very early on.530 R.hm s elimination ser ved as a pretext for purging the party.531 Hitler himself announced that every mother cou ld send her son to the SA, the Party and the Hitler Youth without any fear that he would be corrupted there in mores and morals. On July 30, 1934, a letter was addressed to the Dresden police, asking them to provide the names of people convicted under the t erms of 175 or suspected of homosexual activities, who were members of the NSDAP or who, without belonging to the party, might be members of the youth organization.532 I n August 1934, a report from the leadership of the NSDAP of Saxony required the va rious gendarmeries of the district of Chemnitz to list the people in the party, with t heir names and their ranks, whose way of life contravened 175 of the penal code. In 1936, the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality gathered information on homosexuals. It asked regional police offices to forward the file s concerned with 175 and 175a but, as mentioned above, a report was necessary only for signif icant cases, especially the members of the NSDAP or one of its organizations. Himmler was particularly worried about homosexual activities within the SS. In his speech at Bad T.lz on February 18, 1937, addressing the generals of the SS, he raised the problem. He became particularly vehement when discussing exemplary measures: Every month a case of homosexuality in the SS is presented. We have eight to ten cases per annum. I have thus decided the following: in every case, these individuals w ill be officially demoted, removed from the SS and taken before a court. Having served the sentenc e set by the court, they will be sent on my order to a concentration camp and will be executed during an attempt to escape. In each case, the corps from which this individual came will be informed of the matter by my order. I thus hope to extirpate these people from the SS, to the last one: I want to preserve the noble blood that we receive in our organization and the work of racial cleansing which we continue in Germany. 533

530. For testimony as to homosexuality in the party organizations, see Joachim S . Hohmann (ed.), Keine Zeit f.r gute Freunde, Homosexuelle in Deutschland, 1933-1969, Berl in, Foerster Verlag, 1982, 208 pages; in particular, Konstantin Orloff s testimony: in 1930, he was 17. A mem ber of the Hitler Youth, he made love with his group leader. He left in 1931 and joined Otto Stras ser s Schwarze Front. According to him, most of his members were homosexuals. In 1932, he met R.hm, wh o propositioned him and wanted to take him to the hotel. 531. The Gauleiter of Silesia, Helmut Br.ckner, was destitute after the putsch; Dr. Achim Gercke, a bisexual, party member since 1925, was an expert in racial research fo r the Minister of the Reich for moving Jews out of the country. In 1935 he was under Gestapo surveilla nce for a homosexual adventure that went on for a year; he managed to evade the suspicions, but had t o quit his job. Ernst vom Rath, a homosexual, party member since 1932, was able to carry on his career at in Foreign Affairs; in 1938, he was secretary of the legation to the German embassy in Pari s. 532. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.44-45. 533. Ibid., p.87. 373

A History of Homosexuality in Europe The measures were certainly radical. The eradication of homosexuality in the SS was a clearly expressed intention. A pretense of legality was preserved the tria l, the official sentence but, in fact, the homosexual SS was condemned to death.534 The charge of homosexuality thus became one of most serious that could be levied aga inst anyone. Thus the lawyer Ludwig Lechner, SS-Obersturmf.hrer and a friend of Himmler, was accused in 1938 of touching a girl of sixteen and a half years; he was pardo ned at Himmler s own request. A little later he was convicted of a crime against 175 on th e person of a fourteen-year-old boy. He was sentenced to one year and three months of forced labor and three years loss of civic rights.535 The case of the SS-Gruppenf.hrer (a general, a very high position within the Naz i hierarchy) Wittje stands out.536 Wittje was thrown out of the SS for alcoholism in 1938. The affair was quite complicated and Himmler played an important role. In his re port of June 17, 1938, Himmler established a chronology of the events and, what is extre mely rare, explained how he came to have the inward conviction that SS-Gruppenf.hrer Wittje was guilty. In June 1934, after the elimination of R.hm, Hitler telephoned to inform him that General von Blomberg, then Minister for War, had said to him that within the SS there was a man who had been turned out of the Reichswehr for homosexuality: Wittje. Himmler declared himself to be very surprised and was astonished that, under the se conditions, Wittje was still authorized to wear the uniform and moreover to receive a pension from the army. Himmler asked to meet General von Blomberg and his chief of staff von Reichenau. Wittje had entered the SS in 1930 at a low level (einfacher SS-Mann), but had distinguished himself and rose quickly. However, twice while he was in t he Reichswehr, Wittje had, in a state of intoxication, put his arm around, hugged a nd kissed a warrant officer. The following day, he did not recall the incident. Himmler ca lled Wittje in and questioned him; Wittje immediately tendered his resignation. Himmler refu sed it, for he had never done anything wrong in the SS. On the other hand, he did ask hi m to stop drinking henceforth, and warned him against homosexuality. For a year, nothing e lse happened. In 1935, SS-Gruppenf.hrer Lorenz, who had replaced Wittje in Hamburg, announced that he had had to discharge two men from Wittje s former staff for homo sexuality. In 1934-1935 also, Wittje went back to drinking. Rumors began to spread about misconduct. In 1937, Wittje s former driver confirmed the rumors of homosexuality

but when he had to reiterate his charges before the court, he retracted. He was conv icted of calumny, discharged from the SS and sent to the concentration camp at Sachsenhau sen. Himmler heard further echoes of Wittje s behavior in Hamburg in 1937 and 1938. He was drinking again and always organizing evenings of camaraderie. Himmler charged the Gestapo in Hamburg with clearing up these rumors but, according to him, they did not handle the matter well. Two new cases came up. Himmler concluded his report by n oting that his experience showed that it was very possible for a man to be wrongfully ac cused of homosexuality. It was also possible that an intoxicated man might accidentall y embrace another man. It was also possible that on one or two occasions, a man mi ght be wrongfully accused by others seeking reprisals, because they knew that homosexua lity is 534. This 941 for cleaning 535. BAB, 536. BAB, 374 decision was formalized by the confidential decree dated 15 November 1 up [Reinhaltung] the SS and the police (BAB, R 58/261). See postface. NS 19/1087. It is not known what became of him afterwards. NS 19/3940.

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up punished by the law. But it was not possible that witnesses of different backgro unds, far apart and upset by their own suspicions, could deliver identical testimonies and describe systematically that the man put his arms around, hugged and kissed his companion . Must one then conclude that the charges of homosexuality levied against Wittje were w ell founded? He was inclined to say yes. Could Wittje fill the position of Gruppenf. hrer in the SS? No. It seems however that the business was even further complicated, pro bably because of the defendant s rank. Witnesses for the prosecution and for the defense were heard; Himmler accused the court of showing too much indulgence. The transcript of the trial is not available, which makes any interpretation difficult. Nevertheless, in a letter of June 17, 1938 Himmler noted that the suit against Gruppenf.hrer Wittje must be us ed as an example. Wittje was demoted and discharged from the SS. The charge of alcoholi sm, although well founded, seems to have been a pretext for getting rid of an indivi dual who had become too much of a liability, legitimating at the highest level the rumors of homosexuality, which Himmler wanted to avoid at all costs. Another of the party s concerns was the fate of the younger generation. Since 1936 , the Hitler Youth had fought vigorously against the older youth groups, which had been prohibited. Many lawsuits were launched, accusing the leaders of crimes relating to 175.537 The most famous was the one that started in D.sseldorf September 18 and 1 9, 1936 against the old Nerother Bund or Rheinische Jugendburg Bund. Its leader, Robert Oelbermann, was sentenced to twenty-one months of forced labor. After eighteen months, he was sent to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen and he died in Dachau on Mar ch 28, 1941. However, at the very heart of the Hitler Youth, homosexuality was spreading and the leadership of the Reich Youth, with Baldur von Schirach at its head, was kee n to put an end to these practices. Since they came to power, strict measures of control had been instituted and, since 1936, it was obligatory to denounce homosexual acts.538 At the first hint of suspicion, the boy in question lost any leadership function; if the susp icions were confirmed, the prosecutor was informed. The sentences were recorded by the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality. The Hitler Youth also kept files. In 1938, it was decided that every year when b

oys were promoted to higher ranks, the leaders of each troop or company would receiv e instruction on questions concerning 174 and 176.539 On the other hand, it was up to the parents to inform young people about sexual matters. There are several files pointing a finger at members of the Hitler Youth.540 In 1934, one Friedrich Schorn, Unterbannf.hrer of the Hitler Youth, was reported for sex crimes under 174.1. He was an instructor of apprentices in a mechanical weaving company in Halbau. He gave a complete confession. Schorn was then placed in preventive cust ody in the prison of Sagan. On November 3, 1934, the Attorney General sent in a list of charges. He had been abusing minors since 1929 but was never convicted. Until 1923, he wa s an officer in the army; he had to leave because he had made advances to an orderly. He had engaged in indecent acts with several boys between 1930 and 1933. Schorn was sen tenced 537. It is hard to say whether some of these trials were fabricated. These movem ents had a reputation that made this type of accusation plausible and they could be used to discredit them in the eye of the public. 538. These measures were made considerably tougher during the war. See postface. 539. BAB, R 22/1176. 540. GStA, HI, Rep.84a, n 17298. 375

A History of Homosexuality in Europe to five years in prison, as the acts he was charged with had been committed befo re he became a member of the Hitler Youth.541 On November 7, 1934 the chief of the Reich Youth (Reichjugendf.hrer) sent the Minister of the Interior a list of the members of Hitler Youth and Jungvolk who had been convicted for misdemeanors under 175 and expelled.542 In five months, at least el even leaders in the Hitler Youth and Jungvolk had been convicted and expelled. The fi ght against homosexuality within the party organizations was apparently conducted vi gorously; but given the lack of statistics, it is difficult to assess whether it was a suc cess. Homosexuality in the Wehrmacht Until the beginning of the war, the Wehrmacht took its own approach to homosexua lity. Those cases that came up might relate to either 175 or 175a, just like for civilians. However, one might suppose that the authorities were especially conce rned lest the Wehrmacht become a center of homosexual propagation.543 Wehrmacht kept a special file on homosexuals, which in 1940 counted 5,000 names. A questionnaire was to be filled out for each homosexual and sent to the Reich Central Office, and the Reich Central Office sent the army recruitment center a list of corrupters of youth and male prostitutes. The cooperation between the army and the Reich Central Office did not always go smoothly. On September 5, 1938, the High-Command returned the list of pedophiles and male prostitutes, saying that there was no point in forwarding them to the recru itment offices, either because they were not kept up to date or because the men had not been tried yet, and they were young and likely to be hounded all their lives for a you thful indiscretion often caused by seduction, without ever being convicted for it in a court of law. Lastly, Even if the lists were to be kept up to date, recording them would in itself mean an additional burden for the recruitment offices, and the recruitment offic es have more important matters to attend to; the result would by no means justify the am ount of work required. 544 In fact, homosexuality cases did not reach a peak in the Wehrmacht before the wa r. In 1940 the number of indictments increased, probably because of the many homose xuals who signed up.545 In cases judged to be based on an incorrigible predisposition, he sen

541. The same file contained the accusation filed against another member of the Hitler Youth. Hans M.ller, a salesman from Cologne, was a team leader (F.hnleinf.hrer) in the Jungvolk. In April 1933, he and his group took part in an educational trip to K.ttingen. During the trip, as during a trip at Easter in 1934 and at Pentecost in the same year, he fondled several of the b oys he was chaperoning. On 22 September 1934, he was placed in preventive detention in prison in Cologne . That is all that is known about this case. 542. Otto Rosenberg, Horst Gehrke, Gerhard Schewinski, Kurt Zipprik, al from Bar tenstein, were kicked out of the Hitler Youth on 25 November 1934. F.hnleinf.hrer Hans-J.r gen Puzig from Flatow was kicked out on 23 April 1934. Scharff.hrer D.wel of Cologne was kicked out on 25 August 1934. The former Oberbannf.hrer Ernst Erdelt of Liegnitz was kicked out on 25 Ju ly 1934, former F.hnleinf.hrer K.ppenbender on 25 October 1934, and Schorn and Hans M.ller as well. L.ckenbach, the former F.hnleinf.hrer of Jungvolk was kicked out on 25 November 1934. 543. Obligatory military service was reintroduced in 1935 for all men aged 18 to 45, and up to 60 for officers. In 1936, the army already had 500,000 men; in August 1939, it had 2.6 million soldiers. 544. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.127. 545. This explanation was offered as early as 1943 by the military psychiatrist Otto Wuth, who penned a report on homosexuality in the army. In total, from 1 September 1939 to 30 June 1944, 7000 were convicted; that is a small number, given the size of the armed forces. 376

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up tence was prison and, in serious cases, forced labor and detention in a camp. If it were a matter of homosexuality of circumstance, or seduction, the defendants could be reins tated in the army after having served their sentences. This was construed as a favor, to enable them to prove their virility before the enemy. Nevertheless, crimes conce rned with 175 were regarded as incompatible with the exercise of command. Homosexuality as a way of eliminating opponents The Nazi regime was pragmatic in the elimination of its opponents. To identify i ts enemies for prosecution and punishment it used a few overarching themes, and hom osexuality was one of the best options, as the R.hm incident proved. In 1937, a new homophobic campaign was launched, this one aimed at the Catholics and in particu lar the religious orders. A hundred monks and nuns were charged with various misdeed s before the German courts, mostly relating to homosexuality. Many members of the Catholic clergy had already been prosecuted for trafficking in currencies or com munist conspiracies, without much success. The purpose of these persecutions was to dis credit the religious orders and the Catholic Church and to justify canceling their righ ts as educational establishments. Hitler hoped by this means to put pressure on the Vatican and the German episcopate and to get them to end their protests. The Gestapo had con ducted investigations and held the information in reserve to be used at the right momen t. The last straw was the papal encyclical Mit brennender Sorge (With Burning Anxiety) of Ma rch 14, 1937, which warned against the ideological bases of Nazism. The first target of the Gestapo was a small community of lay brothers in Waldbre itbach, a village close to Trier, in the Palatinate. They were supervised rather loosely by the Franciscans and took care of the handicapped in local hospitals. They had no t been particularly selected nor trained, and the Church authorities admitted to some n egligence. Even so, the court case was a failure. The Gestapo brought as a witness one of t he mentally-retarded patients. The prosecutor asked him whether he could point out to the court any person who had tried to seduce him and lure him into committing indece nt acts. The witness pointed to the president of the court. The case was dismissed. 546 In the Rhenish lands, nearly a thousand judicial inquests had been launched against the lay brothers. Nearly 300 were dead ends, for 150 of them were forewa rned and

got away, and 150 had some immunity. On May 22, 1937, 300 suits were filed and o thers were in preparation against the Franciscans of Waldbreitbach, the Alexians of Ne uss and Cologne-Lindenthal, the brothers of Mercy of Montabour, and the Capuchin and Ben edictine lay orders.547 A Gestapo memorandum dated April 8, 1937548 shows how the smear campaign developed under Josef Meisinger, Regierungsrat Haselbacher and SS-Sturmbannf.hre r 546. Cited by Richard Plant, The Pink Triangle, New York, Holt & Cie, 1986, 257 pages, p.133. Other examples suggest that most of the accusations were trivial. The court in P aderborn acquitted a Catholic priest, Abbot Sommer, cur. of Siddessen, who was charged with indecency . The witnesses retracted their statements while on the stand. The prosecutor had asked for nine months in prison. In M.nster, Westphalia, Abbot Deitmaring, cur. of Hoetmear, charged with indecen cy, was also acquitted due to lack of evidence. In his case, the prosecutor had asked for bet ween three and five years in prison (Le Temps, 16 May 1937). 547. Le Temps, 22 May 1937. 548. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.135-136. 377

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Hartl. Concrete details on each suit were shared with the public in order to sti r up popular outrage, and propaganda articles based on scientific assertions were pub lished. Altogether, 100,000 copies of a pamphlet entitled You Must Recognize Them and Th eir Acts were distributed. An anticlerical work by Burghard Assmuss, entitled Klosterlebe n, Enth.llungen .ber die Sittenverderbnis in den Kl.stern ( Life in the Monasteries and Revelation s on the Depravity of Morals in the Monasteries ), was published in 1937; it was full of sl ander on the sex life of monks. The climax of the campaign was Goebbels speech at Berlin s D eutschlandhalle in front of 25,000 people on May 30, 1937, answering the charges of the cardinal archbishop of Chicago. According to him, the lawsuits reflected a frightening and revolting phenomenon of moral decadence whose equivalent could not be found in a ll of the history of humanity. The criminal aberrations of the Catholic clergy threaten the physical and moral health of our young people. I declare before the German peopl e that this plague will be radically extirpated and, if the Church is too weak, the Sta te will to it. 549 The speech skillfully exploited the popular instincts, presenting the memb ers of the clergy not only as homosexuals but as corrupters of youth and abusers of the h andicapped. Goebbels and the Nazi leaders posed by contrast as paragons of family virtues. The speech was interrupted several times by the crowd, shouting: Hang them! ... M assacre them! ... The anti-Catholic campaign continued until 1941. By 1936, all the Catholic youth organizations had been closed down. The monks had been expelled from more than 3 5 monasteries. In 1941, Goebbels banned all Catholic magazines and newspapers. Bet ween 1937 and 1945, more than 4,000 clerics died in the concentration camps from tort ure, disease or starvation.550 Still, while the homophobic campaign cast a pall on the Catholic clergy, it was on balance a failure. Of approximately 20,000 German priests, only 57 were convicte d; of 4,000 members of the regular clergy, only 7 were convicted. Lastly, of 3,000 lay brothers, 170 were convicted, mostly Franciscans.551 Between 1933 and 1943, less than 0.5% of the 22.4 million German Catholics left the Church. Another campaign was launched in 1937 with the aim of destabilizing the army. General von Blomberg and General von Fritsch had warned Hitler against attacking

Czechoslovakia, fearing it would bring France and Great Britain into the war. Th e crisis between the generals and Hitler came to a head in 1938.552 Circumstances facilit ated the elimination of von Blomberg, who had recently remarried to a young woman whose mother had run a massage parlor. Goering discovered that the young woman had pos ed for pornographic photographs and that she had been registered as a prostitute. G oering showed the photographs to von Blomberg, who offered his resignation. He should have been replaced by General Werner von Fritsch, the very model of the Prussian officer, a confirmed bachelor, a shy, religious man who lived only for the army. He was admired by his officers and his troops, and was beyond any criticis m. But his independence, his mistrust of the Nazi leaders with whom he did not associat e 549. Le Temps, 30 May 1937. 550. Richard Plant, The Pink Triangle, op. cit., p.136. 551. On this subject, see Hans G.nther Hockerts, Die Sittlichkeitsprozesse gegen katholische Ordensangeh.rige und Priester, 1936-1937, Mayence, Mathias Gr.newald Verlag, 1971, 224 pages. 552. Several works present the elimination of the generals as a coup arranged by Hitler in order to place himself at the head of the armed forces. Marlis Steinert suggests, rath er, that the events were unexpected and Hitler used them to his own advantage. 378

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up had earned him some enemies, in particular among the Himmler-Heydrich-Goering tr iumvirate. While Hitler recognized von Fritsch s professional qualities, he hardly liked him. Then Goering intervened: he dug up a sordid affair dating to 1936. One Otto Schmidt, a thief and blackmailer, had accused von Fritsch of homosexuality. The case had been taken up by section II H in the Gestapo. In an interrogation conducted by Josef Meisinger, Schmidt gave a deposition swearing to have seen General von Fritsch go to the to ilets with one of his acquaintances, the homosexual Josef Weinberger, at the Potsdamer Platz subway station in Berlin on November 22, 1933. According to him, they engaged in indecent acts, and then the general gave Weinberger some money. Otto Schmidt the n popped up, presented himself as a member of the SA, and extorted 500 RM in order to keep quiet. (It is not clear whether, at this point, Meisinger knew that this wh ole story related to Captain Achim von Frisch, not General Werner von Fritsch.) Meisinger reported to Himmler, but Hitler ordered them to burn the file. The outside press ures were great enough, in 1936, and there was no need to start a homosexual scandal at th e top of the military hierarchy. Nevertheless, Heydrich took Himmler s advice and kept a co py of the most important documents.553 In 1937, Otto Schmidt was in prison again; he w as released on condition that he become a state witness on sexual deviants. Hitler was alerted; he showed more interest than in 1936. He called in Hossbach, a colonel in the Wehrmacht, who gave little credit to the charges. Hossbach informed Fritsch, who was stunned. Otto Schmidt swore he recognized him; and von Fritsch was suspended fro m his functions. At the first hearing, the defense lawyer pointed out contradictions i n Schmidt s testimony. The old captain, who had been beaten in prison, admitted to everythin g and Otto Schmidt admitted having given a false deposition. Von Fritsch was released, but was unable to regain his post office at the head of the army. He died in combat, in Poland, in September 1939, at the head of an obscure regiment. Schmidt was sent to Sachsenh ausen concentration camp for four years; he was liquidated there on orders from Goerin g.554 Hitler then took command of the Wehrmacht. The path was clear for the Anschluss. Once again, the charge of homosexuality, even completely unfounded, h ad done its job. Rehabilitation or Eradication ?

The Nazi regime was energetic in conducting its campaign against homosexuality. However, not all homosexuals were considered in the same way, and there was neve r any question of exterminating homosexuals as a whole. Only the incorrigible homosexuals were to be eliminated, particularly those who presented a danger to youth. As these were unofficial measures, it is impossible to gauge the exact number of those who were sent to the camps, how much time they spent t here on average, or how many died there. For those whose homosexuality was regarded a s acquired, through vice or seduction, rehabilitation was considered. Internment in th e concentration camps was based on the idea that homosexuals could be rehabilitated by labor. Now, it was a question of curing them. Several means were considered, fro m psychoanalysis to castration. These efforts did not produce the anticipated results and, just 553. In Friedrich Koch, Sexuelle Denunziation, die Sexualit.t in der politischen Auseinandersetzung, Frankfurt-am-Main, Syndikat, 1986, 223 pages. 554. Richard Plant, The Pink Triangle, op. cit., p.140-143. 379

A History of Homosexuality in Europe before the war, Himmler (who had been an ardent fan of the notion of rehabilitati on ) was less and less inclined to waste time and money on the abnormal. Camp became th e customary treatment, and now it was extended to all homosexuals who had seduced more than one partner. Elimination by Labor The fate of homosexuals in the concentration camps is described in studies by R.diger Lautmann and Richard Plant.555 Lautmann and a team of researchers studie d thirteen or fourteen institutions that held imprisoned homosexuals; Richard Plan t studied the situation of the homosexual in Buchenwald. In both cases, only to pa rtial conclusions can be drawn. Indeed, many of the files are incomplete: some documents were destroyed when the camps were evacuated; others were not kept up to date. Certai n files are still missing because they were dispersed in the former socialist countries. Among the officials, only Rudolf Hoess left his Memoirs. Lautmann and Plant succeeded in c ollecting very few interviews from old pink triangles. Thus the analysis offered below is co mpartmental. It is focused on the years 1933-1939, since that is the period currently under d iscussion. Shortly after the Nazis took over, homosexuals started being sent to concentrati on camps. Kurt Hiller, an activist from the WhK, was sent to Orianenburg. Himmler s o rder of December 14, 1937 and his decree of July 12, 1940 specifically designated corr upters of youth and male prostitutes; and as of 1940, recidivists too were to be placed in p reventive custody. 556 Not all homosexuals were sent to the camps after serving out their sentences, but arbitrary internments did take place. The first camp opened was t hat of Dachau, on March 30, 1933. In June 1933, Himmler named Theodor Eicke to run the camp, which became the model for Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald and Mauthausen. Homosexuals were interned in each of these camps, but their exact number is not known. It se ems, however, that they were the smallest minority in the camps, with .migr.s, profane rs of the race and transfers from the armed forces. Lautmann lists 150 homosexuals at D achau between March and September 1938. According to him, an estimated 5,000 15,000 homo sexuals were sent to concentration camps between 1933 and 1945, but these statistics cannot be refined further. Like other prisoners, those who wore the pink triangle faced inhuman conditions of detention. It seems that they suffered particularly. One of Richard Plant s wit

nesses reports that on arrival in the camp of Buchenwald, homosexuals and Jews were bea ten. Eugen Kogon reports that homosexuals at Fl.ssenburg, Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald a nd Mauthausen were sent to work in the quarries in greater number than other groups . In Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen, they were sent to the camp brothel in order to be re habilitated. 557 555. R.diger Lautmann, Terror und Hoffnung in Deutschland, 1933-1945, Reinbek, R owohlt, 1980, 570 pages; Seminar: Gesellschaft und Homosexualit.t, Frankfurt-am-Main, Suhrkamp Tas chenbuch, 1977, 570 pages; Richard Plant, The Pink Triangle, op. cit. 556. On 12 May 1944, a secret decree from the chief of the security police order ed that homosexuals thrown out of the Wehrmacht, that is, those who showed a predisposition or an acq uired and clearly incorrigible urge, should be sent to concentration camps. They were to go to camp, either immediately upon being kicked out, or after serving their time. 380

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up Homosexuals suffered special isolation. A letter from the Reich Justice Minister addressed to the Reichsf.hrer SS on December 15, 1939558 requested that homosexu als be separated from other prisoners, and not intermingled with them, in order to avoi d any homosexual contact. In the Austrian camps (Ostmark), the prisoners were isolated at night. A special block contained individual cells, in particular in Rodgau. In t he Ems and Rodgau camps, where such isolation could not be maintained, the principle of dilu tion was applied: The principle consists in distributing homosexuals so that everywher e they go, they have to face a great majority of non-perverts who keep them under contr ol, because of a healthy horror of homosexuality which is also very widespread among the [rest of the] prisoners. The system was reinforced by the way the blocks were man aged: homosexuals were assigned to places where it was very easy to keep an eye on the m and, where there were bunk beds, in the upper bunks. Homosexuals were not to have any possibility of communicating individually during work: they were not assigned to the kitchens or the storehouses. In Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoess sequestered them in a hu t. Their special status deprived homosexuals of any external aid. Their friends did not dare to write to them, for fear of being regarded as homosexual themselves; and their families often abandoned them. The other groups of prisoners avoided them, and for the mo st part shared the prejudices against them. Everywhere, the SS like the prisoners t hemselves seemed to be convinced that homosexuals were obsessed with sex and that they had to be monitored closely. Aggravating the situation was the fact that some of the SS guards were homosexua l themselves and they took their favorites captive, especially Poles and Russians, as dolly boys (Pielpel). The SS competed with the Kapos for the Pielpels and that went over very badly with the rest of the prisoners. Political leaders had nothing to gain by supporting decent treatment for the hom osexuals; they were seen as unreliable and likely to divide the antifascist coalition. The favors granted to selected young men did not mean better treatment for homosexua ls overall and the pink triangles as a group did not benefit from the special treat ment. In fact, solidarity among homosexuals was very limited. They did not occupy decisio nmaking positions in the prisoner hierarchy and they almost never became Kapos. I

n the hierarchy of the camp, the pink triangles were at the lowest level, right before the Jews. Buchenwald has been studied in detail. The camp opened in 1937; in 1938, it held 28 prisoners bearing the pink triangle. There were 46 in 1939 and 51 in 1940. After Himmler s decree on recidivists, the number rose to 74 in 1942, 169 in 1943, and 189 in 19 44. On the whole, homosexuals were a negligible presence, less than 1% of the total camp po pulation. Until the autumn 1938, homosexuals were assigned to the political blocks.559 In October 1938, they were sent in the disciplinary company to work under inhuman condition s, subjected to the arbitrary violence of the SS. They were then the lowest group in the camp . Proportionally to their number, they were also sent most frequently to the death camps of Nordhausen, Natzweiler and Gross-Rosen. The labor shortage brought some respite: by the summer of 1942, they were put to work with the other prisoners in the war in dustry. Then in January 1944, they were sent to Dora to produce V2 rockets. The working condi 557. Eugen Kogon, L .tat SS [1947], Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. , 1993, 445 pages, p.290-291. 558. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.152-153. 559. Ibid., p.266-270. Report from the spring of 1945. 381 Points histoire

A History of Homosexuality in Europe tions, housing and sanitation were terrible: 96 homosexual prisoners died betwee n February 8 and 13, 1945, more than half of those who had been interned at Buchenwald as o f that date. According to prisoners reports, most of the homosexuals at Buchenwald were castra ted. Others were used for medical experiments on typhoid fever. Heinz Heger s testimony 560 is the best known of the rare direct records left by homosexuals who were sent to concentration camps, but it is probably not very representative of the genera l fate. In 1939 Heger, an Austrian, was twenty-two years old. He came from a bourgeois Cath olic family, and his father was a high civil servant working in an embassy in Vienna. 561 In March 1939, Heger was sentenced to six months reclusion in a disciplinary house, then was sent to Sachsenhausen. His lover, the son of a Nazi dignitary, was not convi cted, for he was regarded as mentally disturbed. 562 Inside the camp, homosexuals were the mo st despised prisoners. He was placed in a block with other pink triangles. At night , he had to sleep in just a shirt, keeping his hands showing on top of the cover, for you fag s, you would still manage to take your pleasure. 563 He was not allowed to speak with oth er triangles, in order not to seduce them. Most of the homosexuals were put to work i n the clay pits under inhuman conditions. Heger managed to survive by becoming the dol ly boy of a Kapo. When the latter was sent to Flossenburg, the homosexual block was broken up. Heger had the good fortune to be chosen by the senior of the block. According to Heger, homosexual relations among the prisoners were accepted as a substitute for regul ar sex, but that was not tolerated between homosexuals themselves. The purpose of such a distinction was to preserve the myth of a normal and virile sexuality and transferred onto the homosexual the burden of the flaw and the charge of femininity. Until 1940, the death penalty was applied for homosexual relations. It seems tha t thereafter, morals loosened up. Public torture was common and Heger saw that as a sign of suppressed homosexuality in certain of the SS, who appeased their impulses th rough voyeurism and sadism. Thanks to his supporters Heger managed to become Kapo; thi s appears to have been a very rare exception. The case of Karl Willy A. appears, unfortunately, more standard. Born in 1914 in

Rehau, in Bavaria, he was working as a mason near Leipzig. On May 17, 1943, he w as sentenced to preventive custody as a recidivist. Between 1934 and 1940, he had been convic ted four times for unnatural acts and, the two last times, had been sentenced to for ced labor, for corruption of minors. At the end of his sentence, he was brought back to the Leipzig prison. As the last case occurred shortly after his marriage, one can har dly count on his being cured. Willy A. was therefore sent to Buchenwald, where he arrived o n June 10, 1943. He died on November 24, 1943 of purulent pleurisy. By order of the camp doctor, the body [could] not be viewed, for reasons of hygiene. He was incinerate d and his wife was notified; she refused to accept the urn.564 560. Heinz Heger, Les Hommes au triangle rose. Journal d un d.port. homosexuel, 19 39-1945, Paris, .ditions Persona, 1981, 160 pages. 561. His father committed suicide in 1942, unable to face his son s infamous arres t and the sarcastic comments of the neighbors. 562. Heger thinks that he was sent to concentration camp so that Fred s homosexual ity would not come to light. That is plausible, but cannot be proved since there is no doc umentation. In fact, Heger was not in any of the categories of homosexuals that were liable to be sen t to camp. 563. Heinz Heger, Les Hommes au triangle rose, op. cit., p.48. 382

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up It is very difficult to estimate the number of lesbians who were sent to concent ration camps. Lesbianism was not punished by law and the lesbians who were arrested were often caught on some other pretext. Neither is it known whether lesbians wo re a specific insignia. Isa Vermehren says that lesbians wore a pink triangle with LL (Lesbische Liebe) inside. She seems to have seen this insignia on a panel displaying the va rious emblems at Ravensbr.ck. Other witnesses said the pink triangle designated Jehova h s Witnesses, not lesbians. In addition, it seems that some lesbians were recorded as asocial (black triangle) or criminals (green triangle). All the known cases of lesbians interned in camps were later than the years 1933 1939. Claudia Schoppmann565 reports the case of Else, a waitress from Potsdam, who lived with a friend and who was sent to Ravensbr.ck, then to Flossenburg, as an a social. Erich, who also testified, was interned in Flossenburg and met Else in the broth el there in 1943. She had probably been forced to prostitute herself at Ravensbr.ck, where w omen were promised their freedom if they agreed to serve in the brothel for a certain period. Lesbians were sent there in particular, to put them on the right path. Else disa ppeared thereafter and it is not clear what became of her. The desire to humiliate lesbians is also apparent in another example, from a lat er period but unconfirmed. The testimony is provided by a friend of Helene G., who was an assistant in the Luftwaffe in Oslo between 1943 and 1945. She was a Telex operat or and handled secret messages and espionage. She lived in the Luftwaffe quarters with another assistant who, unfortunately, caught the eye of a lieutenant. She repelled his a dvances. The two women were arrested by the military secret police and were separated. He lene G. was convicted by the court martial for potential subversion of the military, was discharged from the Wehrmacht and sent to the concentration camp of B.tzow, in Mecklenburg. She was placed in a special block with six other lesbians. They were separated from the other women and were guarded by men. When the Kapos led them near the S S guards, they would tell the prisoners of war: These represent a lower form of lif e. You wouldn t even want to kiss them with the leg of a chair. If you do em right, you ll ea ch get a bottle of schnapps, and they brought forward the Russian and French prisoners f irst. Thereafter, the lesbians were kept apart from the other women and were set to la bor. Two

died of hunger. Helene G. survived one year beyond the end of the war, then died of tuberculosis. If this information is true, it certainly shows the contempt and the hatred for lesbians, and the hostility engendered by the very thought of such a thing as independent female sexuality. Moreover, it shows that the lesbian lost her rights as an Aryan woman, since she was handed over to the foreign prisoners.566 There are only scattered traces showing the presence of lesbians in the camps. There were two among the victims of Doctor Friedrich Mennecke in Ravensbr.ck: Je nny Sarah S., Jewish, single, a saleswoman in Frankfurt-am-Main and an instinctive le sbian, 564. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.275-279. 565. Ibid., p.14. 566. Cited in ibid., p.83. This is one of the best-known testimonies and it has been cited by numerous authors. Ilse Kokula produced it for the first time. Still, Claudia Sch oppmann has pointed out some inconsistencies in it: B.tzow was in a camp for prisoners of war that w as not supposed to house women. And then, the POW camps were under the command of the Wehrmacht and not the SS. She concludes that in the absence of any documents on B.tzow it is impos sible to explain these contradictions, but thinks that it is plausible that they may be a result of the disorganization that was spreading in the final months of the war. 383

A History of Homosexuality in Europe who only goes to such places ; and Erna Sara P., Jewish, from Hamburg, married, wa s a very active lesbian. She sought out the lesbian caf.s that still were functioning a nd exchanged affections at the caf.s. 567 Female homosexual friendships were formed in the camps just as male ones were. Fania Fenelon, who gives her story in Das M.dchenorchester in Auschwitz, 1982, t alks about the Kapo Hilde, a black triangle, who shamelessly flaunted her relationship with her friend Inge. Fania was part of the Auschwitz orchestra that was invited in the s ummer of 1944 to play for a ball one night in the asocial block. This was the block where, fo r the most part, former prostitutes were collected, and according to Fania Fenelon 90% of them had become lesbians.568 Krystina Zywulska, in Wo fr.her Birken waren (1980), say s much the same. Margarete Buber-Neumann, a political prisoner at Ravensbr.ck, testifie s in Milena, Kafkas Freundin (1977): Passionate friendships were as widespread among t he politicals as the asocials or the criminals. The only difference was that the po litical prisoners friendships remained platonic, whereas the others very often were lesbian. 569 Such relations were severely punished if they were discovered: the punishment could be the deprivation of food for one or more days, beating with a rod (25 to 100 strokes), restriction to the bunker or being sent to a disciplinary battalion, o r even death. The punishments varied according to the camp and the year. The Communist Dory Ma ase reports that in Ravensbr.ck, before 1941, lesbian relations were punished by dea th. Rudolf Hoess also reported the existence of homosexual practices: Even the harshe st punishments, even assignment to a disciplinary battalion, cannot put an end to i t. 570 Curing and castrating

Himmler, ardent partisan of the fight against homosexuality that he was, still retained a sense that rehabilitation should be attempted. He was persuaded that on ly 2% of the cases of homosexuality were innate and that the rest must be the resul t of giving in to vice or seduction. The goal was to reinstate such people into the communit y at the end a period of punishment and rehabilitation. Himmler himself was quite interested in medical research on the subject and encouraged it. Psychoanalysis was seen as the first likely form of rehabilitatio n.571 In 1935, psychoanalysis had been Aryanized. All the Jewish members had had to resign from t he

German Society of Psychoanalysis (DPG, Deutsche Psychoanalystiche Gesellschaft). Carl M.ller-Braunschweig and Felix Boehm reorganized the leadership. In 1936, the Ger man Institute for Psychological Research and Psychotherapy (Deutsches Institut f.r p sychologische Forschung und Psychotherapie) was created under the direction of Matthias Heinri ch Goering, a cousin of Hermann Goering s. The DPG was integrated into the Institute in November 1938. 567. Cited by Claudia Schoppmann, Nationalsozialistische Sexualpolitik , op. cit., p.235. 568. Ibid., p.237. 569. Ibid., p.238. 570. Ibid., p.247. 571. See Thierry F.ral, Nazisme et psychanalyse, Paris, La Pens.e universelle, 1 987, 92 pages. The Nazis considered psychoanalysis to be on outgrowth of the Jewish mind, that woul d corrupt the German people. Freud s writings were burned on 10 May 1933 and many psychoanalysts were forced to go into exile. Some, like K. Landauer and J. Mittmeister, were assassinated. 384

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up The Institute favored the treatment of homosexuals and claimed a success rate of 70%. Thus out of 510 homosexual patients, it said it had cured 341 of them. Severa l members of the Institute published articles on the treatment of homosexuality.57 2 The Institute also set up a program to collaborate with the Luftwaffe. Matthias Goer ing tried to extend the influence of psychiatry in the field of combating homosexuality, i n particular in the context of the campaigns carried out in the Wehrmacht and the Hitler Youth. A manuscript by Felix Boehm, Secretary of the Institute, dated February 2 8, 1938,573 recommends that a post of confidential doctor be created in all the party organizations, and particularly in the youth organizations, so that people would have someone to go to in the event anything risky came up. On December 6, 1939, Boehm sent ar ound a circular for the members of Institute,574 asking them to send him a report on th e treatments carried out against homosexuality, so that he could evaluate them. Himmler himself charged several doctors with working on homosexuality. A December 5, 193 6 letter from SS-Hauptsturmf.hrer Werner Jansen was sent in the name of Himmler to the Science Ministry, the Instruction and the Education of the People575 to ask whet her research on left-handed persons and homosexuals had been conducted. SS-Hauptstur mf.hrer Ulmann answered on December 8 in the affirmative: Dr. Creutzfeldt was soon to present the results of his research. The conclusions of this study are not known . June 14, 1937, Pr. Karl Astel, president of the regional office for refining the race (Landesamt f.r Rassenwesen) in Thuringe wrote to ask Himmler for the names and addresses of at least 100 homosexuals in Thuringe so that he could conduct some research on the nature of homosexuality.576 In its response of June 22, Himmler showed hi mself to be quite interested and promised to have the Gestapo get him the required names. What happened after that is not known; but doctors had to be very careful in drafting their conclusions, for the Reichsf.hrer SS had quite set ideas on the subject and did not tolerate experiments that cast any doubt on his certainty.577 In addition to psychoanalysis, more radical means were planned to rehabilitate homosexuals. A law was adopted on July 14, 1933 to prevent descendants afflicted with hereditary diseases (Gesetz zur Verh.tung erbkranken Nachwuchses).578 It went int o effect on January 1, 1934. Between 1934 and 1945, 200,000 men and 200,000 women were officially sterilized. Thousands of them died in the aftermath of the operation. It is not clear how many more were victims of attempted sterilization in the concentration

camps. The law against dangerous recidivists and measures for security and improvement (Gesetz gegen gef.hrliche Gewohnheitsverbrecher und .ber Massregeln der Sicherung und Besserung) of November 24, 1933 authorized castration in certa in 572. Notably: Johannes Heinrich Schultz, director of the polyclinic of the Insti tute, Felix Boehm, Maria Kalau vom Hofe, Fritz Mohr, Werner Kamper. See Claudia Schoppmann, Nationa lsozialistische Sexualpolitik , op. cit. 573. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.129. 574. Ibid., p.130. 575. BAB, NS 19/073. 576. BAB, NS 19/1838. 577. For example, his relationship with the Berlin doctor Martin Brustmann was a bruptly broken off. Brustmann was a member of the NSDAP, a colleague of Matthias Goering , personal doctor to Heydrich and Himmler s family, as well as medical consultant for nationa l security (SD). In 1943, when the war effort was in highest gear, he was accused of being too lax. The rehabilitation of homosexuals was by then considered a waste of time. 578. This had to do mostly with cases of congenital weakness, manic-depression, sc hizophrenia, epilepsy, St. Vitus Dance, and hereditary deafness, congenital deformities and alco holism. 385

A History of Homosexuality in Europe cases,579 in addition to punitive measures. This could be applied only in the ev ent of rape, blasphemy, pedophilic acts, sex acts with constraint, sex acts in public, murder and assassination with a sexual motive. Homosexuals fell into these categories only if they had had sexual intercourse with boys of less than fourteen years or were convict ed of exhibitionism. The majority of homosexual convicted under the terms of 175 and 17 5a were not affected. The option of voluntary castration was made possible by an amendment to the law to prevent descendants afflicted with hereditary diseases of June 26, 1935. Cl ause 2 of 14580 authorized castration in the case of homosexual crimes, but only with th e consent of the person. A doctor also had to give his consent. A directive dated January 23, 1936 explicitly stated that one could not force, even indirectly, a criminal to give his assent to castration; but on May 20, 1939, Reichsf.hrer SS Himmler cancelled this direc tive. No doubt in the previous years some of the homosexuals placed in camps had agreed t o the operation anyway, in the hope of some liberation.581 The number of homosexuals w ho underwent castration between 1935 and 1945 is unknown.582 Nevertheless, castration for the treatment of homosexuality was still under discus sion as a viable option. A complete report on the causes of homosexuality and the cast ration of homosexuals shows that the question was studied very thoroughly.583 It becomes quite clear that the medical theories on homosexuality were radicaliz ed after 1933. Whereas, during the previous period, homosexuality was presented as an innate abnormality or a natural occurrence, here was a return to the old theorie s of degeneracy (Wolf, Deussen, Lang, Jensch), to biological explanations stressing hormonal dys functions (Lemke, Habel), and even to the simplistic assertion that homosexuality is an acquired vice (Schr.der). The links between homosexuality and degeneration of th e race are particularly clear in Lothar Gottlieb Tirala, in Rasse, Geist und Seele ( Race , spirit and heart ), published in 1935: Here were created, following the mixture of the Nordic and Near-Eastern races, Nordic and Oriental races, and Nordic and Western races, a c ategory of male and female sexual intermediaries which one may constantly run into in th e large cities. 584 The report goes on to study the position of each doctor on penal repre ssion, then it considers the idea of castration. On this point the opinions are very di

vided. The doctors who think that homosexuality is innate oppose it. Others think that the likelihood of success is slim. Nevertheless, certain doctors had already conducted experime nts and maintained that their attempts had been successful. The Swiss Dr. Wolf, the Dane Dr. Sand and the German Dr. Rodenberg each provided statistics.585 Wolf cas trated 22 homosexuals; he acknowledged one failure. Sand castrated 72, with one failure . 579. The first sentence of castration was pronounced on 10 December 1933 in Berl in, by the court of Duisbourg, against a 33-year-old man who was sentenced to 20 months in prison and to castration for having raped a schoolboy. 580. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.250. 581. A decree from 23 September 1940, from the Reich Bureau of Criminal Police, established that preventive detention should no longer apply to recidivist homosexuals if th e criminal had been castrated and if, according to the medical experts, there was no reason to fear a relapse. 582. Psychiatrist Nikolaus Jensch s study, Untersuchungen an entmannten Sittlichke itsverbrechern ( Research on castrated sex criminals ), published in 1944, established that of the 693 castrated men in the study, 285 were homosexuals. 583. BAB, R 22/950, p.39 sq. no date or author given (1942?). 584. Lothar Gottlieb Tirala, Rasse, Geist und Seele, Munich, J.F. Lehmann Verlag , 1935, 256 pages, p.72-73. 386

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up Rodenberg conducted 88 operations, of which 6 had failed. The report thus notes that, out of 182 cases, there were only 8 failures, that is to say a success rate of 9 6%. Similarly, Boeters586 maintained that castration almost always resulted in sexual death. Lang , on the other hand, emphasizes the lack of perspective on these experiments; since t hey had only been tried in the last few years, it was impossible to know their long-term consequences. The report concludes on a moderate note. It emphasizes the short duration of the trial period and the limited number of experiments. It also speculates about the conditions of this castration: should it be voluntary or obligatory? In fact, many reports had cast doubt on castration as a remedy for homosexuality. Arthur Kronfeld, in Sexualpathologie, had been completely frank on the subject: T he treatment of homosexuality, in the sense of a promising medical therapy, almost does not exist. The transplantation of the gonads, carried out by Lichtenstern and M.hsam , with or without preliminary castration, does not seem to have produced lasting result s.... Even in my own experiments, I have never observed more than a temporary success. Inso far as psychological treatment intended to transform the homosexual impulse into a norm al impulse, that also generally ends in failure. G.nther Grau conveys the conclusion s of Dr. Friedemann Pf.fflin, who studied 600 cases of castration, including 120 volunteer s going back to 1934 1945, in Hidden Holocaust?587 He distinguishes three kinds. The first group used castration as an alternative to execution. (A seventy-year-old man wh o was convicted twelve times for begging and six times under 176-3 was castrated on Aug ust 14, 1934; the man hanged himself immediately afterwards.) The second group consi sted of cases where castration was presented as a lesser evil than custody. The benefici al and therapeutic effect of castration were emphasized. The third group chose castrati on with a therapeutic aim, after having weighed the chances of success, and after comparis on with other measures. By the end of 1937, these operations were being carried out in 73 research cente rs of forensic biology attached to prisons or concentration camps.588 It was even proj ected to create a central organization for research on castration, but the war came first .589 In fact, it was mostly after 1939 that castration came to be considered in a systematic w ay as a treatment for homosexuality. It was also during the war that Dr. Carl Vaernet s ex

periments were carried out, which intended to treatment.590

cure homosexuals by hormonal

From 1933 to 1939, rehabilitation and eradication were both in vogue, but after the war began, rehabilitation fell out of favor. It was essential to get rid of th e asocials 585. Die Kastration bei homosexuellen Perversionen und Sittlichkeitsverbrechen d es Mannes (Cited BAB, R 22/950); Die gesetzliche Kastration; das d.nische Sterilisationsgesetz vom 1.6. 1929 und seine Resultate, Mon. Krim. Biol., 1935, p.5-49 (ibid.); Zur Frage des kriminaltherapeut ischen Erfolges der Entmannung homosexueller Sittlichkeitsverbrecher, DJ, 1942, p.581 sq. (ibid.). 586. Gedanken zum Problem der Homosexualit.t, Mon. Krim. Biol., 1938, p.333 sq.; 1 939, p.430 sq.; 1941, p.32 sq. and 248 sq. 587. This refers to files that were found in Hamburg amid a lot of 1137 and whic h correspond to the general files of forensic biology from the Hamburg prison. 588. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.253-256. 589. A directive from the Reich s Central Security Service dated 2 January 1942 (c ited ibid., p.256) placed castrated men under the supervision of the police. They were requi red to give notice of any change of address. In cases where, despite being castrated, the individual b y his conduct still represented a danger to the community, and in particular youth, the criminal pol ice could send him directly to a concentration camp without any new trial. 590. See Appendices. 387

A History of Homosexuality in Europe who were undermining the health and the morality of the nation. More and more ho mosexuals were sent to concentration camps. There, the charade of rehabilitation continued: homosexuals were set to labor or were sent to a brothel in order to be cured. When the war became total and the shortage of manpower started to be felt, castra tion seemed an effective way to return homosexuals, now cured, to the army. THE LATE 1930S: FRENCH AND ENGLISH HOMOSEXUALS IN A TURMOIL The late 1930s also meant a retreat for English and French homosexuals, although the situation was certainly not comparable with that of Germany. England stepped up the repression very clearly, but France was still relatively mild and now became the homosexual center of Europe. In both countries, there was an increase in reactionary rhetor ic, which called homosexuality a proof of the decline of civilization. Homosexuality Goes Out of Fashion The Crash of 1929 was a major turning point in the public s perception of homosexu ality. From now on, political and economic problems dominated the public discourse, and conformity became an important value again; minorities were singled out and accused of destroying national cohesion through their efforts to satisfy their s eparate interests. This was not a new phenomenon: there had been plenty of reactionary t alk in the 1920s, but now, with the financial crisis, their cries fell on more receptiv e ears as the hunt for scapegoats got under way. Depopulation In the 1930s, governments became concerned with depopulation. In the United Kingdom, there was a sharp drop in the birth rate: it fell to 16.3 per thousand in 1930.591 The situation was also alarming in France, where the birth rate fell from 21.4 p er thousand in 1920 to 18 per thousand in 1930 and 14.6 per thousand in 1938. Since 1935, de aths outnumbered births. France was under-populated, and took in many foreign workers.592 Nevertheless, France did not actually practice any pro-birth policy, although so me measures were taken. The Parliament had already approved laws against contracept ive propaganda on July 31, 1920, prohibiting the sale of contraceptive material and stiffening the penalties for abortion.593 On March 11, 1932, it required the creation of co mpensation funds in each profession. By the end of the 1930s, public opinion was increasing ly sensitive to the pro-birth propaganda, which presented population figures as a major asset in

international competition. The surplus of deaths was shocking. The medical and m oral rhetoric lit into the immorality of youth and women who worked, and demanded tha t 591. Keynes, in an article in Eugenics Review from 1937, talks about the suicide of the race. At that time, Hitler, in his expos. to the upper echelons of the State and the army, ass erted that England was in the process of an irreversible decline (Hossbach protocol). 592. Foreigners made up 3.7 % of the population in 1919 and 7.1 % in 1931. 593. Abortion has been a crime in France since 1791. It is prohibited by the 180 8 criminal code. The law of 23 March 1923 made the stipulations even stronger. 388

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up they reestablish family values. February 8, 1938 marked the opening of a confere nce in the Senate on the crisis of the falling birth rate. 594 Le Temps launched a major inves tigation (July 4-22, 1938) entitled The Distressing Problem of Depopulation. The Orders in Council of 1938 extended family benefits to new categories of workers, and the F amily Code of July 29, 1939 marked a new stage in French demographic policy: it revisi ted and brought into alignment all the various measures regarding inheritance, taxes and family allowances. The laws against abortion were again reinforced. Decadence and decline In the satirical literature of the 1930s, homosexuality is presented as a growin g threat. The National body and the human body were associated with each other in a disconcerting way and inversion was called a national cancer. In the face of economic difficulti es, social upheavals, and the misery of everyday life, homosexuals (like other minor ity groups Jews, foreigners, women who worked) were singled out for public abuse and were held responsible for all the evils of a society in decline. Some people alr eady accused homosexuals in the 1920s of being directly responsible for the national bankruptc y ; others only used them as a pretext for denouncing the democracy, parliamentarism , and liberalism that allowed such excesses.595 George-Anquetil s book, Satan conduit le bal ( Satan leads the ball, 1925), which is set during the first government headed by P oincar. (1921-1922), is an excellent example of this genre.596 It denounces a century of neurosis that led the world and humanity astray, a century of hysteria, vice and lust, tr eacherously masked as virtue. 597 Orgies, bacchanalias and lubricious spectacles of every sort are seen as the daily fare of a democracy that has a nervous problem. 598 All the talk about homosexuality was just one of many ways of sapping the foundations the democratic, liberal and parliamentary society that was responsible for the decline in morals, the ec onomic crisis and the loss of influence on the international scene. The first sign of th e acuity of the crisis that has struck France ... is without question the physiological diso rder, it is the expanding perversion and immorality. In every period of decline, as at the later days of the Roman Empire, an absolute madness rips through all the world and, as always, pre vails most furiously among the leading and idle classes. 599 Criticism of the regime didn t balk at calumny and insult. George-Anquetil associa

ted the names of eminent figures with scenes of debauchery, endorsing the notion tha t France was being led to ruin by the very men who governed it. He slammed every p olitical party and attacked politicians, bankers and the press with equal vigor, from l Hum anit. (socialist) to l Action fran.aise (royalist/nationalist). He attacked the whoremong er George Clemenceau, who brought us victory [in the War] and prostitution, Antonin Dubost, president of the Senate who was found dead in the most notorious brothel of 594. Le Temps, 10 and 17 February 1938. 595. On this subject, see also Marc Simard, Intellectuels, fascisme and antimoder nit. in la France des ann.es trente, XXe si.cle, April-June 1988, p.35-75. 596. Georges-Anquetil, Satan conduit le bal (a philosophical and opinionated nov el of manners) [1925], Paris, Agence parisienne de distribution, 1948, 536 pages, p.226. Anquet il was a journalist who covered scandals, and used his periodical Le Grand Guignol to launch attacks against various public figures. 597. Ibid., p.5. 598. Ibid., p.27. 599. Ibid., p.22. 389

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Paris, poisoned by the police, they say, but in any case parading around at the age of seventy in the company of two young pederasts. 600 The corrupt elite was counter-b alanced by a myth of France s deep roots, protected from all the bad new influences: The pure air of our countryside protects our peasants from these miasmas, and the he althy fatigue of the workmen protects them from such temptations (if tempted they woul d be). 601 Homosexuality becomes thus a perversion limited to the higher reaches of society: This is a vice of luxury, it is not our humble citizens who practice it. 602 In the 1930s, talk about a decline became commonplace. The disintegration of the political system, the fall in the birth rate, the penetration of society by fore ign and Jewish influences were denounced as well as the liberalization of morals and homosexual ity. Reactionary thought, especially from the far right, used homosexuality as a poli tical foil. Roy Campbell wrote of the Spanish republicans in Oswald Mosley s journal British Q uarterly Union, in January-April 1937: The sodomites are on your side/ the cowards and the sickos. For essayists of the decline, the (purely fantastic) rise in homosexuality was ascribed to contagion, for the sole objective of the homosexual was reproduction, which he could not achieve through normal means. In the same style, homosexualit y was equated with modernity, this time interpreted in a pejorative sense. Philosopher s of the decline entertained the myth of an ideal society resting on a moral consensus an d guaranteeing the unity and the power of the nation. Be they French, British or German, victorious or vanquished, all wished to regai n the conditions of life of the pre-war period: economic stability, social conform ity, and international domination. Rather than search out the principal causes of the cri sis of the inter-war period, they preferred to designate scapegoats and blame them for ever ything. This homosexual prurience... is only a result of certain modern concepts, whose r epresentatives ignore the tragic consequences of their own positions. 603 Industrialization and the increasing urbanization of society were among the causes of the propagat ion of evil, whereas triumphant individualism had led to the church s fall from influence and the rise of immorality.604 The goal of most of those denouncing the decline was to excite the general publi c so that it would react vigorously to the dangers menacing the fatherland. Dr. Al

bert Chapotin began his book Les D.faitistes de l amour (1927) with the exhortation: We hope that we will be able to increase the number of good citizens willing to found a family as soon as possible, instead of taking their time in unwarranted explorations. We w ill thus help to hold at bay the depopulation which is likely to lead our country to decl ine. 605 His chapter on homosexuality is entitled Descent to hell: the monsters. In a work entitled For The Safety of The Race: Sex Education (1931), Dr. Sicard de Plauzoles maintained that the availability of robust conscripts in good health was going down. On the other hand, the number of abnormal and degenerated men was going up , 600. Ibid., p.224. 601. Ibid., p.229. 602. Ibid. 603. F.W. Foerster, Morale sexuelle et p.dagogie sexuelle, Paris, Librairie Blou d & Gay, 1929, 270 pages, p.163-165. 604. See for example H.E. Timerding, Sexualethik, Leipzig, B.G. Teubner, 1919, 1 20 pages, and Max von Gruber, Hygiene of Sex, trans. from German, London, Tindall & Cox, 1926, 169 pages. 605. Dr. Albert Chapotin, Les D.faitistes de l amour, Paris, Le Livre pour tous, 1 927, 510 pages, p.9. 390

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up due to civilization, i.e. alcohol, poverty, syphilis, tuberculosis, the loss of se xual standards. Likewise, Dr. Jean Pou., in Conseils . la jeunesse sur l .ducation sexuelle ( Advice to young people on sex education, 1931), explains that many young people whose energi es depopulated France so urgently needs could be stopped on the slippery slope of p erverse practices. There was only one solution: the admirable act of procreation. The same theme is taken up by T. Bowen Partington in Sex and Modern Youth (1931) , which also blames the pernicious influence of bad books, plays and, especially, bad films purveying immorality.606 An increasing denunciation of female homosexuality is also heard. Charles-No.l Renard, in the introduction to his book Les Androphobes (1930), a fantastical no vel, violently attacks lesbians. France, he says, is already under the spell of the homosexual mindset and any trace of virility and masculine courage has disappeared: Our civi lization is entirely, in its finest details, the result of a biological interpretation pa rticular to eunuchs, doddering old men and unisexuals [lesbians]. 607 For Renard, the war was a useless sacrifice which left men the losers, while women took power and set out to destroy civilization. In his novel, he uses a group of girls in a train to illus trate all the permutations of female perfidy: I had understood long ago what type of girls keep apart from men; I knew from their gestures, from their general demeanor, what cult these be longed to. 608 As they are described, the girls seem appalling hysterical, lubricious, sa distic and vicious. They all are, except one, intellectuals: one is a professor, another a pharmacist, two are government workers. Renard further observes: In every prude lurks a lesbi an, as in every emancipated woman. 609 Their professions enable them to spread their pois on and to secretly take up the reins of society: The Administration belongs to us .. . Everything belongs to us ... And soon, the world... 610 A gigantic international lesbian plot is underway. The man-haters recruit their victims as little girls: It is not just fo r my own pleasure: I distract them from men before they have any right to think about it; I take them, I educate them, I make them into tigresses.... and then I release them int o the arena Let the men try to pet that one! Ha! 611 Renard wants to warn people, but wavers between two methods. On the one hand, he delivers a systematic attack against women, who are supposedly stupid and red ucible to their sexuality alone: The woman is a phonogenic and an unstoppable genital ap

paratus, 612 but he also enjoys giving vent to long discourses on the unhappy fate of the male genre. This turns into a striking inversion of the concept of the double standard : We forgive a man everything, EXCEPT THE USE OF HIS SEXUALITY; we forgive a woman everything BECAUSE OF HER SEXUALITY. One always finds extenuating circumstances for an assassination; never for a rape ... the husband who would dare to excuse himself for tapping his wife on the head for her faults would be covered with mu d in court and tarred and feathered by any civilized crowd, while the woman assassin would only 606. See also Waldo Franck, Sex Censorship and Democracy, and Samuel D.Schmalhause n, The Sexual Revolution, in V.F.Calverton and S.D.Schmalhausen (dir.), Sex in Civili zation, London, Allen & Unwin, 1929, 719 pages. 607. Charles-No.l Renard, Les Androphobes, Saint-.tienne, Imprimerie sp.ciale d .d ition, 1930, 324 pages, p.59. 608. Ibid., p.118. 609. Ibid., p.224. 610. Ibid., p.126. 611. Ibid., p.142. 612. Ibid., p.204. 391

A History of Homosexuality in Europe have to accuse the man she killed of unisexuality and she would be acquitted, an d even congratulated.... But if she justified her action on the basis of fanatical trib adism, her triumph would be all the greater. 613 This paranoiac delusion would be laughable if it did not reflect the state of mi nd of some part of the male population, in France as well as in England and Germany. S uch flights of fancy resonated deeply among all the disappointed men in the post-war period, unemployed or losing ground, all those who might see women s entry into the workfo rce as an injustice, not to mention the success of even a small number of them. Char les-No.l Renard s final appeal sounds sinister in retrospect, like a premonition of the dis aster to come: The SAVIOR will be the one who will destroy the work of Woman. / Let us cle ar the way for him, forge him weapons, prepare the greatest revolution, the biggest war that ever drenched the Earth in blood. 614 The anguish of a decline tied to homosexuality is summarized by Drieu La Rochelle. Drieu has a complex personal relationship with inversion. He doubts hi s virility, and has trouble with women.615 Anything that casts doubt on his virility sends h im into a panic. He is disgusted by inverts, although in his school days he had had severa l homosexual friendships; after suffering a bout of impotence at a brothel, he tries unsucces sfully to sleep with a man.616 Like many men, he was both fascinated and repelled by th e thought of female homosexuality.617 Drieu identifies strength and virility, femi ninity and homosexuality. Obsessed by the idea of decadence and decline, he tends to confou nd sexual metaphors and political interpretation. Jean-Louis Saint-Ygnan, who analy zes the concept of decadence in Drieu, notes that for him Western civilization had been in decline since the Middle Ages. Symbolically, Drieu represents the Frenchman as a n invert.618 Sexual decadence, identified with sterility, is thus identified with the national decline and depopulation. The themes of homosexuality, the feminine body are equ ated to the disintegration of the social body, the symbol of a nation that has become ef feminate and infected by foreign elements. Turning Inward The 1930s rang the death knell for hedonism. In December 1931, the October Club was founded at Oxford and the university became an outpost of the Reds, the commun

ist and pacifist students who supported the workingmen on strike and went to Spain as volunteers in the war. That year, the repression of homosexuals was intensifi ed in England, apparently due to the influence of the new chief of the London police, Sir Philip Game. Pub owners were informed that they were not to serve homosexual clients an y more. The situation quickly became intolerable. A surveillance system was organi zed; overly apparent homosexuals were requested to leave, the same as drunks. 613. Ibid., p.60-61. 614. Ibid., p.63. 615. Cited in Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, Journal 1939-1945, Paris, Gallimard, col l. T.moins, 1992, 519 pages, p.29. 616. This was probably the case in the army. The affair with Aragon remains unve rified. 617. Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, Journal 1939-1945, op. cit., p.31. 618. La Suite dans les id.es, Cited by Jean-Louis Saint-Ygnan, Drieu la Rochelle ou l Obsession de la d.cadence, Paris, Nouvelles .ditions latines, 1984, 260 pages, p.147. 392

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up Quentin Crisp took the full brunt of this reaction: The ostracism was complete: because of increased police vigilance, the owners of even the most scandalous ca f.s would not let me in. 619 Police raids were more and more frequent; the pubs of the West End were off limits and homosexuals retreated to Pimlico and Bloomsbury, where the a rtistic and literary atmosphere still maintained a certain tolerance for some time.620 T he public toilets were also subject to regular raids: The police methods became increasingly sinister. The system of using agents provocateurs became a routine. The principal theatre of operations for this part icular strategy was the dimly lit public toilets on the less traveled streets of London ... the police thought of homosexuals like the Indians of North America thought of bison s. They sought a means of exterminating them by the herd [sic. Crisp was not an Ame rican historian.]. Tipped off to the venue where great costume balls were being held, they would turn their focus there.... In one raid, a hundred or more boys, howli ng, bursting with laughter, punching and kicking in their plumed and bejeweled eveni ng gowns with embroidered trains could be picked up and shoved or thrown into vans by a relatively small squad of police officers ... When these balls stopped being o rganized because they became more dangerous than fun, the police turned their wrathful ey e to the homos clubs.621 In France the repression was less visible, but the heyday of the homosexual club s was over. The promenades were no fun anymore, since the prefect of Chiappe order ed brighter lights be put into the passageways. Nevertheless, it seems that, compar ed to the destruction of the German scene and the lifelessness of the English scene, Franc e again became the homosexual magnetic North. Hitler s arrival sounded the departure bell for the English homosexuals, whether intellectuals like Auden, Spender and Isherwood or anonymous homosexuals of othe r classes.622 When Ren. Crevel arrived in Munich in August 1933, he was struck by the change: In Munich the atmosphere was suffocating, and the abundance of prostituti on did nothing to relieve the sinister aspect of the Nazis faces (tight lips and cr eased brows). 623 The shock was terrible; two visions of Germany collided head-on. More unsettling must have been the discovery that the values that had symbolized the Weimar Republic were being retrieved and recycled to embody the fascist man.

Stephen Spender confronted his vision of a radiant Germany with the new reality: Christopher and I ... used to use Germany as a palliative for our personal probl ems; [we] became increasingly conscious that the carefree private lives of our friend s were a fa.ade covering an immense chaos. We had more and more the impression tha t this life was going to be swept away. While we spent our holidays on the island of R.gen, where naked bathers were stretched by the hundreds on the beach, under a brutal sun, sometimes we could hear the bark of orders, and even shots coming fr om the forest along the shore, where storm troops were training as executioners, wa iting for the martyrdom of those who were naked and unarmed.624 Some began to ask themselves questions: 619. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil-Servant [1968], London, Fontana, 1986, 217 p ages, p.86. 620. See Gifford Skinner s testimony in Gay News, n 135. 621. Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil-Servant, op. cit., p.82-83. 622. See Norman, in Between the Acts. Lives of Homosexual Men, 1885-1967, edited by K. Porter and J. Weeks, London, Routledge, 1991, 176 pages. 623. Letter to Marcel Jouhandeau, cited by Fran.ois Buot, Ren. Crevel, a these p resented at the university Paris-X Nanterre, under the direction of Ren. R.mond, 1987, 395 pages . 624. Stephen Spender, World within World [1951], London, Faber & Faber, 1991, 34 4 pages, p.131. 393

A History of Homosexuality in Europe When I came to Germany for the first time, I came in a completely irresponsible way, for the thrill. I was the malicious boy who had got his foot in the apartme nt of Waldemar this afternoon and now wanted even more. However, once I had explored the Berlin nightlife entirely and I started to tire of it, I became puritanical. I severely criticized the debauched foreigners who came to Berlin looking for pleasure. The y exploited the famished German working class and transformed them into prostitute s. My indignation was perfectly sincere, and was even justified; the Berlin nightli fe, when it was seen from outside, was rather pathetic. But had I really changed? Wa sn t I being just as irresponsible as before, running away from the consequences? Was n t this a form of betrayal?625 Irresponsibility often gave way to love for a country which had brought them pleasure and freedom. The course chosen by the esthete Brian Howard is exemplary on this point. He was friendly in 1931 with Klaus and Erika Mann, who kept him curr ent as to the political situation in Germany and the danger represented by the Nazis. H oward, hitherto relatively indifferent, became an ardent militant on the left and took a greater and greater interest in German politics. He contributed to the New Statesman, an d was active in the Left Book Club. In 1934 he was in Bavaria with the Mann family and wrote several articles on the concentration camps. In Amsterdam, he found Christopher Isherwood and Klaus Mann, who was publishing the anti-Nazi magazine Die Sammlung at that time. He became Guy Burgess s friend in 1937 and joined the Independent Labou r Party in 1938, when it had taken a position against the war. When the war broke out anyway, he was in France and his German companion was interned in a camp in Toul on. Thus, beyond the defense of personal interests those of the homosexual, he took part in a larger fight for the defense of freedoms in general and a certain idea of humanity. Some homosexual intellectuals sought to become engaged by helping German .migr.s. Ren. Crevel was one of these who did; in July 1934, he joined an anti-N azi group in Amsterdam and gathered support for intellectual .migr.s, at the request of Kl aus Mann. For many English intellectuals the ved of a country that they had learned me in an England that was in full reaction, ates. Christopher Isherwood left London on March 26, only solution was to go into the exile; depri to love, and unable to see hope for any welco they chose to leave, mostly for the United St 1934 to join his friend Heinz in Amsterdam.

Thus, he symbolically rejected the England of Kathleen [his mother]. That was only the beginning of a long peregrination. Heinz was finally arrested and sentenced to s ix months in prison and a year of forced labor, plus two years in the army. Isherwood was charged with having engaged in indecent activities with the prisoner in fourteen foreign c ountries and the Reich.626 The flight of homosexual pacifists was taken extremely badly in England. Auden and Isherwood were attacked for a long time: Is my honourable friend conscious of the indignation caused by young men who leave the country, saying that they do not w ish to fight? If they are not registered as conscientious objectors, are they mindful t hat they may be stripped of their nationality? asked deputy Sir Jocelyn Lucas in the House of Commons on June 13, 1940. Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, who lived in the United States from 1939 to 19 42, also had to face overt hostility; a letter from one their friends, Ralph Hawkes, who had 625. Christopher Isherwood, Down There on a Visit, London, Methuen, 1962, 271 pa ges, p.56. 626. Id., Christopher and His Kind, op. cit., p.213. 394

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up returned to London in September 1940, noted that there was no doubt that they wo uld have difficulties in playing [his] works, while caustic remarks are still being made in comment on [his] departure. Marjorie Fass wrote: Bill [Ethel Bridge] tells me tha t there are many articles in various newspapers on Benji [Benjamin Britten] & Auden & Co .; it is quite possible that they will never be able to return to England. 627 In 1941, a c ontroversy over Britten arose in Musical Times, when a letter from second lieutenant aviato r E.R. Leavis entitled An English composer leaves for the west ignited a firestorm that w ent on from August through October. Paradoxically, in the 1930s homosexuality became an increasingly public, increas ingly political topic, while homosexuals themselves had to retreat to the private aren a private faces in public places, W.H. Auden would write. Homophobia took over even in the most liberal circles, like those of the German .migr.s. German Exiles According to Jean-Michel Palmier, an estimated 59,000 and 65,000 Germans emigrat ed after Hitler came to power.628 They had many reasons for going into exile: some feared for their lives, others left Germany out of distaste or out of conviction , or in solidarity with others. Many political opponents and Jews were among the first to leave. Some German homosexuals also chose to go into exile. Among the more famous was t he opera star and choreographer of the UFA, Jens Keith, who left Germany in 1937 af ter receiving a citation from the police, following a denunciation. He stayed in Par is until the Occupation; then he returned to Berlin and worked for the Metropol-Theater. Will i Tesch, cinema producer Nikolaus Kaufmann s friend, left Germany at the same time a s he did; he joined the French Resistance. Among the politically active homosexuals, the writers Ludwig Renn and Hans Siemsen emigrated, in addition to Klaus Mann. Initially, the homosexual .migr.s went to Austria or Hungary, or to Switzerland especially Basel and Zurich, which had a homosexual subculture; but most went to Paris. Ferdinand Bruckner left Germany in 1933, for Vienna, then Paris; he went to the United States in 1936. The photographer Herbert List was also in Paris at that time. Many lesbians also left Germany. Charlotte Wolff, a Jewish doctor, left Berlin i n April 1933 for Paris, then for London. Christa Winsloe, the author of Girls in U niform, left

Germany in 1938 and took refuge in the south of France. She was assassinated wit h her friend in June 1944. Erika Mann, Therese Giese, and Annemarie Schwarzenbach foll owed more complex courses, wandering throughout Europe, the United States and even th e Orient. The actress Salka Viertel described life in Paris in this period: The hot nights of summer attracted great masses of strollers on the boulevards: young couples and not so young people of every color and from every possible country. After eleven years spent in the United States, the freedom of the love life in Paris impressed me, the bi- a nd homosexual mixture which had become unthinkable in Germany since the laws of Nuremberg. 629 627. Cited in Donald Mitchell and Philip Reed (ed.), Letters from a Life, Select ed Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten, vol.2, 1939-1945, London, Faber & Faber, 1991, 1 403 pages, p. 870. 628. See Jean-Michel Palmier, Weimar en exil, Paris, Payot, 1988, t.I and II, 53 3 and 486 pages. 629. 100 Jahre Schwulenbewegung, Berlin, Schwules Museum, 1997, 384 pages, p.171 . 395

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Klaus Mann s view of this forced exile was more bitter: Spent a moment with Eddy, Bobby and two English aunts of good society. (Those aunties with whom one speaks only because that is what they are: just as, now, one often finds oneself obliged to speak to Jews or to .migr.s, simply because they are Jews or .migr.s). 630 For much, exile was a time for making assessments, reflecting on oneself and on politics. The magazine Die Sammlung tried to group together all the exiled write rs who were against Nazism and wanted to defend real German literature. It was sponsore d by Heinrich Mann, Aldous Huxley, and Andr. Gide; it published articles by Thomas Ma nn, Ren. Schickel., Alfred D.blin, Hermann Hesse and Stefan Zweig. It was banned in Germany, and the writers who contributed to it were boycotted by German booksell ers Thomas Mann, Alfred D.blin and Ren. Schickel. soon had to drop out. Exile brought a new political and homosexual maturity to Klaus Mann. His novel Volcano (1939) is an allegory of .migr. life, particularly their disastrous love affairs and their self-destructive tendencies. He protested the reigning homophobia. Reading on an article on homosexuality and Fascism in Zeitschrift f.r Sexual.k.nomie on December 2, 1934, he decided to write about it himself. He noted that they were not far from identifying homosexuality with Fascism and criticized the new Soviet laws as well as the way the R.hm affair was being exploited by the socialist and communist newspapers. H e questioned the attitude of the Nazis who were variously trying to form homosexual s cliques, to lock up them, castrate them or slaughter them. Ren. Crevel says this article reveals the impasse facing homosexuals; between Fascism and Communism, there was no more room for any demands about sex: From the sexual point of view, it seems that the liberties that had been allowed and tolerated were now going to be denied by bot h sides. 631 In fact, the German exiles were ambiguous on homosexuality. While homosexuals were stigmatized by the regime, opponents to Nazism could use homosexuality as a weapon in anti-Hitler propaganda. The Communist Party s new line was at the origin of this tendentious assimilation. In 1933, the International Committee to Assist Vi ctims of Hitlerian Fascism published the Brown Book on the burning of the Reichstag and t he Hitlerian terror. Van der Lubbe, the incendiary young Dutchman, is presented as a homosexu al who betrayed the communist cause because of his sexual preferences: Van der Lubbe is first of all a homosexual. He has an effeminate style; his reserve and timidity in the presence of women is testified by many witnesses; his taste for male company

is notorious. These tendencies put him in contact with the Nazi leadership, in particular Dr. Bell, R.hm s pimp. Van der Lubbe s material dependence made him flexible and compliant. 632 After The Night of the Long Knives, Pravda denounced both the Hitlerian plot and the morals of R.hm, which were represented as being typical of the whole reg ime. The proclamation signed by the SPD committee in exile in Amsterdam (clandestinel y distributed in various German cities) is similar: [Hitler] identified his honor with that of the assassins, torturers and debauchees. By accusing them today and by holding them up to the public s scorn, he convicts himself; for it was on these men, their crimes, an d their shame, that all his system rested. 633 630. Klaus Mann, Journal. Les ann.es brunes, 1931-1936, Paris, Grasset, 1996, 45 2 pages, 30 November 1936, p.377. 631. Cited by Fran.ois Buot, Ren. Crevel, op. cit., p.346. 632. Livre brun sur l incendie du Reichstag , op. cit. 633. Le Temps, 3 July 1934. 396

The End of a Dream: The German Model Blows Up Several works published by German writers in exile fed the myth that there was collusion between homosexuals and Nazis. One of the best-known texts is Bertolt Brecht s Ballade vom 30. Juni, which presents The Night of the Long Knives and sugge sts a homosexual relationship between R.hm and Hitler. One may also cite Hitler s Youth, by Hans Siemsen, published in London in 1940; or Vor grossen Wandlungen (1937), by Ludwig Renn, in which the Nazis and a suicidal aristocrat are homosexual, while the res istance were virile heterosexuals. There are also hints of homophobia in Vicky Baum s Shan ghai Hotel, published in 1939, a novel featuring several clients of a hotel in Shangh ai which is blown up. Among the clients are Dr. Emmanuel Hain, a half-Jew, whose son Roland was a child of the war, and has sensitive nerves. He was sent to an experimental schoo l, conducted in the open air. But one of the professors was enamored of the young boy: too sen sitive to Roland s strange charms, he committed suicide with his revolver. At the age of twenty, Roland entered the NSDAP, not knowing that he was partly Jewish, and sle pt with one of the leaders. His childhood friend, Kurt, a heterosexual and anti-Naz i, observes his evolution with sadness and distress: He was, like him, part of that postwar generation that was not shocked by love between members of the same sex. Perhaps it was a holdover from wartimes when the men on their own together? or a distaste f or procreating in an over-populated country? Some found it comic, some tragic, others interesti ng. Many tried it just out of snobbery, following a fashion. 634 Roland s life ends tragically. His comrades discover that he is Jewish, and he is assassinated. * * * For ten years, English and French homosexuals had been going to enjoy the libert y of Germany. Now the roles were reversed and it was the German homosexuals who we nt abroad to seek freedom and tolerance. And it was not just the police repression; there had been a remarkable change in public opinion: homosexuals were consigned to the da rk corners or, worse, pointed out. And ironically, at the very moment when homosexu als were suffering the worst persecutions in Germany, they were compared to their to rmentors, as though they were all in one enemy camp. It is very difficult to say how many homosexuals were victims of Nazism. Officia l statistics of the Reich, the remaining Nazi statistics and the notes of Dr. Wuth , suggest that 100,000 would be a rough estimate of the number of homosexuals recorded by

the Reich Central Command for the Combat of Homosexuality. Of them, approximately 50,000 were convicted. Between 5,000 and 15,000 homosexuals were sent to concent ration camps.635 The German homosexual population is estimated to have been between 1.5 and 2 million at that time, so it appears that the great majority of homosex ual must have succeeded in surviving under Nazism. That does not diminish the fact that t hey were constantly targeted by the regime and that they lived in anguish and infamy duri ng this period. 634. Vicky Baum, Shanghai Hotel [1939], Paris, Ph.bus, 1997, 669 pages, p.67 and 95. 635. Certain authors estimate the number of victims at several hundred thousand, even up to a million, including Jean Boisson (Le Triangle rose. La d.portation des homosexuel s [1933-1945], Paris, Robert Laffont, 1988, 247 pages). Such figures are have no serious basis. The desire to rehabilitate homosexual victims cannot be based on a historical aberration. To speak of a final solution r a homocaust for homosexuals is an absurdity that denigrates the homosexual cause 397

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Was Nazism unique in its treatment of homosexuals? The Nazis were unusual in the use of police terror, the dehumanization of victims, sentences disproportion ate to acts, and the broad use of force. However, the methods had already been tested i n England and under Weimar. Neither did Nazism invent the homophobic political campaign: i t was the Socialists and the Communists who tried that, first. Medical abuses were mad e possible by the psychiatric will to control perverts, and castration was adopted on the b asis of foreign (Danish and Swiss) research. Wilhelm Reich saw Fascism as a consequence of the repression of natural sexual needs.636 If this explanation, partial at best, is true, then it may be that the treatment of homosexuality under Nazism was merely an extension of traditional homophobia. Nazism and homosexual repression in Europe were part of one continuum, as Guy Ho cquenghem noted. He saw this similarity as the reason for the silence that surrounded homosexual repression. The Nazis had only gone a little further. But the eliminat ion or, in any case, the restriction of homosexuals there was not one allied country tha t did not do it, too. All things considered, the massacre of homosexuals had to be kept se cret especially since it would reveal a similarity between Nazism and those who claimed to be it s judges and its mortal enemies. 637 636. Wilhelm Reich, La Psychologie de masse du fascisme [1933], Paris, Payot, co ll. Petite bibl. Payot, 1972, 341 pages, p.92. 637. Guy Hocquenghem, preface to the book by Heinz Heger, Les Hommes au triangle rose, op. cit., p.11-12. 398

POSTFACE TOWARD HOMOSEXUAL LIBERATION But do not imagine we do not know, Nor that what you hide with such care won t show At a glance: Nothing is done, nothing is said. But don t make the mistake of believing us dead; I shouldn t dance [if I were you].638 The Second World War was just as much a shock in homosexual history as the First War. In Germany, it coincided with the apogee of Nazi repression. It was c haracterized by an extension of terror; more individuals were sent to concentration camps and more were castrated in the interests of re-education.

In 1940, homosexuals who had seduced more than one partner were also sent directly to the concentration camp. Hitler ordered stronger efforts to fight aga inst homosexuality within the party and the Wehrmacht on August 18, 1941. On November 15, 1941 a confidential decree was published for the cleansing (Reinhaltung) of the SS and the police. 639 The death penalty was instituted for any member of the SS or the polic e found guilty of homosexual acts. In less serious cases, the sentence could be commuted to a sentence of hard labor or prison, not less than six months. If the defendant was younger than twenty-one, the court could, in less serious cases, withhold sentencing. Homosexuals found within the Hitler Youth were also at greater risk. A 1940 directive from the RSHA authorized sending minors to detention camps for young p eople, run by the police. This treatment was reserved for boys who were guilty of crimi nal or antisocial behavior, and it is possible that homosexuals were sent there. Lastly, a confidential study was launched at the Reich Ministry of Justice, the Gestapo, the Office of Criminal Police and the Army Medical Inspectorate in orde r to determine what measures should be taken in the case of homosexuality in the Wehr macht. The Ministry of Justice opposed giving any amnesty or rehabilitation. The 638. W.H. Auden, The Witnesses 639. BAB, R 58/261. 399 (1932).

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Gestapo and the criminal police supported maintaining the old distinction betwee n homosexuals by inclination and those who had been seduced. The military psychiat rist Otto Wuth, in February 1943, wrote a memorandum on the extent of the infection i n the army. Finally, two series of measures were adopted: on May 19, 1943, the chief o f the OKW, General Keitel, presented Guidelines for Treating Criminal Cases of Unnatura l Acts, and on June 7, 1944, the medical chief of the Luftwaffe, Schr.der, presente d a 14page directive entitled: Instructions for Doctors and How to Evaluate Cases of Homosex uality. Other solutions were also proposed. On September 14, 1943, the legal branch of t he SS proposed that people convicted for crimes under 175 be assigned to special uni ts. Reichsf.hrer SS Himmler had already decided that minor cases could be assigned t o special units of the Waffen-SS. The most serious cases were to be sent to concen tration camps. The proposal for intermediate cases suggested integrating them into the s pecial unit of Waffen-SS Dirlewanger. On May 12, 1944, a secret decree from the chief t he security police ordered that homosexuals turned out of the Wehrmacht (i.e. those who exhibited a predisposition or an acquired and clearly incorrigible impulse ) were t o be sent to a concentration camp. Lastly, castration was debated in many forums. There was draft legislation in 19 43 dealing with the treatment of outsiders to the community (Gemeinschaftsfremden). This group, described as a burden on society, included specifically vagrants, be ggars and homosexuals. The all-out war prevented its being put into operation; it would ha ve meant obligatory castration for homosexuals. In addition, a secret order of November 1 4, 1942, from the economic and administrative service of the SS gave the green light to c amp commanders to order castration in special cases that were not covered by the law. This decr ee legalized the castration of homosexual in the camps. After the war, homosexual sur vivors of the concentration camps had trouble getting their testimony heard. After the war, 175 remained in force and homosexual deportees were often treated with contempt. Finally, on June 25, 1969, West Germany (FRG) decided that homose xual acts between consenting men over the age of 21 no longer came under the jurisdic tion of the law. East Germany (DRG) had reformed 175 in 1968, legislating that homosexual

acts between consenting men over the age of 18 were no longer punished. By the early 1970s, homosexual rights movements were created, often on the American model. On June 7 , 1973, the Bundestag of West Germany lowered the age of consent to eighteen years . (For heterosexuals, the age of sexual majority was fourteen). On December 14, 1988, t he East German Volkskammer abolished 151, which punished homosexuality between adults and adolescents aged sixteen to eighteen years. After the reunification of Germa ny, on June 11, 1994, 175 was definitively abolished. In England, it seems that the war years saw a certain relaxation of police surve illance and a resuscitation of the homosexual scene. The plug would be pulled on this resuscitation in the early 1950s, which were marked by conformity, and homophobi a was encouraged by the fears of the cold war. In England, the Cambridge spy scandal ( Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Anthony Blunt) revived the myth of the homosexual tr aitor. In the 1950s, the number of convictions for homosexuality reached a new zenith: on average 2,000 people per year; and scandals accusing public personalities of hom osexual were rife. The subject was discussed in the House of Lords and, in 1954, the Minister of th e Interior charged Sir John Wolfenden with studying the question. In 1957, his com mittee 400

Toward Homosexual Liberation recommended the depenalization of homosexuality (except in the navy and the army ); this was finally voted into law only ten years later. The age of consent for mal e relations remained set at twenty-one years; it was lowered to eighteen in 1994. In Novembe r 1970, the Gay Liberation Front was created, on the model of the American movement. Meanwhile, even if Paris attracted homosexuals, the repression in France was als o reinforced. The law of August 6, 1942, article 1st, subparagraph 1 of article 33 4 of the modified penal code encompassed impudic or unnatural homosexual and lesbian acts committed with minors less than twenty-one years of age. The 1950s and 1960s were also marked by mixed signals. Writers like Roger Peyrefitte and Jean Genet published openly homosexual novels, and a homosexual review, Arcadie, was created by Andr. Baudry , but at the same time the Mirguet amendment, in July 1960, defined homosexuality as a social plague. In March 1971, the FHAR (Front for Homosexual Revolutionary Action) was created; but the law of August 6, 1942 remained in force and was repealed only i n 1982.640 640. See Fr.d.ric Martel, Le Rose et le Noir. Les homosexuels in France depuis 1 968, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, 1996, 456 pages. 401

CONCLUSION PROGRESS OR INCREASED REPRESSION? The inter-war period was crucial in homosexual history, far more than just a tra nsitional phase between the profusion of medical opinions of the turn of the century and t he protest movements of the 1960s. These years sum up the entire battle over homose xuality, the conflicting tendencies that shaped public opinion and the ideological implic ations of deviance. NATIONAL INTERACTIONS, CONVERGENCES AND DISTINCTIONS Many phenomena were common in the three countries studied, both in terms of homosexual behavior and in terms of the public s attitudes. There was an overall l iberalization of morals in the 1920s, which went hand in hand with increased tolerance. That was characterized by the rapid formation of the homosexual scene and also by the constitution of a homosexual culture that went beyond common references in the field of liter ature or theater. There were two opposing models around which the sense of identity formed: that of exclusion, articulated by Adolf Brand and Andr. Gide, and that o f integration, asserted by Magnus Hirschfeld and Bloomsbury. Homosexual tourism was a novel expression of this new identity, inaugurated at the end of the 19th centur y by the fad for traveling in Italy and in Capri. Berlin was affirmed as the new capital of the homosexual microcosm in the 1920s. But for those who were part of it, this process of estab lishing an identity, of carving out an identity for oneself as a homosexual and for homosexuals collectively was only in the preliminary phase. It would be misleadi ng to make too much of it; there was no real solidarity among homosexuals as such. In all three countries studied, tolerance did increase; maybe not in every milie u, but it became widespread in the upper classes, intellectual circles and in the large cities. Homosexuality also related directly to the working class, but more by means of p rostitution. The theme of the working-class lover was symbolic of the inter-war period and 403

A History of Homosexuality in Europe contributed to bridging the gap between upper-crust homosexuals and the workers. It was the middle class, the petite bourgeoisie, and small-town families that seeme d most mired in traditional prejudices and morality. There was a major shift in the 193 0s, but perhaps the change was not as dramatic as has sometimes been thought. Indeed, it should not be forgotten that the reactionary forces were already in evidence in the 192 0s, even if they found fewer opportunities for expression. The economic crash, political tur moil and international tensions would create an opening for all the old criticisms to com e back, showing that the wave of tolerance had been largely superficial. In ten years, i t had not had time to take root in the public mindset, anyway. In spite of these similarities, fine observation of the behaviors and attitudes allows us to define three specific national and interactive models. Germany was the sta ndard of reference for homosexuality in the inter-war period. Two things made it special: first, it was the locus of the communal model for homosexuals, characterized by the creati on of homosexual movements. The homosexual identity was reflected there as a wake-up c all, an assertion of rights, a political position. Lesbians, neither coerced by repre ssion nor encouraged by any real mobilization, mostly stayed out of these struggles. The G erman model was open to outsiders: the homosexual movements were in constant dialogue with the political, legal and religious authorities, and also with the public. But Ge rman homosexuality was also open to foreigners: the German model was exported and was imitated in England and France. There were frequent and beneficial interactions: English and French homosexuals visited Germany and took back ideas for founding movements, a new sexual freedom and a feeling of membership in one community. The other characteristic that is specific to Germany was negative. Germany, havi ng been the center of homosexual freedom in the 1920s, became that of repression in 1933. It was the only country to actually toughen up its anti-homosexual laws. The persec ution was organized by the Nazi regime, which clearly designated homosexuals as one of the groups to be eliminated from the society. This policy ended up signifying that t hey would be sent to concentration camps, where thousands of them died. Here again, the in teractions with other countries are obvious: the beginning of German repression coincided with the retreat of English homosexuals, the gradual disappearance of the homose

xual subculture in England and the aggravation of police practices in that country. T he end of the blissful interlude in Germany was marked by the exile of many German intelle ctuals, including some homosexuals, who perpetuated in their memoirs the remembrance of Berlin in the Roaring Twenties. The French model seems quite different. France was outstanding in the inter-war period in that it did not condemn homosexuality under the law. In contrast to Ge rmany, there as no clear break between the 1920s and the 1930s: the laws were not chang ed and the stepped up police activity remained relatively moderate. France was above al l a symbol for the lesbians who chose Paris rather than Berlin as their capital. Sap phism also made headway in literature, where the theme of the New Woman was gradually being elaborated: liberated, adventurous, often lesbian. Interactions with England wer e visible: many English lesbians would visit with their English-speaking friends. That was true for Vita Sackville-West, Radclyffe Hall and Una Troubridge, among others. Violet Tre fusis even chose to settle in France after her relationship with Vita Sackville-West e nded. However, France was not much affected by the homoerotization of society (defined as the worship of the male body) that was detectable during the same period in G ermany and England. Moreover, the French model of homosexuality was adamantly individua l 404

Progress or Increased Repression? istic. The homosexual scene was just a place to meet and have a good time; it wa s not part of an emerging community structure and did not stimulate an awakening identity. The heralds of homosexuality were mostly intellectuals, like Marcel Proust and Andr. Gide, who were most interested in their own personal expression. In fact, the French m odel turned out not to be very exportable. They were not militant, and looked only fo r limited improvements in the situation. However, the lack of ambition explains why French homosexuals suffered less than the others from the moral crisis of the 1930s. To conclude, the English model seems particularly innovative; in England homosex uality took a new direction, building on the example of its neighbors but maintaining its own characteristics. As in Germany, homosexuality in England remained a misd emeanor; homosexuals were still under threat, and that encouraged the development of a homosexual identity. As in France, however, the homosexual community remained co ncentrated around an intellectual and artistic elite. The homosexual identity was therefore not exerted through militant organizations (except for the timid BSSP), but neit her did it take the form of an individual struggle. In fact, the English model of homosexua lity was neither communal nor individualistic, rather, it was cultural and social. Certai n institutions like the public schools, the universities, the secret service and the literary c ircles turned out to be particularly open to homosexuals. One can even speak of a homose xualization of the leading classes, explained by the prevalence of single-gender structures (homosociality) and the emphasis on the value of relationships among men. That also explains why the lesbians were the target of conservative groups in England more than in other countries. Castrating bitches, vampires, opium addict s, degenerate and louche, lesbians came to incarnate the very worst fantasies about feminism. The English difference did not mean there was greater tolerance. There was a dichotomy between thought and action, between practice and morals, more than els ewhere. The English model was thus both interactive and distinctly national: the British homosexuals took the French and German examples as a starting point from which t o build their identity; at the same time, they had a common culture that was speci fic to Britain, nonexportable. The 1930s saw the militants back off after just getting started in the 1920s and the retreat of institutional homosexuality. The figure of the homosexual fad

ed into the shadows and gradually, retroactively, was blended into the Wildean myth. How ever, unlike in Germany, most homosexuals did not feel the direct impact of the repres sion but were able to blend back into the rest of society. Questions: The Nature and Style of Homosexuality in the Inter-war Period The topic of homosexuality in the inter-war period is rich in meaning. Through i t, we can explore many aspects of popular attitudes having to do with the most inti mate fears and fantasies of the societies. The First World War called into question t he patriarchal, puritanical and authoritarian society based on the superiority of the father in the family structure and on male domination at the institutional level. The war conf irmed the failure of the masculine principle as the principle around which society was org anized, showing the limits violence, arrogance, and physical force. They had led humanit y to disaster. Man was humiliated, crushed, reduced. The period following the First W orld War built on opposite values, feminine values: peace, pleasure, harmony. That di d not 405

A History of Homosexuality in Europe mean the victory of women, not at all: despite real victories, like winning voti ng rights in England and Germany and better access to the world of employment, women s emancipa tion remains largely illusory. Nevertheless, men felt affronted by this new freedom i n women, and many perceived it as a loss and a defeat for men, and an attack on th eir virility. Homoerotization was a way of reacting to the situation: young people rejected th e parental model as a symbol of the war and chose androgyny. Young men accentuated their femininity, like England s Bright Young People; they celebrated estheticism, beaut y and the knack like the new fashion values. Women flaunted their emancipation by adop ting more practical haircuts and clothing, which played down the traditional symbols of femininity and testified to their lack of concern about appealing to men. Artistic represen tations faithfully echoed these tendencies and the youthful body flexible, slender, muscular, bronzed, and androgynous became the social ideal. This homoerotic imag e was laden with heavy fantasies: it replicated the image of the sacrificed genera tion, all the youth mowed down on the battlefields whose beauty had stirred such a troubling h omosexual attraction. The new generation sought both to deny death and at the same time affirm the triumph of life, embodied in the perfect man/woman who was sufficient in and of itself and could serve as a basis for a new society. Homosexuality became an attribute of youth, a sign of permanent adolescence, a society that did not want to grow up a ny more, which did not want to face the world as an adult. In the inter-war period, behav iors were modeled on those of teenagers: forgetfulness, pleasure and irresponsibility beca me the mainstays of social organization. The worship of homosexuality associated with a myth of adolescence was used by the forces of progress as well as by the forces of reaction: the Aryan version w as only one variation among others on the notion of the androgynous body. Whereas the Weimar Republic had stressed the feminine values conveyed by homosexuality (androgyny, softness, conciliation), Nazism focused on its virile qualities (misogyny, M.nne rbund, cult of the man). In fact, while the left supported homosexuals out of opportuni sm and a commonality of interests, it was quick to turn against them as soon as the polit ical situation required it. Homosexuality was then denounced as a fascistic perversion. Equally equivocal, while fascists and Nazis condemned homosexuals in the most insulting terms

and then set out to persecute them in an organized way, they also built their mo vements around a homoerotic mythology and esthetics. Homosexuals could only come out los ers, wither way. With no real support, left behind by a homoerotic fad that did not r eally relate to them, they became the prey of various parties and were among the first victims of the crisis of the 1930s. One must add to these sets of themes the visceral antifeminism of the period, wh ich explains why lesbians always seem to have kept themselves apart from events. The homoerotization of the society may have included the revival of feminine values, but it did not mean a feminization of society. On the contrary the period was marked by the rev ival of male social structures (public schools, university, youth movements, the M.nnerb und). In fact, lesbians were victims twice over: as women, they were part of a social minority that had only a negligible and recently acquired influence; as homosexuals, they were seen as attacking the bases of society and as a threat to family unity (the last refu ge of morality). To affirm their own identity, they had to fight on two fronts: the ca mpaign for rights, as women, and the campaign to affirm their sexual rights, as lesbian. Me anwhile, the feminists refused to consider the special needs of lesbians and the homosexu al move 406

Progress or Increased Repression? ments disregarded the female cause. The repression of lesbianism is explained, f inally, by the patriarchal State s will to regain control of society: and for that, first of all, it had to tackle problem of the family, center of authority and a small-scale model of the society as a whole. But belief was so strong in male superiority, and it was so apparent that female sexuality could be contained, that no specific laws should be needed; social pre ssure alone would be enough to drive women back to their proper places. From these various observations, it seems reasonable to conclude that homosexual ity in the inter-war period affected the whole of society and not merely a small fra ction of the population. That hypothesis will give rise to controversy and debate. One of the greatest revelations of this study is, finally, the extraordinary abundance of r esearch material: homosexuality, far from being a taboo subject, was everywhere. It was analyzed, and romanticized, throughout the period. It was praised and insulted, celebrated and decried it, but it certainly was talked about. But as they gained public attenti on, homosexuals lost their last hope of autonomy. The fight for homosexuals failed because it rested on the laurels of its first victories. Lulled by the successes of the imm ediate postwar period, conscious that attitudes were shifting in their favor, homosexuals belie ved that their acceptance and their final integration were only a question of time. They took advantage of their new freedom, the opportunities presented by the homosexual sc ene of repression, rather than focusing on the politic and the relaxation or absence al and legal battles that still had to be fought. They overlooked the alarms sounded by the homosexual organizations, which recalled that in Germany and England homosexuality was still a crime punished by the law and that calls for a crackdown, far from disap pearing, were increasing. For those who were promoting the theory of decadence, the lead up to the war needed to include the elimination of the weak, the degenerate, the parasites. Ho mosexuals were first in line. Things had gone full circle; from one war to the next, man regained his lost virility. The younger generations which had not been able to p rove their virility as combatants in the First World War now had to take up the torch again and give up the ideals and the models of the 1920s. There was no more place for the androgynous and solar homosexual myth. Conformity and the black of night were back, for at least thirty years.

407

A History of Homosexuality in Europe 408

Appendix I. Statistics APPENDIX I. STATISTICS ENGLAND: CHANGES IN HOMOSEXUAL CRIMES BETWEEN 1919 AND 1940 1. Police statistics Crimes 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 U 47 71 43 59 68 70 67 91 67 58 A 92 192 187 221 221 265 345 354 345 336 I 138 156 168 170 201 185 166 155 197 141 Total 277 419 398 450 480 520 578 600 609 535 2. Number of persons tried Crimes 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 U 38 34 30 35 35 33 23 44 38 20 A 81 164 134 137 157 159 159 202 256 234 I 112 126 129 124 156 133 113 81 109 105 Total 231 324 293 296 348 305 295 327 403 359 3. Number of persons tried in circuit court (court of appeals) Crimes 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 U 37 33 29 34 33 33 22 43 32 20 A 41 83 58 66 63 56 54 75 88 72 I 106 124 127 119 147 123 104 78 107 98 Total 184 240 214 219 243 212 180 196 227 190 4. Number of persons tried in criminal court Crimes 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 U 1 1 1 1 2 0 1 1 3 0 A 40 89 76 71 94 103 105 127 168 162 I 6 2 2 5 9 10 9 3 2 7 Total 47 92 79 77 105 113 115 131 173 169 409

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1940 102 47 73 46 82 64 78 125 102 134 97 364 398 391 487 554 581 535 690 703 822 808 191 203 178 258 210 192 227 352 316 320 251 657 548 642 791 846 837 840 1167 1121 1276 1156 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1940 46 31 43 26 44 39 36 62 60 74 51 227 226 221 243 260 287 261 317 290 413 349 108 125 99 129 112 133 114 139 194 203 111 381 382 363 398 416 459 411 518 544 690 511 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1940 45 28 39 25 39 33 32 55 48 67 44 65 59 80 63 62 59 64 74 65 104 88 108 116 92 119 104 116 101 119 175 178 96 218 203 211 207 205 208 197 248 288 349 228 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1940 1 3 4 1 5 6 4 7 12 7 7 162 167 141 180 198 228 197 243 225 309 261 0 9 7 10 8 17 13 20 19 25 15 163 179 152 191 211 251 214 270 256 341 283 U : Unnatural Offences. A : Attempt to Commit Unnatural Offences I : Indecency with Males. Source: Parliamentary Papers, Judiciary Statistics. 410

Appendix I. Statistics 5. Police statistics by district (U + A + I) Districts 1919 1933 1937 Bedfordshire 0 1 3 Berkshire 1 6 14 Buckinghamshire 7 6 34 Cambridgeshire 2 6 8 Cheshire 10 13 105 Cornwall 0 12 1 Cumberland 2 0 1 Derbyshire 1 4 12 Devon 9 65 53 Dorset 0 3 2 Durham 7 9 1 Essex 5 15 47 Gloucestershire 1 21 13 Hereford 0 1 3 Hertfordshire 1 4 2 Huntington 0 0 0 Kent 12 30 66 Lancashire 51 140 114 Leicestershire 3 7 2 Lincoln 7 18 22 Metropolitan Police 62 149 185 London City 0 2 3 Normouth 5 11 11 Norfolk 3 30 3 Northamptonshire 0 3 5 Northumberland 2 10 9 Nottingham 1 14 15 Oxfordshire 2 1 18 Rutland 1 0 0 Salop 0 6 17 Somerset 3 6 34 Southampton 19 56 98 Staffordshire 5 4 25 Suffolk 2 8 25 Surrey 2 '9 35 Sussex 4 38 63 Warwick 2 20 83 Westmorland 0 0 0 Wiltshire 3 2 7 Worcester 5 10 23 York (East Riding) 1 2 8 York (North Riding) 4 3 4 York (West Riding) 16 111 88 411

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II England, 1919 1. Cases and outcomes, Crown (circuit) courts 2. Length of sentences, Crown (circuit) Crimes U A I Total 37 33 106 Men 37 33 106 Case dropped 0 0 0 Mentally ill 0 1 0 Acquitted 13 7 40 Guilty but mentally ill 0 0 1 Total convicted 29 25 65 Hard labor 11 5 0 Prison 9 20 54 Reformatory 0 0 0 Warning + probation 0 0 0 Warning 3 0 20 Others 1 0 0 Crimes U A I Total prison sentences 16 32 63 14 days or less 0 0 1 1-3 months 0 3 9 3-6 months 1 6 27 6-9 months 1 3 10 9 months -1 year 2 10 13 1 year - 18 months 5 4 2 18 months - 2 years 7 6 1 Total hard labor 17 7 1 3 years 6 3 1 4 years 5 1 0 5 years 4 3 0 5-7 years 2 0 0 7-10 years 0 0 0 10+ years 0 0 0 Crimes 3. Gender and age of coUnvicts A I Total 24 32 65 Men 24 32 65 Ages 14-16 0 0 2 Ages 16-21 1 0 2 Ages 21-30 6 5 9 Ages 30-40 5 10 17 Ages 40-50 4 6 10 Ages 50-60 8 8 18 Age 60 + 0 3 1 4. Cases and outcomes, criminal court Crimes A Total 197 Charges withdrawn 25 Guilty 172 Acquitted 2 Warning 11 Warning + probation 28 Asylum 3 Total prison 98

14 days - 1 month 10 1-2 months 12 2-3 months 37 3-6 months 39 Fines 28 England, 1933 412

Appendix I. Statistics 1. Cases and outcomes, Crown (Circuit) Courts Crimes U A I 2. Length of sentences Crown (circuit) courts Total 39 42 104 Men 39 42 104 Not prosecuted 0 0 0 Mentally ill 0 0 1 Crimes U A IAcquitted 4 8 25 Guilty but mentally ill 0 0 0 Total hard labor 11 5 0 Total convicted 35 34 78 3 years 0 0 0 Hard labor 6 3 2 4 years 0 0 0Prison 21 25 47 5 years 0 0 0Reformatory 3 0 0 Warning + probation 2 4 9 5-7 years 4 0 0 Warning 1 2 18 7-10 years 2 0 0 Others 2 0 2 10+ years 5 5 0 Preventive detention 0 0 0 Total prison 9 20 54 Recidivist 10 27 29 14 days or less 0 2 1Prison 7 17 22 Other sentences 0 0 0 14 days - 1 month 1 2 6 1-3 months 0 4 10 3-6 months 3 2 5 6-9 months 4 7 19 9 months - 1 year 1 3 11 1 year- 18 months 0 0 1 18 months - 2 years 0 0 1 Crimes U onvicts A I Total3. Gender and age of c35 48 78 Men 35 47 78 Less than 14 years 0 0 0 Ages 14-16 0 2 1 Ages 16-21 12 3 25 Ages 21-30 6 10 19 Ages 30-40 11 14 10 Ages 40-50 6 11 11 Ages 50-60 0 4 10 Ages 60+ 0 3 3 4. Cases and outcomes, criminal court Crimes A Total arrested 38 Charges withdrawn 3 Case dropped 1 Warning 2 Warning + probation 2 Asylum 2 Total convicted 28 Prison 22 Reformatory 2 Fines 4 413

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II England, 1937 1. Cases and outcomes, Crown (circuit) courts 2. Length of sentences, Crown (circuit) courts Crimes U A I Total 48 54 175 Not prosecuted 2 0 0 Acquitted 5 8 23 Convicted 42 45 152 Hard labor 17 7 1 Prison 16 32 63 Reformatory 2 1 1 Warning + probation 4 4 24 Warning 2 1 56 Other 1 0 2 Crimes U A I Total prison sentences 21 25 47 14 days or less 0 0 2 14 days - 1 month 0 0 1 1-3 months 1 1 4 3-6 months 5 6 19 6-9 months 2 2 7 9 months - 1 year 4 6 13 1 year - 18 months 6 9 1 18 months - 2 years 3 1 0 Total hard labor 6 3 2 3 years 3 2 2 4 years 1 0 0 5 years 2 1 0 5-7 years 0 0 0 7-10 years 0 0 0 10+ years 0 0 0 3. Gender and age of convicts 4. Cases and outcomes, criminal court Crimes U A I Total 42 51 152 Under 17 0 0 0 Ages 17-21 8 4 17 Ages 21-30 8 7 39 Ages 30-40 10 12 38 Ages 40-50 8 15 28 Ages 50-60 3 10 13 Over 60 4 3 13 Crimes A Total arrested 198 Charges withdrawn 26 Prosecuted 172 Warning 7 Warning + probation 11 Reformatory 23 Preventive detention 2 Asylum 0 Total convicted 123

Prison 96 Less than 14 days 2 14 days - 1 month 7 1-2 months 8 2-3 months 27 3-6 months 5 Reformatory 7 Whipping 1 Fines 16 Others 3 414

Appendix I. Statistics GERMANY: CHANGES IN HOMOSEXUAL CRIMES BETWEEN 1919 AND 1939 Convictions under 175 1. Homosexuality convictions, adult ADULTS 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 Indicted 110 237 485 588 503 850 1226 Convicted 80 169 357 493 416 689 1019 Acquitted 26 65 126 94 87 160 203 Non-lieu 4 3 2 1 0 1 4 Foreigners 4 6 9 10 7 10 9 Recidivists 27 39 65 100 93 174 272 Prison 78 162 346 336 308 528 803 Less than 3 months 53 118 260 21 178 375 529 3 months - 1 year 18 34 76 102 113 128 246 more than 1 year 7 10 10 13 17 25 28 Loss of civic rights 2 3 9 14 8 20 16 Fines ? 7 3 151 102 150 202 Source: Statistik des Deutschen Reichs. 2. Homosexuality convictions, minors (ages 12 to 18) MINORS 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 Indicted 33 51 103 105 90 126 128 Convicted 24 10 63 83 64 102 104 Acquitted 9 3 40 22 26 24 24 415

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II of the Criminal Code (1919 - 1934) 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1126 911 731 786 732 618 721 778 872 927 761 636 653 625 508 625 674 771 196 141 92 131 105 102 94 96 99 3 9 3 2 2 8 2 8 2 15 9 7 8 8 7 6 9 7 259 263 225 270 332 210 239 269 290 730 583 480 490 485 392 464 575 635 800 401 326 340 341 270 340 378 290 195 163 140 132 100 110 111 167 252 35 19 14 18 14 12 13 30 93 14 16 10 10 9 5 8 17 40 177 161 131 149 151 100 140 86 110 1926 1927 1928 -1929 1930 -1931 1932 -1933 1934 124 104 98 89 92 69 93 82 99 100 84 82 71 81 57 79 74 ? 24 20 16 18 11 12 14 8 ? 416

Appendix I. Statistics 3. Statistics by L.nder (1925-1926) Prussia Bavaria Saxe Wurtemberg Baden Years A C A C A C C A C A 1925 730 572 207 187 139 123 69 54 46 45 1926 617 481 195 170 130 110 91 78 74 70 Thuringia Hesse Hamburg Mecklenburg Oldenburg Brunswick A C A C A C A C A C A C 28 28 28 25 48 36 21 17 8 7 9 9 13 11 23 18 67 57 32 28 8 6 7 7 A = Arrested C = Convicted 4. Statistics by age (1928) Adults & minors under 16 16-18 18-21 21-25 25-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 over 70 804 39 80 153 103 104 123 106 61 33 2 5. Statistics by socio-professional category (1928) Agriculture workers, hunters, fishermen Industrial workers, craftsman Trade, transport Civil servants, liberal professions, health care workers Household help Salaried workers No career, unemployed P W P W P W 54 6 54 30 18 134 15 306 37 146 Total 152 321 183 P = Proprietors, supervisors W = Workers, employees 6. Statistics by city (1930) 1930 Berlin D.sseldorf Frankfurt/M Cologne Konigsberg Munich I 732 41 41 45 43 31 75 C 625 30 39 32 39 29 65 Dresden Stuttgart Karlsruhe Hamburg Bremen L.beck I 98 59 66 24 33 0 C 84 47 64 23 33 0

I = Indicted C = Convicted 417

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Germany: Homosexuality crimes (1935-1939), 175 of the Criminal Code 1. Homosexuality convictions (1935-1936) 1935 1936 Indicted 2121 5556 Convicted 1901 5097 Youths 236 466 Acquitted 220 459 Hard labor 12 192 Prison 1703 4622 Prison -more than one year 419 1388 Prison - between 3 months and 1 year 825 2389 Prison - less than 3 months 459 845 Fines 129 183 Loss of civic rights 108 291 Source : Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, vol. 577. 2. Homosexuality convictions (1937-1939) 1937 1938 1939 Indicted ( 175 : homosexuality and bestiality) ? 9479 8274 Condvicted ( 175 : homosexuality and bestiality) 8271 8562 7614 Youths 973 974 689 Source : Notes of Dr Wuth, in Hidden Holocaust ?, G. Grau (ed.), London, Cassell & Cie, 1995 3. Specific sentences 1937 1938 1939 Coprrupting young people Prostitutes 7452 800 7472 587 4162 114 Source : Aide-memoire du Dr Wuth, in Hidden Holocaust ?, op. cit. 4. Homosexuals on file with the Gestapo and the Kripo, and those convicted for homosexuality 418

Appendix I. Statistics Gestapo (national secret police) Kripo (criminal police ) Convicted (for homosexuality or bestiality) 1937 32,360 12,760 8,271 1938 28,882 10,638 8,562 1939 33,496 10,456 7,614 Total 94,738 33,854 24,447 Source: H.-G. Stmke, Homosexuelle in Deutschland, eine politische Geschichte, Mu nich, Verlag, C. H. Beck, 1989. 419

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II APPENDIX II. SONGS THE LILA LIED, GERMANY S LESBIAN ANTHEM1

Was will man nur Ist das Kultur Dass jener Mensch so versp.nt ist, Der klug und gut, Jedoch mit Mut Und eigner Art durchstr.mt ist Das grade die Kategorie Vor dem Gesetz verbannt ist Und dennoch sind die Meisten stolz Dass Sie von anderem Holz. Refrain Wir sind nur einmals anders als die andern, Die nur im Gleichschritt der Moral geliebt, Neugierig erst durch tausend Wunder wandern Und f.r die s nur noch das Banal gibt Wir aber wissen nicht wie das Gef.hl ist, Denn wir sind alle anderer Weltur Kind: Wir lieben nur die Lila Nacht, die schw.l ist, Weil wir ja anders als die Andern sind! Wozu die Qual, Uns die Moral Der Andern aufzudr.ngen? Wir, h.rt geschwind, Sind wie wir sind, Selbst wollte man uns h.ngen. Wer aber denkt Dass man uns h.ngt Den sollte man beweinen, Dem bald, gebt Acht, Wir .ber Nacht Auch unsere Sonne scheinen. Dann haben wir das gleiche Recht erstritten! Wir leiden nicht mehr, sondern sind gechitten! Refrain 1. Published in a bilingual edition in Cahiers Gai-Kitsch-Camp, n 16, 1992, 140 p ages. 420

Appendix II. Songs FRANCE S LAVENDER SONG, LA CHANSON MAUVE

Peut-on bien conclure Que c est .a la culture, Si chaque .tre est r.prouv., Qui poss.de sagesse Bont., hardiesse Et singularit., Si ces m.mes gens Pr.cis.ment Sont dans l ill.galit. La plupart sont fiers pourtant D .tre diff.rents. Refrain C est comme .a: des autres nous sommes diff.rents, Ils marchent au pas de, au pas de la morale A travers mille premiers .merveillements, Puis pour eux tout devient si banal, si banal Ils ne sont pas tellement .trangers, ces sentiments Car de tout autre monde nous sommes les enfants: Nous aimons la nuit en mauve au parfum suffocant C est comme .a: des autres nous sommes diff.rents! C est un mal que la morale Des autres sur nos t.tes, Car nous sommes Ce que nous sommes M.me si on nous arr.te. La corde au cou Ce n est pas nous, On en conviendra Car bient.t Tr.s bient.t Notre heure viendra Alors nous serons sans souffrance! .gaux! Finie l intol.rance! Refrain 421

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II APPENDIX III. GERMAN LEGISLATION ON HOMOSEXUALITY 175 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW CODE Unnatural sexual intercourse [Unzucht widernat.rliche] whether perpetrated between persons of the male sex or between men and animals, is punishable by pri son; it may also entail a loss of civic rights. DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1909 250: Unnatural sexual intercourse committed with a person of the same sex is punishable by prison. If the act was perpetrated by taking advantage of a relati onship of dependence by an abuse of power or authority, or something similar, then a sente nce of hard labor, of up to five years or, in case of extenuating circumstances, a pris on sentence of not less than six months, is incurred. The same penalty applies to anyone who conducts commerce in unnatural acts on a professional basis. The sentence mentioned in pa ragraph 1 also applies to unnatural acts with animals. 255: Envisioned for those cases falling under 250 al.3, where 42 (reformatory) and 53 (limitation of sejour) apply. ALTERNATIVE DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1911 245: A person of the male sex who commits unnatural acts with a minor of the same sex, or with an adult of the same sex, by taking advantage of a relationshi p of dependence by an abuse of power or authority or similar, or by luring him with an offer of pecuniary benefits, is punishable by a sentence of up to five years' hard labor. DRAFT LEGISLATION OF THE COMMISSION OF 1913 322: Sexual intercourse between men. Commission of acts similar to coitus between persons of the male sex is punishab le by a prison sentence. Anyone who commits such an act by taking advantage of a relationship of dependen ce by an abuse of power or authority, or who as an adult corrupts an adolescent, is punishable by a sentence of up to five years' hard labor or, in case of extenuat ing circumstances, a prison sentence of not less than six months. The same sentence (al.2) applies to those who commit the act on a professional basis. 422

Appendix III. German Legislation on Homosexuality Offering oneself on a professional basis or declaring oneself ready to do so sha ll be incur a sentence of up to two years in prison. In cases falling under al.3 and 4, the defendant may also be banned from the cit y/ region, independently of the jail sentence. 323: Any man committing acts similar to coitus with an animal shall be sentenced to prison. DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1919 325: Sexual intercourse between men. Men who together commit an act similar to coitus shall be sentenced to prison. A man who has reached majority who commits the act by corrupting an adolescent shall be sentenced to up to five years' hard labor. The same sentence applies to any man who commits the act by exploiting a relatio nship of dependence based on an abuse of power or authority. The same sentence (al.2) applies to anyone who commits the act on a professional basis. Any man who offers himself for such an act or declares himself ready to do so in an effort to make a profession of the commerce in unnatural acts shall be sentenced to up to two years in prison. In cases falling under al.2 to 4, local banishment may be pronounced independent ly of the jail sentence. 326: Sexual intercourse with animals. Any man committing an act similar to coitus with an animal shall be sentenced to prison. DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1925 (THE REICHSRAT VERSION) 267: Sexual intercourse between men. Any man committing an act similar to coitus with another man shall be sentenced to prison. An adult man who seduces a male adolescent in order to commit a sexual act shall be sentenced to prison for not less than six months. Any man committing sexual i ntercourse with another man on a professional basis or by exploiting his dependence due to a

work relationship or other position of authority shall be sentenced likewise. In particularly serious cases the sentence may be as high as five years of hard labor. GOVERNMENT BILL OF 1927 (REICHSTAG VERSION) 295 Sexual intercourse with animals. 423

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Any man committing unnatural sexual acts with an animal shall be sentenced to prison. 296 sexual intercourse between men. Any man committing an act similar to coitus with another man shall be sentenced to prison. 297 Grave instances of sexual intercourse between men. The following shall be sentenced to not less than six months imprisonment:

1 A man who obliges another man, by force or by imminent threat to life or limb, to commit a sexual act with him or to allow himself to be used for that purpose. 2 A man who obliges another man, by exploiting his dependence due to a work relationship or other position of authority, to commit a sexual act with him or to allow himself to be used by him for that purpose. 3 Any man committing a sexual act with another man on a professional basis. 4 A man of more than 18 years of age who corrupts a male adolescent in order to commit a sexual act with him or in order that he allows himself to be used by hi m for that purpose. In the first case, even the attempt is punishable. In particularly serious cases , the sentence may go up to ten years of hard labor. DRAFT LEGISLATION OF 1933 295 Sexual intercourse with animals. Any man committing an act similar to coitus with an animal shall be sentenced to prison. 296 sexual intercourse between men. Any man committing an act similar to coitus with another man shall be sentenced to prison. 297 Grave sexual acts between men. The following shall incur a sentence of not less than six months: 1 A man who obliges another man, by exploiting his dependence due to a work relationship or other position of authority, to allow himself to be used for a s exual act. 2 An adult man who seduces a male minor so that he allows himself to be used for a sexual act. 3 Any man committing a sexual act with another man on a professional basis or

who offers himself for that purpose. In particularly serious cases, the sentence may go up to ten years of hard labor . 424

Appendix III. German Legislation on Homosexuality LAW OF 1935 175: Any man who commits a sexual act with another man or who allows himself to be used by him for that purpose shall be sentenced to prison. In the case of defendants who, at the time of the act, had not yet attained the age of 21 years, in the least severe cases the court may waive the sentence. 175 a: The following shall incur a sentence of up to ten years of hard labor; in case of extenuating circumstances, a prison sentence of not less than three months: 1 Any man who obliges another man, by force or by imminent threat to life or limb , to commit a sexual act with him or to allow himself to be used for that purpose. 2 Any man who convinces another man, by exploiting his dependence due to a work relationship or other position of authority or subordination, to commit a s exual act with him or to allow himself to be used by him for that purpose. 3 Any man of more than 21 years of age who seduces a minor male of less than 21 years, so that he commits a sexual act with him or allows himself to be used by him for that purpose. 4 Any man committing a sexual act with men on a professional basis or who allows himself to be used by men for the purpose of such an act or who offers hi mself for that purpose. 175 B: An unnatural sexual act that is committed by men with animals shall incur a prison sentence; civic rights may also be withheld. 425

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II APPENDIX IV. DR. CARL VAERNET S EXPERIMENTS AT BUCHENWALD (1944) The experiments conducted by Dr. Carl Vaernet at Buchenwald were posterior to the period studied in this work. Nevertheless, the author has judged it useful t o present them in an appendix as they represent the results of two policies in particular: that of the physicians who were anxious to obtain absolute control over the homosexuals and to prove that they had an illness that was curable'; and that of the Nazi leaders, who sought to re-integrate the homosexuals into the national community (that is to s ay, into the army as a crucial element in the total war) by rehabilitating them. These case s are particularly well documented.2 These experiments, intended to cure homosexuals, were conducted at Buchenwald. They were spearheaded by the Danish physician Carl Peter Jensen, ali as Carl Vaernet, who abandoned the office he had kept in Copenhagen since 1934 and arrived in Germany in 1942. In Denmark, he was in contact with the head of the D anish Nazi party Fried Clausen. It was the physician of the Reich, Dr. S.S. Grawitz, i nformed Himmler of Vaernet's research on hormones. Himmler was very interested in his recovery program for homosexuals and asked that he be treated with the utmost gener osity, and he gave him a chance to conduct his research in Prague.3 In July 1944, he began his human experiments. With Schiedlausky, the garrison physician of the Waffen-SS in Weimar-Buchenwald, he chose six convicts from Buchenwald, and then ten more.4 The first six detainees (operated on, September 13): N 33463/3 (homos.) Sonntag, Johann, born 24.2.1912 in Lugau N 43160/3 (SV5) castrated. Kapelski, Philipp, born 1.9.1908 in Duisburg-Hamborn (selected, but in the end not retained) N 21686/4 (homos.) Steinhof, Bernhard, born 6.8.1889 in Oelde N 22584/4 (homos.) Schleicher, Gerhard, born 13.3.1921 in Berlin N 21912/4 (homos.) Sachs, Karl, born 21.9.1912 in Falkenau N 7590/4 (homos. castrated), Lindenberg, Ernst, born 10.3.1895 in Heinde The other ten convicts (operated on, December 8): Six were castrated (it is not clear whtether they were homosexual): N 9576/4, Ledetzsky N 21526/4 Reinhold

N 31462/4 Schmidt N 20998/56 Henzes 2. BAB, NS 4/50, NS 3/21. 3. G.nther Grau, Hidden Holocaust? Gay and Lesbian Persecution in Germany, 19331945 [1993], London, Cassell & Cie, 1995, 308 pages, p.282-283: Himmler s order to the Reich Physician Dr. SS Grawitz, 3 December 1943. Himmler also asked for a 3- or 4-page monthly report, as he was very interested in these things. 4. Hidden Holocaust?, op. cit., p.284. 5. SV: Sittlichkeitsverbrecher ( sex criminal ). 426

Appendix IV. Dr. Carl Vaernet s Experiments at Buchenwald (1944) N 29941/56 Boecks N 21957/56 K.sters Four were homosexual: N 779/4 Vosses, Wilhelm N 6169/4 Parths, Franz N 6186/47 Kerentzes, Friedrich N 41936/3 Mielsches, Fritz Of the sixteen men, Vaernet operated on twelve: he made an incision in the groin and implanted a hormonal preparation, contained in a capsule. Blood tests and ur ine tests were used to follow the results of the experiment. On October 30, 1944, Vaernet sent a report to Dr. Grawitz. On September 13, 1944, five homosexuals were operated on: two were castrated, one was sterilized, two were not operated on. The goal was to de termine whether the implantation of an artificial male sexual gland could normalize homose xuals sexual orientation, to establish the necessary dose, and to test the standardiza tion of the gland -- which was implanted with different levels of hormone (1a, 2a, 3a ). According to the preliminary results, dose 3a transformed homosexuality into a n ormal sexual impulse; dose 2a awakened a normal sexual impulse in a person who was cas trated seven years before. Dose 1a revived the erectile function in a castrated person, but not his sexual impulse. Furthermore, all three doses transformed severe depression and t ension into optimism, calm and self-confidence. They all produced a sense of physical a nd psychological well-being. On October 28, 1944, the temporary results were as follows: in all three patients the homosexual impulse has been converted into a heterosexual imp ulse. The patients are more optimistic. Their physical strength is better and they are less subject to fatigue. Their sleep has improved. They seem to be in better shape. T he other convicts have noticed this, as well. Patient n5 asked to be operated on so he coul d do as well as the others. Vaernet qualified the operation as a big success. However, if the patients answered his questions in a satisfactory manner, we may suppose that th ey did so at least in part so that they could be declared cured, and be released. The fat e of the men who underwent these experiments is not known. On December 21, 1944, convict Henze died of cardiac problems associated with infectious enteritis and a genera l physical decline.

Vaernet presents a brief biography of one of the homosexuals operated on, n 21686 , Bernhard Steinhof. Born in 1889, a theologian and a member of a religious order, he was always sickly, very uncommunicative, but good natured and helpful. Pubescent at 18 years. Between 1911 and 1912 made attempts to get close to a girl, but failed to arrive at the sex act because of his anxiety. At school, he was initially a mediocre pupil bec ause of unstable living conditions, then became a good pupil. From 1924 to 1928, sexual intercourse with young men, intracrural sexual intercourse, no anxiety. From 1932 to 1935, again with men, then normal sexual intercourse with a girl. Same satisfaction. L ast pollution in February 1944. 8 years of hard labor; nothing to report on that. On 16.9.1944, implantation of an artificial male sexual gland (dose 3a). After the operation: 16.9.44: pain 427 no neurological sensation

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II 17.9.44: no pain 18.9.44: erection 19.9.44: stronger erection in the morning 20.9.44: stronger erection several times 21.9.44: another erection 22.9.44: erection, but weaker no pain 23.9.44: erection in the evening and in the morning 24.9.44: idem 26.10.44: the wound from the operation is healing without any [adverse] reaction . No reaction to the artificial gland implanted. Feeling better and dreams about wom en. Outlook has improved considerably. Seems younger; his features are softer. Today , he came for testing laughing and without inhibition the first time he was tested, h e was taciturn and answered only direct questions, but today, he spoke freely and in d etail about his past life and the changes that have occurred since the implantation. The patient reported: Sleep improved shortly after the operation. Before, he felt tired and had no int erest in anything; he was depressed and he thought only about life in the camp. The depression disappeared: he is looking forward to the moment of his recovery; he is making some plans for the future; now he handles everything better, even p sychologically, and feels free in every respect. Other convicts have told him that he has changed and that he seems younger and more fit. His erotic imagination has also changed completely. Before, all his thoughts and erotic fantasies related to young males, but now they feature women. He doesn t li ke life in the camp: he thinks about the women in the whorehouse, but he cannot go there for religious reasons. Rate of cholesterol in the blood 12.10.44: 190%. Rate of cholesterol in the blood 24.10.44: 210%. What became of these victims is not known. These experiments were not explicitly mentioned during the Nuremberg trials, and Vaernet escaped to South A merica. 428

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY This bibliography, detailed as it is, can hardly pretend to be exhaustive. Naturally, I ve given preference to sources relating specifically to homosexuality , those that are little known, and I have settled for giving fellow researchers a basic bibliographic orientation as to more general works that allow one to establish t he political economoic and social context of the era. PRIMARY SOURCES A. Archives 1 France National Archives F7 13960 (2): Pederasty, especially in the navy (1927-1932). F 7 14663: Morality police. F 7 14836: Narcotics trade. F 7 14837: Narcotics usage. F 7 14840: Narcotics usage. F 7 14854: Women. BB BB BB BB BB BB BB BB 429 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 6172: 6173. 6174: 6175: 6175: 6178: 6178: 6186. 44 BL 228. 44 44 44 44 44 BL BL BL BL BL 303. 340. 386. 402. 403.

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II 2 England The Public Record Office HO 45/12250: Criminal Law Amendment Bill (1921). HO 45/24867: Sexual Offences Committee Action (1926). HO 45/24955: Sexual Offenders Treatment. HO 45/25033: Norman Haire (1937). MEPO 2/2470: Criminal Law Amendment Bill MEPO 3/946: Nudism. MEPO 3/982: Hugh A. Chapman (1934-1935). MEPO 3/989: Urinals. MEPO 3/990: Plain-Clothes Officers. MEPO 3/994: Mitford Brice. MEPO 3/995: G.H. Buckingham. MEPO 3/997: John Henry Lovendahl. 3 Germany a) The Bundesarchiv, Berlin Reichsministerium des Innern: R 18/5308. Reichsjustizministerium: R 22/850 /854 /943 /950 /970 /973 /1175 /1176 /1197 /1460 /3062 /5006. R 22/FB 21764 (5774 /5775 /5776 /5777). Reichsministerium f.r Volksaufkl.rung und Propaganda: R 55/151 /1219. Reichssicherheitshauptamt: R 58/239 /261 /473 /483 /1085 /1127. Rasse-und Siedlungshauptamt: NS 2/41 fol.1. Konzentrationslager: NS 3/21.

NS 4/21 /50. Pers.nlicher Stab-Reichsf.hrer SS: NS 19/889 /897 /1087 /1270 /1838 /1916 /2075 /2376 /2673 /2957 /3030 /3392 /3579 / 3940 /4004. Nachl.sse Reinhard Mumm: 90 MU 3 506 /507 /508 /509 /510 /511 /512 /513 /514 /515 /526 /527 /528 /529 /53 0 /531 /532. b) The Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin Reichsjustizministerium: I. HA, Rep.84a, n 5339 /5340 /5341 /5342 /5343 /8100 /8101 /8104 /17209 /17214 / 17224 /17245 /17257 /17263 /17272 /17275 /17276 /17298 /17355 /17347. Ministerium des Innern: I.HA, Rep.77, Tit.435, n 1, vol.1, vol.2. 430

Annotated Bibliography c) Collections of archives G.nther GRAU (ed.), Hidden Holocaust? Gay and Lesbian Persecution in Germany, 19 331945, London, Cassell & Cie, 1995, 308 p.; trans. from German., Homosexualit.t in der NSZeit: Dokumente einer Diskriminierung und Verfolgung, Frankfurt-am-Main, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1993. B. Print Sources 1 Periodicals a) Dailies Berliner Tageblatt, 1919-1921, 1931, 1934. Deutsche Zeitung, 1919-1929. Das schwarze Korps, various articles. Le Temps, 1919-1939. The Times, 1919-1939. V.lkischer Beobachter, various articles. b) Light or satirical reviews Fantasio, 1919-1937. Punch, 1919-1939. Simplicissimus, 1919-1939. La Vie parisienne, 1920, 1924, 1934, 1938. 2 Homosexual periodicals Only bits and pieces of the homosexual press of the Twenties and Thirties remain . It is unusual to come across a complete series. Most of the German magazines hav e been preserved in Berlin, at the Schwules Museum and at Spinnboden. L Amiti.. Das dritte Geschlecht. Der Eigene, 1919-1933. Eros, 1928. Frauenliebe und Leben, 1928. Die Freundin, 1924-1933. Die Freundschaft, 1928. Das Freundschaftsblatt, 1926, 1932. Der Hellasbote, 1923. Die Insel, 1930. Inversions. Jahrbuch f.r sexuelle Zwischenstufen, 1919-1923. Mitteilungen des WhK, 1926-1933. Die Tante, 1925. Zeitschrift f.r Sexualwissenschaft, 1919-1931. 3 Legal stastistics

These allow analysis of how sentencing for homosexuality shifted over time in England and in Germany. 431

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Parliamentary Papers, Accounts and Papers, ann.es 1919, 1922-1939.

Judicial Statistics, England and Wales, 1920 (1921), BS 18/4. Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Kriminalstatistik, vol.301, 311, 320, 328, 335, 346, 354, 370, 384, 398, 429, 433, 448, 478, 507, 577. 4 Medical works Sexology played an important role in defining homosexuality. Here are the princi pal works on the question. Alfred ADLER, Das Problem der Homosexualit.t, Leipzig, S. Hirzel, 1930, 110 p. Henri ALLAIX, De l inversion sexuelle . la d.termination des sexes, Le Chesnay, Imprimerie moderne de Versailles, 1930, 10 p. W.M. BECHTEREV, .ber die Perversion und die Abweichungen des Geschlechtstriebe vom reflexologischen Standpunkt aus, Stuttgart, Verlag von Ferdinand Enke, 1928, 20 p. Andr. BINET, La Vie sexuelle chez la femme, Paris, L Expansion scientifique fran.aise, 1932, 240 p. Dr J.R. BOURDON, Traitement de la froideur chez la femme, Paris, Librairie Astra, 1931, 221 p. Edward CARPENTER, Selected Writings, vol.1, Sex, reprinted., London, Gay Men Press, 1984, 318 p. Dr CAUFEYNON (pseud. Jean FAUCONNEY), La Perversion sexuelle, Paris, Biblioth.qu e populaire des connaissances m.dicales, 1932, 108 p. Jean Martin CHARCOT and Victor MAGNAN, Inversion du sens g.nital et autres perversions sexuelles, in Archives de neurologie, nos 7 and 12, 1882. Havelock ELLIS and J.A. SYMONDS, Sexual Inversion [1897], New York, Arno Press, 1975, 299 p. Otto EMSMANN, Zum Problem der Homosexualit.t, Berlin, Verlag der vaterl.ndischen Verlags- und Kunstanstalt, 1921, 100 p. Sigmund FREUD, N.vrose, psychose et perversion [1894-1924], Paris, PUF, coll. Bibl. de psychanalyse, 1992, 303 p. ,Trois Essais sur la th.orie de la sexualit. [1905], Paris, Gallimard, 1987, 211 p. ,La Vie sexuelle [1907-1931], Paris, PUF, coll. Bibl. de psychanalyse, 1992, 159 p.

Alfred FUCHS, Die kontr.re Sexualempfindung und andere Anomalien des Sexuallebens, Stuttgart, Verlag von Ferdinand Enke, 1926, 129 p.

Max von GRUBER, Hygiene of Sex, trans. from German, London, Tindall & Cox, 1926, 169 p. Ren. GUYON, Sex Life and Sex Ethics, London, John Lane The Bodley Head Ltd, 1933 , 386 p. Angelo HESNARD, L Individu et le Sexe. Psychologie du narcissisme, Paris, Stock, 1927, 227 p. ,Psychologie homosexuelle, Paris, Stock, 1929, 208 p. ,Trait. de sexologie normale et pathologique, Paris, Payot, 1933, 718 p. Magnus HIRSCHFELD, Die Homosexualit.t des Mannes und des Weibes [1914], Berlin, Walter de Gruyter, 1984, 1067 p. 432

Annotated Bibliography ,Perversions sexuelles, traduit et adapt. par le Dr P. Vachet, Paris, Les .dition s internationales, 1931, 333 p. ,Le Sexe inconnu, Paris, .ditions Montaigne, 1936, 224 p. Magnus HIRSCHFELD (dir.), Zur Reform des Sexualstrafrechts, vol.IV, Sexus, Monog raphien aus dem Institut f.r Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin, Berlin, Verlag Ernest Birchne r, 1926, 186 p. Pierre HUMBERT, Homosexuality et psychopathies, .tude clinique, Paris, G. Doin e t Cie .ditions, 1935, 139 p. Josef KIRCHHOFF, Die sexuellen Anomalien, Frankfurt-am-Main, Verlag Oswald Quass, 1921, 132 p. Sacha NACHT, Psychanalyse des psychon.vroses et des troubles de la sexualit., Paris, Librairie Alcan, 1935, 324 p. , Pathologie de la vie amoureuse: essai psychanalytique, Paris, Deno.l, 1937, 198 p. Bertram POLLENS, The Sex criminal, London, Putnam, 1939, 211 p. Dr RIOLAN, P.d.rastie et homosexuality, Paris, F. Pierre, 1909, 108 p. Dr Georges SAINT-PAUL, Invertis et homosexuels, th.mes psychologiques [1896], pr eface by .mile Zola, Paris, .ditions Vigon, 1930, 152 p. Ren. de SAUSSURE, Les Fixations homosexuelles chez les femmes n.vros.es, Paris, Imprimerie de la Cour d appel, 1929, 44 p. Richard SCHAUER, D.sordres sexuels, Paris, .ditions Montaigne, 1934, 254 p. ,Sexualpathologie, Wesen und Formen der abnormen Geschlechtlichkeit, Vienna-Leipz igBerne, Verlag f.r Medizin, Weidmann & Co, 1935, 272 p. Oswald SCHWARZ, .ber Homosexualit.t: ein Beitrag zu einer medizinische Anthropologie, Berlin, Georg Thieme Verlag, 1931, 122 p. ,Sexualit.t und Pers.nlichkeit, Vienna-Leipzig-Berne, Verlag f.r Medizin, 1934, 2 05 p. Max SENF, Homosexualisierung, Bonn, A. Marcus und E. Weber s Verlag, 1924, 74 p. Ambroise TARDIEU, La P.d.rastie [1857], Paris, Le Sycomore, 1981, 247 p. Kenneth WALKER and E.B. STRAUSS, Sexual Disorders in the Male, London, Hamish Hamilton Medical Books, 1939, 248 p. Dr A. WEIL (dir.), Sexualreform und Sexualwissenschaft, Vortr.ge gehalten auf de r

ersten internationalen Tagung f.r Sexualreform auf sexualwissenschaftlicher Grun dlage in Berlin, Berlin, Julius P.ttmann, 1922, 286 p. World League for Sexual Reform, Sexual Reform Congress, Copenhagen, 1-5 July 1928, Copenhagen, Levin & Munksgaard, 1929, 307 p. ,Sexual Reform Congress, London, 8-14 september1929, London, Kegan Paul, 1930, 670 p. ,Sexual Reform Congress, Vienna, 16-23 september1930, Vienna, Elbem.hl, 1931, 693 p. 5 Sex education manuals Of all the works on sex education, those listed below refer more or less directl y to homosexuality. Ren. ALLENDY and Hella LOBSTEIN, Le Probl.me sexuel . l .cole, Paris, Aubier, 1938 , 253 p. Rudolf ALLERS, Sexualp.dagogik, Salzburg-Leipzig, Verlag Anton Postet, 1934, 270 p. 433

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Anonyme, The Education of Boys in the Subject of Sex, London, Student Christian Movement, 1927, 115 p. Eug.ne ARMAND, L .mancipation sexuelle, l Amour en camaraderie et les Mouvements d avant-garde, Paris, .ditions de l En-dehors, 1934, 23 p. Association du mariage chr.tien, L .glise et l .ducation sexuelle, Paris, Aubin, 192 9, 201 p. Mary Everest BOOLE, What One Might Say to a Schoolboy, London, C.W. Daniel, 1921 , 24 p. T. BOWEN PARTINGTON, Sex and Modern Youth, London, Athletic Publication Ltd, 1931, 136 p. Dorothy BROMLEY and Florence BRITTEN, Youth and Sex. A Study of 1300 College Stu dents, New York and London, Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1938, 303 p. Adolf BUSEMANN, Das Geschlechtsleben der Jugend und seine Erziehung, Berlin, Uni on Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1929, 57 p. V.F. CALVERTON and S.D. SCHMALHAUSEN (dir.), Sex in Civilization, London, Allen & Unwin, 1929, 719 p. Dr Jean CARNOT, Au service de l amour, Paris, .ditions Beaulieu, 1939, 256 p. Reginald CHURCHILL, I Commit to Your Intelligence, London, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1936, 137 p. Gladys M. COX, Youth, Sex and Life, London, Arthur Pearson, 1935, 229 p. E. DEDERDING, Sch.tzt unsere Kinder vor den Sexualverbrechern!, Berlin, Deutsche r Volksverlag, 1931, 47 p. Henri DROUIN, Conseils aux jeunes gens, Paris, Librairie Garnier fr.res, 1926, 1 85 p. Havelock ELLIS, .tudes de psychologie sexuelle, t.VII, L .ducation sexuelle, Paris , Mercure de France, 1927, 220 p. Violet FIRTH, The Problem of Purity, London, Rider & Co, 1928, 127 p. F.W. FOERSTER, Morale sexuelle et p.dagogie sexuelle, Paris, Librairie Bloud & G ay, 1929, 270 p. Sigmund FREUD, Les explications sexuelles donn.es aux enfants [1907], in La Vie sexuelle, Paris, PUF, 1992, 159 p. R.P.S.J. de GANAY, Dr Henri ABRAND and abb. Jean VIOLLET, Les Initiations n.cess aires, Paris, .ditions familiales de France, 1938, 47 p. Brian GREEN (Rev.), Problems of Human Friendship, London, The Pathfinder Papers,

1931, 37 p. Heinrich HANSELMANN, Geschlechtliche Erziehung des Kindes, Zurich-Leipzig, Rotap fel Verlag, 1931, 69 p. Magnus HIRSCHFELD and Ewald BOHM, .ducation sexuelle, Paris, .ditions Montaigne, 1934, 271 p. William Lee HOWARD, Confidential Chats with Boys, London, Rider & Co, 1928, 144 p. Kenneth INGRAM, An Outline of Sexual Morality, London, Cape, 1922, 94 p. R.H. INNES, Sex from the Standpoint of Youth, London, The New World Publishing C ie, 1933, 16 p. N.M. IOWETZ-TERESHENKO, Friendship-Love in Adolescence, London, Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1936, 369 p. Dr LAIGNEL-LAVASTINE, V.nus et ses dangers, Paris, Ligue nationale fran.aise con tre le p.ril v.n.rien, 1925, 14 p. 434

Annotated Bibliography Jean L.ONARD, Le Lever de rideau ou l Initiation au bonheur sexuel, Paris, Jean Fo rt .diteur, 1933, 219 p. Rennie MACANDREW, Approaching Manhood, Healthy Sex for Boys, London, The Wales Publishing Co, 1939, 95 p. ,Approaching Womanhood, Healthy Sex for Girls, London, The Wales Publishing Co, 1939, 93 p. R. MACDONALD LADELL, The Sex Education of Children, Birmingham, Cornish Brothers Ltd, 1934, 24 p. T. MILLER NEATBY, Personal: To Boys, London, The Alliance of Honour, 1934, 27 p. ,Youth and Purity, London, British Christian Endeavour Union, 1937, 27 p. Friedrich NIEBERGALL, Sexuelle Aufkl.rung der Jugend: ihr Recht, ihre Wege und G renzen, Heidelberg, Evangelischer Verlag, 1922, 25 p. Dr Jean POU., Conseils . la jeunesse sur l .ducation sexuelle, Paris, Maloine, 193 1, 29 p. Preussisches Ministerium f.r Wissenschaft, Kunst und Vorbildung (dir.), Sittlich keitsvergehen an h.heren Schulen und ihre disziplin.re Behandlung, Leipzig, Verlag von Quelle & Mener, 1928, 141 p. C. Stanford READ, The Struggles of Male Adolescence, London, Allen & Unwin, 1928 , 247 p. George RILEY SCOTT, Sex Problems and Dangers in War-Time. A Book of Practical Advice for Men and Women on the Fighting and Home-Fronts, London, T. Werner Laurie Ltd, 1940, 85 p. Gerhard Reinhard RITTER, Die geschlechtliche Frage in der Deutsche Volkserziehun g, Berlin-Cologne, A. Marcus und E. Weber s Verlag, 1936, 397 p. Robert RITTER, Das geschlechtliche Problem in der Erziehung, Munich, Verlag von Ernst Reinhardt, 1928, 88 p. P.re S.V.D. SCHMITZ, A la source pure de la vie, Mulhouse, .ditions Salvator, 19 37, 48 p. Dr Heinrich SCHULTE-HUBBERT, Um Sittlichkeit und Erziehung an h.heren Schulen, M.nster, Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1929, 62 p. Oswald SCHWARZ, The Psychology of Sex and Sex Education, London, New Education Fellowship, 1935, 33 p. J.S.N. SEWELL, The Straight Left, Being Nine Talks to Boys Who Are about to Leav e their Public-School, London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1928, 64 p. Eddy SHERWOOD, Sex and Youth, London, Student Christian Movement, The Garden City Press, 1928, 150 p.

F.H. SHOOSMITH, That Youth May Know. Sex Knowledge for Adolescents, London, Harr ap & Co, 1935, 117 p. ,The Torch of Life. First Steps in Sex Knowledge, London, Harrap & Co, 1935, 150 p. Dr SICARD DE PLAUZOLES, Pour le salut de la race: .ducation sexuelle, Paris, .di tions m.dicales, 1931, 98 p. F.V. SMITH, The Sex Education of Boys, London, Student Christian Movement Press, 1931, 15 p. J.P. STEFFES (dir.), Sexualp.dagogische Probleme, M.nster, M.nster Verlag, 1931, 231 p. Erich STERN (dir.), Die Erziehung und die sexuelle Frage, Berlin, Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1927, 381 p. 435

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Marie STOPES, Sex and the Young, London, The Gill Publishing Co, 1926, 190 p. Heinrich T.BBEN, Die Jugendverwahrlosung und ihre Bek.mpfung, M.nster, Aschendor ffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1922, 245 p. Tihamer TOTH, Reine Jugendreife, Freibourg, Herder & Co, 1931, 140 p. A. TREWBY, Healthy Boyhood, London, The Alliance of Honour, Kings & Jarcett, 1924, 63 p. Theodore F. TUCKER and Muriel POUT, Sex Education in Schools, London, Gerald Howe Ltd, 1933, 144 p. Edwin WALL, To the Early Teens or Friendly Counsels to Boys, London, The Portsmo uth Printers Press, 1931, 120 p. W.J. WATSON, Ce que tout jeune homme doit savoir . l .ge de la pubert., Paris, .ditions Prima, 1932, 94 p. Leslie D. WEATHERHEAD, The Mastery of Sex through Psychology and Religion, Londo n, Student Christian Movement Press, 1931, 249 p. Erich ZACHARIAS, Die sexuelle Gef.hrdung unserer Jugend, Berlin, Buchdruckerei d es Waisenhauses, 1929, 38 p. Alfred ZEPLIN, Sexualp.dagogik als Grundlage des Familiengl.cks und des Volkswoh ls, Rostock, Carl Hinstorff Verlag, 1938, 117 p. 6 Other works on homosexuality a) Surveys, journalistic debates, news reports Ren. ALLENDY, Le crime et les perversions instinctives, in Le Crapouillot, May 193 8 , Les conceptions modernes de la sexualit., in Le Crapouillot, september1937. Maurice BAUMONT, L Affaire Eulenburg et les Origines de la Premi.re Guerre mon diale, Paris, Payot, 1933, 281 p. Robert BOUCARD, Les Dessous des prisons de femmes, Paris, Les .ditions de France , 1930, 236 p. Francis CARCO, Prisons de femmes, Paris, Les .ditions de France, 1933, 244 p. Maryse CHOISY, Un mois chez les filles, Paris, .ditions Montaigne, 1928, 254 p. Maryse CHOISY and Marcel VERT.S, Dames seules, Lille, Cahiers Gai-Kitsch-Camp, n 23, reprinted. 1993, 53 p. Michel du COGLAY, Chez les mauvais gar.ons. Choses vues, Paris, R. Saillard, 193 8, 221 p. Anne de COLNEY, L Amour aux colonies, Paris, Librairie Astra, 1932, 214 p. Alexis DANAN, Mauvaise graine, Paris, .ditions des Portiques, 1931, 249 p. Gabriel GOBRON, Contacts avec la jeune g.n.ration allemande, Toulouse, .ditions la Lan terne du Midi, 1930, 284 p. Ambroise GOT, L Allemagne . nu, Paris, La Pens.e fran.aise, 1923, 248 p. John GRAND-CARTERET, Derri.re lui : l homosexuality en Allemagne [1907], Lille, Cahie

rs Gai-Kitsch-Camp, 1992, 231 p. L homosexuality en litt.rature, Les Marges, 15 March 1926, n 141, t.35. Joseph KESSEL, Bas-fonds de Berlin, Paris, Les .ditions de France, 1934, 224 p. Peter Martin LAMPEL, Jungen in Not, Berlin, G. Kiepenheuer, 1928, 240 p. Theodor LESSING, Haarmann. The Story of a Werewolf [1925], in Monsters of Weimar , London, Nemesis Books, 1993, 306 p. Oscar METENIER, Vertus et vices allemands, Paris, Albin Michel, 1904, 281 p. Hilary PACQ, Le Proc.s d Oscar Wilde, Paris, Gallimard, 1933, 263 p. 436

Annotated Bibliography Eug.ne QUINCHE, Haarmann, le boucher de Hanovre, Paris, .ditions Henry Parville, 1925, 182 p. Marcel REJA, La r.volte des hannetons, in Mercure de France, 1 March 1928, p.324

340. Louis-Charles ROYER, L Amour en Allemagne, Paris, .ditions de France, 1936, 225 p. b) Homosexual movements; judical reforms Albrecht B.HME, Soziale Medizin und Hygiene: die neuen Gesetze .ber Kastration und Homosexualit.t, in M.nchener medizinische Wochenschrift (MMW), 16 August 1935, n 33, p.1330-1331. Adolf BRAND (dir.), Die Bedeutung der Freundsliebe f.r F.hrer und V.lker, Berlin , Adolf Brand, 1923, 32 p. Fritz DEHNOW, Sittlichkeitsdelikte und Strafrechtsreform, Berlin, Julius P.ttman n, 1922, 22 p. Documents of the Homosexual Rights Movement in Germany, 1836-1927, New York, Arno Press, reprinted. 1975, no page numbers. Isaac GOLDBERG, Havelock Ellis. A Biographical and Critical Survey, London, Cons table, 1926, 359 p. Kurt HILLER, 175: die Schmach des Jahrhunderts!, Berlin, Paul Steegeman Verlag, 1922, 132 p. , Die homosexuelle Frage, in Die neue Generation, cahiers 7/8, July-August 1927, p.223. , Das neue Sexualstrafrecht und die schwarze Gefahr, in Die Weltb.hne, 5 August 1930, n 32, p.191-196; 12 August 1930, n 33, p.224-229; 19 August 1930, n 34, p.266 -270. Magnus HIRSCHFELD, Les Homosexuels de Berlin [1908], Paris, Cahiers Gai-KitschCamp, 1993, 103 p. ,Von einst bis jetzt [1923], Berlin, Verlag Rosa Winkel, 1986, 213 p. , Der neue 175, ein Gesetz f.r Erpresser, in Die Weltb.hne, 20 January 1925, n 3,

p.91-95. Magnus HIRSCHFELD (dir.), Sittengeschichte des ersten Weltkriegs, Berlin, M.ller & Kiepenheuer, 1929, 607 p. Hans HYAN, 175, in Die Weltb.hne, 22 June 1926, n 25, p.969-973. Joseph ISHILL (dir.), Havelock Ellis in Appreciation, Berkeley Heights, Oriole P

ress, 1929, 299 p. Kartell f.r Reform des Sexualstrafrechts (dir.), Gegenentwurf zu den Strafbestim mungen des Amtlichen Entwurfs eines allgemeinen deutschen Strafgesetzbuchs .ber geschlechtliche und mit dem Geschlechtsleben in Zusammenhang stehende Handlungen , Berlin, Verlag der neuen Gesellschaft, 1927, 99 p. Botho LASERSTEIN, 175, in Die Weltb.hne, 20 July 1926, n 29, p.91.

H. LENZ, Verbrechen und Vergehen wider die Sittlichkeit, ein kritischer Beitrag zur Strafrechtsreform, Trier, Paulinus-Druckerei, 1928, 72 p. Richard LINSERT, 297, Unzucht zwischen M.nnern, Berlin, Neuer Deutscher Verlag, 1929, 130 p. Hansj.rg MAURER, 175, eine kritische Betrachtung des Problems der Homosexualit.t , Munich, Willibald Drexler, 1921, 62 p. Neueste Entscheidungen von grunds.tzlicher Bedeutung, in Deutsche Juristen Zeitung, 1 september1935, 40, volume 17, p.1047-1048. 437

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II 175 StGB, in Juristische Wochenschrift, 28 september1935, p.2732-2734.

Houston PETERSON, Havelock Ellis, Philosopher of Love, United States, Houghton Miffin Inc., 1928, 432 p. PFORR, Die widernat.rliche Unzucht, 4 October 1924, n 40, p.408-410. Reichsgericht. 175 StGB, in Preussische Polizeibeamtenzeitung,

in Juristische Wochenschrift, 22 January 1938, p.167.

Botho SCHLEICH, Die Bek.mpfung der Homosexualit.t und die Rechtssprechung, in Deutsches Recht, 1937, vol. 13/14, p.299-300. SIEGFRIED (pseudonym for Viktor CATHREIN), Im Zeichen der Zeit! 175, Berlin, Ver lag der vaterl.ndischen Verlags- und Kunstanstalt, 1920, 14 p. St Ch. WALDECKE (pseud. Ewald TSCHECK), Das WhK: warum ist es zu bek.mpfen und sein Wirken sch.dlich f.r das deutsche Volk?, Berlin, Adolf Brand, Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, 1925, 18 p. Johannes WERTHAUER, 175, in Die Weltb.hne, 5 October 1926, n 40, p.525-526. Wissenschaftlich-humanit.res Komitee, in Die Weltb.hne, 14 f.vrier 1933, n 7, p.253. c) Party literature Eug.ne ARMAND, L Homosexualit., l Onanisme et les Individualistes, Paris, .ditions d e l En-dehors, 1931, 32 p. Eug.ne ARMAND, G.rard de LACAZE-DUTHIERS and Abel L.GER, Des pr.jug.s en mati.re sexuelle, Paris, .ditions de l En-dehors, 1931, 32 p. Eug.ne ARMAND, Vera LIVINSKA and C. de ST H.L.NE, La Camaraderie amoureuse, Paris, .ditions de l En-dehors, 1930, 32 p. Burghard ASSMUS, Klosterleben, Enth.llungen .ber die Sittenverderbnis in den Kl.stern, Berlin, A. Bock Verlag, 1937, 102 p. Curt BONDY, Die Proletarische Jugendbewegung in Deutschland, Lauenburg, Adolf Sa al Verlag, 1922, 152 p. Carl Christian BRY, Verkappte Religionen, Kritik des kollektiven Wahns [1924], M unich, Ehrenwirth Verlag, 1979, 253 p. Karl August ECKHARDT, Widernat.rliche Unzucht ist todesw.rdig, schwarze Korps, 22 June 1935, p.13. in Das

Friedrich ENGELS, L Origine de la famille, de la propri.t. priv.e et de l .tat [1884 ], Paris, .ditions sociales, 1971, 364 p. Felix HALLE, Die Reform des Sexualstrafrechts und das Proletariat, in Die Internat

ionale, 1 November 1926, p.666-668. Institut zum Studium der Judenfrage (dir.), Die Juden in Deutschland, Munich, Ve rlag Franz Eher Nachf., 1936, 416 p. Rudolf KLARE, Homosexualit.t und Strafrecht, Hamburg, Hanseatische Verlagsanstal t, 1937, 172 p. , Die Bek.mpfung der Homosexualit.t in der deutschen Rechtsgeschichte in Deutsches Recht, 15 July 1937, cahiers 13/14, p.281-285. Alexandra KOLLONTAI, Marxisme et r.volution sexuelle, Paris, Maspero, 1973, 286 p. Livre brun sur l incendie du Reichstag et la terreur hitl.rienne [1933], Paris, Tr istan Mage .ditions, 1992, 2 vol. Klaus MANN, Homosexualit.t und Faschismus [1934-1935], in Heute und morgen. Schriften zur Zeit, Munich, Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung, 1969, 364 p. 438

Annotated Bibliography Wilhelm REICH, La Lutte sexuelle des jeunes [1932], Paris, Maspero, 1972, 148 p. ,La Psychologie de masse du fascisme [1933], Paris, Payot, coll. Petite bibl. Payo t, 1972, 341 p. ,La R.volution sexuelle [1936], Paris, Christian Bourgois .diteur, 1982, 340 p. Alfred ROSENBERG, Le Mythe du xxe si.cle [1930], Paris, .ditions Avalon, 1986, 6 89 p. ,Der Sumpf, Querschnitte durch das Geistes- Leben der November-Demokratie, Munich, Verlag Franz Eher Nachf., 1930, 237 p. Lothar Gottlieb TIRALA, Rasse, Geist und Seele, Munich, J.F. Lehmann Verlag, 193 5, 256 p. Ignaz WROBEL (pseudonym of Kurt TUCHOLSKY), R.hm, in Die Weltb.hne, 26 April 1932, n 17, p.798-799. d) Public schools, youth movements Hans BL.HER, Die deutsche Wandervogelbewegung als erotisches Ph.nomen [1914], Frankfurt-am-Main, Verlag Frankfurt am Main, 1976, 190 p. ,Die Rolle der Erotik in der m.nnlichen Gesellschaft, Iena, Eugen Diederichs, 191 9, 2 vol., 248 and 224 p. ,Der Charakter der Jugendbewegung, Lauenburg, Adolf Saal Verlag, 1921, 56 p. Richard COMYNS CARR (ed.), Red Rags, Essays of Hate from Oxford, London, Chapman & Hall, 1933, 291 p. P.H. CRAWFURTH SMITH, Oxford in the Melting-Pot, London, The White Owl Press, 1932, 24 p. Terence GREENIDGE, Degenerate Oxford?, London, Chapman & Hall, 1930, 245 p. T.E. HARRISSON, Letter to Oxford, Reynold Bray, The Hate Press, 1933, 98 p. Lucien MIALARE, La Criminalit. juv.nile, Paris, Les Presses modernes, 1926, 254 p. Hans MUSER, Homosexualit.t und Jugendf.rsorge, Paderborn, Verlag Ferdinand Sch.ningh, 1933, 184 p. Siegfried STURM, Das Wesen der Jugend und ihre Stellung zu Bl.her und Plenge zu Sexualtheorie und Psychoanalyse, Wurzbourg, Hannes Wadenklee, 1921, 20 p. Edward THOMAS, Oxford, London, Black A. & C. Black, 1932, 265 p. Alec WAUGH, Public-School Life. Boys, Parents, Masters, London, Collins Sons & C o, 1922, 271 p. Gustav WYNEKEN, Die neue Jugend, ihr Kampf um Freiheit und Wahrheit in Schule und Elternhaus, in Religion und Erotik, Munich, Steinicke Verlag, 1914, 6 0 p. ,Revolution und Schule, Leipzig, Klinkhardt Verlag, 1921, 74 p. ,Wickersdorf, Lauenburg, Adolf Saal Verlag, 1922, 152 p. ,Eros, Lauenburg, Adolf Saal Verlag, 1924, 72 p. Kurt ZEIDLER, Vom erziehenden Eros, Lauenburg, Freideutscher Jugendverlag Adolf

Saal, 1919, 39 p. e) Essays, pamphlets, manifestos Egan BERESFORD, The Sink of Solitude, London, The Herness Press, 1928, no page numbers. Paul BUREAU, L Indiscipline des moeurs, Paris, Librairie Bloud & Gay, 1920, 608 p. GEORGES-ANQUETIL, Satan conduit le bal [1925], Paris, Agence parisienne de distr i bution, 1948, 536 p. Andr. GIDE, Corydon [1924], Paris, Gallimard, 1991, 149 p. 439

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II ,Retour de l URSS, Paris, Gallimard, 1936, 125 p. Pierre LI.VRE, Andr. Gide, in Le Divan, July-August 1927.

Thomas MANN, Sur le mariage [1925], bilingual edition, Paris, Aubier-Flammarion, 1970, 191 p. Fran.ois NAZIER, L Anti-Corydon, essai sur l inversion sexuelle, Paris, .ditions du Si.cle, 1924, 126 p. Ernst Erich NOTH, La Trag.die de la jeunesse allemande, Paris, Grasset, 1934, 26 1 p. Fran.ois PORCH., L Amour qui n ose pas dire son nom, Paris, Grasset, 1927, 242 p. WILLY, Le Troisi.me Sexe, Paris, Paris-.dition, 1927, 268 p. f) Feminism and lesbianism E.F.W. EBERHARD, Die Frauenemanzipation und ihre erotischen Grundlagen, ViennaLeipzig, Wilhelm Braum.ller, 1924, 915 p. J.M. HOTEP, Love and Happiness, Intimate Problems of the Modern Woman, London, Heinemann, 1938, 235 p. Laura HUTTON, The Single Woman and Her Emotional Problems, London, Tindall & Cox , 1937, 173 p. Mathilde von KEMNITZ, Erotische Wiedergeburt, Munich, Verlag von Ernst Reinhardt , 1919, 212 p. RACHILDE, Pourquoi je ne suis pas f.ministe, Paris, .ditions de France, 1928, 87 p. Alice RILKE, Die Homosexualit.t der Frau und die Frauenbewegung, in Deutsches

Recht, 15 f.vrier 1939, vol. 3/4, p.65-68. Ruth Margarite R.LLIG, Les Lesbiennes de Berlin [1928], Lille, Cahiers Gai-Kitsc hCamp, 1992, 140 p. Anton SCH.CKER, Zur Psychopathologie der Frauenbewegung, Leipzig, Verlag von Cur t Kabitzsch, 1931, 51 p. Clara ZETKIN, Batailles pour les femmes, Paris, .ditions sociales, 1980, 444 p. g) Others ANOMALY (pseudonyme), The Invert and His Social Adjustment, London, Baillein, 19 27, 159 p. Archives du surr.alisme, Recherches sur la sexualit., January 1928-August 1932, Paris, Gallimard, 1990, 212 p. Association for Moral and Social Hygiene, The State and Sexual Morality, London,

Allen & Unwin, 1920, 78 p. Floyd BELL, Love in the Machine Age, London, Routledge & Sons, 1930, 428 p. Paul BROHMER, Biologie-Unterricht und v.lkische Erziehung, Frankfurt-am-Main, Ve rlag Moritz Diesterweg, 1933, 84 p. Fran.ois CARLIER, La Prostitution antiphysique [1887], Paris, Le Sycomore, 1981, 250 p. Albert CHAPOTIN, Les D.faitistes de l amour, Paris, Le Livre pour tous, 1927, 510 p. Louis EST.VE, L .nigme de l androgyne, Paris, Les .ditions du monde moderne, 1927, 161 p. Theodore de FELICE, Le Protestantisme et la Question sexuelle, Paris, Librairie Fischbacher, 1930, 80 p. Remy de GOURMONT, Physique de l amour [1903], Paris, Les .ditions 1900, 1989, 236 p. 440

Annotated Bibliography Alexandre PARENT-DUCH.TELET, La Prostitution . Paris au xixe si.cle [1836], coll ected and annotated by Alain Corbin, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, 1981, 217 p. Siegfried PLACZEK, Freundschaft und Sexualit.t, Berlin-Cologne, A. Marcus und E. Weber s Verlag, 1927, 186 p. Paul PROVENT, La Criminalit. militaire en temps de paix, Paris, Marchal et Billa rd, 1926, 340 p. Heinz SCHMEIDLER, Sittengeschichte von heute, die Krisis der Sexualit.t, Dresde, Carl Reissner Verlag, 1932, 372 p. Camille SPIESS, P.d.rastie et homosexualit., Paris, Daragon, 1917, 68 p. ,L Inversion sexuelle, Paris, .ditions de l En-dehors, 1930, 5 p. ,.ros ou l Histoire physiologique de l homme, Paris, .ditions de l Athanor, 1932, 280 p . H.E. TIMERDING, Sexualethik, Leipzig, B.G. Teubner, 1919, 120 p. Hans von TRESCHKOW, Von F.rsten und anderen Sterblichen, Erinnerungen, Berlin, Fontane, 1922, 240 p. Harvey WICKAM, The Impuritans, London, Allen & Unwin, 1929, 296 p. 7 Fiction, novels, collections of poetry W.H. AUDEN, Collected Shorter Poems, 1927-1957, London, Faber & Faber, 1966, 351 p. Djuna BARNES, L Almanach des dames [1928], Paris, Flammarion, 1972, 165 p. Natalie BARNEY, Aventures de l esprit [1929], Paris, Persona, 1982, 215 p. ,Nouvelles pens.es de l Amazone, Paris, Mercure de France, 1939, 215 p. Vicky BAUM, Shanghai H.tel [1939], Paris, Ph.bus, 1997, 669 p. Andr. BEAUNIER, La Folle Jeune Fille, Paris, Flammarion, 1922, 282 p. Pierre BENO.T, Monsieur de la Fert., Paris, Albin Michel, 1934, 314 p. E.F. BENSON, Snobs, Paris, Salvy, 1994, 217 p. Gustave BINET-VALMER, Lucien, Paris, Flammarion, 1921, 283 p. ,Sur le sable couch.es, Paris, Flammarion, 1929, 246 p. Andr. BIRABEAU, La D.bauche, Paris, Flammarion, 1924, 246 p. .douard BOURDET, La Prisonni.re, com.die en trois actes (first staged on 6 March 1926 at the F.mina), Paris, Les OEuvres libres, 1926, 116 p. Joseph BREITBACH, Rival et rivale [Die Wandlung der Suzanne Dasseldorf], Paris, Gal limard, 1935, 389 p. Andr. BRETON, Nadja [1928], Paris, Gallimard, coll. Folio, 1982, 190 p. Arnold BRONNEN, Septembernovelle [1923], Stuttgart, Klett-Cotta, 1989, 65 p. Rupert BROOKE, The Poetical Works, London, Faber & Faber, 1990, 216 p. Ferdinand BRUCKNER, Le Mal de la jeunesse [1925], Amiot-Lenganey, 1993, 108 p. Francis CARCO, J.sus-la-caille, Paris, Mercure de France, 1914, 250 p. CHARLES-.TIENNE, Notre-Dame-de-Lesbos, Paris, Librairie des Lettres, 1919, 309 p . ,Les D.sexu.s, Paris, Curio, 1924, 267 p. ,Le Bal des folles, Paris, Curio, 1930, 255 p. CHARLES-.TIENNE and Albert NORTAL, Les Adolescents passionn.s, Paris, Curio, 192 8, 253 p.

Jean de CHERVEY, Amour inverti, Paris, Chaubard, 1907, 212 p. Jean COCTEAU, Le Livre blanc [1928], Paris, .ditions de Messine, 1983, 123 p. ,Les Enfants terribles [1929], Paris, Grasset, 1990, 130 p. COLETTE, Le Pur et l Impur [1932], Paris, Hachette, 1971, 189 p. ,OEuvres compl.tes, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 3 vol., 1984, 1986 , 1991. 441

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Ren. CREVEL, La Mort difficile, Paris, Simon Kra, 1926, 202 p. ,Mon corps et moi, Paris, .ditions du Sagittaire, 1926, 204 p. Clemence DANE (pseud. Winifred ASHTON), Regiment of Women [1917], London, Greenwood Press, 1978, 345 p. Lucien DAUDET, Le Chemin mort, Paris, Flammarion, 1908, 382 p. Henri DEBERLY, Un homme et un autre, Paris, Gallimard, 1928, 220 p. Lucie DELARUE-MARDRUS, L Ange et les Pervers, Paris, Le Livre moderne illustr., 19 30, 159 p. Robert DESNOS, La Libert. ou l Amour! [1924], Paris, Gallimard, 1962, 160 p. Jean DESTHIEUX, Figures m.diterran.ennes: 135 p. Alfred D.BLIN, L Empoisonnement [Die beiden Freundinnen und ihr Giftmord, 1924], Arles, Actes Sud, 1988, 108 p. Andr. du DOGNON, Les Amours buissonni.res, Paris, .ditions du Scorpion, 1948, 28 6 p. Ren. .TIEMBLE, L Enfant de choeur, Paris, Gallimard, 1937, 251 p. E.M. FORSTER, Maurice [written in 1914], Paris, Christian Bourgois, 1987, 279 p. ,Un instant d .ternit. et autres nouvelles [The Life to Come, and Other Stories, 1972], Paris, Christian Bourgois .diteur, 1988, 306 p. Michel GEORGES-MICHEL, Dans la f.te de Venise, Paris, Fayard, 1923, 256 p. Andr. GIDE, L Immoraliste [1902], Paris, Gallimard, coll. Folio, ,Les Nourritures terrestres [1917], Paris, Gallimard, coll. ,Les Faux-Monnayeurs, Paris, Gallimard, 1926, 499 p. Ernst GL.SER, Classe 22, Paris, V. Attinger, 1929, 317 p. Ivan GOLL, Sodome et Berlin, Paris, .mile-Paul fr.res, 1929, 250 p. Julien GREEN, OEuvres compl.tes, Paris, Gallimard, coll. l. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 7 vo 1996, 182 p. 1997, 246 p. Femmes damn.es, Paris-Gap, Ophrys, 1937,

Folio,

Daniel GU.RIN, La Vie selon la chair, Paris, Albin Michel, 1929, 281 p. Am.d.e GUIARD, Antone Ramon, Paris, J. Duvivier, 1914, 390 p. James HANLEY, The German Prisoner, London, .d. part., 1930, 36 p. Max-Ren. HESSE, Partenau, Paris, Albin Michel, 1930, 323 p.

Christopher ISHERWOOD, Mr Norris Changes Train [1935], London, Chatto & Windus, 1984, 190 p , Adieu . Berlin [Goodbye to Berlin, 1939], Paris, Hachette, 1980, 288 p. , Down there on a Visit, London, Methuen, 1962, 271 p. Hans Henny JAHNN, Perrudja [1929], Paris, Jos. Corti, 1995, 802 p. Marcel JOUHANDEAU, De l abjection, Paris, Gallimard, 1939, 156 p. ,M.morial IV. Apprentis et gar.ons, Paris, Gallimard, 1953, 161 p. Eric K.STNER, Fabian, Paris, Balland, 1931, 308 p. Jacques de LACRETELLE, La Bonifas [1925], Paris, Gallimard, 1979, 338 p. D.H. LAWRENCE, Le Paon blanc [1911], Paris, Calmann-L.vy, 1983, 413 p. ,Women in Love [1921], London, Penguin, 1960, 541 p. ,Kangourou [1923], Paris, Gallimard, 1996, 668 p. T.E. LAWRENCE, Les Sept Piliers de la sagesse [1926], Paris, Payot, 1989, 820 p. Rosamund LEHMANN, Dusty Answer [1927], London, Collins, 1978, 355 p. Wyndham LEWIS, The Apes of God [1930], London, Penguin, 1965, 650 p. Compton MACKENZIE, Vestal Fire [1927], London, The Hogarth Press, 1986, 420 p. ,Extraordinary Women [1928], London, The Hogarth Press, 1986, 392 p. Klaus MANN, La Danse pieuse [1925], Paris, Grasset, 1993, 272 p. 442

Annotated Bibliography ,Le Tournant [1949], Paris, Solin, 1984, 690 p. Thomas MANN, Tonio Kr.ger [1903], Paris, Stock, 1923, 124 p. ,La Mort . Venise [1912], Paris, Fayard, 1971, 189 p. ,La Montagne magique [1924], Paris, Le Livre de poche, 1977, 2 vol., 509 p. Victor MARGUERITTE, La Gar.onne [1922], Paris, Flammarion, 1978, 269 p. Roger MARTIN DU GARD, Le Cahier gris, in OEuvres compl.tes, Paris, Gallimard, co ll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1981, t.I, 1 403 p. ,Un taciturne, in OEuvres compl.tes, ibid., 1983, t.II, 1 432 p. Henry MARX, Ryls, un amour hors la loi, Paris, Ollendorff, 1923, 252 p. M.NALKAS (pseud. Suzanne de CALLIAS), Erna, jeune fille de Berlin, Paris, .ditio ns des Portiques, 1932, 254 p. Francis de MIOMANDRE, Ces Petits Messieurs, Paris, .mile-Paul fr.res, 1922, 258 p. Henry de MONTHERLANT, Les Gar.ons, Paris, Gallimard, 1973, 549 p. Robert MUSIL, Les D.sarrois de l .l.ve T.rless [1906], Paris, .ditions du Seuil, 1 960, 250 p. Beverley NICHOLS, Patchwork, London, Chatto & Windus, 1921, 305 p. OLIVIA (pseud. Dorothy BUSSY), Olivia, Paris, Stock, 1949, 148 p. Wilfred OWEN, The Poems of Wilfred Owen, ed. by Jon Stallworthy, London, The Hogarth Press, 1985, 200 p. Fortun. PAILLOT, Amant ou ma.tresse, ou l androgyne perplexe, Paris, Flammarion, 1 922, 283 p. Liane de POUGY, Idylle saphique [1901], Paris, Latt.s, 1979, 272 p. Marcel PROUST, A la recherche du temps perdu, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 4 vol., 1987-1989. Adela QUEBEC (pseudonyme), The Girls of Radclyffe Hall, r

printed for the author fo

private circulation only, London, 1935, 100 p. RADCLYFFE HALL, The Well of Loneliness [1928], London, Virago Press, 1982, 447 p . Ernest RAYMOND, Tell England: A Study in a Generation, London, Cassell & Cie, 19 22, 320 p. Paul REBOUX, Le Jeune Amant, Paris, Flammarion, 1928, 289 p. Charles-No.l RENARD, Les Androphobes, Saint-.tienne, Impr. sp.ciale d .dition, 193 0, 324 p. Maurice ROSTAND, La Femme qui .tait en lui, Paris, Flammarion, 1937, 127 p. Alain ROX, Tu seras seul, Paris, Flammarion, 1936, 403 p. Naomi ROYDE-SMITH, The Tortoiseshell Cat, London, Constable, 1925, 310 p. ,The Island, A Love Story, London, Constable, 1930, 328 p. Maurice SACHS, Alias [1935], Paris, .ditions d Aujourd hui, 1976, 220 p.

,Le Sabbat [written in1939, published in1946], Paris, Gallimard, 1960, 298 p. Vita SACKVILLE-WEST, Ceux des .les [1924], Paris, Salvy, 1994, 360 p. SAGITTA (J.H. MACKAY), Der Puppenjunge [1926], Berlin, Verlag E.C.H., 1975, 367 p. Ernst von SALOMON, Les R.prouv.s [1930], Paris, Plon, 1986, 378 p. ,Les Cadets [1933], Paris, Correa, 1953, 277 p. Siegfried SASSOON, Collected Poems, 1908-1956, London, Faber & Faber, 1984, 317 p. Dorothy SAYERS, L autopsie n a rien donn. [Unnatural Death, 1927], Paris-London, Morgan, 1947, 253 p. Stephen SPENDER, Le Temple [The Temple, 1929], Paris, Christian Bourgois, 1989, 310 p. Violet TREFUSIS, Broderie anglaise [1935], Paris, UGE, coll. 10/18, 1986, 185 p. 443

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Bruno VOGEL, Alf, Berlin, Gilde freiheitlicher B.cherfreunde, 1929, 349 p. Alec WAUGH, Pleasure, London, Grant Richards Ltd, 1921, 320 p. Evelyn WAUGH, Retour . Brideshead [Brideshead Revisited, 1947], Paris, UGE, coll . 10/ 18, 1991, 429 p. ,Ces corps vils, Paris, UGE, coll. 10/18, 1991, 245 p.

A.E. WEIRAUCH, Der Skorpion, Berlin, Crest Book, 1964, 192 p. WILLY et M.NALKAS, L Ersatz d amour, Amiens, Librairie Edgar Malf.re, 1923, 206 p. ,Le Naufrag., Amiens, Librairie Edgar Malf.re, 1924, 181 p. Christa WINSLOE, Manuela ou Jeunes filles en uniformes, Paris, Stock, 1934, 253 p. Virginia WOOLF, Mrs Dalloway [1923], Paris, Stock, 1988, 220 p. ,Orlando [1928], Paris, Stock, 1974, 351 p. Francis Brett YOUNG, White Ladies, London, Heinemann, 1965, 693 p. Marguerite YOURCENAR, Alexis ou le Trait. du vain combat [1929], Paris, Gallimar d, 1971, 248 p. ,Le Coup de gr.ce [1939], Paris, Gallimard, 1971, 248 p. Stefan ZWEIG, La Confusion des sentiments [1926], Paris, Le Livre de poche, 1991 , 127 p. C. Testimonies 1 Memoirs, autobiographies, personal journals, interviews J.R. ACKERLEY, My Father and Myself [1968], London, Penguin, 1971, 192 p. Valentine ACKLAND, For Sylvia: An Honest Account, London, Chatto & Windus, 1985, 135 p. Harold ACTON, Memoirs of an Aesthete [1948], London, Hamish Hamilton, 1984, 416 p. Noel ANNAN, Our Age: English Intellectuals between the Wars: A Group Portrait, New York, Random House, 1991, 479 p. Natalie BARNEY, Souvenirs indiscrets, Paris, Flammarion, 1960, 234 p. Simone de BEAUVOIR, M.moires d une jeune fille rang.e [1958], Paris, Gallimard, 19 95, 503 p. Claude CAHUN, Aveux non avenus, Paris, .ditions du Carrefour, 1930, 238 p. Jean COCTEAU, Portraits-Souvenir 1900-1914, Paris, Grasset, 1935, 253 p. Quentin CRISP, The Naked Civil-Servant [1968], London, Fontana, 1986, 217 p. Pierre DRIEU LA ROCHELLE, Journal 1939-1945, Paris, Gallimard, coll. T.moins, 1992, 519 p.Andr. GIDE, Journal, 1887-1925, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la P l.iade, 1996, 1 840 p. , Journal, 1889-1939, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Bibl. de la Pl.iade, 1951, 1374 p.

,Si le grain ne meurt [1926], Paris, Gallimard, coll.

Folio, 1986, 372 p.

Daniel GU.RIN, Autobiographie de jeunesse, Paris, Belfond, 1972, 248 p. ,Le Feu du sang: autobiographie politique et charnelle, Paris, Grasset, 1977, 286 p. Cecily HAMILTON, Life Errant, London, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1935, 300 p. Heinz HEGER, Les Hommes au triangle rose. Journal d un d.port. homosexuel, 1939-1945, Paris, .ditions Persona, 1981, 160 p. Christopher ISHERWOOD, Christopher and His Kind [1929-1939], London, Methuen, 1977, 252 p. ,Lions and Shadows [1938], London, Methuen, 1985, 191 p. Marcel JOUHANDEAU, Chronique d une passion [1949], Paris, Gallimard, 1964, 223 p. Violette LEDUC, L Affam.e, Paris, Gallimard, 1948, 197 p. 444

Annotated Bibliography ,La B.tarde, Paris, Gallimard, 1964, 462 p. Ella MAILLART, La Voie cruelle [1947], Paris, France Loisirs, 1987, 369 p. Golo MANN, Une jeunesse allemande, Paris, Presses de la Renaissance, 1988, 412 p . Klaus MANN, Kind dieser Zeit [1938], Munich, Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung, 1965, 264 p. ,Journal. Les ann.es brunes, 1931-1936, Paris, Grasset, 1996, 452 p. Robin MAUGHAM, Escape from the Shadows [1940], London, Cardinal, 1991, 472 p. Walter MUSCHG, Entretiens avec Hans Henny Jahnn, Paris, Jos. Corti, 1995, 203 p. Suzanne NEILD and Rosalind PARSON, Women Like Us, London, The Women s Press, 1992, 171 p. Nigel NICOLSON, Portrait d un mariage [1973], Paris, Stock, 1992, 319 p. Ernst Erich NOTH, M.moires d un Allemand, Paris, Julliard, 1970, 506 p. Dennis PROCTOR (ed.), The Autobiography of G. Lowes Dickinson, London, Duckworth , 1973, 287 p. Francis ROSE (Sir), Saying Life, London, Cassell & Cie, 1961, 416 p. Maurice SACHS, Au temps du Boeuf sur le toit [1939], Paris, Grasset, 1987, 235 p.

Annemarie SCHWARZENBACH, La Mort en Perse [written in1935], Paris, Payot, 1997, 161 p. Pierre SEEL, Moi Pierre Seel, d.port. homosexuel, Paris, Calmann-L.vy, 1994, 198 p. Nicolaus SOMBART, Chroniques d une jeunesse berlinoise, 1933-1943, Paris, Quai Vol taire, 1992, 369 p. Stephen SPENDER, World within World [1951], London, Faber & Faber, 1991, 344 p. Charlotte WOLFF, Hindsight, London, Quartet Books, 1980, 312 p. Virginia WOOLF, Instants de vie [1976], Paris, Stock, 1986, 273 p. T.C. WORSLEY, Flannelled Fool. A Slice of Life in the Thirties, London, Alan Ros s, 1967, 213 p. Marguerite YOURCENAR, Quoi? L .ternit., Paris, Gallimard, 1988, 340 p. 2 Correspondence Cyril CONNOLLY, A Romantic Friendship, The Letters of Cyril Connolly to Noel Blakiston, London, Constable, 1975, 365 p.

Correspondance Andr. Gide/Dorothy Bussy, Jan. 1925-Nov.1936, Paris, Gallimard, Cahiers Andr. Gide, 1981, t.II, 650 p. Klaus MANN, Briefe und Antworten, vol.1, 1922-1937, Munich, Spangenberg, 1975, 405 p. Donald MITCHELL and Philip REED (ed.), Letters from a Life, Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten, vol.1, 1923-1939, vol.2, 1939-1945, London, Faber & Faber, 1991, 619 and 1 403 p. Louise de SALVO and Mitchell A. LEASKA (ed.), The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, London, Hutchinson, 1984, 473 p. Violet TREFUSIS, Lettres . Vita, 1910-1921, Paris, Stock, 1991, 509 p. Virginia WOOLF, Paper Darts, The Illustrated Letters, London, Collins, 1991, 160 p. 3 Oral testimonies The following works are based on oral testimony given by gays and lesbians who lived during the period under discussion. 445

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Gay Men s Oral History Group, Walking after Midnight. Gay Men s Life Stories, Hall-C arpenter Archives, London, Routledge, 1989, 238 p. Joachim S. HOHMANN (ED.), Keine Zeit f.r gute Freunde, Homosexuelle in Deutschla nd, 1933-1969, Berlin, Foerster Verlag, 1982, 208 p. Lesbian Oral History Group, Inventing Ourselves. Lesbian Life Stories, Hall-Carp enter Archives, London, Routledge, 1989, 228 p. Kevin PORTER and Jeffrey WEEKS (ed.), Between the Acts. Lives of Homosexual Men, 18851967, London, Routledge, 1991, 153 p. SECONDARY SOURCES A. France, England and Germany in the Twenties and Thirties: reference works The following works provide the political, economic and social context in which the hisroty of homosexzuality evolved. Of course, there are thousands of books o nthe history of Germany, England and France during the 1920s and 1930s ; in a somewha t arbitraty manner I have selected a certain number of works that seemed indispensible in developing an understanding of the era, with a preference for synthetic works an d those research works that contribute to an understanding of the history of sexuality a nd public atitudes. 1 Epistemology A few works that indicate the value of a history of sexuality, of atitudes and behaviors. Guy BOURDE and Herv. MARTIN, Les .coles historiques, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, c oll. Points histoire ,1989, 413 p. Alain BOUREAU, Propositions pour une histoire restreinte des mentalit.s, Annales ESC, November-December 1989. Maurice HALBWACHS, La M.moire collective, Paris, PUF, 1950, 170 p. Pierre LABORIE, De l opinion publique . l imaginaire social, April-June 1988. in XXe si.cle, n 18, in

Jacques LE GOFF (dir), La Nouvelle Histoire, Bruxelles, Complexe, 1988, 334 p. Bernard LEPETIT, Les Formes de l exp.rience, une autre histoire sociale, Paris, Al bin Michel, 1995, 337 p. Denis PESCHANSKI, Michael POLLACK and Henri ROUSSO, Histoire politique and scien ces

sociales, Bruxelles, Complexe, 1991, 285 p. 2 History of sexuality These were groundbreaking works in the history of sexuality and which provide a broader context within which to consider the history of homosexuality in the bet weenwar era. These works also suggest new angles to be researched and suggest an app roach to the endeavor. 446

Annotated Bibliography Amour et sexualit. en Occident, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. 991, 335 p. Points histoire, 1

Alain CORBIN, Les Filles de noce. Mis.re sexuelle et prostitution au xixe si.cle , Paris, Flammarion, 1978, 496 p. Jean-Louis FLANDRIN, L .glise et le Contr.le des naissances, Paris, Flammarion, 19 70, 133 p. ,Le Sexe et l Occident, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. Points histoire, 1981, 375 p.

,Familles, parent., maison, sexualit. dans l ancienne soci.t., Paris, .ditions du S euil, coll. Points histoire, 1984, 332 p. ,Les Amours paysannes, XVIe-xixe si.cle, Paris, Gallimard, 1993, 334 p. Michel FOUCAULT, Histoire de la sexualit., t.I, La Volont. de savoir, Paris, Gal limard, 1976, 211 p. Philippe PERROT, Le Corps f.minin, xviiie-xixe si.cle, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. Points histoire, 1984, 279 p. Anne-Marie SOHN, Du premier baiser . l alc.ve, la sexualit. des Fran.ais au quotid ien (1850-1950), Paris, Aubier, 1996, 310 p. 3 Politics

Fabrice ABBAD, La France des ann.es vingt, Paris, Armand Colin, 1993, 190 p. L Allemagne de Hitler, 1933-1945, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. Points histoire, 991, 420 p. Jean-Pierre AZ.MA and Michel WINOCK, La Troisi.me R.publique, Paris, CalmannL.vy, 1976, 520 p. Hannah ARENDT, Les Origines du totalitarisme, t.III, Le Syst.me totalitaire, Par is, .ditions du Seuil, coll. Points politique, 1972, 313 p. Pierre AYCOBERRY, La Question nazie, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. ire, 1979, 314 p. Points histo 1

Jean-Jacques BECKER, La France en guerre (1914-1918), Bruxelles, Complexe, 1988, 221 p. Jean-Jacques BECKER and Serge BERSTEIN, Victoire et frustrations, 1914-1929, Par

is, .ditions du Seuil, coll.

Points histoire, 1990, 455 p.

Serge BERSTEIN, La France des ann.es trente, Paris, Armand Colin, 1993, 186 p. Serge BERSTEIN and Pierre MILZA, Histoire du xxe si.cle, Paris, Hatier, 1987, t. I, 433 p. ,Histoire de l Europe, Paris, Hatier, 1992, t.V, 378 p. ,L Allemagne, 1870-1991, Paris, Masson, 1992, 278 p. Dominique BORNE and Henri DUBIEF, La Crise des ann.es trente, 1929-1938, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. Points histoire, 1989, 322 p. Martin BROSZAT, L .tat hitl.rien: l origine et l .volution des structures du IIIe Reich, Paris, Fayard, 1985. Jacques DROZ (dir.), Histoire g.n.rale du socialisme, t.III, 1919-1945, Paris, P UF, 1977, 714 p. Eugen KOGON, L .tat SS [1947], Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. , 445 p. Points histoire, 1993

Jean MAITRON, Le Mouvement anarchiste en France, t.II, De 1914 . nos jours, Pari s, Maspero, 1983, 435 p. Roland MARX, L Angleterre de 1914 . 1945, Paris, Armand Colin, 1993, 175 p. 447

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Fran.ois-Charles MOUGEL, Histoire du Royaume-Uni au xxe si.cle, Paris, PUF, 1996 , 600 p. Norman PAGE, The Thirties in Britain, London, Macmillan, 1990, 147 p. Detlev J.K. PEUKERT, La R.publique de Weimar, Paris, Aubier, 1995, 301 p. Ren. R.MOND, Notre si.cle, 1918-1988, Paris, Fayard, 1988, 1 012 p. Marlis STEINERT, Hitler, Paris, Fayard, 1991, 710 p. Rita THALMANN, La R.publique de Weimar, Paris, PUF, coll. Que sais-je?, 1986.

David THOMSON, England in the Twentieth Century, London, Penguin, 1981, 382 p. Jean TOUCHARD, Histoire des id.es politiques [1958], Paris, PUF, 1985, t.II, 865 p. 4 Society, economics, culture Ann.es trente en Europe: le temps mena.ant, 1929-1939, catalogue from the 20 Feb ruary25 May 1997 exposition, Paris, Paris Mus.es, 571 p. Andr. ARMENGAUD, La Population fran.aise au xxe si.cle [1965], Paris, PUF, 1992, 127 p. Jean-Pierre AZ.MA, De Munich . la Lib.ration, Paris, .ditions du Seuil, coll. Poi nts histoire, 1979, 412 p. St.phane AUDOIN-ROUZEAU, 14-18, les combattants des tranch.es, Paris, Armand Col in, 1986, 223 p. Christine BARD, Les Filles de Marianne. Histoire des f.minismes en France, 19141940, Paris, Fayard, 1995, 528 p. Olivier BARROT and Pascal ORY (dir.), Entre-deux-guerres, Paris, Fran.ois Bourin , 1990, 631 p. Jean-Jacques BECKER and St.phane AUDOIN-ROUZEAU, Les Soci.t.s europ.ennes and la Guerre de 1914-1918, Nanterre, Publications de l universit. de Nanterre, 1990, 495 p. Fran.ois B.DARIDA, La Soci.t. anglaise du milieu du xixe si.cle . nos jours, Par is, .ditions du Seuil, coll. Points histoire, 1990, 540 p. Hans Peter BLEUEL, La Morale des seigneurs, Paris, Tallandier, 1974, 247 p. Renate BRIDENTHAL, Atina GROSSMANN and Marion KAPLAN, When Biology Became Destiny, Women in Weimar and Nazi Germany, New York, Monthly Review Press, 1984,

364 p. Renate BRIDENTHAL, Claudia KOONZ and Susan STUARD, Becoming Visible, Women in European History, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Cie, 1987, 579 p. Asa BRIGGS, A Social History of England, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, nouvelle .d., 1994, 348 p. Claude CAHUN, Photographie, exhibition catalogue from the 23 June-17 September 1995 show, Paris, Paris Mus.es, 169 p. Jean-Louis CR.MIEUX-BRILHAC, Les Fran.ais de l an quarante, Paris, Gallimard, 1990 , 2 vol., 647 and 740 p. Dominique DESANTI, La Femme au temps des ann.es folles, Paris, Stock, 1984, 373 p. Yvonne DESLANDRES and Florence MULLER, Histoire de la mode au xxe si.cle, Paris, Somogy, 1986, 404 p. Georges DUBY and Michelle PERROT (dir.), Histoire des femmes en Occident, Paris, Plon, 1992, t.V, 647 p. Modnis EKSTEINS, Le Sacre du Printemps, ernit., Paris, Plon, 1989, 424 p. la Grande Guerre et la Naissance de la mod

Andr. ENCREV., Les Protestants en France de 1800 . nos jours, Paris, Stock, 1985 , 276 p. Norbert FREI, L .tat hitl.rien and la Soci.t. allemande, 1933-1945, Paris, .dition s du Seuil, 1994, 369 p. 448

Annotated Bibliography Paul FUSSELL, The Great War and Modern Memory, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1975, 363 p. Peter GAY, Le Suicide d une r.publique, Weimar 1918-1933, Paris, Gallimard, 1993, 268 p. Richard GRUNBERGER, A Social History of the Third Reich, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1971, 535 p. Pierre GUILLAUME, M.decins, .glise et foi, Paris, Aubier, 1990, 267 p. Guerres et cultures (1914-1918), a collective work, Paris, Armand Colin, 1994, 4 45 p. Samuel HYNES, A War Imagined, The First War World and English Culture, New York, Ath eneum, 1991, 514 p. Claudia KOONZ, Les M.res-patries du IIIe Reich, Paris, Lieu Commun, 1989, 553 p. Sergiusz MICHALSKI, Nouvelle objectivit., Cologne, Taschen, 1994, 219 p. Jean-Pierre NORDIER, Les D.buts de la psychanalyse en France, 1895-1926, Paris, Maspero, 1981, 274 p. Jean-Michel PALMIER, Weimar en exil, Paris, Payot, 1988, t.I and II, 533 and 486 p. Antoine PROST, Histoire de l enseignement en France, 1800-1967, Paris, Armand Coli n, 1968, 524 p. ,Les Anciens Combattants et la Soci.t. fran.aise, 1914-1939, Paris, Presses de la FNSP, 1977, 3 vol., 237, 261 and 268 p. Lionel RICHARD, La Vie quotidienne sous la R.publique de Weimar, Paris, Hachette , 1983, 322 p. Paul ROAZEN, La Saga freudienne, Paris, PUF, 1976, 474 p. Marcel SCHEIDHAUER, Le R.ve freudien en France, 1900-1926, Paris, Navarin, 1985, 227 p. Jean-Fran.ois SIRINELLI, G.n.ration intellectuelle, Paris, PUF, 1994, 720 p. Rita THALMANN, .tre femme sous le IIIe Reich, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1982. Fran.oise TH.BAUD, La Femme au temps de la guerre de 1914, Paris, Stock, 1986, 3 14 p. John WILLETT, L Esprit de Weimar. Avant-gardes et politique, 1917-1933, Paris, .di tions du Seuil, 1991, 287 p. Robert WOHL, The Generation of 1914, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1980, 307 p. Th.odore ZELDIN, Histoire des passions fran.aises, ambition et amour, 1845-1945, Paris, Payot, reprinted. 1994, 1 278 p. B. History of Homosexuality The history of homosexuality has only just begun; nonetheless, there is already a

plethora of bibliographic sources, mainly for the post-World War II period. Thes e works are of very uneven quality (some do not follow the norms of scholarly research, and some are too biased); I will indicate a few of those which I found most useful. I hav e also listed some of the better-known works, noting those I consider to be flawed). 1 Bibliographies There are many bibliographies on homosexuality, but rarely do they touch on the period anterior to the Second World War. The following titles may help guide fur ther research. Vern L. BULLOUGH, An Annotated Bibliography of Homosexuality, New York, Garland, 1976, 2 vol. 449

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Claude COUROUVE, Bibliographie des homosexualit.s, Paris, Nouvelles .ditions, 19 78, 27 p. Waynes R. DYNES, Homosexuality: A Research Guide, New York, Garland, 1987, 853 p . Manfred HERZER, Bibliographie zur Homosexualit.t, Berlin, Verlag Rosa Winkel, 19 82, 255 p. 2 General works These works are good background for a general approach to homosexual history between the wars. Most of them emphasize the homosexual movements. Barry D. ADAM, The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement, Boston, Twaynes Publisher s, 1987, 203 p. Jean BOISSON, Le Triangle rose. La d.portation des homosexuels (1933-1945), Pari s, Robert Laffont, 1988, 247 p. [. .viter, peu fiable; se rapporter . l historiographie alle mande]. Richard DAVENPORT-HINES, Sex, Death and Punishment, London, Fontana Press, 1990, 439 p. [tr.s utile]. Martin DUBERMAN, Martha VICINUS and George CHAUNCEY Jr (dir.), Hidden from History, London, Penguin Books, 1991, 579 p. [an especially valuable series of a rticles]. Waynes R. DYNES (dir.), Encyclopedia of Homosexuality, New York-London, Garland, 1990, vol.1 and 2, 1484 p. [the articles are for the mos part on homosexual figu res and the important dates in homosexual history; very useful]. Eldorado, homosexual Frauen und M.nner in Berlin, 1850-1950, Geschichte, Alltag und Kultur, Berlin, Fr.hlich und Kaufmann, 1984, 216 p. [catalogue from the expositi on on homosexuality under Weimar; indispensible]. G.nther GRAU (ed.), Hidden Holocaust? Gay and Lesbian Persecution in Germany, 19 331945, London, Cassell & Cie, 1995, 308 p., trans. from German: Homosexualit.t in der N S-Zeit: Dokumente einer Diskriminierung und Verfolgung, Frankfurt-am-Main, Fischer Tasch enbuch Verlag, 1993 [fundamental: collected from archives on the persecution of homosex uals in Nazi Germany]. Joachim S. HOHMANN, Der unterdr.ckte Sexus, Lollar, Achenbach, 1977, 627 p.

,Der heimliche Sexus, Frankfurt-am-Main, Foerster Verlag, 1979, 330 p. 100 Jahre Schwulenbewegung, Berlin, Schwules Museum, 1997, 384 p. Burckhard JELLONNEK, Homosexuelle unter dem Hakenkreuz, Paderborn, Sch.ningh, 1990, 354 p. [indispensible]. John LAURITSEN and David THORSTAD, The Early Homosexual Rights Movement (1864193 5), New York, Times Changes Press, 1974, 91 p. [un ouvrage pionnier]. R.diger LAUTMANN, Seminar: Gesellschaft und Homosexualit.t, Frankfurt-am-Main, Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, 1977, 570 p. [this is a fundamental work, much of which ha s been borrowed by later writers]. ,Terror und Hoffnung in Deutschland, 1933-1945, Reinbek, Rowohlt, 1980, 570 p. Salvatore J. LICATA and Robert P. PETERSEN, The Gay Past: A Collection of Histor ical Essays, New York, Harrington Park Press, 1985, 224 p. Neil MILLER, Out of the Past, Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present, London, Vintage, 1995, 657 p. [a synthetic work, with excerpts from period documents]. Harry OOSTERHUIS and Hubert KENNEDY (dir.), Homosexuality and Male Bonding in Pre-Nazi Germany, New York, The Haworth Press, 1991, 271 p. 450

Annotated Bibliography Richard PLANT, The Pink Triangle, New York, Holt & Cie, 1986, 257 p. [indispensi ble]. A.L. ROWSE, Les Homosexuels c.l.bres, Paris, Albin Michel, 1980, 310 p. [ouvrage tr.s connu and . .viter: anecdotique and complaisant]. Heinz-Dieter SCHILLING (dir.), Schwule und Faschismus, Berlin, Elefanten Presse, 1983, 174 p. [tr.s utile]. James D. STEAKLEY, The Homosexual Emancipation Movement in Germany, New York, Arno Press, 1975, 121 p. [a pioneering work that offersa solid approach to the q uestion]. Hans-Georg ST.MKE, Homosexuelle in Deutschland, eine politische Geschichte, Muni ch, Verlag C.H. Beck, 1989, 184 p. [very rich]. Hans-Georg ST.MKE and Rudi FINKLER, Rosa Winkel, Rosa Listen, Homosexuelle und gesundes Volksempfinden von Auschwitz bis heute, Reinbeck, Rowohlt, 1981, 512 p. Jeffrey WEEKS, Coming Out. Homosexual Politics in Britain from the 19th Century to the Present, London, Quartet Books, 1979, 278 p. [indispensible resource on homosexu ality in Great Britain]. ,Sex, Politics and Society, London, Longman, 1989, 325 p. [larger than the preced ing work but very useful]. 3 Homosexual and lesbian theory Simone de BEAUVOIR, Le Deuxi.me Sexe, Paris, France Loisirs, 1990, 1059 p. Evelyn BLACKWOOD, The Many Faces of Homosexuality, Anthropological Approaches to

Homosexual Behavior, New York, Harrington Park Press, 1986, 217 p. Vern L. BULLOUGH, Sin, Sickness and Sanity, New York, Garland, 1977, 276 p. Susan CAVIN, Lesbian Origins, San Francisco, Ism Press, 1989, 288 p. Susan FALUDI, Backlash, Paris, Des femmes, 1993, 743 p. Gay Left Collective (dir.), Homosexuality, Power and Politics, London, Allison & Busby, 1980, 223 p. David F. GREENBERG, The Construction of Homosexuality, Chicago, The University o f Chicago Press, 1988, 635 p. Daniel GU.RIN, Essai sur la r.volution sexuelle, Paris, Belfond, 1969, 247 p. ,Homosexualit. et r.volution, Paris, Utopie, coll. 1983, 66 p. Les Cahiers du vent du ch min,

Guy HOCQUENGHEM, Le D.sir homosexuel, Paris, .ditions universitaires, 1972, 125 p.

Sheila JEFFREYS, The Lesbian Heresy: A Feminist Perspective on the Lesbian Sexua l Revolution, New York, Spirifex Press, 1993, 262 p. Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group, Love your Enemy? The Debate between Feminist s and Political Lesbianism, Leeds, Only Feminist Press, 1981, 68 p. Kate MILLETT, La Politique du m.le, Paris, Stock, 1971, 463 p. Kenneth PLUMMER (dir.), The Making of the Modern Homosexual, London, Hutchinson, 1981, 380 p. [the best, it presents the different theses and conflicting perspec tives]. 4 Works on lesbians Marie-Jo BONNET, Les relations amoureuses entre les femmes du XVIe au xxe si.cle , Paris, Odile Jacob, 1995, 416 p. 451

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Claudine BRECOURT-VILLARS, Petit glossaire raisonn. de l .rotisme saphique, 1880-1 930, Paris, La Vue, 1980, 123 p. Terry CASTLE, The Apparitional Lesbian, Female Homosexuality and Male Culture, N ew York, Columbia University Press, 1993, 307 p. Lillian FADERMAN, Surpassing the Love of Men, New York, Morran & Cie, 1981, 496 p. [indispensible; une .tude novatrice]. Sheila JEFFREYS, The Spinster and Her Enemies: Feminism and Sexuality, 1880-1930 , London, Pandora, 1985, 282 p. [tr.s utile]. Ilse KOKULA, Weibliche Homosexualit.t um 1900 in zeitgen.ssischen Dokumenten, Be rlin, Frauenoffensive, 1981, 288 p. Lesbian History Group, Not a Passing Phase. Reclaiming Lesbians in History, 1840 -1985, London, The Women s Press, 1989, 264 p. [int.ressant]. Claudie LESSELIER, Aspects de l exp.rience lesbienne en France, 1930-1968, from th e postgraduate dept. of sociologie, Paris-VIII, under the direction of R. Castel, November 1987 , 148 p. [very useful on France]. Das Lila Wien um 1900, zur .sthetik der Homosexualit.ten, Vienna, Promedia, 1986 , 127 p. [a reference on decadent Vienna]. Jane RULE, Lesbian Images, New York, Doubleday & Cie, 1975, 246 p. Claudia SCHOPPMANN, Der Skorpion, Frauenliebe in der Weimarer Republik, Berlin, Fr.hlings Erwachen, 1984, 81 p. ,Nationalsozialistische Sexualpolitik und weibliche Homosexualit.t, Berlin, Centa urus, 1991, 286 p. [fondamental]. Kristine von SODEN and Maruta SCHMIDT (dir.), Neue Frauen, die zwanziger Jahre, Berlin, Elefanten Presse, 1988, 176 p. Eric TRUDGILL, Madonnas and Magdalens, London, Heinemann, 1976, 336 p. Catherine VAN CASSELAER, Lot s Wife, Lesbian Paris, 1890-1914, Liverpool, The Janu s Press, 1986, 176 p. 5 Specific works These works deal with an aspect of the situation of homosexuality in the between war period or shed light on certain points in the history of homosexuality.

Jean-Paul ARON and Roger KEMPF, Le P.nis et la D.moralisation de l Occident, Paris , Grasset, 1978, 306 p. Gilles BARBEDETTE and Michel CARASSOU, Paris gay 1925, Paris, Presses de la Rena issance, 1981, 312 p. [one of the few French works]. Hans Peter BLEUEL, Strength through Joy, Sex and Society in National-Socialist G ermany, London, Pan Books, 1973, 352 p. John BOSWELL, Christianisme, tol.rance sociale et homosexualit.. Les homosexuels en Europe occidentale des d.buts de l .re chr.tienne au XVIe si.cle, Paris, Gallimard, 1985, 521p. ,Les Unions du m.me sexe dans l Europe antique et m.di.vale, Paris, Fayard, 1996, 5 37 p. BRASSA., Le Paris secret des ann.es trente, Paris, Gallimard, 1976, 190 p. Vern L. BULLOUGH, Challenges to Societal Attitudes towards Homosexuality in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries, Social Science Quarterly, June 1977, vol.58, n 1, p.29-41. 452

Annotated Bibliography Peter COLEMAN, Christian Attitudes to Homosexuality, London, SPCK, 1980, 310 p. [a very useful synthesis on the Church s attitudetoward homosexuality]. Emmanuel COOPER, The Sexual Perspective: Homosexuality and Art in the Last 100 Y ears in the West, London, Routledge & Kegan, 1986, 324 p. [excellent]. Anthony COPLEY, Sexual Moralities in France, 1780-1980. New Ideas on Family, Div orce and Homosexuality, An Essay on Moral Change, London, Routledge, 1989, 283 p. [very r ich]. Claude COUROUVE, Les Homosexuels et les Autres, Paris, .ditions de l Athanor, 1977 , 155 p. ,Les Origines de la r.pression de l homosexualit., Paris, C. Courouve, coll. Archive s des homosexualit.s, 1978, 19 p. ,Vocabulaire de l homosexualit. masculine, Paris, Payot, 1985, 248 p. Jean DANET, Discours juridique et perversions sexuelles (xixe-xxe si.cle), Nante s, University of Nantes, 1977, vol.6, 105 p. [a remarkable work, indispensible for an understa nding of France s legal position on homosexuality]. W.U. EISSLER, Arbeiterparteien und Homosexuellenfrage zur Sexualpolitik von SPD und KPD in der Weimarer Republik, Berlin, Verlag Rosa Winkel, 1980, 142 p. [indispensibl e, on the atttitude of the German leftist parties toward homosexuality]. Thierry F.RAL, Nazisme et psychanalyse, Paris, La Pens.e universelle, 1987, 92 p . Hubert FICHTE, Homosexualit.t und Literatur, Frankfurt-am-Main, S. Fischer, 1987 1988, t.I et II, 502 et 359 p. [complexe]. Lain FINLAYSON, Gay Dress, in Gay News, n 60, p.19.

John GATHORNE-HARDY, The Public-School Phenomenon, 1597-1977, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1977, 478 p. [the best work on this question, and contains personal testimonies]. Ulfried GEUTER, Homosexualit.t in der deutschen Jugendbewegung, Frankfurt-am-Mai n, Suhrkamp, 1994, 373 p. Arthur N. GILBERT, Conception of Homosexuality and Sodomy in Western History, in Journal of Homosexuality, vol.6, nos 1-2, fall-winter 1980-1981. G.nther GOLLNER, Homosexualit.t, Ideologiekritik und Entmythologisierung einer Gesetzgebung, Berlin, Duncker und Humblot, 1974, 264 p. Heide G.TTNER-ABENDROTH, Das Matriarchat I, Stuttgart-Cologne-Berlin, Verlag W. Kohlhammer, 1989, 192 p.

Kurt HILLER, Against Injustice, in Gay News, n 98, p.15-16. Hans G.nther HOCKERTS, Die Sittlichkeitsprozesse gegen katholische Ordensangeh.r ige und Priester, 1936-1937, Mayence, Mathias Gr.newald Verlag, 1971, 224 p. [a good syn thesis on the Nazi trials against the Catholic Church]. Joachim S. HOHMANN, Sexualforschung und -aufkl.rung in der Weimarer Republik, Be rlin, Foerster Verlag, 1985, 300 p. [very useful]. Homosexualit.t und Wissenschaft, collective work, Berlin, Verlag Rosa Winkel, 19 92, 287 p. Ronald HYAM, Empire and Sexuality: The British Experience, Manchester, Mancheste r University Press, 1990, 234 p. H. Montgomery HYDE, A Tangled Web, Sex Scandals in British Politics and Society, London, Constable, 1986, 380 p. [anecdotique, . .viter]. James W. JONES, We of the Third Sex, Literary Representations of Homosexuality in Wilhelmin Germany, New York, Peter Lang, 1990, 346 p. Philippe JULLIAN, Montmartre, Bruxelles, S.quoia, 1979, 206 p. 453

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Friedrich KOCH, Sexuelle Denunziation, die Sexualit.t in der politischen Auseina ndersetzung, Frankfurt-am-Main, Syndikat, 1986, 223 p. Thomas KOEBNER, Rolf-Peter JANZ and Frank TROMMLER (dir.), Mit uns zieht die neue Zeit. Der Mythos Jugend, Frankfurt-am-Main, Suhrkamp, 1985, 621 p. [very ric h on the youth myth in Germany]. R.diger LAUTMANN (dir.), M.nnerliebe im alten Deutschland, Berlin, Verlag Rosa Winkel, 1992, 268 p. Cornelia LIMPRICHT, J.rgen M.LLER and Nina OXENIUS, Verf.hrte M.nner, das Leben der K.lner Homosexuellen im Dritten Reich, Cologne, Volksblatt Verlag, 199 1, 146 p. [a rare work on homosexuality outside the cities]. Andrew LUMSDEN, p.75-81. Censorship in Britain, in The European Gay Review, vol.1, 1986,

J.A. MANGAN and James WALVIN, Manliness and Morality: Middle-Class Masculinity i n Britain and America, 1800-1940, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1988, 2 78 p. Hans MAYER, Les Marginaux: femmes, juifs et homosexuels dans la litt.rature euro p.enne, Paris, Albin Michel, 1994, 535 p. [tr.s discutable; h.t.rosexiste]. J.rn MEVE, Homosexuelle Nazis, ein Stereotyp in Politik und Literatur des Exils, H amburg, M.nnerschwarmskript, 1990, 111 p. [very useful]. George L. MOSSE, Nationalism and Sexuality, Respect and Abnormal Sexuality in Mo dern Europe, New York, Howard Fertig, 1985, 232 p. [pol.mique]. Rictor NORTON, One Day They Were Simply Gone, in Gay News, n 82, p.13-15. Detlev PEUKERT, Inside Nazi Germany, Conformity, Opposition and Racism in Everyd ay Life, London, Batsford Ltd, 1987, 288 p. Bertrand PHILBERT, L Homosexualit. . l .cran, Paris, Henri Veyrier, 1984, 181 p. Klaus THEWELEIT, Male Fantasies [M.nnerphantasien, 1977], Minneapolis, The Uni versity of Minnesota Press, 1987-1989, 2 vol., 517 p. [tr.s contest.]. Achim THOM (dir.), Medizin unterm Hakenkreuz, Berlin, Verlag Volk und Gesundheit , 1989, 503 p. Joseph WINTER, The Law that Nearly Was, in Gay News, n 79, p.11. C. STUDIES ON INTELLECTUALS AND PROMINENT HOMOSEXUALS OF THE PERIOD There are a great many monographs concerning homosexual intellectuals. The multi plicity of biographies and literary analyses provide a more personal history of homosexu ality, allowing for a comparison of the paths chosen, the manners by which an identity

was forged. Of couse, that can only offer clues on one facet of the question and still leaves us almost completely in the dark as to the daily life of the anonymous homosexua ls. 1 General works Quentin BELL, Bloomsbury [1968], London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1986, 127 p. [a good synthesis, by someone who was close to the group]. Shari BENSTOCK, Women of the Left Bank, Paris 1900-1940, Austin, University of T exas Press, 1986, 518 p. [indispensible work on the lost generation of American lesbia ns in Paris]. 454

Annotated Bibliography Bernard BERGONZI, Reading the Thirties, London, Macmillan Press, 1978, 157 p. Alexandra BUSCH, Ladies of Fashion, Djuna Barnes, Natalie Barney und das Paris d er 20er Jahre, Bielefeld, Haux, 1989, 229 p. [in German]. John CAREY, The Intellectuals and the Masses, Pride and Prejudice among the Lite rary Intelligentsia, 1880-1939, London, Faber & Faber, 1992, 246 p. Jon CLARK, Margot HEINEMANN, David MARGOLIES and Carole SNEE (dir.), Culture and Crisis in Britain in the Thirties, London, Lawrence & Wishart, 1979, 279 p. Valentine CUNNINGHAM, British Writers of the Thirties, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1988, 530 p. [indispensible]. Timothy D ARCH SMITH, Love in Earnest, Some Notes on the Lives and Writings of Eng lish Uranian Poets from 1889 to 1930, London, Routledge & Keagan, 1970, 280 p. [on the little group of Uranian poets]. Paul FUSSELL, Abroad, British Literary Travellers between the Wars, Oxford, Oxfo rd University Press, 1980, 246 p. GALILEO, The Gay Thirties, in Gay News, n 54, p.11-12.

Martin GREEN, Children of the Sun: A Narrative of Decadence in England after 191 8, London, Constable, 552 p. [on Brian Howard and Harold Acton; very useful]. Christopher HOLLIS, Oxford in the Twenties, Recollection of Five Friends, London , Heinemann, 1976, 136 p. Samuel HYNES, The Auden Generation, London, Faber & Faber, 1976, 427 p. [tr.s utile]. Incognito (George MALLORY), Gay in the Twenties, in Gay News, n 30, p.9.

Youri Ivanovitch MODINE, Mes camarades de Cambridge, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1994 , 316 p. [sur les espions de Cambridge]. S.P. ROSENBAUM (ed.), The Bloomsbury Group: A Collection of Memoirs, Commentary and Criticism, London, Croom Ltd, 1975, 444 p. Gifford SKINNER, Cocktails in the Bath, in Gay News, n 135, p.21-24.

Fran.oise du SORBIER (dir.), Oxford 1919-1939, Paris, .ditions Autrement, s.rie M.moires, n 8, Paris, 1991, 287 p. [a colection of articles and interviews; present ing a comparison between the aesthetes and the athletes ].

George STAMBOLIAN and Elaine MARKS (dir.), Homosexualities and French Literature , London, Cornell University Press, 1979, 387 p. Lewis D. WURGAFT, The Activist Kurt Hiller and the Politics of Action on the Ger man Left, 1914-1933, Philadelphie, The American Philosophic Society, 1977, 114 p. 2 Monographs Anthony ALPERS, The Life of Katherine Mansfield, New York, The Viking Press, 198 0, 466 p. Deirdre BAIR, Simone de Beauvoir, Paris, Fayard, 1991, 854 p. Michael BAKER, Our Three Selves: A Life of Radclyffe Hall, London, Hamish Hamilt on, 1985, 386 p. Vincent BROME, Havelock Ellis, Philosopher of Sex, London, Routledge & Kegan, 19 79, 271 p. Robert CALDER, Willie. The Life of Somerset Maugham, London, Heinemann, 1989, 429 p. 455

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Humphrey CARPENTER, W.H. Auden, a Biography, London, Allen & Unwin, 1981, 495 p. ,The Brideshead Generation, Evelyn Waugh and his Friends, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989, 523 p. ,Benjamin Britten, a Biography, London, Faber & Faber, 1992, 680 p. Ren. de CECCATTY, Violette Leduc, .loge de la B.tarde, Paris, Stock, 1994, 256 p . Jean CHALON, Liane de Pougy, Paris, Flammarion, 1994, 389 p. John COLMER, E.M. Forster, The Personal Voice, London, Routledge & Kegan, 1975, 243 p. Emmanuel COOPER, The Life and Work of H.S. Tuke, 1858-1929, London, Gay Men Press, 1987, 72 p. Michael de COSSART, Une Am.ricaine . Paris. La princesse de Polignac et son salo n, 18651943, Paris, Plon, 1979, 245 p. Paul DELANY, The Neo-Pagans: Friendship and Love in the Rupert Brooke Circle, Lo ndon, Macmillan, 1987, 170 p. .ric DESCHODT, Gide, le contemporain capital, Paris, Perrin, 1991, 335 p. Lovat DICKSON, Radclyffe Hall at the Well of Loneliness, London, Collins, 1975, 236 p. Richard ELLMANN, Oscar Wilde, London, Hamish Hamilton, 1987, 632 p. Michel ERMAN, Marcel Proust, Paris, Fayard, 1994, 286 p. Andrew FIELD, Djuna Barnes, Paris, Rivages, 1986, 303 p. Noel Riley FITCH, Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation, New York-London, W.W. Norton & Co, 1983, 447 p. Penelope FITZGERALD, Charlotte Mew and her Friends, London, Collins, 1984, 240 p . Gillian FREEMAN, The Schoolgirl Ethic. The Life and Work of Angela Brazil, Londo n, Allen Lane, 1976, 159 p. Burdett GARDNER, The Lesbian Imagination (Victorian Style): A Psychological and Critical Study of Vernon Lee, New York, Garland, 1987, 592 p. Victoria GLENDINNING, Edith Sitwell, a Unicorn among Lions, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981, 391 p. ,Vita, la vie de Vita Sackville-West, Paris, Albin Michel, 1987, 437 p. Richard Perceval GRAVES, A.E. Housman, the Scholar-Poet, London, Routledge

& Kegan, 1979, 304 p. ,Robert Graves, The Heroic Assault, 1895-1925, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1986, 432 p. Dominique GRENTE and Nicole M.LLER, L Ange inconsolable, Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Paris, Lieu commun, 1989, 274 p. Manfred HERZER, Magnus Hirschfeld, Leben und Werk eines j.dischen, schwulen und sozialistischen Sexologen, Frankfurt-am-Main/New York, Campus, 1992, 189 p. Philip HOARE, Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant, London, Penguin, 1 992, 463 p. ,Noel Coward: A Biography, London, Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995, 605 p. Michael HOLROYD, Lytton Strachey, a Biography, London, Penguin, 1979, 1 144 p. Christopher ISHERWOOD, A Figure-Head, not a Leader, in Gay News, n 126, p.17 19. Francis KING, E.M. Forster, London, Thames & Hudson, 1978, 128 p. Friedhelm KREY, Hans Henny Jahnn und die mannm.nnliche Liebe, Berlin, Peter Lang , 1987, 458 p. 456

Annotated Bibliography Marianne KR.LL, Les Magiciens. Une autre histoire de la famille Mann, Paris, .di tions du Seuil, 1995, 398 p. Monique LANGE, Cocteau, prince sans royaume, Paris, Jean-Claude Latt.s, 1989, 34 7 p. James LEES-MILNE, Harold Nicolson, a Biography (1886-1929), London: Chatto & Windus, 1980, vol.1, 429 p. Herbert LOTTMAN, Colette, Paris, Gallimard, coll. Folio, 1990, 496 p.

Irmela von der L.HE, Erika Mann, eine Biographie, Frankfurt-am-Main/New York, Campus, 1994, 350 p. Brenda MADDOX, The Married man: A Life of D.H. Lawrence, London, Sinclair-Steven son, 1994, 652 p. Joy MELVILLE, Ellen and Edy: A Biography of Ellen Terry and her Daughter Edith C raigh, 18471947, London, Pandora, 1987, 293 p. Wendy MULFORD, This Narrow Place, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland, Life, Letters and Politics, 1930-1951, London, Pandora, 1988, 276 p. George D. PAINTER, Marcel Proust [1959], Paris, Mercure de France, 1985, 2 vol., 464 and 515 p. Peter PARKER, A Life of J.R. Ackerley, London, Constable, 1989, 465 p. Norman PITTENGER, Wystan & Morgan, in Gay News, n 156, p.23-24.

Henri RACZYMOW, Maurice Sachs ou les Travaux forc.s de la frivolit., Paris, Gall imard, 1988, 503 p. J.E. RIVERS, Proust and the Art of Love, New York, Columbia University Press, 19 80, 327 p. Jean-Louis SAINT-YGNAN, Drieu La Rochelle ou l Obsession de la d.cadence, Paris, N ouvelles .ditions latines, 1984, 260 p. Josyane SAVIGNEAU, Marguerite Yourcenar, l invention d une vie, Paris, Gallimard, 19 90, 790 p. W.I. SCOBIE, Christopher Isherwood, in Gay News, n 93, p.16-17. Meryle SECREST, Between Me and Life: A Biography of Romaine Brooks, London, Macd onald & Jane s, 1976, 432 p. Kenneth SIMCOX, Wilfred Owen, Anthem for Doomed Youth, London, Woburn Press, 1987, 166 p. Pierre SIPRIOT, Montherlant sans masque, t.I, L Enfant prodigue, 1895-1932, and t. II, .cris

avec ton sang, 1932-1972, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1980-1990, 500 and 505 p. Robert SKIDELSKY, J.M. Keynes, Hopes Betrayed, 1883-1920, London, Macmillan, 198 3, 447 p. Charles SOWERWINE and Claude MAIGNIER, Madeleine Pelletier, une f.ministe dans l ar.ne politique, Paris, .ditions ouvri.res, 1992, 250 p. Gillian TINDALL, Rosamund Lehmann: An Appreciation, London, Chatto & Windus, 1985, 201 p. Hugo VICKERS, Cecil Beaton, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985, 656 p. Fran.oise WERNER, Romaine Brooks, Paris, Plon, 1990, 334 p. George WICKES, The Amazon of Letters. The Life and Loves of Natalie Barney, Lond on, W.H. Allen, 1977, 286 p. Jeremy WILSON, Lawrence d Arabie, Paris, Deno.l, 1994, 1 288 p. Brenda WINEAPPLE, Gen.t, a Biography of Janet Flanner, London, Ticknore Fields, 1989, 361 p. 457

A History of Homosexuality in Europe Vol. II Charlotte WOLFF, Magnus Hirschfeld: A Portrait of a Pioneer in Sexology, London, Quartet Books, 1986, 494 p. 3 Specific works Eva AHLSTEDT, La Pudeur en crise: un aspect de l accueil d A la recherche du temps p erdu de Marcel Proust, 1913-1930, Paris, Jean Touzot, Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis, 1 985, 276 p. ,Andr. Gide et le D.bat sur l homosexualit., Paris, Jean Touzot, Gothoburgensis, 1994, 291 p. Acta Universitatis

Karl Werner B.HM, Zwischen Selbstsucht und Verlangen, Thomas Mann und das Stigma Homosexualit.t, Wurzbourg, K.nigshausen & Neumann, 1991, 409 p. Henri BONNET, Les Amours et la Sexualit. de Marcel Proust, Paris, Librairie A.G. Nizet, 1985, 101 p. Lilian FADERMAN and Ann WILLIAMS, Radclyffe Hall and the Lesbian Image, Conditions, n 1, April 1977. Barbara FASSLER, Theories of Homosexuality as a Source of Bloomsbury s Androgyny, in Signs, vol.5, n 2, winter 1979. Serge GINGRAS, L Homosexualit. dans la prose d Henry de Montherlant, th.se Calgari, 1985, 90 p. Gerhard H.RLE, Die Gestalt des Sch.nen, K.nigstein/Ts, Hain, 1986, 165 p. [on Th omas Mann]. ,M.nnerweiblichkeit, zur Homosexualit.t bei Klaus und Thomas Mann, Frankfurt-amMain, Athen.um Verlag, 1988, 412 p. Marita KEILSON-LAURITZ, Von der Liebe die Freundschaft heisst, Berlin, Verlag Ro sa Winkel, 1987, 159 p. [sur Stefan George]. H.di KHELIL, Sens, jouissance. Tourisme, exotisme, argent dans deux fictions col oniales d Andr. Gide, Tunis, .ditions de la Nef, Passerelles 1, 1988, 172 p. Rebecca O ROURKE, Reflecting on the Well of Loneliness, London, Routledge & Kegan, 1989, 146 p. Arthur King PETERS, Jean Cocteau and Andr. Gide, an Abrasive Friendship, New Bru nswick, Rutgers University Press, 1973, 426 p. Patrick POLLARD, Andr. Gide, Homosexual Moralist, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1991, 498 p. in

Jean RAISON,

Publish and Be Banned,

in Gay News, n 148, p.17-18.

Katrina ROLLEY, Cutting a Dash: The Dress of Radclyffe Hall and Una Troubridge, in Feminist Review, n 35, .t. 1990. Sonja RUEHL, Inverts and Experts: Radclyffe Hall and the Lesbian Identity, in Brunt and Rowan (dir.), Feminism, Culture and Politics, Lawrence & Wishart, 1982 , 190 p., p.15-37 Stefan ZYNDA, Sexualit.t bei Klaus Mann, Bonn, Bouvier Verlag, 1986, 156 p 458