Germany voted to officially overturn the convictions of gay men during a Nazi era anti-gay law yesterday (22 June).
The Paragraph 175 law prohibited sex between men, and began under the
German Penal Code in 1871. Sex between women has never
been criminalized.
The law was rarely enforced until the Nazi-occupation at the start of the twentieth century.
During this time, over 50,000 gay men were convicted under the law, with 15,000 sent directly to concentration camps.
In fact, there were more men sent to prison because of § 175 between
1945 and 1969 (when the law was changed for the first time) than in the
entire Nazi era.
Officially overturned in 1994, the law caused immeasurable pain and suffering on many German gay men.
As some consolation, this latest development will see an estimated
5,000 surviving victims receive €3,000 (£2,630; $3,350) in compensation
along with €1,500 per year spent in jail.
Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the new law is a ‘belated act of justice.’
It ‘created unimaginable suffering, which led to self-denial, sham marriages, harassment and blackmail,’ he said.
He said it’s unfair because the victims are being asked ‘to prove their innocence, before the general pardon applies to them.’
According to Clarke, the Christian Democratic Party, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, spoiled the good news.
He said: ‘Just like the CDU has refused marriage equality, out of
“fear for the traditional family,” they now try to put the victims of §
175 in a pedophile light to stir more fears and resentment.
‘They were not even able, on a historic day like yesterday, to simply say: We are sorry and apologize for what happened.
‘It seems the CDU still needs homosexuals as the dangerous other, to justify their politics,’ he said.
Same-sex marriage is not legal in the country, but civil partnerships provide most of the same rights.
Yesterday (22 June), Germany’s highest court rejected an opposition party’s attempt to force a parliamentary vote on same-same marriage.
René Mertens, representative for the Lesbian and Gay Federation in
Germany, was quoted saying: ‘The decision of the Federal Constitutional
Court is disappointing.
‘Now it’s important that the German Parliament prepares the way for
full marriage equality in Germany. The CDU has to stop blocking marriage
for all and, they have to start preparing the way for marriage of
same-sex couples,’ he said.
A recent study found 83% of Germans support same-sex marriage, yet
it’s held up by anti-gay politicians in the German parliament.
So once again the German government seeks to assault and humiliate gay men by pre-deciding they are guilty of pedophilia until they can prove otherwise to attain reparations for the horrid treatment they went through under article 175.
Gay Germans must truly be a submissive bunch if they continue to take this kind of humiliation and abuse.
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