History of LGBTQ* rights in Germany

 

A brief and incomplete history of LGBTQ* rights in Germany.
 

1871: Paragraph 175 comes to effect in the German Empire. It prohibits sex between two men.

 

 

1897, May 15^th: Magnus Hirschfeld, Max Spohr, Eduard Oberg and Franz Joseph von Bülow establish the Wissenschaftlich-humanitäre Komitee (WhK)”. It’s the world’s first organization aiming to decriminalize homosexuality.

 

 

1933: Paragraph 175 is tightened. It now prohibits any sexual action between two men.

 

 

Nazi era (1933-1945): Homosexual people are denounced by society, many are imprisoned or killed.

 

 

1957: The German Democratic Republic (DDR) loosens the Paragraph 175. It legalizes homosexual actions between men over the age of 21.

 

 

1969: The Federal Republic of Germany (BRD) legalizes homosexual activities for men over the age of 21.

 

 

1973: The Federal Republic of Germany (BRD) reduces the age of consent for homosexual activities to 18.

 

 

1981: Transgender people in Germany can change their name and gender marker, though there are still many limitations.

 

 

1989: The German Democratic Republic (DDR) lowers the age of consent for homosexual activities to 14, the same on as for heterosexual ones.

 

 

1994, May 31^st: Paragraph 175 is removed from the law. The age of consent for homosexual activities becomes 14 in all of Germany, the same as for heterosexual activities.

 

 

1996: The Rosa Liste in Munich becomes the first gay/lesbian voter group to enter a communal parliament in Europe.

 

 

2001: civil partnership for same sex couples becomes legal in Germany. It grants some, but not all the rights of a marriage.

 

 

2001: Klaus Wowereit comes out as gay during his bid to become mayor of Berlin. He wins and is mayor of Berlin from 2001-2014.

 

 

2002: All people sentenced under the paragraph 175 during the Nazi era are pardoned.

 

 

2006: A law is passed that includes the prohibition of discrimination at the workplace and in the provision of goods and services based on sexual orientation.

 

 

2008: Guido Westerwelle becomes Germanys first openly gay vice chancellor.

 

 

2011: Transgender people who want to change their legal chender do not first have to go through or plan to go through sexual reassignment therapy.

 

 

2013: Parents of intersex newborns have the option to leave the gender marker blank.

 

 

2017: All people sentenced under the paragraph 175 whose sexual partners were over 16 years old are pardoned. They are paid 3000€ per sentence and 1500€ per started year in custody.

 

 

2017, July 21^st: The German president signs the law for the “opening of marriage” in Germany.

 

 

2017, October 1^st: Same sex couples can marry in Germany.

 

 

2018, December 22^nd: There is now a third gender option in German legal documents, called “divers” for intersex people.