Paragraph 175

From BoyWiki

Paragraph 175 (known formally as §175 StGB; also known as Section 175 in English) was a provision of the German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It made homosexual acts between males a crime, and in early revisions the provision also criminalized bestiality as well as forms of prostitution and underage sexual abuse. All in all, around 140,000 men were convicted under the law. The law also applied to homosexual women, though females were less targeted.

The statute drew legal influence from previous measures, including those undertaken by the Holy Roman Empire and Prussian states. It was amended several times. The Nazis broadened the law in 1935; in the prosecutions that followed, thousands died in concentration camps as a widespread social persecution of homosexuals took place. East Germany reverted to the old version of the law in 1950, following the Soviet Union and its satellite states' policy of persecuting homosexuals as subversives. The government limited its scope only to sex with youths under 18 in 1968, however, and it abolished it entirely in 1988. West Germany retained the 1935 version until 1969, when it was limited to "qualified cases"; it was further attenuated in 1973 and finally revoked entirely in 1994 after German reunification.

The struggle against the law

Magnus Hirschfield

Magnus Hirschfield was the first?? MUST CHECK to draw attention to and struggle against this law, as did pro-pedophilia groups in Germany, including the following groups:

  • NEEDS LIST HERE OF GERMAN/DUTCH/ETC. BOYLOVE GROUPS

Importance to BoyLovers

The law was changed in 1994 but intergenerational sexual relationships with boys under the age age of consent in Germany remains criminalized. It is this law that has motivated German groups (and allied Dutch groups) over the years to perform research into the sexuality of children and especially the so-called "harms" (falsely) said to occur to young people engaging in sexual activity with adults.

See also

External links

  • A documentary film about persecution of homosexuals (which included BoyLovers) may be viewed at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcqga_eZaJc