To Be Seen: Queer Lives 1900–1950

by Mirjam Zadoff (Editor), Karolina Kühn (Editor)

A volume examining queer lives caught between empowerment and stigmatization in early twentieth-century Germany.

The contributions in this volume present the story of queer lives in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century—from the first emancipation movements around the turn of the century via attempts at self-empowerment in the Weimar Republic to the destruction of queer subcultures under the National Socialist regime and the continued discrimination against LGBTIQ* persons in the postwar period. Since the late nineteenth century, increasing numbers of people have self-assuredly championed the recognition of queer lifestyles. These pioneers formed collectives, made their voices heard, and questioned dominant gender categories politically, scientifically, and artistically. Through essays, interviews, and artworks, the authors and artists illustrate this struggle for recognition which was forcefully prevented and destroyed following the seizure of power by the National Socialists and almost forgotten after 1945.

Genres: Nonfiction, Queer, History, LGBT

400 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2023

Reviews

[rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

bravo bravo bravo to all the authors who put together this publication, to the curators who made this exhibition possible and all the forgotten names that are now immortalized in this book

will be coming back to it from time to time for sure, and it will be a main piece, my coffee table book in my home.



"To mislead. Male? Female? But it depends on the case. Neuter is the only gender that always corresponds to me. If it existed in our language, one would not perceive the indecision of my thoughts" - claude cahun, 1930

[Afroditi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I no longer live in Munich, having access to this book was the next best thing, since I couldn't visit the exhibition at the NS- Dokumentationszentrum München.
The prosecution of the gay community in the Third Reich had not been thoroughly examined, up until a few years ago. I learnt so much from this book, the team that created it did an amazing job. Thank you so much for publishing such a great work.

[Jack Vermette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book. With the German and English, it felt like some sections were translated in interesting ways?? I also thought the organization and format of the book was not my favorite. I wish that the longer sections of text would be in accompaniment with the associated images. It felt like some of the writing was too oversimplified with the images, but then at the end of the section there would be several pages of text that often would relate back to the earlier images. But I loved learning about queer history from a non-American perspective.