LGBTQ+ rights in Germany
Germany is a global power that can be classified as LGBTQ+-friendly. But it wasn't always this way…
For many years, sexual intercourse between men was forbidden, and it was only after the First World War, when a certain liberal thaw occurred in Germany, that LGBT+ people began to be more visible in the public sphere. Berlin, the country's capital, became a refuge for many queer people; some queer-themed artworks were created (such as Mädchen in Uniform), and the Institute for Sexual Research was founded under the direction of sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, who advocated an open approach to LGBTQ+ people for his time.
However, this period ended with the rise of Nazism to power, and many queer people, especially gay men, faced persecution, torture, and murder. According to Nazi ideology, gay men prevented the reproduction of the Aryan race, which was supposed to take over the world.
After the Second World War, a series of events occurred that influenced the history of German territory for several decades: the state split into two parts (East Germany and West Germany), and each went its own way. East Germany was not very sympathetic to the rights of LGBTQ+ people, as queer people's lifestyles allegedly threatened the functionality of the state. However, homosexuality was eventually decriminalized in the country (in 1968), and by the end of the 1980s, East Germany even established its own gay disco called Die Busche. On the other hand, West Germany was also not particularly welcoming to LGBTQ+ people, even though the first march for LGBT+ rights, following the New York Stonewall protests, took place there in 1970.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany was reunified, and the rights of queer people began to be rectified. Today, many LGBTQ+ individuals are prominent German figures, such as former Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit and former environment minister Barbara Hendricks, who both came out during their terms.
It is probably unnecessary to add that Germany has marriage equality, including adoption rights, and that castration is not required to change legal gender (although a court procedure is still necessary). However, this country has also taken an important step in the rights of intersex people: the country now recognizes a total of three legal genders, although only intersex people can declare a neutral gender.