In homosexual culture of the nineteen-twenties, many lesbians and gay men of Jewish heritage made contributions to the emancipation of both groups in the fields of art, science and literature. Most of these have fallen into oblivion.
Magnus Hirschfeld, founder of the world’s first homosexual organization, is certainly the foremost figure here. Felice Schragenheim became known to a broader public through the film Aimee und Jaguar. Richard Plant’s life was honored comprehensively with an exhibition and publication at the Schwules Museum. Other biographies, such as those of Alice Ascher and Walter Boldes, are hardly known and will be presented to a broad public for the first time in this exhibition.

The biographies presented in the exhibition represent the experiences of Nazism: exile, life underground, deportation, murder – but also survival and impacts in the post-war era. They represent the full spectrum of persecutions experienced by Jews as well as homosexuals during the Nazi era, and offer deepened insights into the fates of the doubly stigmatized.

The 24 biographies specially researched for the exhibition will be presented on panels, complemented by books and photographs.