Verbotenes Begehren: Der Mann mit dem rosa Winkel is a docudrama which premiered on German television (ZDF) in 2023. In 2024, it was shown on French and German television (arte).
The topic of this docudrama is the history of the gay and lesbian community in Austria and Germany in the first half of the twentieth century.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Writer and director: Fritz Kalteis
** Narrator: Dörte Lyssewski
** Language: German
** Subtitles: German
** Run time: 43 minutes
Six historians are interviewed in this docudrama
Here are the names of the participants
Listed in alphabetical order
** Robert M. Beachy
** Rainer Herrn
** Anna Hojkova
** Klaus Müller
** Julius Scharnetzsky
** Hannes Sulzenbacher
Several historical moments have been reconstructed by actors. Here are two names:
Stefan Gorski as Josef Kohout
(1915-1994)
Michael Dangl as Johann “Hans” Neumann
(1914-1978)
The title of the docudrama refers to Josef Kohout, an Austrian gay man who was a holocaust survivor.
Kohout was born and raised in Vienna. In March 1939, he was arrested and sent to prison. This was one year after the German annexation of Austria.
Paragraph 129 1B of the Austrian penal code states that a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex is illegal.
Not only a homosexual relationship, man to man, but also a lesbian relationship, women to woman.
Paragraph 175 of the German penal code states that a homosexual relationship is illegal.
A homosexual relationship, man to man, is illegal, but a lesbian relationship, woman to woman, is not illegal.
In January 1940, when Kohout was released from prison, he was transferred to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp where he was held for five months.
In May 1940, he was transferred to Flossenbürg concentration camp in Bavaria where he was held until the end of the war in 1945.
While he was in a concentration camp, he had to wear a pink triangle on his clothes. The pink triangle identified him as a man who had violated paragraph 175.
This docudrama covers the life of Josef Kohout.
This docudrama also covers the general history of the gay and lesbian community in Austria and Germany in the first half of the twentieth century.
The end of World War II in 1945 was a liberation for most inmates in the German concentration camps.
But for one group of inmates, the end of the war did not mean a liberation. The inmates who had to wear the pink triangle were not liberated in the same way as the other inmates.
Jewish prisoners and political prisoners were free and they were able to talk about their experience during the Third Reich, if they wanted to do this. They were regarded as victims of Nazi Germany.
But the prisoners who had to wear the pink triangle in the concentration camp were not free in the same way as the other prisoners.
They could not talk about their experience during the Third Reich. They were not regarded as victims of Nazi Germany.
Why not?
Because paragraph 129 1B of the Austrian penal code and paragraph 175 of the German penal code were still on the books after 1945.
A homosexual relationship was still illegal.
According to the authorities who ruled Germany after 1945, the Nazis did not violate the law when they arrested gay men and placed them in prison or a concentration camp.
The gay men were not victims of Nazi Germany.
The gay men were not entitled to any kind of compensation for their suffering while they were held in a concentration camp.
For many years after the end of the war in 1945, there was no public discussion of this topic in Austria or Germany. There was silence about what had happened to this group of prisoners during the Third Reich.
In the docudrama, we see the moment when Josef Kohout tries to apply for economic assistance from a government office. He feels he can apply for assistance, because he was held in a concentration camp for five years.
The official says all his documents are in order, but there is one small problem: Kohout was interned, because he had violated paragraph 175; because he was gay.
He does not qualify.
No economic assistance to him!
Kohout is upset, but he survives. He tries to keep a low profile. He does not want to attract any attention, because he knows this may mean trouble with the law.
In the docudrama, we see another important moment in his life. A man comes to see him. This man is the German writer Hans Neumann who wants to write a book about the gay men and their experience during the Third Reich.
Neumann wants to write a book about what happened to the men who had to wear a pink triangle in the concentration camps.
At first, Kohout hesitates. He does not want to talk about the past. But Neumann says this story is important. It deserves to be told, and Kohout was there. He can tell this story.
After a while, Kohout is convinced. He agrees to talk to Neumann. From 1965 to 1967, Neumann has around fifteen sessions with Kohout during which Kohout talks about his past, while Neumann is taking notes.
When the sessions are over, Neumann starts to turn his notes into a book. The manuscript is completed in 1968. But now he faces a problem:
No publisher wants to publish his manuscript, because at that time a homosexual relationship is still illegal.
In 1969, the hated paragraph 175 is abolished and things slowly begin to change.
In 1972, the book is published. But before publication, Neumann decides to use a penname: Heinz Heger.
The book describes the experience of Josef Kohout, but this name is not mentioned in the book.
The reader of the book must assume Heinz Heger has written an auto-biography about his experiences in a German concentration camp.
This book is the first comprehensive account of this topic to be published in Germany. For a while, it is the only account available. It is a trailblazer. It is the start of a new era.
When this book appears, other voices follow. The topic can be discussed without fear of going to prison. In the past, it was dangerous to talk about this topic. Now this is no longer the case.
Homosexual activity was also illegal in East Germany (DDR). But after 1960, it seems the law was no longer enforced. In 1968, it was abolished in East Germany.
In 1969, the law was abolished in West Germany (BRD). In 1971, paragraph 129 1B was abolished in Austria.
What do reviewers say about this docudrama?
This question is not easy to answer.
The docudrama is listed on IMDb, but there is no rating.
There are no user reviews.
In my opinion, the topic is important. The story deserves to be told, and in this docudrama, it is done very well.
Historical experts offer information about the past, while actors reconstruct some historical moments.
The combination of historical experts and reconstructions of historical moments works well.
The reconstructions of historical moments are based on or at least inspired by contemporary sources which are presented and discussed by the historical experts.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
The Men with the Pink Triangle
By Heinz Heger
Preface by Sarah Schulman
Introduction by Klaus Müller
(1972 = German version)
(1980 = English version)
The Pink Triangle:
The Nazi War against Homosexuals
By Richard Plant
(1986 = hardcover)
(1988 = paperback)
The Hidden Holocaust?
Gay and Lesbian Persecution in Germany 1933-1945
Edited by Günter Grau
(1995)
Gay Berlin:
Birthplace of a Modern Identity
By Robert M. Beachy
(2014 = hardcover)
(2015 = paperback)
# 2. Film and video
Paragraph 175
(2000)
Eldorado:
Everything the Nazis Hate
(2023)
Verbotenes Begehren:
Margarethe und Leonie
(2023)
Verbotene Liebe:
Queere Opfer der NS-Diktatur
(2024)
*****
Holocaust survivor
Josef Kohout
(1915-1994)
*****
The Pink Triangle
1896
This prisoner badge
was worn by Josef Kohout
while he was held in a concentration camp
(1940-1945)
*****
The Men With the Pink Triangle
by Heinz Heger
Preface by Sarah Schulman
Introduction by Klaus Müller
(German edition published 1972)
(English edition published 1980)
*****
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