Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate is a documentary film which premiered in June 2023.
It is about the LGBT community (lesbian women and homosexual men) in Germany during two important chapters of German history in the 20th century:
** The Weimar Republic: 1918-1933
** The Third Reich: 1933-1945
The first word of the title is a reference to a glittery nightclub in Berlin which was a haven for the LGBT community of the German capital during the Weimar Republic. In 1933, shortly after Hitler came to power, it was closed by the Nazis.
This film covers the history of the LGBT community in Germany during the first half of the 20th century by using the Eldorado Cabaret as a pivotal point.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Director: Benjamin Cantu
** Writers: Benjamin Cantu and Felix Kriegsheim
** Narrators: Robert Beachy and Katrin Himmler
** Languages spoken: German and English
** Subtitles: English
** Run time: 92 minutes
Four historians are interviewed in this film.
Here are the names of the participants.
Listed in alphabetical order:
** Ben Miller
** Klaus Müller
** Zavier Nunn
** Morgan M. Page
Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to illustrate and support the statements made by the talking heads.
In addition, several historical scenes have been recreated by actors. Not only scenes inside the Eldorado nightclub but also some historical moments in other locations.
In this film, the story of the LGBT community in Germany during the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich is told by focusing on the lives of seven individuals whose background and experiences were very different. Here are the names:
** Ernst Röhm (1887-1934)
** Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935)
** Gottfried von Cramm (1909-1976)
** Manasse Herbst (1913-1997)
** Charlotte Charlaque (1892-1963)
** Toni Ebel (1881-1961)
** Walter Arlen (1920-2023)
One of them (Ernst Röhm) was killed by the Nazis.
One of them (Magnus Hirshfeld) was not in Germany when Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in 1933. He never returned to Germany. He decided to remain in exile. He died in France in 1935.
As you can see from the chart, the other five persons survived the war.
Only one of the five survivors (Walter Arlen) was still alive when this film was being made. He is interviewed in the film. He died in September 2023, shortly after the premiere of this film.
Since the topic is the LGBT community in Germany, it is necessary to mention paragraph 175 of the penal code. According to this paragraph, homosexual activity between two men is defined as a crime, while lesbian activity between two women is not mentioned at all.
This paragraph is from Prussia. In 1871, when a unified German state was established, it became a part of the law in the new state.
In 1918, when the Weimar Republic was established, the paragraph was maintained, but it was not always enforced. Sometimes it was virtually ignored.
This fact made some Germans optimistic. They believed the Weimar Republic might eventually abolish this paragraph, but this never happened.
In 1933, when Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power, the paragraph was not only enforced. It was expanded.
The Nazis wanted to destroy the gay movement. But they did not plan to kill all gay men. They decided to persecute and arrest a significant number of them and place them in a concentration camp. They believed this would be enough to get rid of the gay movement.
The Nazis did not really know what to do about lesbian activity. While it was not a crime, they neither could nor would accept it.
Some lesbians were persecuted. When arrested, they were always charged with something else, because lesbian activity was not a crime.
Some gay and lesbian Germans decided to go into exile when Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power. They moved to Austria or Czechoslovakia, which seemed to be a safe haven for them.
This was true for a while. But in 1938 and 1939, when Nazi Germany took control of these countries, the persecution of the LGBT community was expanded to include these countries as well.
After the end of World War II, many victims of the Nazis began to talk about the crimes committed by the Nazis. Members of the Jewish community as well as member of the political opposition began to accuse the Nazis.
But members of the LGBT community could not explain how they had been victims of the Nazis.
Why not?
Because the infamous paragraph 175 was maintained after the end of the war. Not only in West Germany but also in East Germany.
It was eagerly enforced during the 1950s. It was still used to a certain extent in both states until the end of the 1960s.
In 1994, four years after the unification of the two German states, paragraph 175 was finally completely removed from the penal code.
What do reviewers say about this film?
Here are some results:
75 percent = IMDb
82 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
91 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
As you can see, the ratings are quite good. I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with them.
The story of the LGBT community in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century is important. It deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
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
Paragraph 175
A documentary film which premiered in 2000
Run time = 74 minutes
Verbotene Liebe:
Queere Opfer der NS-Diktatur
A documentary film which premiered on German television (ZDF) in January 2024. It is available on the ZDF website until 02 May 2026.
Run time = 45 minutes
*****
Eldorado:
Alles, was die Nazis hassen
The German title of the film
(2023)
*****
The Men With the Pink Triangle
by Heinz Heger
(Published in German in 1972)
(Published in English in 1980)
(Reprinted in 2023)
*****
The Pink Triangle:
The Nazi War Against Homosexuals
By Richard Plant
(Hardcover 1986)
(Paperback 1988)
*****
On this blog:
My review of
Paragraph 175
(2000)
*****
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