Verbotenes Begehren: Margarethe und Leonie 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 lesbian and gay community in Austria and
Germany in the first half of the twentieth century, with special focus on two women: Margarethe and Leonie.
Here is some basic information about it:
** Writer and director: Fritz Kalteis
** Narrator: Dörte Lyssewski
** Language: German
** Subtitles: German
** Run time: 44 minutes
Nine persons are interviewed in this docudrama
Here are the names of the participants
Listed in alphabetical order
** Robert M. Beachy – a historian
** Andreas Brunner – a historian
** Ralf Dose – a writer at the Magnus Hirschfeld Society
** Daniela Finzi – a curator at the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna
** Elisabeth Greif – a historian
** Hanna Hacker – a sociologist
** Rainer Herrn – a historian
** Katja Koblitz – a historian
** Ankathie Koi – an artist, a musician, a singer
Several historical moments have been reconstructed by actors. Here are some names:
** Christina Cervenka as Margarethe von Trautenegg
(born Margarethe Csonka)
(1900-1999)
** Elena Wolff as Leonie von Puttkamer
(1891-1953)
** Karl Markovics as Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939)
The title of the docudrama refers to Margarethe Csonka and Leonie von Puttkamer, who live in Austria in the beginning of the twentieth century.
In 1917, when Margarethe meets Leonie, she knows instantly that she is attracted to women and not to men. They meet each other on several occasions.
Margarethe is born into a rich Jewish family who has converted to Christianity in order to be accepted by the high society of Vienna,
When her parents discover that their daughter is involved with another women, they are shocked. This is not only immoral; it is also illegal.
Paragraph 129 1B of the Austrian penal code says a sexual relationship with a person of the same sex is illegal. If you are caught in the act, you may be punished with a sentence of five years in prison.
The parents are afraid of the consequences if this relationship is allowed to continue and if the story is revealed to the public.
As the narrator says:
“This family can afford anything except a scandal.”
The parents say this relationship must stop at once. In addition, they want their daughter to be “healed.”
They want her to attend some sessions with Doctor Sigmund Freud so she can be “cured.”
When they meet the famous doctor in his office, he says he is not sure that his method of psycho-analysis is relevant to this case, but he is willing to try.
In the docudrama, we follow Margarethe as the visits Sigmund Freud and she is asked to lie down on the famous couch during the session.
After a while, Sigmund Freud decides that his treatment is not producing any results. He says it can end, since his method of psycho-analysis is not relevant for a case of female homosexuality.
From Margarethe and Leonie, two women in Vienna, the focus of the docudrama expands to Austria and from there to Germany.
This expansion is relevant and justified, because Austria and Germany are similar in many ways and because Austria is annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938.
From this moment in time, both countries are controlled by Hitler and the Nazi Party.
The docudrama covers the history of the gay and lesbian community in the Weimar Republic from 1918 to 1933.
In some ways, the capitals of Vienna and Berlin are locations where gay men and lesbian women have more freedom to live as they want than most other places.
But Austria and Germany are also the two countries where the subsequent persecution and punishment turn out to be worse than in most other places.
What happens to Margarethe and Leonie after the sessions with Sigmund Freud come to an end?
I am not going to tell you. I do not want to spoil the viewing for anyone. If you want to find the answer to this question, you must watch the docudrama all the way to the end.
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.
The story of Margarethe and Leonie is important. It deserves to be told, and in this docudrama, it is done very well.
The history of the gay and lesbian community in Austria and Germany during the first half of the twentieth century is important. It 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. The following items are available online
“Margarethe Trautenegg”
Wien Geschichte Wiki:
Ein Service der Stadt Wien
According to this item, Leonie von Puttkamer died in 1935. This is not true. The correct year is 1953. What happened here? The last two digits have been reversed. This is an unfortunate typo!
Elisa Rolle
“Queer Places: Neulinggasse, Vienna,”
Elisarolle.com
“How very interesting…”
The British Psychological Society
14 February 2023
# 2. Books
Gay Berlin:
The Birth of a Modern Identity
By Robert M. Beachy
(2014)
The Story of Sidonie C.
Freud’s Famous “Case of Female Homosexuality”
By Ines Rieder and Diana Voigt
(2020)
The first version of this book was published in German in 2012.
Sidonie C. is a pseudonym which was used to hide the real identity of Margarethe Csonka while she was still alive.
In the English version, published one year after her death, the real name is revealed in an afterword.
Sigmund Freud and his Patient Margarethe Csonka:
A Case of Homosexuality in a Woman in Modern Vienna
By Michal Shapira
(2023)
# 3. Film and video
Paragraph 175
(2000)
Eldorado:
Everything the Nazis Hate
(2023)
Verbotenes Begehren:
Der Mann mit dem rosa Winkel
(2023)
Verbotenes Liebe:
Queere Opfer der NS-Diktatur
(2024)
*****
The Story of Sidonie C.
Freud's Famous "Case of
Female Homosexuality"
by Ines Rieder and Diana Voigt
(2020)
*****
Sigmund Freud and his
Patient Margarethe Csonka:
A Case of Homosexuality in a Woman
in Modern Vienna
by Michal Shapira
(2023)
*****
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