Germany is to annul the convictions of tens of thousands of gay men who were criminalised under a 19th-century law.
More than 50,000 men were convicted and sentenced to sometimes
lengthy jail terms between 1946 and 1969 under the infamous Paragraph 175,
which deemed homosexuality to be a punishable crime.
While homosexuality was decriminalised
in 1969, the law was not abolished until 1994 and the sentences were never
lifted.
But the justice minister said the
convictions would be overturned and those men who were punished would be
eligible for compensation through a central fund.
“The burden of guilt lies with the state
because it made the lives of so many people so difficult,” Heiko Maas said.
“Paragraph 175 was from the very beginning unconstitutional. The old
convictions are unjust [and] do huge injury to the human dignity of each
convicted man.”
Maas said while the state would never be
able to completely make amends for its “wrongdoings, we do want to rehabilitate
the victims”. He said his ministry would devise a legal framework to enable a
blanket annulment of the convictions that would ensure no individuals would
have to fight their cases separately, as well as establishing the compensation
fund.
Germany’s Lesbian and Gay Association urged the
government to effect the reform before the end of this parliament. “Time is of
the essence so that victims of the persecution of homosexuality can have their
dignity restored,” it said. The government ruling is based on a report by a Munich-based
legal expert, Martin Burgi, which recommended the “collective rehabilitation”
of those affected by the law.
Paragraph 175 was introduced in 1872,
but was tightened by the Nazis in 1935, making homosexuality punishable with up
to 10 years in a workhouse.
West Germany inherited the law immediately after
the second world war, leading to often large raids, numerous arrests and
thousands of court cases. Many victims of Paragraph 175 killed themselves.
Even after the decriminalisation of
homosexuality in 1969, a further 3,500 men were convicted of the crime in West
Germany. In communist East Germany the law was abolished in 1968.
It is estimated than in its 122-year
history 140,000 men were persecuted under the law.
In 2002 the Bundestag ruled on an
appendix to the law, which made all the Nazi-era convictions null and void. But
that ignored the many thousands who were convicted after the war.
Christine Lüders, head of the
government’s Anti-Discrimination Authority, said the law had destroyed the
lives of thousands of citizens, and wreaked havoc on partnerships and families.
“The victims have had to deal with the fact that their convictions have never
been lifted. These injustices can no longer be endured,” she said.
The government ruling is based on a report by a Munich-based
legal expert, Martin Burgi, which recommended the “collective rehabilitation”
of those affected by the law.
Paragraph 175 was introduced in 1872,
but was tightened by the Nazis in 1935, making homosexuality punishable with up
to 10 years in a workhouse.
West Germany inherited the law immediately after
the second world war, leading to often large raids, numerous arrests and
thousands of court cases. Many victims of Paragraph 175 killed themselves.
Even after the decriminalisation of
homosexuality in 1969, a further 3,500 men were convicted of the crime in West
Germany. In communist East Germany the law was abolished in 1968.
It is estimated than in its 122-year
history 140,000 men were persecuted under the law.
In 2002 the Bundestag ruled on an
appendix to the law, which made all the Nazi-era convictions null and void. But
that ignored the many thousands who were convicted after the war.
Christine Lüders, head of the
government’s Anti-Discrimination Authority, said the law had destroyed the
lives of thousands of citizens, and wreaked havoc on partnerships and families.
“The victims have had to deal with the fact that their convictions have never
been lifted. These injustices can no longer be endured,” she said.
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