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Paragraph 175

2000, Movie, NR, 81 mins

Paragraph 175: Review

PARAGRAPH 175
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This eloquent, deeply disturbing documentary shines light on the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, which remains a dim corner of 20th-century history. The title refers to the section of a 1871 German penal code that made sex between two men punishable by imprisonment; a broad anti-sodomy law, Paragraph 175 also outlawed sex with animals. The statute came in handy when, after the dizzy sexual freedom of the Weimar Republic, it came time for the Nazis to rid their National Socialist State of gay men. Unlike lesbianism, which by some strange twist of logic was thought of as a temporary condition, male homosexuality was considered a dangerous contagious disease — this despite the fact that Ernst Roehm, Hitler's right-hand man and chief architect of the S.A., was widely known to be gay. It's estimated that during Hitler's reign of terror, some 100,000 gay men were arrested, nearly 15,000 of whom were sent to concentration camps for "re-education" (read: slave labor, surgical experiments, death). Only ten survivors are known to be alive today, and filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (THE CELLULOID CLOSET, COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT), along with historian Klaus Muller, have done the remarkable of job of locating a number of them. Their stories reflect a surprisingly broad range of experiences and attitudes. Some, like Frenchman Pierre Seel, have written books and remain understandably furious; others, like 93 year-old Heinz F., who spent nearly nine years in various camps, have kept silent in the face of the world's indifference. With concise narration by Rupert Everett, the film evokes feelings of fascination and heartbreak, as well as a sense of disbelief best summed up by gay survivor Heinz Dormer, who characterizes his own experiences as "inexplicable, beyond human comprehension... and much remains untold." leave a comment --Ken Fox
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