What is paragraph 175?
The § Section 175 of the German Criminal Code was over 123 years of law in Germany (from 1871/1872 to 10 June 1994). He represented Sexual acts between men are a criminal offence and thus enabled the state persecution of gay and bisexual men.
In the vernacular, men who were persecuted or sentenced under this law were often called „175s“ after the paragraph that criminalised their love.
Why was Paragraph 175 created?
When the German Reich came into being in 1871, it adopted a criminal provision from older legal systems that was known as the „unnatural fornication“ between men was defined. The state thus treated consensual homosexual relations as a crime.
Such regulations existed in many European countries at the time - they were an expression of the widespread idea that same-sex love was „unnatural“ or „immoral“.
Historical overview of paragraph 175
Zeitleiste
Wichtige Stationen auf einen Blick.
Federal Republic of Germany
Die verschärfte NS-Fassung blieb bestehen. Einvernehmlicher Sex zwischen Männern blieb strafbar. Zehntausende Ermittlungsverfahren und Verurteilungen.
First reform
Teilweise Entkriminalisierung in der BRD. Straffreiheit nur ab 21 Jahren. Weiterhin rechtliche Ungleichbehandlung.
Further relaxation of paragraph 175
Absenkung des Schutzalters auf 18 Jahre. Annäherung an heterosexuelle Altersgrenzen. § 175 blieb dennoch bestehen.
Final abolition of paragraph 175
Streichung des § 175 aus dem Strafgesetzbuch. Ende einer über 120 Jahre bestehenden Sonderstrafnorm.
Reappraisal and rehabilitation
Juristische Rehabilitierung der Verurteilten begann. Anerkennung staatlichen Unrechts. Erinnerung bleibt Teil queerer Geschichte.
Introduction of paragraph 175
- Introduction with the Criminal Code of the German Reich.
- „Unnatural fornication“ between men became a punishable offence.
- Homosexual men were officially regarded as offenders.
Empire
- Section 175 remained unchanged.
- Criminal prosecution was part of the state's moral and regulatory policy.
- Demands for reform remained without effect.
Weimar Republic
- Section 175 remained in place despite social liberalisation.
- Several attempts at reform failed.
- Activists demanded its abolition, without success.
National socialism and aggravation
- Massive tightening of § 175 under the Nazi regime.
- Criminal liability was extended to all „lewd“ acts between men.
- Broad interpretation enabled systematic prosecution.
- Arrests, prison sentences and deportations to concentration camps.
- Labelling those affected with the pink angle.
Post-war period
- Section 175 remained in force.
- The NS tightening was not cancelled.
- Persecution of homosexual men continued.
Development in the GDR
- Section 175 was hardly ever applied in the 1950s.
- 1968 Extensive deletion from criminal law.
- Only sexual acts with young people remained regulated.
Federal Republic of Germany
- The tightened NS version remained in place.
- Consensual sex between men remained a punishable offence.
- Tens of thousands of investigations and convictions.
First reform
- Partial decriminalisation in the FRG.
- Impunity only from the age of 21.
- Continued unequal treatment under the law.
Further relaxation of paragraph 175
- Lowering the age of consent to 18.
- Approaching heterosexual age limits.
- § Section 175 nevertheless remained in place.
Final abolition of paragraph 175
- Deletion of § 175 from the penal code.
- End of a special criminal offence that has existed for over 120 years.
Reappraisal and rehabilitation
- Legal rehabilitation of the convicted began.
- Recognition of state injustice.
- Memory remains part of queer history.
Social and cultural significance
- § 175 was not only a legal law, but central expression of social homophobia in Germany over many generations.
- It had a massive impact on the lives and freedom of gay men: from discrimination and stigmatisation to imprisonment and persecution.
The term „175“ and the long fight against this standard are therefore not only for legal oppression, but also for the protracted political and social struggle recognition, visibility and human rights of homosexual people in Germany.
Frequently asked questions about paragraph 175
Paragraph 175 is one of the darkest chapters in German legal history. Here we answer key questions about the law, its application and its significance to this day.
Paragraph 175 was a section of the German penal code that criminalised sexual acts between men. It was in force from 1871 to 1994 and criminalised homosexual men for more than a century.
Paragraph 175 was introduced in the German Reich in 1871. It was based on the moral and social ideas of the time, which regarded same-sex love as „unnatural“ or „immoral“.
Under the Nazi regime, Paragraph 175 was massively tightened in 1935. Criminal liability was extended so that even the slightest offence could be prosecuted. Tens of thousands of men were arrested, sentenced or deported to concentration camps.
Yes, after the end of National Socialism, Paragraph 175 initially remained in force in both German states. While it was later largely abolished in the GDR, even the stricter Nazi version continued to apply in the Federal Republic of Germany for a long time.
The legal rehabilitation of men convicted under Paragraph 175 did not begin until 2002, meaning that the injustice they suffered was recognised very late.
Paragraph 175 symbolises state discrimination and persecution of queer people. Its history shows how laws can violate human rights - and why legal equality and remembrance are so important.
