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Paragraph 175
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Paragraph 175

German penal code
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Paragraph 175 was a section of the German penal code that criminalized same-sex male relations. Introduced in the early 1870s, it subjected these relations to penalties including imprisonment and loss of civil rights. Efforts to repeal Paragraph 175 began as early as 1898 by the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in Berlin. While there was some tolerance for gay nightlife during the Weimar Republic, the Nazi seizure of power led to the strict enforcement of Paragraph 175. The law remained in effect for decades, with significant legal battles and advocacy by the gay rights movement aimed at its decriminalization.1

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. sodomy
  2. gay rights movement

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