Friedrich-Paul von Groszheim
Encyclopedia
Friedrich-Paul von Groszheim (April 27, 1906 – c. 2003) was a German
man who was imprisoned
by the Nazis
for the crime of homosexuality
under Germany's now-repealed Paragraph 175
. He was born in Lübeck
, Germany
.
Von Groszheim was held in a cell with no heating, very little food, and no toilet facilities. He was rearrested in 1938, torture
d and forcibly castrated
before being re-released.
Because of the castration, von Groszheim was rejected as physically unfit for military service
in 1940. In 1943 he was arrested a third time, this time as a supporter of the former Kaiser
Wilhelm II, and imprisoned as a political prisoner
at Neuengamme concentration camp.
, Germany. In 1995, he was one of eight signers to a declaration given to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
that called for the "memorializing and documenting of Nazi atrocities against homosexuals and others."
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
man who was imprisoned
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
by the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
for the crime of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
under Germany's now-repealed Paragraph 175
Paragraph 175
Paragraph 175 was a provision of the German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It made homosexual acts between males a crime, and in early revisions the provision also criminalized bestiality. All in all, around 140,000 men were convicted under the law.The statute was amended several...
. He was born in Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Three imprisonments
Von Groszheim was one of 230 men arrested in Lübeck on suspicion of being gay by the SS in January 1937. He was imprisoned for ten months, during which he had to wear a badge emblazoned with a capital A, for Arschficker ("arse-fucker"):They beat us to a pulp. I couldn't lie down...my whole back (was) bloody. You were beaten until you finally named names
Von Groszheim was held in a cell with no heating, very little food, and no toilet facilities. He was rearrested in 1938, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d and forcibly castrated
Castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
before being re-released.
Because of the castration, von Groszheim was rejected as physically unfit for military service
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
in 1940. In 1943 he was arrested a third time, this time as a supporter of the former Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
Wilhelm II, and imprisoned as a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
at Neuengamme concentration camp.
After the war
Von Groszheim settled in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany. In 1995, he was one of eight signers to a declaration given to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
that called for the "memorializing and documenting of Nazi atrocities against homosexuals and others."
See also
- Karl GorathKarl GorathKarl Gorath was a gay man who was arrested in 1938 and imprisoned for homosexuality at Neuengamme and Auschwitz...
- Karl LangeKarl LangeKarl Lange was imprisoned by the Nazis for the then crime of homosexuality under the criminal code's Paragraph 175, which defined homosexuality as an unnatural act....
- Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust