Who was the person who lent his name to our foundation, Magnus Hirschfeld? Who were the men and women who engaged in research, taught and provided advice up until the early 1930s in Berlin and who through their deeds became worldwide pioneers of the modern homosexual movement?
You can find a selection of the biographies of eight personalities of that era here. To do so, simply click the name of the person.
Magnus Hirschfeld (* 14 May 1868 in Kolberg; † 14 May 1935 in Nice), German physician in Berlin, sexual researcher and empiricist, gay, socialist, Jewish and co-Founder of the first worldwide homosexual movement (WhK).
Lili Elbe (* 18 December 1882 in Vejle, Denmark; † 12 September 1931 in Dresden), born Einar Wegener [Andreas Sparre], Danish painter, one of the first people who underwent gender-affirming operations in the Institute of Magnus Hirschfeld and the Dresden Women’s Clinic.
Johanna Carolina Elberskirchen; (* 11 April 1864 in Bonn; † 17 May 1943 in Rüders-dorf near Berlin), author, feminist, lesbian, active in the women’s, homosexual, workers’ and sexual reform movements. Pseudonym: Hans Carolan.
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (* 28 August 1825, Westerfeld, East Friesia; † 14 July 1895, L’Aquila, Italy), German lawyer, early lone fighter of the homosexual movement.
Rudolf Brazda (* 26 June 1913 in Brossen, Zeitz District; † 3 August 2011 in Bantzenheim, Upper Alsace), roofer, Josephine Baker imitator and survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Else Ida Pauline Kienle (* 26 February 1900 in Heidenheim an der Brenz; † 08 June 1970 in New York), was a German physician, author and sexual reformer, who devoted herself to women’s rights and rejected the penal abortion paragraph Section 218.
Hilde Radusch (* 6 November 1903 in Altdamm near Stettin, Randow District; † 2. August 1994 in Berlin-Schöneberg) was a feminist, women’s rights activist, anti-Fascist resistance fighter and combative politician for the acceptance of lesbian women. She was one of the leading personalities of the lesbian-gay emancipation movements in the German-speaking countries.
Picture: “Merry greetings from the merry trip from your little chap” 1941), © FFBIZ Archive, Berlin
Gert Christian Südel (* 1951 ; † 2014) was a trans activist and pioneer. He founded what was probably the first association after the Second World War and engaged in publicity and networking development, published several circulars and decisively influenced the history of trans people in Germany. Without his commitment and idealism, the history of trans-sexuality in Germany would have been different.
Picture: © Niki Trauthwein / Lili Elbe Archive
If you have any questions about the project “LSBTIQ biographies”, please contact:
