Discover Berlin’s ambivalent queer history, including both periods of celebration of sexual freedom and of gruesome repression and persecution, on this unique walking tour. Visit one of the oldest queer bars in town, see the memorial dedicated to homosexuals in Nazi Germany at Nollendorfplatz and end the tour nearby the Gay Museum.
Berlin is known as the queer capital of Europe. It has been a pioneer of gay and lesbian rights since the end of the 19th century, even though "Section 175" of the German penal code continued to criminalize male homosexuals until 1994. Get to know the queer history of Berlin and learn more about queer figures, from Prussian King Frederick to former mayor Klaus Wowereit.
Stroll through Schöneberg, the epicenter of gay life in the 1920s. Visit the famous Eldorado, one of Berlin’s oldest transvestite bars and stop at the memorial to the homosexuals persecuted by the Nazis. Learn about the unique work of Magnus Hirschfeld, who offered help and support to openly queer individuals in these horrific times. His Institute for Sexual Science was shut down in 1933 and its library destroyed during the Nazi book-burning.
During the walking tour you will also explore the lively Kreuzberg district, to get a feeling for what life is like for local queers nowadays. Your guide is looking forward to introducing you to an important part of Berlin’s culture, a city in which a "kiss-in" is still seen as the best form of protest.
