Homosexuality in the German Armed Forces: A History of Taboo and Tolerance

Klaus Storkmann

book: Homosexuality in the German Armed Forces

Open Access Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg 2025

Homosexuality in the German Armed Forces

A History of Taboo and Tolerance

Klaus Storkmann

Volume 6 in the series De Gruyter Studies in Military History

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111082691

About this book

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Until 1979, homosexual men were systematically exempt from military service in the Bundeswehr. Although homosexuality alone was no longer a cause for being unfit for service, the principle applied to homosexual soldiers was: compulsory military service yes, career no. In most cases, same-sex orientation made it impossible to become an officer. And it was classified as a security risk. It was not until 2000 that the Federal Ministry of Defense changed its course.

Klaus Storkmann is the first to examine the Bundeswehr's handling of homosexual soldiers on the basis of interviews, court records and papers of the Federal Ministry of Defense. A comparison with other armed forces and the public service in the Federal Republic of Germany places the Bundeswehr actions in a larger context. The study proves that homosexuality has always been an issue in the military and continues to be so in many places; it is based on retrospective views on former German armed forces, in particular the National People's Army of the GDR, and includes side glances at armies of other states.

Author / Editor information

Klaus Storkmann, Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the German Armed Forces, Potsdam, Germany.

Reviews

"This present study by Klaus Storkmann – written by a serving officer and
published by a Bundeswehr research institution – is, by its very existence,
important evidence of the profound changes that have taken place since then.
It represents the first attempt to comprehensively analyse how the military
dealt with homosexual men (and later also women) in its own ranks." Michael Schwartz in:
International Journal of Military History and Historiography 2024

Topics

Frontmatter Open Access Download PDF	I
Foreword Open Access Download PDF	VII
Acknowledgements Open Access Download PDF	IX
About the Author Open Access Download PDF	XII
Contents Open Access Download PDF	XIII
Introduction Open Access Download PDF	1
Historical Preamble: Homosexuality’s Reception in Earlier German Armed Forces Open Access Download PDF	17
I Unfit to Serve? Evaluating Homosexual Men’s Military Fitness Open Access Download PDF	37
II Among Comrades: Life as a Homosexual Soldier through the Lens of Individual Memory and Experience Open Access Download PDF	64
III Illicit Acts? Male Homosexuality in Criminal and Disciplinary Law Open Access Download PDF	130
IV Unfit to Command? Open Access Download PDF	209
V Under Suspicion: Homosexuality as a Security Risk Open Access Download PDF	284
VI A New Millennium – a New Era Open Access Download PDF	362
VII What of the Others? The Practices of Other Armed Forces Open Access Download PDF	413
Conclusion Open Access Download PDF	468
Postscript Open Access Download PDF	481
Sources and Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	482
List of Abbreviations Open Access Download PDF	496
Index Open Access Download PDF	498

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Original publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Audience: Historians, social scientists, LGBT community
Pages
- Front matter: 18
- Main content: 500
Keywords: Bundeswehr; NVA; homosexuality; discrimination

eBook

Published: December 30, 2024
ISBN: 9783111082691

Hardcover

Published: December 30, 2024
ISBN: 9783111072012

Homosexuality in the German Armed Forces

A History of Taboo and Tolerance

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