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book: Homosexuality in the German Armed Forces
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Homosexuality in the German Armed Forces

A History of Taboo and Tolerance
  • Klaus Storkmann
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2025
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De Gruyter Studies in Military History

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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

Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
December 30, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9783111082691
Hardcover published on:
December 30, 2024
Hardcover ISBN:
9783111072012
Original publisher:
De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Front matter:
18
Main content:
500
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111082691
eBook ISBN: 9783111082691
Hardcover ISBN: 9783111072012
Keywords for this book
Bundeswehr; NVA; homosexuality; discrimination
Audience(s) for this book
Historians, social scientists, LGBT community
Creative Commons
BY 4.0
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