Today in 1933 the Nazis started their war against the gay and lesbian community in Germany by confiscating materials from the Institute of Sexual Science. The institute’s works were destroyed as part of the regime’s censorship programme, by youth brigades.
The organisation was opened in 1919 and key in collecting and collating data concerning sexuality, gender and psychology.
The Nazis burned the books and documents on the streets of Berlin as part of their censorship policy.
The institute was opened by Magnus Hirschfeld and his collaborator Arthur Kronfeld in 1919.
Magnus is also famous for coining the term transsexualism. The institute also employed transgender people. Pioneering modern sex reassignment surgeries were offered here in 1930.
