Benjamin Asher he/himJun 12, 2023
𝐿𝒶𝓃𝒶  

On May 6, 1933, Nazi stormtroopers (Sturmabteilung) broke into this library, looted the building, killed at least one of the occupants, and hauled the majority of its books outside for a public book burning in the streets of the Opernplatz. Joseph Goebbels gave a speech to 40,000 people about "protecting our nation's children".

The photo has become an icon of Nazi German brutality and fascism. It is shown in school textbooks worldwide above the caption "Nazi book burnings, 1933". It is often published in news stories and social media whenever the subject of banning books arises.

What is not often mentioned in those stories is the SUBJECT of the burned books. The building was the Institute for the Science of Sexuality. The first of its kind, dedicated to studying trans people and trans identities, and performing gender confirming surgery for a number of patients. And the books that were burned were trans histories and trans patient records.

Remember, they came for trans people first.

Jun 12, 2023 at 2:27pmWeb
Show thread𝐿𝒶𝓃𝒶  Jun 12, 2023
Follow for more unwritten #TransHistory every single day during #PrideMonth
Show threadSzaweł TreczJun 12, 2023
@LadyDragonfly hi, could you point to the source of this information, please.
Show thread𝐿𝒶𝓃𝒶  Jun 12, 2023

@Precz

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_f%C3%BCr_Sexualwissenschaft#CITEREFWolff1986

(81 primary sources listed under "Notes")

Institut für Sexualwissenschaft - Wikipedia

Show threadSzaweł TreczJun 12, 2023
@LadyDragonfly thanks!
Show threadHollieJun 12, 2023

@Precz @LadyDragonfly "Founded in 1919, the institute had been set up by Magnus Hirschfeld, a world-renowned expert in the emerging discipline of sexology. During its existence, thousands of patients were seen and treated, often for free. The Institute also achieved a global reputation for its pioneering work on transsexual understanding and calls for equality for homosexuals, transgender people and women."

https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/6-may-1933-looting-of-the-institute-of-sexology/

Holocaust Memorial Day Trust | 6 May 1933: Looting of the Institute of Sexology

On 6 May 1933, the Institute of Sexology, an academic foundation devoted to sexological research and the advocacy of homosexual rights, was broken into and occupied by Nazi-supporting youth. Several days later the entire contents of the library were removed and burned.

Show threadsandywb14Jun 12, 2023
@LadyDragonfly 😲
Show threadCanadian CroneJun 12, 2023
@LadyDragonfly This behaviour can never be overlooked. And #PPForPM is welcoming their influence with open arms. Together they will fight the “woke” coalition and #MakeCanadaFreeAgain. Can’t happen here? #Postmedia #CdnMedia oh look, belly lint.
Show threadSaftyKumaJun 12, 2023

@LadyDragonfly

Which is why it is 100% accurate and IMPORTANT to assign the label "fascist" to the modern GOP. Anyone who fails to do that is carrying water for them, intentionally or not.

Show threadJoyographicJun 12, 2023
@LadyDragonfly Trans people are the last minority to gain rights, and the first to lose them.
Show thread𝐿𝒶𝓃𝒶  Jun 12, 2023
@joyographic sadly, often true
Show threadLilyshomeJun 12, 2023
@LadyDragonfly sounds like TN’s Blackburn, Hagerty & Harshbarger..and Gov. Bill Lee. And Legislature.
Show threadニルス・スキニールJun 13, 2023
@LadyDragonfly Sounds like TX governor.
Show threadDarren du NordJun 13, 2023
@LadyDragonfly Thank you for educating me. I had not been exposed to this history before in such detail.
Show threadMirkoJul 14, 2023

@LadyDragonfly Your toot motivated me to learn about this event. I have had it in (german)school, but there was never mentioned the subject of the books.

The history of Magnus Hirschfeld is very interesting in that regard.

Thanks a lot for sharing this!