Berlin names street after gay rights pioneer

Berlin names street after gay rights pioneer

17. December 2013 19:41 0 comments

After years of lobbying Berlin finally has a street to honour Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, maybe the first gay rights pioneer of the world. On Tuesday, a part of Einem Street was officially renamed to Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Street.

Photo: Jörg Steinert / LSVD

Photo: Jörg Steinert / LSVD

Karl von Einem was Prussian war minister from 1903 until 1909. He demanded a prosecution of homosexual men and later supported the Nazis. Karl Heinrich Ulrichs on the other hand is seen as a pioneer of gay rights in 19th century Germany. He campaigned for the legalisation of homosexuality until his death in 1895.

For administrative reasons, only the part of the street that is located in the district of Tempelhof-Schöneberg was renamed, while the city centre district still has to go through a process of public participation. This is expected to wrap up in a couple of months.

Munich, Bremen and Hanover already have streets or places named after Ulrichs. The new street in Berlin is situated close to the gay scene around the Nollendorfplatz. Ulrichs was a forerunner to the more famous sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, who already has a street named after him: The Magnus Hirschfeld Ufer, a bank on the river Spree opposite the German Chancellery where his Institute for Sexual Research once stood.

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