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'''A Transvestite pass''' ({{lang-de|Transvestitenschein}}) was a doctor's note recognized by the governments of [[German Empire|Imperial Germany]] and the [[Weimar Republic]] – under the support of sexologist [[Magnus Hirschfeld]] – identifying a person as a [[transvestite]]. ''Transvestite'' at this time referred to all individuals whose [[gender identity]] or preferred clothing was discordant to that associated with their [[assigned sex]], and so included both [[crossdressing]] and [[transgender]] people.<ref name="Gershon">{{cite web |last1=Gershon |first1=Livia |title=Gender Identity in Weimar Germany |url=https://daily.jstor.org/gender-identity-in-weimar-germany/ |website=JSTOR Daily |access-date=19 July 2019 |date=18 November 2018}}</ref>
'''A Transvestite pass''' ({{lang-de|Transvestitenschein}}) was a doctor's note recognized by the governments of [[German Empire|Imperial Germany]] and the [[Weimar Republic]] – under the support of sexologist [[Magnus Hirschfeld]] – identifying a person as a [[transvestite]]. ''Transvestite'' at this time referred to all individuals whose [[gender identity]] or preferred clothing was discordant to that associated with their [[assigned sex]], and so included both [[crossdressing]] and [[transgender]] people.<ref name="Gershon">{{cite web |last1=Gershon |first1=Livia |title=Gender Identity in Weimar Germany |url=https://daily.jstor.org/gender-identity-in-weimar-germany/ |website=JSTOR Daily |access-date=19 July 2019 |date=18 November 2018}}</ref> As gender-confirming surgery was only an emerging practice in the early 20th century, obtaining a ''Transvestitenschein,'' along with an official name change, represented the maximum extent to which many trans individuals could transition.<ref>Nunn, Zavier (August 2023) Trans Liminality and the Nazi State, Past & Present, Volume 260, Issue 1, 123–157, https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtac018.</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
Line 24: Line 24:
In early 20th-century Germany, [[cross-dressing]] was not inherently illegal.<ref name=":12" /> However, those who defied societal gender norms through [[cross-dressing]] risked facing legal consequences, such as arrest and charges related to public outrage and disturbances.<ref name=":12" />[[Magnus Hirschfeld]] played a pivotal role in assisting individuals navigating these challenging situations, by helping them obtain police documents regarding their clothing choices to establish their “objective” [[sexual identity]].<ref name=":12" /> Hirschfeld was the one who submitted reports to the police as evidence in support of obtaining a transvestite pass for his patients.<ref name=":12" /> Hirschfeld's efforts contributed to the transformation of this pass into a more specific permit that would be recognized on the basis of state-legitimacy, particularly during the [[Weimar Republic]].<ref name=":12" />
In early 20th-century Germany, [[cross-dressing]] was not inherently illegal.<ref name=":12" /> However, those who defied societal gender norms through [[cross-dressing]] risked facing legal consequences, such as arrest and charges related to public outrage and disturbances.<ref name=":12" />[[Magnus Hirschfeld]] played a pivotal role in assisting individuals navigating these challenging situations, by helping them obtain police documents regarding their clothing choices to establish their “objective” [[sexual identity]].<ref name=":12" /> Hirschfeld was the one who submitted reports to the police as evidence in support of obtaining a transvestite pass for his patients.<ref name=":12" /> Hirschfeld's efforts contributed to the transformation of this pass into a more specific permit that would be recognized on the basis of state-legitimacy, particularly during the [[Weimar Republic]].<ref name=":12" />


In either 1908 or 1909, the first known Transvestite Pass was issued to a [[female-to-male]] transvestite. From 1908-1909 up until 1933, "perhaps dozens" of such Transvestite Passes were granted by the German police with the support and aide of Hirschfeld.<ref name="Frost">{{cite web |last1=Frost |first1=Natasha |title=The Early 20th-Century ID Cards That Kept Trans People Safe From Harassment |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/trans-id-passes-weimar-germany-marcus-hirschfeld |website=Atlas Obscura |access-date=19 July 2019 |date=2 November 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Sutton |first=Katie |date=2012 |title="We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23269669 |journal=German Studies Review |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=335–354 |issn=0149-7952 |jstor=23269669}}</ref> These Transvestite Passes were mainly given to middle-class, [[heterosexual]], [[male-to-female]] individuals to avoid associations with [[gay]] and [[lesbian]] culture in Weimar Germany. The Transvestite Pass certificate stated that the "individual in question" was allowed to wear clothing which corresponded to their [[gender identity]],<ref name="Gershon" /> meaning they could [[Cross-dressing|cross-dress]] in public spaces.[[File:Hirschfeld patients - Die Transvetiten.png|thumb|Photograph of [[Magnus Hirschfeld]]'s 4th, 7th, and 6th patients, 1910.|left|189x189px]]
In either 1908 or 1909, the first known Transvestite Pass was issued to a [[female-to-male]] transvestite known as Katharina T. Katharina was denied a name change based on legality, but was helped with the pass itself.<ref name=":1">Seifert-Gram, O. (May 2021). ''Transvestit Such Gedankenaustausch: The Creation and Control of Transvestite Identities in Weimar Queer Media'' (Masters Thesis). University of Missouri-Columbia.</ref> From 1908-1909 up until 1933, "perhaps dozens" of such Transvestite Passes were granted by the German police with the support and aide of Hirschfeld.<ref name="Frost">{{cite web |last1=Frost |first1=Natasha |title=The Early 20th-Century ID Cards That Kept Trans People Safe From Harassment |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/trans-id-passes-weimar-germany-marcus-hirschfeld |website=Atlas Obscura |access-date=19 July 2019 |date=2 November 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Sutton |first=Katie |date=2012 |title="We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23269669 |journal=German Studies Review |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=335–354 |issn=0149-7952 |jstor=23269669}}</ref> Medical assessments were also conducted with the help of Iwan [[File:Hirschfeld patients - Die Transvetiten.png|thumb|Photograph of [[Magnus Hirschfeld]]'s 4th, 7th, and 6th patients, 1910.|left|189x189px]]

⚫
In 1922, guidance issued by the police headquarters of [[Berlin]] regarding this policy stated:
Bloch. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Bakker |first=Alex |url=https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/90516 |title=Others of My Kind : Transatlantic Transgender Histories |last2=Herrn |first2=Rainer |last3=Taylor |first3=Michael Thomas |last4=Timm |first4=Annette F. |date=2020 |publisher=University of Calgary Press |isbn=978-1-77385-122-8 |language=English}}</ref> These Transvestite Passes were mainly given to middle-class, [[heterosexual]], [[male-to-female]] individuals to avoid associations with [[gay]] and [[lesbian]] culture in Weimar Germany. The Transvestite Pass certificate stated that the "individual in question" was allowed to wear clothing which corresponded to their [[gender identity]],<ref name="Gershon" /> meaning they could [[Cross-dressing|cross-dress]] in public spaces.

Although passes were more distributed by the 1920s, name changes continued to be an issue. It was not until 1919 and 1920 that full name changes on the passes were possible, but there were still restrictions in place that limited free access to such changes.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Linge |first=Ina |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK592447/ |title=Queer Livability: German Sexual Sciences and Life Writing |date=2023 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-13306-2 |series=Wellcome Trust–Funded Monographs and Book Chapters |location=Ann Arbor (MI) |pmid=37276275}}</ref>

Notions of transvestism were sufficiently novel in the early twentieth century that the case of one holder of a ''Transvestiteschein'' made international news. The case of Countess Geraldine von Zobeltitz, a trans noblewoman from Berlin, was reported in the August 11, 1912 issue of the ''Asheville Citizen-Times.''<ref>(11 August 1912). “A German Baron Now a Countess by Court Decree”, 14, ''Asheville Citizen Times''.</ref>

== Police ==
As the pass gained popularity, local police departments began issuing their own version of the Transvestite pass. The police version was handwritten but had a photo of the individual wearing the clothes of their chosen sex.<ref name=":3">Rottmann, Elisabeth (2019). ''Queer Home Berlin? Making Queer Selves and Spaces in the Divided City, 1945-1970''. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.</ref> In order to get a pass, you would need a medical report from a medical professional, and then you take that to the police, who will make the pass.<ref name=":2" />
[[File:Gerd Katter - Transvestitenschein (Issued by police) - colorized.jpg|thumb|A Transvestite Certificate issued to Gerd Katter by the Berlin police]]
⚫
In 1922, guidance issued by the police headquarters of [[Berlin]] regarding this policy stated:


"Apart from [[male prostitution]], transvestism in general has no criminal significance. The widespread public opinion that the disguised individuals are generally criminals in disguise (pickpockets, spies, pimps, etc.) is obsolete. Regarding the male transvestites, recent experience shows that even the formerly taken-for-granted view that men in women's clothing are all homosexuals is no longer tenable. [...] Based on this insight emerges a duty of gentle treatment [schonenden Behandlung] of transvestites, as long as they are not engaged in male prostitution.<ref name=":0" />"
"Apart from [[male prostitution]], transvestism in general has no criminal significance. The widespread public opinion that the disguised individuals are generally criminals in disguise (pickpockets, spies, pimps, etc.) is obsolete. Regarding the male transvestites, recent experience shows that even the formerly taken-for-granted view that men in women's clothing are all homosexuals is no longer tenable. [...] Based on this insight emerges a duty of gentle treatment [schonenden Behandlung] of transvestites, as long as they are not engaged in male prostitution.<ref name=":0" />"


In the years after the Nazis came to power, most of the Transvestite Passes were revoked, refused and not recognized by German police forces.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marhoefer |first=Laurie |date=2023-06-06 |title=Historians are learning more about how the Nazis targeted trans people |url=http://theconversation.com/historians-are-learning-more-about-how-the-nazis-targeted-trans-people-205622 |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref>
In the years after the Nazis came to power, most of the Transvestite Passes were revoked, refused and not recognized by German police forces.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Marhoefer |first=Laurie |date=2023-06-06 |title=Historians are learning more about how the Nazis targeted trans people |url=http://theconversation.com/historians-are-learning-more-about-how-the-nazis-targeted-trans-people-205622 |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref>


Since the certificates were issued by local police, some individuals encountered problems when they were travelling between police jurisdictions.<ref name=":0" /> Certain spaces also played a role in police involvement, such as presence on the street or at a ball, if police presence was requested on a certain basis.<ref>Evans, Jennifer V. (2011). Life ''Among the Ruins: Cityscape and Sexuality in Cold War Berlin''. Genders and Sexualities in History. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN: 978-0-230-55185-5.</ref> The streets or cafes were places that did not ensure freedom of movement and held different rules about gender presentation and behaviour; cross-dressing and gender experience were “misunderstood” by police in many cases, especially for lower-class individuals who were targeted more than their middle and upper-class counterparts.<ref name=":1" />

Appearance played an important role in police actions. Cisgender men and women were also targets of the police if their appearance was not clearly masculine or feminine or caused confusion, resulting in arrests.<ref name=":1" />


== Magnus Hirschfeld ==
== Magnus Hirschfeld ==
Line 52: Line 65:
[[File:Lili Elbe 1930.jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|[[Lili Elbe]], 1933.]]
[[File:Lili Elbe 1930.jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|[[Lili Elbe]], 1933.]]
While [[homosexuality]] and [[cross-dressing]] was not allowed, being [[transgender]] had no official legal consequences<ref name=":032" /><ref name=":122">{{Cite journal |last=Caplan |first=Jane |date=2011 |title=The Administration of Gender Identity in Nazi Germany |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41306843 |journal=History Workshop Journal |issue=72 |pages=171–180 |issn=1363-3554}}</ref>. For individuals who obtained the Transvestite Passes, there were not many reported cases where an individual transitioned from [[Female to male|female to male (ftm)]]. The vast majority of those in possession of the Transvestite Pass were individuals who transitioned from [[Male to female|male to female (mtf)]]. One of the only documented [[transgender]] men (female to male) of the time, Katharina T, passed the first examination in the process of approval for the Transvestite Pass but was eventually denied to change their name legally<ref name=":032" />. It was more uncommon for [[transgender]] men to be given passes due to German society in the interwar period associating them with the queer community<ref name=":032" />. [[Transgender]] women were given passes but also faced difficulties with changing their name<ref name=":032" />. Not much information is documented about the personal lives of the individuals who had obtained the Transvestite Pass. However, there were famous [[transgender]] people such as [[Lili Elbe]] who was able to successfully obtain the Transvestite Pass and was able to change their name legally<ref name=":032" /><ref name=":122" />. Nonetheless, the post-1933 fates of individuals who had received [[Magnus Hirschfeld|Hirschfeld]]’s assistance varied significantly amongst the rise of the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi Regime]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holocaust |first=Museum of Jewish Heritage-A. Living Memorial to the |date=2022-06-03 |title=Transgender Experiences in Weimar and Nazi Germany |url=https://mjhnyc.org/blog/transgender-experiences-in-weimar-and-nazi-germany/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust |language=en-US}}</ref> Thus, the Transvestite Pass illustrates the evolving legal and societal attitudes towards the act of [[cross-dressing]], [[gender identity]] and transgender rights in [[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]]<ref name=":122" />.
While [[homosexuality]] and [[cross-dressing]] was not allowed, being [[transgender]] had no official legal consequences<ref name=":032" /><ref name=":122">{{Cite journal |last=Caplan |first=Jane |date=2011 |title=The Administration of Gender Identity in Nazi Germany |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41306843 |journal=History Workshop Journal |issue=72 |pages=171–180 |issn=1363-3554}}</ref>. For individuals who obtained the Transvestite Passes, there were not many reported cases where an individual transitioned from [[Female to male|female to male (ftm)]]. The vast majority of those in possession of the Transvestite Pass were individuals who transitioned from [[Male to female|male to female (mtf)]]. One of the only documented [[transgender]] men (female to male) of the time, Katharina T, passed the first examination in the process of approval for the Transvestite Pass but was eventually denied to change their name legally<ref name=":032" />. It was more uncommon for [[transgender]] men to be given passes due to German society in the interwar period associating them with the queer community<ref name=":032" />. [[Transgender]] women were given passes but also faced difficulties with changing their name<ref name=":032" />. Not much information is documented about the personal lives of the individuals who had obtained the Transvestite Pass. However, there were famous [[transgender]] people such as [[Lili Elbe]] who was able to successfully obtain the Transvestite Pass and was able to change their name legally<ref name=":032" /><ref name=":122" />. Nonetheless, the post-1933 fates of individuals who had received [[Magnus Hirschfeld|Hirschfeld]]’s assistance varied significantly amongst the rise of the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi Regime]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holocaust |first=Museum of Jewish Heritage-A. Living Memorial to the |date=2022-06-03 |title=Transgender Experiences in Weimar and Nazi Germany |url=https://mjhnyc.org/blog/transgender-experiences-in-weimar-and-nazi-germany/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust |language=en-US}}</ref> Thus, the Transvestite Pass illustrates the evolving legal and societal attitudes towards the act of [[cross-dressing]], [[gender identity]] and transgender rights in [[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]]<ref name=":122" />.

== Post-Weimar period ==
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, German police stopped recognizing and providing passes. The police also revoked passes of people who already had them, and in some instances, the pass was used to identify people to send to concentration camps.<ref name=":4" /> One example of this is [[Liddy Bacroff]], who received a pass in 1928. After 1933 she had several encounters with the local police until they sent her to the Mauthausten concentration camp, where she died in 1943.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Marhoefer |first=Laurie |date=2023-08-25 |title=Transgender Life and Persecution under the Nazi State: Gutachten on the Vollbrecht Case |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/central-european-history/article/transgender-life-and-persecution-under-the-nazi-state-gutachten-on-the-vollbrecht-case/0779A24B130C4F0CA64DB639FA6DBF46 |journal=Central European History |language=en |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1017/S0008938923000468 |issn=0008-9389}}</ref> Another example is that of Gerd Kuppe, whose pass was revoked in 1933, and in 1938, he was sent to a concentration camp; however, he was released a few months later.<ref name=":5" /> In September of 1939, Alex. S positioned the government to have their birth register changed from female to male. This was denied, and Alex ended up on a Nazi watchlist. This led to him losing his Transvestite pass.<ref name=":12" />

In the post-war era, the pass fell into obscurity but did see some use up until the late 1950s in places like West and East Berlin. These passes were issued by the police, and like in pre-Nazi Germany, they had a picture of the individual wearing the clothes of their chosen gender. However, these passes stopped being issued in the 1960’s.<ref name=":3" />


==See also==
==See also==
Line 65: Line 83:
* [[Transvestism]]
* [[Transvestism]]
* [[Weimar Republic]]
* [[Weimar Republic]]
* [[Transgender people in Nazi Germany]]


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 04:20, 29 November 2023

Tranvestite certificates issued to Gerd Katter in 1928. Left was issued by Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft; right was issued by the Berlin Police.

A Transvestite pass (German: Transvestitenschein) was a doctor's note recognized by the governments of Imperial Germany and the Weimar Republic – under the support of sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld – identifying a person as a transvestite. Transvestite at this time referred to all individuals whose gender identity or preferred clothing was discordant to that associated with their assigned sex, and so included both crossdressing and transgender people.[1] As gender-confirming surgery was only an emerging practice in the early 20th century, obtaining a Transvestitenschein, along with an official name change, represented the maximum extent to which many trans individuals could transition.[2]

History

Herbert W. (left) was a transgender friend of Magnus Hirschfeld, and lived for two years in Berlin under his chosen name. This photo is from Hirschfeld's Sexual Intermediates (1922).

In early 20th-century Germany, cross-dressing was not inherently illegal.[3] However, those who defied societal gender norms through cross-dressing risked facing legal consequences, such as arrest and charges related to public outrage and disturbances.[3]Magnus Hirschfeld played a pivotal role in assisting individuals navigating these challenging situations, by helping them obtain police documents regarding their clothing choices to establish their “objective” sexual identity.[3] Hirschfeld was the one who submitted reports to the police as evidence in support of obtaining a transvestite pass for his patients.[3] Hirschfeld's efforts contributed to the transformation of this pass into a more specific permit that would be recognized on the basis of state-legitimacy, particularly during the Weimar Republic.[3]

In either 1908 or 1909, the first known Transvestite Pass was issued to a female-to-male transvestite known as Katharina T. Katharina was denied a name change based on legality, but was helped with the pass itself.[4] From 1908-1909 up until 1933, "perhaps dozens" of such Transvestite Passes were granted by the German police with the support and aide of Hirschfeld.[5][6] Medical assessments were also conducted with the help of Iwan

Photograph of Magnus Hirschfeld's 4th, 7th, and 6th patients, 1910.

Bloch. [7] These Transvestite Passes were mainly given to middle-class, heterosexual, male-to-female individuals to avoid associations with gay and lesbian culture in Weimar Germany. The Transvestite Pass certificate stated that the "individual in question" was allowed to wear clothing which corresponded to their gender identity,[1] meaning they could cross-dress in public spaces.

Although passes were more distributed by the 1920s, name changes continued to be an issue. It was not until 1919 and 1920 that full name changes on the passes were possible, but there were still restrictions in place that limited free access to such changes.[8]

Notions of transvestism were sufficiently novel in the early twentieth century that the case of one holder of a Transvestiteschein made international news. The case of Countess Geraldine von Zobeltitz, a trans noblewoman from Berlin, was reported in the August 11, 1912 issue of the Asheville Citizen-Times.[9]

Police

As the pass gained popularity, local police departments began issuing their own version of the Transvestite pass. The police version was handwritten but had a photo of the individual wearing the clothes of their chosen sex.[10] In order to get a pass, you would need a medical report from a medical professional, and then you take that to the police, who will make the pass.[8]

File:Gerd Katter - Transvestitenschein (Issued by police) - colorized.jpg
A Transvestite Certificate issued to Gerd Katter by the Berlin police

In 1922, guidance issued by the police headquarters of Berlin regarding this policy stated:

"Apart from male prostitution, transvestism in general has no criminal significance. The widespread public opinion that the disguised individuals are generally criminals in disguise (pickpockets, spies, pimps, etc.) is obsolete. Regarding the male transvestites, recent experience shows that even the formerly taken-for-granted view that men in women's clothing are all homosexuals is no longer tenable. [...] Based on this insight emerges a duty of gentle treatment [schonenden Behandlung] of transvestites, as long as they are not engaged in male prostitution.[6]"

In the years after the Nazis came to power, most of the Transvestite Passes were revoked, refused and not recognized by German police forces.[11]

Since the certificates were issued by local police, some individuals encountered problems when they were travelling between police jurisdictions.[6] Certain spaces also played a role in police involvement, such as presence on the street or at a ball, if police presence was requested on a certain basis.[12] The streets or cafes were places that did not ensure freedom of movement and held different rules about gender presentation and behaviour; cross-dressing and gender experience were “misunderstood” by police in many cases, especially for lower-class individuals who were targeted more than their middle and upper-class counterparts.[4]

Appearance played an important role in police actions. Cisgender men and women were also targets of the police if their appearance was not clearly masculine or feminine or caused confusion, resulting in arrests.[4]

Magnus Hirschfeld

Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (right) and Karl Giese (left), 1934.

Career

Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935) was a German physician, sexologist, clinician, and early homosexual rights activist. In 1919 Berlin, Hirschfeld founded Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Science), a private sexology research institute. Along with his research institute, Hirschfeld strived for legal and social reform on the basis of LGBTQ+ rights, as he felt that individuals should not be characterized as abnormal and criminalized for being sexual minorities.[13] Hirschfeld's theories and research would become theoretical precursors[14] to concepts such as non-binary gender identity, and same-sex love.[15] Hirschfeld was a firm believer that science had the ability to provide fair treatment to all.[16] This is echoed in his most famous motto:

“per scientiam ad justitiam” (“through science to justice”)[17]

In 1910 during the Weimar period, Hirschfeld coined the term "transvestism" to describe the act of cross-dressing. Hirschfeld did this as a way to distinguish the act of cross-dressing from notions of homosexuality as well as the gay and lesbian culture in Weimar Germany.[18]

Transvestitenschein (Transvestite Pass)

Karl Abraham, 1920.

In 1908-1909 Hirschfeld and psychoanalyst Karl Abraham implemented the first Transvestitenschein (Transvestite Pass).[19]Hirschfeld and Abraham created the

Transvestite Pass as a form of protection for individuals against the arrest associated with the act of cross-dressing from local police authorities, as well as providing them with the ability to travel in an unimpeded manner.[20]The implementation of the Transvestitenschein (Transvestite Pass) paved the way for further progression amongst transgender rights, such as the ability for legal name change.[21] This was one of the first forms of trans recognition of state-legitimacy.[22]Along with the Transvestitenschein (Transvestite Pass), Hirschfeld's institute Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Science) began offering other services for transgender individuals such as sexual health services, including medical transitioning. [23]

Personal Lives of Individuals with the Transvestite Pass

Lili Elbe, 1926.

It is unknown how many people used Magnus Hirschfield's transvestite pass[24]. Of the documented cases most of them were given to white middle class transgender women[3]. The media only described a bourgeois transgender experience rather than the multitude of transgender communities at the time in Weimar Germany[24]. This influenced the lifestyles of many as Transgender patients were told to follow more middle class values such as not dressing too extravagantly or feminine, and not interacting with those who were outside the heterosexual norms[24] in order to conform to the regulations needed to obtain the Transvestite Pass. They were expected to follow these guidelines because police were told to only arrest individuals if they thought that they were committing “gross mischief” or prostitution[24]. Many people who had Transvestite Passes had to distance themselves from the German LGBTQ+ community due to prejudice from both others in the transgender community as well as homophobia at that time.[25].

Lili Elbe, 1933.

While homosexuality and cross-dressing was not allowed, being transgender had no official legal consequences[25][26]. For individuals who obtained the Transvestite Passes, there were not many reported cases where an individual transitioned from female to male (ftm). The vast majority of those in possession of the Transvestite Pass were individuals who transitioned from male to female (mtf). One of the only documented transgender men (female to male) of the time, Katharina T, passed the first examination in the process of approval for the Transvestite Pass but was eventually denied to change their name legally[25]. It was more uncommon for transgender men to be given passes due to German society in the interwar period associating them with the queer community[25]. Transgender women were given passes but also faced difficulties with changing their name[25]. Not much information is documented about the personal lives of the individuals who had obtained the Transvestite Pass. However, there were famous transgender people such as Lili Elbe who was able to successfully obtain the Transvestite Pass and was able to change their name legally[25][26]. Nonetheless, the post-1933 fates of individuals who had received Hirschfeld’s assistance varied significantly amongst the rise of the Nazi Regime.[27] Thus, the Transvestite Pass illustrates the evolving legal and societal attitudes towards the act of cross-dressing, gender identity and transgender rights in Weimar Germany[26].

Post-Weimar period

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, German police stopped recognizing and providing passes. The police also revoked passes of people who already had them, and in some instances, the pass was used to identify people to send to concentration camps.[11] One example of this is Liddy Bacroff, who received a pass in 1928. After 1933 she had several encounters with the local police until they sent her to the Mauthausten concentration camp, where she died in 1943.[28] Another example is that of Gerd Kuppe, whose pass was revoked in 1933, and in 1938, he was sent to a concentration camp; however, he was released a few months later.[28] In September of 1939, Alex. S positioned the government to have their birth register changed from female to male. This was denied, and Alex ended up on a Nazi watchlist. This led to him losing his Transvestite pass.[3]

In the post-war era, the pass fell into obscurity but did see some use up until the late 1950s in places like West and East Berlin. These passes were issued by the police, and like in pre-Nazi Germany, they had a picture of the individual wearing the clothes of their chosen gender. However, these passes stopped being issued in the 1960’s.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Gershon, Livia (18 November 2018). "Gender Identity in Weimar Germany". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  2. ^ Nunn, Zavier (August 2023) Trans Liminality and the Nazi State, Past & Present, Volume 260, Issue 1, 123–157, https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtac018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Caplan, Jane (2011). "The Administration of Gender Identity in Nazi Germany". History Workshop Journal (72): 171–180. ISSN 1363-3554.
  4. ^ a b c Seifert-Gram, O. (May 2021). Transvestit Such Gedankenaustausch: The Creation and Control of Transvestite Identities in Weimar Queer Media (Masters Thesis). University of Missouri-Columbia.
  5. ^ Frost, Natasha (2 November 2017). "The Early 20th-Century ID Cards That Kept Trans People Safe From Harassment". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Sutton, Katie (2012). ""We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany". German Studies Review. 35 (2): 335–354. ISSN 0149-7952. JSTOR 23269669.
  7. ^ Bakker, Alex; Herrn, Rainer; Taylor, Michael Thomas; Timm, Annette F. (2020). Others of My Kind : Transatlantic Transgender Histories. University of Calgary Press. ISBN 978-1-77385-122-8.
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  14. ^ Sutton, Katie (2011-04-01). "The Masculine Woman in Weimar Germany: Chapter 1 — "Which One Is the Man?": The Masulinization of Women's Fashions". JSTOR. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  15. ^ Mancini, Elena. "The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies: Hirschfeld, Magnus". Sage Knowledge. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
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  18. ^ Sutton, Katie (2011-04-01). "The Masculine Woman in Weimar Germany: Chapter 1 — "Which One Is the Man?": The Masulinization of Women's Fashions". JSTOR. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  19. ^ Sutton, Katie (May 2012). ""We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany". JSTOR. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
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  27. ^ Holocaust, Museum of Jewish Heritage-A. Living Memorial to the (2022-06-03). "Transgender Experiences in Weimar and Nazi Germany". Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
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External links

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