Patrick Dörr was only 10 years old when a truly historic moment took place: in 1994, the German government decided to repeal Paragraph 175, which criminalized sex between men. Looking back on the event, Dörr, who sits on the national board of the Lesbian and Gay Association in Germany, said it came much too late. But he recalled how very different social politics were in Germany three decades ago.

"In 1994, such things still weren't discussed in Germany. It wasn't a topic we discussed at school — I didn't know anyone else who was gay. Role models in the media were scarce. All of that has truly changed, which is a good thing," he told DW.

The so-called "gay paragraph" was written in the 19th century. When the German Empire was founded in 1871, the law was introduced to punish "unnatural fornication" between men — with up to six months in prison.

The Nazis further intensified the persecution: just a kiss or a lustful look could land a gay man in prison. Cases of "serious indecency" could be punished with up to 10 years' imprisonment. During the Nazi era, around 100,000 homosexuals were abducted, tortured and murdered.

Following World War II, the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, preserved the Nazi version of the law, mostly unchanged. The German Democratic Republic, communist East Germany, reverted to the earlier clause. In West Germany, around 100,000 gay men were zealously charged, aided by the Nazis' so-called "pink lists." Half of those........

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