PRISONERS IN THE HOMOSEXUAL CATEGORY IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS STIGMATISATION, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, FORCED LABOUR AND OTHER METHODS OF TERROR IN VICTIMS’ TESTIMONIES Cover Image

WIĘŹNIOWIE KATEGORII HOMOSEXUELL W OBOZACH KONCENTRACYJNYCH. STYGMATYZACJA, PRZEMOC SEKSUALNA, PRACA PRZYMUSOWA I INNE METODY TERRORU W ŚWIADECTWACH OFIAR
PRISONERS IN THE HOMOSEXUAL CATEGORY IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS STIGMATISATION, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, FORCED LABOUR AND OTHER METHODS OF TERROR IN VICTIMS’ TESTIMONIES

Author(s): Magda BORYSŁAWSKA
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Studies in violence and power, Victimology, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Fascism, Nazism and WW II
Published by: Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN
Keywords: ideological discourse; non-heteronormativity; concentration camps; sexual violence; German Reich;

Summary/Abstract: The article is an attempt to reconstruct the experiences of concentration camps’ homosexual prisoners on the basis of their memories preserved in autobiographical texts and analysed using the biographical method. The aim of the article is to describe the stigmatisation and pathologisation of homosexuality in the dominant ideological discourse of the German Reich, and to prove that the rationalisation of violence resulted not only in persecution by camp staff, but also in harassment from and homophobic attitudes among other prisoners, manifested in acts of sexual violence or exclusion from the camp community. The analysis focuses on the physical violence, isolation, forced labour and sharper strictness, highlighting the fluidity of the boundaries between camp procedures and excessive cruelty.

  • Issue Year: 67/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 19-58
  • Page Count: 40
  • Language: Polish