Otto Blankenstein
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| Otto Blankenstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 22, 1932 or 1933 Hardegsen, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Central role in the Frankfurt Homosexual Trials |
Otto Blankenstein was a sex worker who lived in West Germany in the immediate post-war period and was arrested and sentenced for violating Paragraph 175, a German legal code prohibiting homosexual activity.[1] After being arrested, his testimony became the primary basis for what is now known as the Frankfurt Homosexual Trials, a pivotal event in German LGBT history.[2]
Early life and background[edit]
Blankenstein's date of birth cannot be clearly determined, nor is it certain whether "Otto Blankenstein" was actually his legal name. A pre-trial register shows that he was born on November 22, 1932 in Hardegsen.[3] Contradicting information results from an article by Der Spiegel;[4] According to this, Blankenstein would have been over 18 years old when he was arrested, while according to the aforementioned entry in the pre-trial register he was only 17 years old at that time. The forensic psychiatrist Reinhard Redhardt dates Blankenstein's birth to November 22, 1933. According to him, he would have been 16 years old when he was arrested.
Otto Blankenstein was not the only name under which he had introduced himself. The Frankfurt customs police and a long-time friend of Blankenstein knew him by the name of Rolf Werter. Other well-known names with which he identified himself are Rolf Dieter von Rössing or Rolf Dieter von Werder,[5] Baron von Werder, Baron von Rössing or Baron Hohenlohe. [6] It is possible that his real name was deliberately not made public or not known to the authorities. [7]
Blankenstein could not remember his father and his mother died when he was six years old. He then grew up with relatives, such as his grandmother. At the age of 10 he was transferred to the Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt Oranienstein (Diez an der Lahn). However, he was denied further training there due to fraudulent activities. At age of twelve he reputedly defended a village as a combat commander, having already become involved in the black market. Two years later he ended up in a welfare institution, from which he soon escaped. In 1948 he began to prostitute himself by engaging in sexual activities with men and women for a fee.[8] On July 16, 1950, Blankenstein was arrested,[9] and investigations were initiated against him for violating Paragraph 175, a German legal code prohibiting fornication with men.[10]
Personality[edit]
Redhardt, who carried out a study on male prostitution in the early 1950s, interviewed for them, among other things. also Otto Blankenstein and formulated an assessment of his personality. He characterizes Blankenstein - whom he cites under the pseudonym Klaus N. - as "extraordinarily intelligent [...] [,] talented [...] [,] unusually affectionate, very compliant, loving, almost submissive" and yet as "sober, frivolous and cool."[11] Blankenstein has a courteous nature and knows how to ingratiate himself. He was also "clever, dangerous and superior", had a "tendency to imposture", but could bring the latter well under control. His lustfulness is extravagant, and in sexual terms he is strongly fixated on sadomasochistic practices - Redhardt claims to have recognized a connection between his sadomasochistic fixation and the denunciations that Blankenstein had made towards the police.[12]
For the trial against Blankenstein, two reports were drawn up, the key messages of which were reproduced in the press. The first comes from Ferdinand Wiethold and "characterizes Blankenstein consistently as a perverted, amoral liar".[13] The second report, which was prepared by the former race biologist Robert Ritter also rated him as untrustworthy. Speier attests to this report that it is based on ideas of race theory, especially since it is "not least based on physiognomic features". [14] For example, Ritter’s report says: "His round, pretty face could appear pretty on a cursory glance, but the features are unformed and individual features are coarse."[15]
Blankenstein's role in the Frankfurt homosexual trials[edit]
According to the historian Daniel Speier, Blankenstein's “interacting character traits” made him “Thiede's ideal helper in staging the process wave.” “Not to be underestimated” is “Blankenstein's methodical approach in his cooperation with the authorities”, by means of which he was “overall good usable incriminating material was provided ”.[16]
In a newspaper article in the Frankfurter Rundschau, the journalist Rudolf Eims described how the public prosecutor Fritz Thiede made Blankenstein a key witness. Police officers drove through Frankfurt with Blankenstein to search the streets for alleged suitors of the young man. The apartments of the suspects, who were photographed for an album with Frankfurt homosexuals, were also located in this way. Blankenstein received special conditions for the smoothest possible cooperation with the authorities. Thiede, who had moved his office to the 5th Commissariat, had Blankenstein delivered to the nearby prison in Preungesheim so that he could easily access his key witness for his investigations.[17]
After the public prejudice of Blankenstein by the press, charges were brought against the youth on January 15, 1951. The main hearing under District Court Judge Dreysel was announced in the press exactly one month later, which was unusual for juvenile criminal matters. After the key witness of the Frankfurt homosexual trials was convicted of continued male prostitution on February 15, 1951, the wave of trials subsided. As a result, little is known about Blankenstein's life after this point.[18]
Bibliography[edit]
Sources[edit]
- Mario Heil de Brentani: Homosexuelle. Eine Million Delikte. In: Der Spiegel, 29. November 1950 (Jg. 4, Heft 48), S. 7–10.
- Elmar Kraushaar: Unzucht vor Gericht. In: Elmar Kraushaar (Hrsg.): Hundert Jahre schwul. Eine Revue. Berlin 1997. ISBN 3 87134 307 2, S. 60–69.
- Reinhard Redhardt: Zur gleichgeschlechtlichen männlichen Prostitution. In: Studien zur Homosexualität = Beiträge zur Sexualforschung 5 (1954), S. 22–72.
- Dieter Schiefelbein: Wiederbeginn der juristischen Verfolgung homosexueller Männer in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Die Homosexuellen-Prozesse in Frankfurt am Main 1950/51. In: Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung 5/1 (1992), S. 59–73.
- Daniel Speier: Die Frankfurter Homosexuellenprozesse zu Beginn der Ära Adenauer – eine chronologische Darstellung. In: Mitteilungen der Magnus-Hirschfeld-Gesellschaft 61/62 (2018), S. 47–72.
- Marcus Velke: Verfolgung und Diskriminierung – Männliche Homosexualität. In: Kirsten Plötz und Marcus Velke: Aufarbeitung von Verfolgung und Repression lesbischer und schwuler Lebensweisen in Hessen 1945–1985. Bericht im Auftrag des Hessischen Ministeriums für Soziales und Integration zum Projekt „Aufarbeitung der Schicksale der Opfer des ehemaligen § 175 StGB in Hessen im Zeitraum 1945 bis 1985“ (2018), S. 134–265, 275–276. [URL: https://soziales.hessen.de/sites/default/files/media/hsm/forschungsbericht_aufarbeitung_verfolgung.pdf].
Literary and cinematic processing[edit]
- H. T. Riethausen: Judasengel. Frankfurt 2016. ISBN 978-3-944485-12-6
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Speier, p. 50f.
- ↑ Speier, p. 65.
- ↑ Speier, p. 52.
- ↑ Brentani, p. 9.
- ↑ Speier, p. 52f.
- ↑ Redhardt , P. 63.
- ↑ Speier, p. 52f.
- ↑ Speier, p. 52f.
- ↑ Speier, p. 51.
- ↑ Schiefelbein, p. 59.
- ↑ Redhardt, p. 63.
- ↑ Redhardt, p. 64.
- ↑ Speier, p. 66.
- ↑ Speier, p. 68.
- ↑ Speier, p. 68.
- ↑ Speier, p. 53f.
- ↑ Speier, p. 51f.
- ↑ Speier, pp. 67–70.
References[edit]
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