Hirschfeld and Wolf: pioneers of sexual freedom

In the quiet forest village of Lehnitz, a memorial stands to commemorate the victims of Nazism. Nearby, another memorial pays tribute to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed in the United States for espionage during the 1950s. The area has maintained its historical streets, including Friedrich Wolf Street and Magnus Hirschfeld Street, both named after two seminal figures of sexual freedom in pre-Nazi Germany.

Friedrich Wolf, a German-Jewish doctor and playwright, returned to Lehnitz after fleeing to the Soviet Union. He lived in the house allocated to him by the occupying forces until his passing in 1953. Alongside Wolf, his sons, Konrad and Markus, played significant roles in post-WWII Germany, with Konrad becoming a renowned filmmaker and Markus joining the GDR’s foreign intelligence service.

Born over two decades before Friedrich Wolf, Magnus Hirschfeld was a sexologist and physician who faced persecution under the Third Reich’s racial laws. He too sought refuge in France, where he passed away in 1935. Despite not returning to Germany, both Hirschfeld and Wolf were trailblazers in the fight against state control over the body. Hirschfeld's mission was the decriminalization of homosexuality, achieved through the repeal of Paragraph 175 of the penal code, while Wolf championed broader sexual freedom.

The city of Lehnitz, nestled near Berlin, continues to honor these pioneers with street names and memorials. The Friedrich Wolf Museum and Magnus Hirschfeld Street serve as reminders of their contributions to sexual freedom and the struggle against prejudice in Germany before the rise of the Nazis.