Search

The article presents information on the same-sex incidents in Heinrich Himmler's Schutzstaffel (SS). Himmler announced to his senior SS generals in February 1937, clearly satisfied that the problem of homosexuality was almost solved. Burkhard Jellonnek's calculation that 57 percent of those arrested on such charges during the Third Reich belonged to one or another Nazi organization makes it likely that there were SS men among them, too. In 1940, sixteen cases of homosexuality were brought before the internal SS courts, and in the first quarter alone of 1943, no fewer than twenty-two convictions were recorded. However, the acutal disciplining of suspected homosexuals in the SS and other organizations under Himmler's control was far from uniform or consistent. Since punishment for those convicted of homosexuality did not become increasingly severe, even after the legal enactment in November of 1941 of capital punishment for such offenses among the SS and police, the model of cumulative radicalization does not accurately describe Nazi policy on homosexuals.