By the 1920’s, Berlin had become known as a homosexual eden, where gay men and lesbians lived relatively open lives amidst an exciting subculture of artists and intellectuals. With the coming to power of the Nazis, all this changed. Between 1933 and 1945 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality under Paragraph 175, the sodomy provision of the German penal code dating back to 1871. Some were imprisoned, others were sent to concentration camps. Of the latter, only about 4,000 survived. Today, fewer than ten of these men are known to be living. Five of them have now come forward to tell their stories for the first time in this powerful new film.

The Nazi persecution of homosexuals may be the last untold story of the Third Reich. Paragraph 175 fills a crucial gap in the historical record, and reveals the lasting consequences of this hidden chapter of 20th century history, as told through personal stories of men and women who lived through it: the half Jewish gay resistance fighter who spent the war helping refugees in Berlin; the Jewish lesbian who escaped to England with the help of a woman she had a crush on; the German Christian photographer who was arrested and imprisoned for homosexuality, then joined the army on his release because he “wanted to be with men”; the French Alsatian teenager who watched as his lover was tortured and murdered in the camps. These are stories of survivors -- sometimes bitter, but just as often filled with irony and humor; tortured by their memories, yet infused with a powerful will to endure. Their moving testimonies, rendered with evocative images of their lives and times, tell a haunting, compelling story of human resilience in the face of unspeakable cruelty. Intimate in its portrayals, sweeping in its implications, Paragraph 175 raises provocative questions about memory, history, and identity.

Paragraph 175 premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded the documentary jury prize for directing. The European premiere followed in February at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the gay Teddy Award for best documentary, as well as a FIPRESCI award (from the Fédération International de la Presse Cinématographique) as best film-fiction or non-fiction, gay or non-gay-in the Panorama section of the festival, "for uncovering amazing stories of courage buried by history".

Jeffrey and Rob went on to present the film in Israel (at the Jersualem and Tel Aviv Cinematheques), in Amsterdam, at four (that's right, four!) gay film festivals in Italy, and in Hong Kong, Spain and Brazil. The film has been racking up awards, including the jury prize for best documentary (Turin, Milan), and audience awards for best documentary (Turin), and for best feature film (Barcelona, Madrid, Sao Paulo). The San Francisco premiere was in June at the S.F. Lesbian and Gay Film Festival at the Castro Theater, San Francisco's last movie palace, where it played to an enthusiastic, packed house (and won another audience award); it then screened at Outfest, the Los Angeles gay and lesbian festival, where Jeffrey and Rob were honored with the Outfest Achievement Award, presented on opening night by Lily Tomlin. Paragraph 175 was made with the support of Sheila Nevins and HBO in the US, and Channel 4 in the UK. It was released theatrically and on DVD by New Yorker Films.

A little less than one year after the premiere of Paragraph 175, the German government issued an official apology to gay men persecuted by the Nazis and called for appropriate compensation. "German lawmakers proposed making amends yesterday to a long-neglected group of Nazi victims: thousands of men sent to concentration camps for being gay," reported the Associated Press, which went on to explain that "their plight has gained attention since the release this year of a U.S.-made documentary, Paragraph 175, which won awards at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals."

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