Schwuz



 


 


 


 

Location of SchwuZ

This is not to say that it was established the most recently; quite the contrary, it is a 1970s creation. However, it unlike the others, still mostly serves its original purpose today and can be easily seen as the most modern and progressive. It is also not related to the study of arts or history and is a purely recreational center. SchwuZ is mostly a progressive LGBT bar that was established in 1971 at Rollbergstraße 26, 12053 Berlin. Riding the discontent of LGBT folks in the earlier 1970s, (the main page of the club lists several LGBT activists in the 1970s as inspiration for their establishment) the club was established as a place for "all comers," while mostly being established as a homosexual night club, for those of LGBT respects to party in Berlin. It is a supporter of many different progressive movements today, some of them not necessarily associated with LGBT, such as feminism and racial rights groups. It is easily one of the largest nightclubs with an extremely large concert hall for many styles of music, and is seen as one of the most popular night clubs in Europe. More importantly to the tour, it was the meeting ground and assembly area for early homosexual Berliner collaboration and the center for Homosexual Action Berlin, a group concerned with LGBT rights in the city. The club served as an important hub and gathering for them, and allowed them to spread their influence throughout the city. So it is more unlike the other POIs, which detailed the cultural and historical lives of LGBT people, rather detailing how they chose to deal with said lives and the type of recreation they were- and are- participating in.

[1]"SchwuZ." Nightlife | Berlin. Accessed March 22, 2019. https://www.inyourpocket.com/berlin/SchwuZ_23062v.

[2] "WER WIR SIND." SchwuZ. Accessed March 22, 2019. https://www.schwuz.de/wer-wir-sind/?lang=en.

[3] "Schwuz best gay nightclub in Berlin." AwesomeBerlin. Accessed March 22, 2019. https://awesomeberlin.net/nightlife/schwuz-best-gay-nightclub-berlin

[4] Moeller, Robert G. ""The Homosexual Man Is a 'Man,' the Homosexual Woman Is a 'Woman'": Sex, Society, and the Law in Postwar West Germany." Journal of the History of Sexuality 4, no. 3 (1994): 395-429. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3704352.

[5] Haritaworn, Jin. "Queer Injuries: The Racial Politics of "Homophobic Hate Crime" in Germany." Social Justice 37, no. 1 (119) (2010): 69-89. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41336936.

[6] Juan Battle, and Colin Ashley. "Intersectionality, Heteronormativity, and Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Families." Black Women, Gender Families 2, no. 1 (2008): 1-24. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/blacwomegendfami.2.1.0001.

While the other points of interest dealt mostly with the cultural lives of LGBT people, or the study of their history as was the case with the museum, or the simple existence they lived in the cramped and claustrophobic tenements which we visited earlier, this point of interest, alongside AHA, is more an example of the way these people tried to deal with their problems. The club SchwuZ is a perfect example of where LGBT people would go to drink and dance the night away from the issues they faced. It is also important for this tour as it notes an important location where pro-LGBT parties could form and discuss strategies on how to improve their rights and standing in society. Not only was it recreational, it served as a hub for them, as well as a safe space from the outside city of Berlin which, while maybe becoming more accepting than they were under the Nazis, was still not treating them as equals[4]. It is important to recognize not just their history and culture but how they lived as well, which was the purpose of this POI as well as AHA and the tenements. It is also important to note this club, as it shows the beginning of an intersection between LGBT rights and other progressive movements that have become dominant today[5]. The club's description makes the point that they are not just confined to LGBT movements, but feminism and BLM and others as well. This helps us to understand the evolution of the LGBT movement from a monolith mostly for the rights of homosexual men, to one that encompassed many minority groups[6].


Concluding Thoughts:

At the end of this tour, we have no gone through several underrated and underappreciated parts of Berlin to determine exactly how LGBT people lived and were treated throughout the post-WW2 Berlin. It is clear from the educational locations that, at least on the academic front, LGBT tolerance had grown dramatically in the post-WW2 Berlin. The Berlin University of Arts was extremely accommodating to LGBT people, and the establishment of the Schwules Museum not long after demonstrated that there was a wide-spread desire (at least in some circles) to truly categorize and catalog and study the lives of historical gay men in recorded history. The fact that the Schwules Museum was the first of its kind is a testament to the progressive nature of Berlin and the quick change of attitudes from only about forty years earlier. However, it wasn't all great. The Tuntenhaus showed the upsetting living conditions, and the places that LGBT people had to coordinate in were not as preferable as they might've liked. Places like the Iron Heart bookstore still had to work against homophobia. But these places also shine a light on how these people lived, what they enjoyed, and how they were able to deal with their issues. It is my hope that all of these locations together give a clear picture of what it was like for these LGBT counter-culture movements in Berlin, and how the average LGBT person lived.


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