There is a widespread and long-lasting myth alleging that homosexuals were numerous and prominent as a group in the Nazi Party[a] or the identification of Nazism with homosexuality more generally.[b] It has been promoted by various individuals and groups from before World War II through the present, especially by left-wing Germans during the Nazi era[1] and the Christian right in the United States more recently.[4] Although some gay men joined the Nazi Party, there is no evidence that they were overrepresented. The Nazis harshly criticized homosexuality and severely persecuted gay men, going as far as murdering them en masse. Therefore, historians regard the myth as having no merit.[c]
- ^ a b Oosterhuis 1995, p. 227.
- ^ Wackerfuss 2015, p. 344.
- ^ Oosterhuis 1995, pp. 227–228.
- ^ Wackerfuss 2015, p. 341.
- ^ Marhoefer 2015, p. 154.
- ^ Stein 2016, p. 531.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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