Brass band, students, plunder. How Hirschfeld's institute was destroyed
Students marched to Hirschfeld's institute with brass music in 1933. It was the prelude to the book burning.
On the morning of 6 May 1933, a brass band marched through Berlin's Tiergarten district, followed by students of the German Student Union. Their destination was the Institute for Sexual Science, which Magnus Hirschfeld had founded in 1919. It is considered the world's first sexological research centre. Hirschfeld himself was not there; he was staying in Ascona in Ticino at the time.
The students broke into the building, destroyed much of the furnishings and carried off tens of thousands of items. The leader gave a speech outside the building, after which they sang the Horst Wessel song. In the afternoon, SA men appeared and continued the plundering.
The institute was much more than a library. Doctors and counsellors offered cheap or free help; there was marriage counselling, a museum and a huge archive on homosexuality and gender identity. Trans people were not only patients but also worked there. The institute issued so-called transvestite certificates, which were meant to protect against arrest. The term "transsexual" goes back to Hirschfeld.
Four days later, on 10 May, the stolen holdings were burned on Berlin's Opernplatz, together with countless other books. Around 40,000 people watched, and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels gave a speech. Depending on the estimate, between 12,000 and 25,000 volumes were burned. A bronze bust of Hirschfeld was placed on top. A street sweeper rescued it the next day; today it belongs to the Academy of Arts.
Address lists were also seized. They are said to have later helped the Nazis persecute gay men. Hirschfeld remained in exile and died in France in 1935. Today the House of World Cultures stands on the site.