Different from the others

This silent film is truly different from others. 1) Because it partially survived censorship and destruction, 2) because it blends fiction with educational reality, and 3) because it is one of the oldest pleas for LGBT civil rights.

The screenplay « Different from the others » is not crypo, it clearly tells the story of Paul Körner, a violinist who meets a young admirer, Kurt Sivers, at the end of a concert. The two men quickly begin seeing each other discreetly, as they live under a repressive penal code, the infamous Paragraph 175, which criminalized "unnatural vices between men" with up to 5 years in prison.

The first threat the two men faced is blackmail. Unfortunately, being spotted is enough to become a victim of a blackmailer. This was a terribly common situation, further explored 40 years later in the film "Victim."

The second obstacle is family. Young Kurt’s family begins to prevent him from seeing Paul, accusing him of being too preoccupied with the violin. Meanwhile, Paul’s family tries to set him up with a woman. Paul tried to get a doctor to help him...

The lovers are each fortunate to have a sister as an ally, but it’s not enough to protect them. The story progresses towards depression, suicidal thoughts, and even attempts at a cure. In the end, even a sympathetic justice system, must apply the penal code.

However, the characters have a defender: Magnus Hirschfeld, who plays himself in the role of the doctor. He is credited as "medical scientific advisor for hygiene." Hirschfeld was what we would call today a sexologist. In fact, he opened the Institute of Sexual Science (Institut für Sexualwissenschaft) the same year as the film, a first of its kind. He practiced alternative medicine and had a number of homosexual patients, many of whom had attempted suicide.

So how did Magnus Hirschfeld end up in this film ?

The screenplay has a very educational narrative, which may be perceived as heavy-handed today, and this was intentional - it was truly the primary purpose of the film. Richard Oswald, who wrote, produced, and directed the film, was familiar with the genre. Oswald had already made three educational films about syphilis prevention, for the army, and on that occasion, he met Dr. Hirschfeld, who immediately understood the potential of cinema for educating people. They first collaborated on a film about abortion, then on a film about prostitution, and this third one about homosexuality. While Oswald’s previous films were considered of public utility for German soldiers (and the general public), this one created a scandal in the young Weimar Republic.

Magnus Hirschfeld actively participated in writing the film, as he brought his personal experience to it. Being Jewish and homosexual, he was well acquainted with discrimination. He also contributed through his professional medical experience and social research, which led him to develop a militant argument against Paragraph 175.

In terms of LGBT representation, the film shows socially well-integrated characters in their post-war environment, where they are even recognized. Oswald also briefly shows an establishment filled with dancing couples, including same-gender couples. This rather joyful scene is the hunting ground for blackmailers who infiltrate. The threat is everywhere.

Hirschfeld builds his argument for the defense of LGBT people with a scientific approach that had to be demonstrated and shown. He displays in the film, the supports of his work and conferences, results of an analysis based partly on behavioral observation. He even created a "Scientific and Visual Atlas of Sexualities." Hirschfeld believed he could demonstrate a sort of spectrum of possibilities between an absolute masculine and an absolute feminine through visible traits.

He shows photographs, possibly of some patients of his. This is one of the more unsettling moments in the film: Hirschfeld was a contemporary of Freud, and like him, he was a pioneer in his profession (and like him, he was forced to flee Nazi Germany a few years later). He contributed to developing a theory of the "third sex", to exonerate those convicted of criminal offenses, based on the idea that homosexuality is an innate and therefore involuntary characteristic, with illustrations that are, in fact, quite stereotypical. However, this theory should be understood through his definition of it: "For me, the concept of ’third sex’ refers to intermediate or transitional sexual states, as well as ’intersex’ in English; I include all intermediate forms that deviate most from the absolute sexual type, which I classify into four main groups: hermaphrodites, androgynes, homosexuals, and transvestites, each according to how their deviation relates to their sexual organs, retained physical sexual characteristics, sexual instinct, and all other psychosexual differences. [1]" Today, the social sciences and studies have moved beyond this model, which should be viewed as a first approach of its time.

By 1920, Germany already had several thousand cinemas and millions of monthly spectators. The scandal caused by the film was quelled by the return of severe censorship, which banned it. Hirschfeld, who was one of the founders of the "Homosexual Emancipation Movement" in 1897, was among the first targets of the Nazis as soon as they came to power. In 1933, they destroyed almost all the work and archives of his institute.

Karl Giese, who played the role of Paul as a student, met Magnus Hirschfeld well before the film, in 1914. They fell in love, and Magnus hired Karl to work at his institute. They remained together until after their escape to Paris in 1933. However, Karl was expelled from France, and Magnus passed away in Paris in 1935. At that time, Magnus was with his second partner, Li Chiu Tong. It appears that Magnus attempted to live in a throuple relationship with both of them.

The infamous Paragraph 175 was not repealed until 1994, and as for the film, it was re-edited in 2004 with what remained of the original, which was found in 1999. Magnus Hirschfeld remains one of the first and more important Queer advocate.

#LGBTHistory #SilentFilm #MagnusHirschfeld #Paragraph175 #DifferentFromTheOthers

To learn more about Magnus Hirschfeld, you can find information [here](https://journals.openedition.org/genrehistoire/4215).

You can rewatch the movie on the Queer frame Archive Youtube channel.

If you want to know more about queer history in Weimar Germany, I recommend you the very good video made by Kaze Rowe.

More on Magnus Hirschfeld here.