Dewey, Healther

Frauhiger, Evan

Gasnarez, Tina

Livschiz, Ann, Chair/Moderator

Opus: Research and Creativity at IPFW

Panel: “State Institutions and Extermination Practices in Nazi 
Germany” 
 
Heather Dewey 
 
Title: Male Homosexuality during the Third Reich: Expanded Persecution through Pre-Existing 
Prejudices 
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ann Livschiz 
Paper written for: History B311: Holocaust and Modern Genocides (Fall 2013) 
 
Heather Dewey is a sophomore History major and Spanish minor with interest in nineteenth 
and twentieth century history, though she finds most areas gripping, despite a strange aversion 
to the eighteenth century. She participated in the Research Poster Symposium this year, and has 
earned several scholarships, most recently the Judie and Ralph Violette Scholarship from the 
Department of History. Outside of these pursuits, she is an avid creative writer, and has 
completed National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO) three times. Sometimes she lives in 
a strong fantasy world, but it has yet to stop her from being grounded and thorough in her 
pursuits. 
Abstract   
 
My paper examined the Nazi persecution of homosexuals from 1933-1945, with emphasis on the 
social and cultural traditions and justifications used to support these efforts. A distinction is 
made between the treatment of men and women because female homosexuality was never 
officially made illegal or targeted, although many were interned in prisons or concentration 
camps under classifications like ‘asocial’ or for other crimes. I theorize that male homosexuals 
were persecuted because they failed – through stereotyping – to conform to the established 
gender dynamic that existed at the time. They were also seen as traitorous to the patriotic Nazi 
regime for being unwilling or incapable to produce more German citizens, a feat deemed 
necessary because of supposed Aryan superiority and an increasing need for a larger population 
to inhabit Europe and fight in the war. The sources I used to support this theory are mainly 
speeches and memorandums from Nazi officials, government documents, and memoirs and 
interviews by homosexuals, mostly male, from Germany and Poland who recounted their 
experiences and the types of prejudice they faced.  
 
My main point about the gender dynamic tied back to older stereotypes in Germany – and other 
parts of the world – that had carried over into Nazi policies. A severe distinction was made 
between the two genders. By the Nazi ideal, men were strong, militaristic, and dominant, while 
women were weak, domestic, and passive. By being interested in other men, homosexual males 
were seen as effeminate partners in a relationship and therefore weak, drawing the scorn of 
others by failing to conform to the expected role. This, attached to the government’s belief that 
they would not marry or reproduce and were then also failing to be conscientious German 
citizens, was a crucial source for their persecution. They were considered undesirable in a society 
where being different meant death. This examination is significant because it focuses on a lesser-
known group that was also targeted by the Nazis and killed during the Holocaust. Homosexuals 
are not given much attention in the established Holocaust narrative, and received little devotion 
until research started to appear in the late seventies and eighties. Even now, it can be difficult to 
find works about their suffering. It is also important because the gender roles that caused much 
of the trouble for homosexual people, especially men, were not uncommon outside of Nazi 
Germany and continued to exist throughout the twentieth century. Similar to anti-Semitism, 
disgust or consternation was directed against homosexuality in other European countries and 
United States, and this lingering prejudice contributed to many victims being unwilling to share 
their stories because it would mean admitting who they were. Much of this consternation was 
directed because it was believed homosexuals were failing to conform to the ‘proper’ gender 
roles.       
 
Bibliographical Note 
 
The majority of my sources were either academically reviewed journals or translated primary 
source documents that I cross-referenced with other translations to check for biases or omitted 
passages. Otherwise, I used scholarly books, several of which were focused primarily on the 
plight of homosexuals, while others examined gender in Nazi Germany and contained passages 
on this subject. I also had access to some biographies from men who had decided to record their 
memoirs in the late seventies and eighties, when more and more people were emerging with their 
stories. The most intriguing sources I had were several oral histories from homosexual people 
who lived during this time. I used one from a man and one from a woman to gain both 
perspectives. 
 
  
Evan Frauhiger 
 
Title: The Einsatzgruppen and Himmler: The Psychological Driving Force of the Holocaust 
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ann Livschiz 
Paper written for: History B311: Holocaust and Modern Genocides (Fall 2013) 
 
Evan Frauhiger is a junior working towards a B.A. in history while minoring in political 
science.  He is also working towards an International Studies Certificate and an Honors 
Program Certificate.  While he has studied many periods of history, World War II is his 
preferred field of study.  Evan received the Withers Scholarships for 2014-2015 academic year. 
He is currently working on his Honors Project that investigates the legacy and impact of the 
Nuremberg Trials from the perspectives of the United States, Russia, and Britain.  After 
graduating in May 2015, Evan is going onto law school to study international law or 
constitutional law. 
 
Abstract 
 
Hitler’s Germany during World War II arguably created the worst atrocity that civilization had 
ever seen: the Holocaust.  The Holocaust was not simply a static event, however.  It was 
characterized by many elements and evolutions of implementation throughout the course of the 
war.  One of the most important elements was the Einsatzgruppen, a unit within the SS (one of 
the strongest military organizations within Nazi Germany) that followed the German Army 
throughout the Soviet campaign.  This group was responsible for carrying out the beginning 
phases of the Holocaust, including mass shootings and the use and operation of gas vans 
throughout the Soviet Union.  Their most important contribution to the evolution of the 
Holocaust, however, was not their actions but their responses.  After carrying out many mass 
shootings in which men, women, and children were the victims, the Nazi commanders started to 
worry about the impact on psychological health that these operations were causing, especially 
Heinrich Himmler.  The concern over psychological health was not focused on the victims of the 
Nazis, but rather it was focused on the soldiers who carried out the killings: the Einsatzgruppen.  
Himmler especially became obsessed with this potentially harmful factor and it drove him to 
continuously search for alternative methods of murder that could reduce this perceived problem.  
Looking at each stage of the Holocaust in chronological order, the impact of psychological 
health is evaluated to determine its role in changing the course of Nazi extermination from the 
start of the mass shooting campaigns to the use of extermination camps.  In the end, the factor of 
psychological health appears to be an influential element in deciding the various steps and 
methods of implementation regarding the Holocaust. 
 
Bibliographical Note 
 
The research for the information being presented comes from a variety of sources both primary 
and secondary.  The primary sources used are mainly firsthand accounts of the actions of the 
Einsatzgruppen including recollections by civilians and ranking Nazi officials such as Heinrich 
Himmler and his Chief of Staff, Karl Wolff.  These sources not only give information about the 
atrocities committed by the Nazis but they also provide insight into the twisted minds of the 
perpetrators of the Holocaust.  Also included in the primary sources are government documents 
such as the many reports of the Einsatzgruppen as well as transcripts from the Nuremberg Trials 
after the war.  The secondary sources used include many studies by leading historians on the 
Holocaust that both observe the larger picture of the Holocaust and focus on the individuals such 
as Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich who helped to develop the methods of murder used 
during WWII. 
  
Tina Gasnarez 
 
Title: The German National Railway (Reichsbahn) Under the Nazi Regime: The Transformation 
from a Glorified Past to an Enduring Legacy of Horror 
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ann Livschiz 
Paper written for: History B311: Holocaust and Modern Genocides (Fall 2013) 
 
Tina Gasnarez is a senior and is currently pursuing a B.S. in Secondary Education-Social 
Studies, and a Certificate in International Studies at IPFW. Recently, she earned the top 
undergraduate award for her history research poster at the 2014 Student Research and Creative 
Endeavor Symposium (IPFW), and is a recipient of a 2014-2015 Ron Venderly Scholarship 
Award.  This summer, Tina plans to culminate her year of Holocaust studies and research by 
experiencing the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.  
 
Abstract 
 
The German railway system heralded the country’s much-desired advancement towards 
modernity and prosperity. As early as 1814, German planners of the railway system envisioned 
their railway to be an innovative means of travel that it would boost unity, national strength, and 
increase trade with neighboring countries. However, one segment of the population would be 
noticeably absent from the initial phase of securing the financial support it needed to launch the 
railway system: Jews. Railway funding from Jews would be restricted until 1848. From its 
inception, anti-Semitism was rooted in the formation of Germany’s railway system. The early 
exclusionary practices by Germany’s railway planners against Jews set in motion a chain of 
events that would lead to the largest mass transit of humans to the Nazi concentration and death 
camps over one hundred years later. When Adolf Hitler became Germany’s Chancellor in 
January 1933, he immediately began to weave his Nazi ideology into every aspect of German 
life, and this included Germany’s most cherished enterprise, the German National Railway 
Company. The largely autonomous and apolitical railway company had successfully transported 
people and goods from East to West at dizzying speeds. It had become one of Germany’s largest 
employers and one of its most influential. However, the leader of Germany’s advancement 
towards modernity and prosperity suffered a massive derailment when its leaders allowed the 
railway system to become the Nazi regime’s own malevolent vessel: “The Most Valuable Asset 
of the Reich.” From the willing actors within the Reich who orchestrated the forced deportations 
of millions of Jews into the darkened cattle cars to the death camps in Eastern Europe, the 
Reichsbahn, as it was later renamed, was forever transformed from a symbol of national pride 
and progress into one with a horrific and enduring legacy rooted in anti-Semitism.  
 
 
Bibliographical Note 
 
For my research analysis, I utilized secondary sources about the history of the German railway 
system by noted historians, Alfred C. Miersejewski and Todd Samuel Presner. I read several 
books about the Holocaust inside Germany’s boxcars by authors such as Simone Gigliotti. In 
addition, I read the personal testimonies during the Nürnberg Trials of the survivors on the 
Holocaust trains, as well as the SS officers who participated in Adolf Hitler’s final solution.   


Panel: State Institutions and Extermination Practices in Nazi Germany

http://opus.ipfw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=undhist_conf

Panel: State Institutions and Extermination Practices in Nazi Germany

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