ABSTRACT
The situation of lesbian women in the ‘Third Reich’ can only partly be described in terms of clear-cut criteria of persecution. When one looks more closely at the Nazis' policy on homosexuals, it becomes clear that despite a blanket hostility at the ideological level they sharply distinguished in practice between the two sexes. This was due, among other reasons, to the exclusion of women from positions of power in the ‘Third Reich’, so that female homosexuality was not perceived as ‘dangerous to society’. For lesbian women not at risk because of other stigmas, such as Jewish origin or membership of a political party, the most crucial factors in determining their lives were the institutionalized gender hierarchy and the National Socialist policy on women. Apart from seeking to incorporate women and to influence them ideologically, this policy mainly concerned itself with family and population matters and, if necessary, was subordinated to the needs of the war economy or other priorities.
