Transvestite pass

A transvestite pass (German: Transvestitenschein) was a doctor's note recognized by the governments of Imperial Germany and the Weimar Republic, under the support of sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, identifying a person as a transvestite. Transvestite at this time referred to all individuals whose gender identity or preferred clothing was discordant to that associated with their assigned sex, and so included both cross-dressing and transgender people.^[1] As gender-confirming surgery was only an emerging practice in the early 20th century, obtaining a Transvestitenschein, along with an official name change, represented the maximum extent to which many trans individuals could transition.^[2]

Tranvestite certificates issued to Gerd Katter in 1928. Left was issued by Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft; right was issued by the Berlin Police.

History

 

Herbert W. (left) was a transgender friend of Magnus Hirschfeld and lived for two years in Berlin under his chosen name. This photo is from Hirschfeld's Sexual Intermediates (1922).

In early 20th-century Germany, cross-dressing was not inherently illegal.^[3] However, those who defied societal gender norms through cross-dressing risked facing legal consequences, such as arrest and charges related to public outrage and disturbances.^[3] Magnus Hirschfeld played a pivotal role in assisting individuals navigate these challenging situations by helping them obtain police documents regarding their clothing choices to establish their "objective" sexual identity.^[3] Hirschfeld was the one who submitted reports to the police as evidence in support of obtaining a transvestite pass for his patients.^[3] Hirschfeld's efforts contributed to the transformation of this pass into a more specific permit that would be recognized on the basis of state legitimacy, particularly during the Weimar Republic.^[3]

In either 1908 or 1909, the first known transvestite pass was issued to a female-to-male transvestite known as Katharina T. Katharina was denied a name change based on legality, but was helped with getting the pass itself.^[4] From 1908–1909 up until 1933, "perhaps dozens" of such transvestite passes were granted by the German police with the support and aide of Hirschfeld.^[5][6] Medical assessments were also conducted with the help of Iwan Bloch.^[7] These transvestite passes were mainly given to middle-class, heterosexual, male-to-female individuals to avoid associations with gay and lesbian culture in Weimar Germany. The transvestite pass certificate stated that the "individual in question" was allowed to wear clothing that corresponded to their gender identity,^[1] meaning they could cross-dress in public spaces.

 

Photograph of Magnus Hirschfeld's 4th, 7th, and 6th patients, 1910.

Although passes were more widely distributed by the 1920s, name changes continued to be an issue. It was not until 1919 and 1920 that full name changes on the passes were possible, but there were still restrictions in place that limited free access to such changes.^[8]

Notions of transvestism were sufficiently novel in the early twentieth century that the case of one holder of a Transvestiteschein made international news. The case of Countess Geraldine von Zobeltitz, a trans noblewoman from Berlin, was reported in the 11 August 1912 issue of the Asheville Citizen-Times.^[9]

Police

As the pass gained popularity, local police departments began issuing their own version of the transvestite pass. The police version was handwritten but had a photo of the individual wearing the clothes of their chosen sex.^[10] In order to get a pass, one would need a medical report from a medical professional and give it to the police, who will make the pass.^[8]

In 1922, guidance issued by the police headquarters in Berlin regarding this policy stated:

"Apart from male prostitution, transvestism in general has no criminal significance. The widespread public opinion that the disguised individuals are generally criminals in disguise (pickpockets, spies, pimps, etc.) is obsolete. With regard to the male transvestites, recent experience shows that even the formerly taken-for-granted view that men in women's clothing are all homosexuals is no longer tenable. . . . On the basis on this insight emerges a duty of gentle treatment [schonenden Behandlung] of transvestites, as long as they are not engaged in male prostitution.^[6]"

In the years after the Nazis came to power, most of the transvestite passes were revoked, refused, or not recognized by German police forces.^[11]

Since the certificates were issued by local police, some individuals encountered problems when they were traveling between police jurisdictions.^[6] Certain spaces also played a role in police involvement, such as presence on the street or at a ball, if police presence was requested on a certain basis.^[12] The streets or cafes were places that did not ensure freedom of movement and held different rules about gender presentation and behavior; cross-dressing and gender experience were "misunderstood" by police in many cases, especially for lower-class individuals who were targeted more than their middle and upper-class counterparts.^[4]

Appearance played an important role in police actions. Cisgender men and women were also targets of the police if their appearance was not clearly masculine or feminine or caused confusion, resulting in arrests.^[4]

Magnus Hirschfeld

 

Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (right) and Karl Giese (left), 1934.

Career

Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935) was a German physician, sexologist, clinician, and early homosexual rights activist. In 1919, in Berlin, Hirschfeld founded the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Science), a private sexology research institute. Along with his research institute, Hirschfeld strived for legal and social reform on the basis of LGBTQ+ rights, as he felt that individuals should not be characterized as abnormal and criminalized for being sexual minorities.^[13] Hirschfeld's theories and research would become theoretical precursors^[14] to concepts such as non-binary gender identity and same-sex love.^[15] Hirschfeld was a firm believer that science had the ability to provide fair treatment to all.^[16] This is echoed in his most famous motto:

"per scientiam ad justitiam" ("through science to justice")^[17]

In 1910, during the Weimar period, Hirschfeld coined the term "transvestism" to describe the act of cross-dressing. Hirschfeld did this as a way to distinguish the act of cross-dressing from notions of homosexuality as well as the gay and lesbian culture in Weimar Germany.^[14]

Transvestitenschein (transvestite pass)

 

Karl Abraham, 1920.

In 1908–1909, Hirschfeld and psychoanalyst Karl Abraham implemented the first Transvestitenschein (transvestite pass).^[18] Hirschfeld and Abraham created the transvestite pass as a form of protection for individuals against the arrest associated with the act of cross-dressing from local police authorities, as well as providing them with the ability to travel in an unimpeded manner.^[19] The implementation of the Transvestitenschein paved the way for further progression amongst transgender rights, such as the ability for legal name change.^[20] This was one of the first forms of trans recognition of state legitimacy.^[20] Along with the Transvestitenschein, Hirschfeld's institute, the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, began offering other services for transgender individuals, such as sexual health services, including medical transitioning.^[20]

Personal lives of individuals with the transvestite pass

 

Lili Elbe, 1926.

It is unknown how many people used Magnus Hirschfield's transvestite pass.^[21] Of the documented cases, most of them were given to white, middle-class transgender women.^[3] The media only described a bourgeois transgender experience rather than the multitude of transgender communities at the time in Weimar Germany.^[21] This influenced the lifestyles of many, as transgender patients were told to follow more middle-class values, such as not dressing too extravagantly or femininely, and not interacting with those who were outside the heterosexual norms,^[21] in order to conform to the regulations needed to obtain the transvestite pass. They were expected to follow these guidelines because police were told to only arrest individuals if they thought that they were committing "gross mischief" or prostitution.^[21] Many people who had transvestite passes had to distance themselves from the German LGBTQ+ community due to prejudice from both others in the transgender community as well as homophobia at that time.^[22]

 

Lili Elbe, 1930.

While homosexuality and cross-dressing were not allowed, being transgender had no official legal consequences.^[22][23] For individuals who obtained the transvestite passes, there were not many reported cases where an individual transitioned from female to male (FTM). The vast majority of those in possession of the transvestite pass were individuals who transitioned from male to female (MTF). One of the only documented transgender men (female to male) of the time, Katharina T, passed the first examination in the process of approval for the transvestite pass but was eventually denied the right to change their name legally.^[22] It was more uncommon for transgender men to be given passes due to German society in the interwar period associating them with the queer community.^[22] Transgender women were given passes but also faced difficulties with changing their names.^[22] Not much information is documented about the personal lives of the individuals who obtained the transvestite pass. However, there were famous transgender people, such as Lili Elbe, who was able to successfully obtain a transvestite pass and was able to change their name legally.^[22][23] Nonetheless, the post-1933 fates of individuals who had received Hirschfeld's assistance varied significantly with the rise of the Nazi Regime.^[24] Thus, the transvestite pass illustrates the evolving legal and societal attitudes towards the act of cross-dressing, gender identity, and transgender rights in Weimar Germany.^[23]

Post-Weimar period

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, German police stopped recognizing and providing passes. The police also revoked the passes of people who already had them, and in some instances, the pass was used to identify people to send to concentration camps.^[11] One example of this is Liddy Bacroff, who received a pass in 1928. After 1933, she had several encounters with the local police until they sent her to the Mauthausten concentration camp, where she died in 1943.^[25] Another example is that of Gerd Kuppe, whose pass was revoked in 1933, and in 1938, he was sent to a concentration camp; however, he was released a few months later.^[25] In September of 1939, Alex. S. positioned the government to have their birth register changed from female to male. This was denied, and Alex ended up on a Nazi watchlist. This led to him losing his transvestite pass.^[3]

In the post-war era, the pass fell into obscurity but did see some use up until the late 1950s in places like West and East Berlin. These passes were issued by the police, and like in pre-Nazi Germany, they had a picture of the individual wearing the clothes of their chosen gender. However, these passes stopped being issued in the 1960s.^[10]

See also

• Cross-dressing
• First homosexual movement
• Gender identity
• Gerd Katter
• Institut für Sexualwissenschaft
• Lili Elbe
• Magnus Hirschfeld
• Sexology
• Sexual identity
• Transgender rights in Germany (since 1980)
• Transvestism
• Weimar Republic
• Transgender people in Nazi Germany

References

1. Gershon, Livia (18 November 2018). "Gender Identity in Weimar Germany". JSTOR Daily. from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
2. Nunn, Zavier (August 2023) Trans Liminality and the Nazi State, Past & Present, Volume 260, Issue 1, 123–157, doi:10.1093/pastj/gtac018.
3. Caplan, Jane (2011). "The Administration of Gender Identity in Nazi Germany". History Workshop Journal. 72 (72): 171–180. doi:10.1093/hwj/dbr021. ISSN 1363-3554. JSTOR 41306843. PMID 22206119. from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
4. Seifert-Gram, O. (May 2021). Transvestit Such Gedankenaustausch: The Creation and Control of Transvestite Identities in Weimar Queer Media (Masters Thesis). University of Missouri-Columbia.
5. Frost, Natasha (2 November 2017). "The Early 20th-Century ID Cards That Kept Trans People Safe From Harassment". Atlas Obscura. from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
6. Sutton, Katie (2012). ""We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany". German Studies Review. 35 (2): 335–354. ISSN 0149-7952. JSTOR 23269669. from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
7. Bakker, Alex; Herrn, Rainer; Taylor, Michael Thomas; Timm, Annette F. (2020). Others of My Kind : Transatlantic Transgender Histories. University of Calgary Press. ISBN 978-1-77385-122-8. from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
8. Linge, Ina (2023). Queer Livability: German Sexual Sciences and Life Writing. Wellcome Trust–Funded Monographs and Book Chapters. Ann Arbor (MI): University of Michigan Press. doi:10.3998/mpub.11464019. ISBN 978-0-472-13306-2. PMID 37276275. S2CID 251417420.
9. (11 August 1912). "A German Baron Now a Countess by Court Decree", 14, Asheville Citizen Times.
10. Rottmann, Elisabeth (2019). Queer Home Berlin? Making Queer Selves and Spaces in the Divided City, 1945–1970. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
11. Marhoefer, Laurie (6 June 2023). "Historians are learning more about how the Nazis targeted trans people". The Conversation. from the original on 7 January 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
12. Evans, Jennifer V. (2011). Life Among the Ruins: Cityscape and Sexuality in Cold War Berlin. Genders and Sexualities in History. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-230-55185-5.
13. Matte, Nicholas (2005). "International Sexual Reform and Sexology in Europe, 1897–1933". Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 22 (2): 253–270. doi:10.3138/cbmh.22.2.253. PMID 16482697. from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
14. Sutton, Katie (1 April 2011). "The Masculine Woman in Weimar Germany: Chapter 1 — "Which One Is the Man?": The Masulinization of Women's Fashions". JSTOR. JSTOR j.ctt9qd9q4. from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
15. Mancini, Elena (2021). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies: Hirschfeld, Magnus. Sage Knowledge. doi:10.4135/9781544393858. ISBN 9781544393810. S2CID 234950053. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
16. Matte, Nicholas (2005). "International Sexual Reform and Sexology in Europe, 1897–1933". Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 22 (2): 253–270. doi:10.3138/cbmh.22.2.253. PMID 16482697. from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
17. Matte, Nicholas (2005). "International Sexual Reform and Sexology in Europe, 1897–1933". Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 22 (2): 253–270. doi:10.3138/cbmh.22.2.253. PMID 16482697. from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
18. Sutton, Katie (May 2012). ""We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany". German Studies Review. 35 (2): 335–354. doi:10.1353/gsr.2012.a478043. JSTOR 23269669. from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
19. Sutton, Katie (May 2012). ""We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany". German Studies Review. 35 (2): 335–354. doi:10.1353/gsr.2012.a478043. JSTOR 23269669. from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
20. Nunn, Zavier (22 September 2022). "Trans Liminality and the Nazi State". Past & Present. pp. 123–157. doi:10.1093/pastj/gtac018.
21. Sutton, Katie (2012). ""We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany". German Studies Review. 35 (2): 335–354. ISSN 0149-7952. JSTOR 23269669. from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
22. Sutton, Katie (2012). ""We Too Deserve a Place in the Sun": The Politics of Transvestite Identity in Weimar Germany". German Studies Review. 35 (2): 335–354. ISSN 0149-7952. JSTOR 23269669. from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
23. Caplan, Jane (2011). "The Administration of Gender Identity in Nazi Germany". History Workshop Journal. 72 (72): 171–180. doi:10.1093/hwj/dbr021. ISSN 1363-3554. JSTOR 41306843. PMID 22206119. from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
24. Holocaust, Museum of Jewish Heritage-A. Living Memorial to the (3 June 2022). "Transgender Experiences in Weimar and Nazi Germany". Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
25. Marhoefer, Laurie (25 August 2023). "Transgender Life and Persecution under the Nazi State: Gutachten on the Vollbrecht Case". Central European History: 1–7. doi:10.1017/S0008938923000468. ISSN 0008-9389. from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.

External links

• "A German baron now a countess by court decree". Asheville Citizen-Times. 11 August 1912. p. 14.