"Germany had been an epicentre for LGBT progression up until the tyranny of the Nazis - much of this culture disappeared between the second world war and the fall of the Berlin wall, but underground culture flourished after the fall of the wall, giving marginalised people such as LGBT folks spaces to express themselves freely and to educate their peers on their culture.
In 1897 Magnus Hirschfeld, a German physician, founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in May 1897 as a subset of Berlin's Institute for the Science of Sexuality, which was the the first gay-rights organisation in the world to lobby for the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgender people, with a focus on legal representation.
During the 1920s and 1930s the world's first gay village was in Berlin's Schöneberg. Gay and lesbian bars and nightclubs flourished, as did queer artistic expression through films, music, and print publications.
The rise of fascism in Germany in 1933 put increasingly pressure on Berlin’s homosexual community as officials closed bars and banned gay publications, forcing Berlin’s homosexual men either underground or into camps.
In May, 1933, a little more than three months after Hitler became Reich Chancellor, the Institute for Sexual Science was ransacked, and much of its library went up in flames during Joseph Goebbels’s infamous book-burning in the Opernplatz.
Two years after burning down Hirschfeld’s Institute of Sex Research, the Nazis step up their persecution of homosexuals, expanding Paragraph 175 to include “lewd acts” and sending offenders to concentration camps, where they are forced to wear pink triangles. A total of 15,000 gays are killed by the Nazis.
The brutal repression of gay people during the Nazi period largely erased German gay history from international consciousness, and even from German memory."
In previous articles I looked at, many people talk about the liberation of the techno scene making it attractive to LGBT folks who could be themselves there.
Today, Berlin hosts some of the most progressive and inclusive queer club nights, many of which are techno based.
"Sex, techno, feminism: Inside a new generation of queer parties"
From residentadvisor.net
"the rave formed, in the words of the organizers, a "temporary autonomous zone." Here, people could exist without economic output, sexual oppression, heteronormative standards and so on."
"Historically, the most popular queer parties have been created by men, for men. Many people have questioned why this is and worked to change it. Now more than ever, though, a different kind of future seems clear. A new generation of queer-feminist collectives is producing nightlife for women, trans and gender non-conforming folks."
"A sexy party might seem clichéd in our porno-centric world, but a closer look reveals how these collectives approach pleasure with a radical calling. They critically challenge sexual repression and exploitation, putting femme-perversion and gender non-conforming freakiness on a pedestal, one that they own and control. In the process of reclaiming that power, they call into question our states of being, whether we can be freed of restrictions, our social and psychological conditions reshaped. "
Pat Califia, 'Macho Sluts', 1988:
"Sex may seem like a trivial part of a radical, futuristic vision, but if we are not safe to indulge in this playful, vulnerable, and necessary activity, pleasure ourselves and others who fascinate us, how safe can a society be for women?"
Exploring Berlin's Underground Female & Queer Party Scene
From culturetrip.com
"Berlin has a strong history of supporting and propelling LGBTQ rights and these roots have spread into the city’s vibrant and open nightlife. As many popular club nights exist to create a safe, or at least safer space, in which marginalised groups can gather, party and enjoy themselves at ease.
This landscape has traditionally been dominated by gay-male clubs and parties, however, there are also a number of feminist, female – including all people who identify as female – club nights thriving in the city"
From theface.com
"maybe the style bred in Berlin clubs isn’t about extravagance, but rather utility, catering to the LGBT+, fetish and techno communities."
So why do LGBT people thrive so much in the techno scene? From what I have read, the Berlin techno scene was a celebration of liberty and freedom from oppression. It was inclusive and non-judgemental
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