''Der Eigene'' (, ) was the first gay journal in the world, published from 1896 to 1932 by Adolf Brand in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Brand contributed many poems and articles; other contributors included writers Benedict Friedlaender,

Hanns Heinz Ewers Hanns Heinz Ewers (3 November 1871 – 12 June 1943) was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is now known mainly for his works of horror, particularly his tril ...

, Erich Mühsam, Kurt Hiller, Ernst Burchard,

John Henry Mackay John Henry Mackay (February 6, 1864 – May 16, 1933) was a Scottish-German egoist anarchist, thinker and writer. Born in Scotland and raised in Germany, Mackay was the author of '' Die Anarchisten'' (The Anarchists, 1891) and ''Der Freiheitsuch ...

, Theodor Lessing, Klaus Mann, and

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

, as well as artists Wilhelm von Gloeden, Fidus, and Sascha Schneider. The journal may have had an average of around 1500 subscribers per issue during its run, but the exact numbers are uncertain. __NOTOC__

History of the journal

The title of the journal, ''Der Eigene'' ''(''no exact English equivalent but has been translated as ''The Self-Possessed)'', refers to the classic anarchist work '' Der Einzige und sein Eigentum'' (1844) by

Max Stirner Johann Kaspar Schmidt (; 25 October 1806 – 26 June 1856), known professionally as Max Stirner (; ), was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is oft ...

. Early issues reflected the philosophy of Stirner, as well as other views on the politics of

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

. By the second year of its focus, it settled into a focus on homosexuality. In the 1920s the journal shifted to support the

liberal democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...

of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

and more specifically the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. ''Der Eigene'' interwove cultural, artistic, and political material, including

lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, t ...

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

, political manifesto and

nude photography Nude photography is the creation of any photograph which contains an image of a nude or semi-nude person, or an image suggestive of nudity. Nude photography is undertaken for a variety of purposes, including educational uses, commercial applicati ...

. The publisher of ''Der Eigene'' had to fight against government

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

, particularly in retaliation against its depictions of nude figures. Brand's home was searched by

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

officers many times. He was arrested for the magazine's provocative content in 1903. In 1903 a published poem "Die Freundschaft" (Friendship) provoked a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

against the magazine. The magazine won because the poem was written by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

. The formation of the group '' Gemeinschaft der Eigenen'' allowed Brand to evade censorship by categorizing ''Der Eigene'' as a manuscript issued privately to subscribers rather than as a publicly sold magazine. The number of subscribers is estimated at 1500 or fewer. In 1933, when

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

rose to power, Adolf Brand's house was searched and all the materials needed to produce the magazine were seized and given to Ernst Röhm. In a major effort in 2020,

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

made available the complete set of the magazine on its website, with censorship in form of pixellation applied to several pages containing artistic photographs and paintings.

Significant Contributors

* Wilhelm von Gloeden * Hugo Hoppener (Fidus)

Gallery

Image:Der Eigene - 1896.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 1 (1896), no. 1 - ten issues in this format - an anarchist journal with no gay content in this volume File:Der Eigene 1898 vol 2.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 2 (1898), no. 1 - two issues in this format - here, the opening page of a gay short story, the journal's first gay text File:Der Eigene 1899.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', "New Series" vol. 1 (= vol. 3, the first entirely gay volume) (1898), no. 1 - ten issues in this format File:Der Eigene New Series vol 2 (1903).jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 4 (or "New Series" vol. 2) (1903), no. 1 - six issues in this format File:Der Eigene New Series vol 3 (1905).jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 5 (or "New Series" vol. 3) (1905), no. 1 - six issues in this format File:Der Eigene, Jahresband 1906.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 6 (1906) - the only hardback issue, an annual File:Der Eigene 1919 vol 7.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 7 (1919–20), no. 3 - eleven issues in this format File:Der Eigene 1920.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 8 (1920), no. 9 - fourteen issues in this format File:Der Eigene 1921-22-23 vol 9.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 9 (1921-22-23), no. 3 - seven issues in this format File:Der Eigene 1924-25 vol 10 no 4.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 10 (1924-25), no. 4 - twelve issues in this format File:Der Eigene 1926-27 vol 11.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 11 (1926), no. 1 - ten issues in this format File:Der Eigene 1929 vol 12.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 12 (1929), no. 5 - five issues in this format File:Der Eigene 1930-32 vol 13.jpg, ''Der Eigene'', vol. 13 (1930–32), no. 1 - nine issues in this format File:Der_Eigene_6_(1906)_p._158.jpg, Original uncensored page 158 from DER EIGENE 6 (1906) File:DER EIGENE 13 (1930) p.45 PAINTING BY LEONARD SARLUIS CENSORED BY HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY BERLIN.png, Example of a censored page containing a painting by Léonard Sarluis, from "DER EIGENE" magazine scan hosted on Humboldt University of Berlin website

References

External links

Homodok.nl Full text scan (pdf) 1896-1900 and 1903
at IHLIA LGBT Heritage.
Schillers "Die Freundschaft"

. ?
Complete set digitized on Humboldt University website (some pages with photographs and artworks partially censored)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eigene 1890s in LGBTQ history 1896 establishments in Germany 1932 disestablishments in Germany Anarchism and free love Anarchist periodicals published in Germany Defunct political magazines published in Germany Egoist anarchism Gay culture in Germany Defunct gay men's magazines Defunct LGBTQ-related magazines published in Germany Defunct German-language magazines Individualist anarchism LGBTQ anarchism First homosexual movement Magazines established in 1896 Magazines disestablished in 1932 Magazines published in Berlin

History of the journal

Significant Contributors

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links