Paragraph 175 (2000)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Rob Epstein
Jeffrey Friedman

Writer:

Sharon Wood (writer)

Release Date:

14 November 2001 (France)

Genre:

Documentary | History | War

Plot:

Historian Klaus Müller interviews survivors of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals because of the German Penal Code of 1871, Paragraph 175.

Plot Keywords:

Homosexual | Nazi | Persecution | Lesbian | Nazi Persecution

Awards:

9 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Rupert Everett	...	Narrator (voice)
Klaus Müller	...	Himself - Historian
Karl Gorath	...	Himself
Pierre Seel	...	Himself
Heinz F.	...	Himself
Annette Eick	...	Herself
Albrecht Becker	...	Himself
Gad Beck	...	Himself
Heinz Dörmer	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marlene Dietrich	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Magnus Hirschfeld	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ernst Röhm	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Rob Epstein
Jeffrey Friedman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sharon Wood		writer

Produced by
Janet Cole	....	producer
Michael Ehrenzweig	....	producer
Rob Epstein	....	producer
Jeffrey Friedman	....	producer
John Hoffman	....	producer: Home Box Office
Klaus Müller	....	associate producer
Sheila Nevins	....	executive producer: Home Box Office
Howard Rosenman	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Tibor Szemzö

Cinematography by
Bernd Meiners		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Dawn Logsdon

Production Management
Michael Ehrenzweig	....	production supervisor
Elena Figarola	....	production manager: Europe (as Ilena Figarola)
Sari Gilman	....	post-production supervisor
Volker Heise	....	production manager: Europe
Joe Hoffman	....	post-production supervisor
Jules Hussey	....	production manager: Europe
Gabriele Seidel	....	production manager: Europe
Mark Sorensen	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Pascal Capitolin	....	sound recordist
Lora Hirschberg	....	sound re-recording mixer
Al Nelson	....	sound designer
Steve Romanko	....	sound re-recordist
Jurgen Scharpf	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Jürgen Scharpf)

Editorial Department
Gary Coates	....	color timer
Gary Coates	....	colorist: post-production services, Western Images
Sari Gilman	....	second editor
Jacquie Lawrence	....	commissioning editor: Channel Four Television
Salome Milstead	....	assistant editor
Mark Sorensen	....	editor: post-production services, Western Images

Other crew
Roberto Acordi	....	travel arrangements
Richard Alderman	....	translator
Christy Applegate	....	intern
Tassilo Aschauer	....	production and research asssitant: Europe
Paul Brennan	....	legal services
Carlos Cabrales	....	producer: graphics and titles
Bill Norfleet Craft	....	intern
Kate Davidson	....	intern
Michael A. Dively	....	funding provided by
Robert D. Dockendorff	....	funding provided by
Terri Fredlund	....	intern
Melanie Parson Gao	....	translator
Pari Garvanos	....	assistant to producer
Jacolyn Harmer	....	translator
Esmond V. Harmsworth	....	funding provided by
Gerrit Hermanns	....	production crew: Europe (as Gerrit Hermans)
Albrecht Hoffman	....	production crew: Europe
Joe Hoffman	....	producer: graphics and titles
Joshua H. Johnson	....	producer: graphics and titles
Fatime Kahveci	....	production crew: Europe
Nancy L. Kittle	....	funding provided by
Thomas Kufus	....	production services: Zero films, Berlin
Arthur Laurents	....	funding provided by
Rachel Lipsits	....	intern
Torsten Löhn	....	production crew: Europe
Daniel McCarthy	....	intern
Madeline S. McEneney	....	production associate
Marianne McEvoy	....	translator
Barry McKay	....	intern
Norbert Mentrop	....	production crew: Europe
Hillel Meyer	....	translator
Greta Miskatel	....	translator
Lars Morgenroth	....	production crew: Europe
Klaus Müller	....	research director
Devra Noily	....	translator
Sönke Ohlen	....	production crew: Europe
Annette Perry	....	accountant
Matt Riutta	....	intern
Whitney Saik	....	assistant: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Inbar Sarig	....	translator
Verena Sixt	....	translator
David Abravanel Stein	....	archival material
Amelia Stephenson	....	intern
Frank A. Suchomel Jr.	....	funding provided by
Michael John Suchomel	....	funding provided by
Joerg Taszman	....	translator (as Jörg Taszman)
R.D. Tong	....	accountant
Jason Topolski	....	intern
Emmanuelle Vuillequez	....	production crew: Europe
November Wanderin	....	intern
November Wanderin	....	translator
Vanessa Warheit	....	intern
Johannes Weidinger	....	funding provided by
Regina Wosnitza	....	translator

Thanks
Donald Bird	....	special thanks
Ellen Bruno	....	special thanks
Paul Camarillo	....	special thanks
Susan Clark	....	special thanks
Cappy Coates	....	special thanks
Julie Dorf	....	special thanks
Ellis Driessen	....	special thanks
Diana Elbaum	....	special thanks (as Dianna Elbaum)
Michael Engel	....	special thanks
Mark Epstein	....	special thanks
Vincent Escareno	....	special thanks
Raye Farr	....	special thanks
Connie Field	....	special thanks
Michael Mitch Fricke	....	special thanks (as Michael Fricke)
Eric Friedman	....	special thanks
Richard Gordon	....	special thanks
Leigh B. Grode	....	special thanks (as Leigh Grode)
John Haptos	....	special thanks
Paul Herman	....	special thanks
Deborah Hoffmann	....	special thanks
Jeff Iorillo	....	special thanks
Deborah Kaufman	....	special thanks
Ayse Kenmore	....	special thanks
Hubert Kennedy	....	special thanks
Gerard Koskovich	....	special thanks
Mark Leno	....	special thanks
Matthew Lesar	....	special thanks
James Lichti	....	special thanks (as Jim Lichti)
Michael Lumpkin	....	special thanks
Sue Marcoux	....	special thanks
David Mixner	....	special thanks
Jennifer Morris	....	special thanks
Sharon Mueller	....	special thanks
Jenni Olson	....	special thanks
Mark Page	....	special thanks
Lucy Massie Phenix	....	special thanks
Janis Plotkin	....	special thanks
Mark Pogachefski	....	special thanks (as Mark Pogachefsky)
Frances Reid	....	special thanks
Jan Rofekamp	....	special thanks (as Jan Röfekamp)
Kristine Samuelson	....	special thanks (as Kris Samuelson)
Ellen Schneider	....	special thanks
Ken Schneider	....	special thanks
Veronica Selver	....	special thanks
David H. Shepard	....	special thanks (as David Shepard)
Gail Silva	....	special thanks
Chris Simms	....	special thanks
Alan Snitow	....	special thanks
Wieland Speck	....	thanks
Jim Steakley	....	special thanks
Peter L. Stein	....	special thanks (as Peter Stein)
Jamie Stobie	....	special thanks
Leslie Switt	....	special thanks
Margaret Teskey	....	special thanks
Jack Walsh	....	special thanks
John Wright	....	special thanks
David Young	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Channel Four Films
• Cinemax
• HBO Theatrical Documentary
• Telling Pictures
• Zero Film GmbH

Distributors

• Filmcoopi Zürich (2000) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• ASC Distribution (France)
• Films Transit International
• New Yorker Films (2000) (USA)

Other Companies

• Andrew Tobias Fund  funding provided by
• Anonymous Fund of the Vanguard Public Foundation  funding provided by
• Antiquariat Vrouwendruk  archival sources
• Barnes Family Fund of the Tides Foundation  funding provided by
• Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz  archival sources
• Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv  archival sources
• Chronos-Film  archival sources
• Collection Christian Bouqueret  archival sources
• Collection Günther Grau  archival sources
• Collection Paul Snyders  archival sources
• Collection Rainer Hoffschildt  archival sources
• Columbia Foundation  funding provided by
• Corbis  archival sources
• Deutsche Wochenschau  archival sources
• Edition Liteuropa  archival sources
• Equidex Inc.  funding provided by
• Film Preservation Associates  special thanks
• Film Transit  special thanks
• Frameline Productions Ltd.  special thanks
• Frauenforschungs-, Bildungs- und Informationzentrum Berlin  archival sources
• Grinberg Worldwide Images  archival sources
• Hugh M. Hefner Foundation  funding provided by
• Internation Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission  special thanks
• International Film Financing Conference  special thanks
• International Historic Films (IHF)  archival sources
• Jeanne Mammen Gesellschaft e.V. Berlin  archival sources
• Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation  funding provided by
• Landeslichtbildstelle Berlin  archival sources
• Magnus Hirschfeld Gesellschaft  archival sources
• Mel Gordon Archive  archival sources
• Nathan Cummings Foundation  funding provided by
• National Archives and Records Administration  archival sources
• National Center for Jewish Film (NCJF)  archival sources
• Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie  archival sources
• New York Times, The  archival sources
• Niedersächsisches Hauptstaatsarchiv  archival sources
• Nordrhein-Westfälisches Hauptstaatsarchiv  archival sources
• Pantswowe Muzeum Oswiecim Brzezinska  archival sources
• Primavera Fund of the Tides Foundation  funding provided by
• R. Gwin Follis Foundation  funding provided by
• Richard & Rhoda Goldman Foundation  funding provided by
• San Francisco Jewish Film Festival  special thanks
• Schwules Museum, Berlin  archival sources
• Skywalker Sound  post-production services
• Spiegel TV  archival sources
• Staatsarchiv Würzburg  archival sources
• Stiftung Brandenburgische Gedenkstätten  archival sources
• Stiftung Neues Synagogue Berlin - Centrum Judaicum  archival sources
• Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation  special thanks
• The Collingwood Foundation Open Society Institute  funding provided by
• The Manchester Guardian  archival sources
• Tong & Fong  accounting
• Transit Film  archival sources
• Ullstein Bilderdienst  archival sources
• Ullstein Verlag  archival sources
• United Press International (UPI)  archival sources
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum  special thanks
• University of Colorado Film Studies Program  special thanks
• Virgin Atlantic Airways  travel services
• Wen/Oliveri  title design

Runtime:

81 min | Germany:75 min (TV version)

Country:

UK | Germany | USA

Language:

French | English | German

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

"An unnatural sex act committed between persons of the male sex or by humans with animals is punishable by imprisonment; the loss of civil rights may also be imposed." (Paragraph 175, German Penal Code, 1871)

Movie Connections:

Features Morocco (1930)

Soundtrack:

La Revue de Cuisine

moving and powerful

This film is fantastic. What a powerful 80 minutes of film. It was so informative and emotional without shoving anything down your throat. The way the delicate and sensitive subject matters were handled was graceful and respectful. Kudos.

It made me feel angry, sad, and compassion for the people that are struggling to voice their stories without making a fiasco out of what happened to them.

Like so many other documentaries, this one did not try and play with my emotion with overly sappy music or editing. It was simple and precise. The music was haunting and had the perfect mood for the piece. The interviews were not overly edited for dramatic effect, but were simple and honest.

I watched it twice. Cried both times. And I feel more educated and compassionate for renting this great film.