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Glasnost:Behind the Closet Door
EAST GERMANY
The gay community is following a path set by the movement for democracy in the GDR.
And for the most part gay men and lesbians of East Germany do not wish to leave their
country, but rather to stay and develop a community for themselves.
by Mark Segal
©1989 Philadelphia Gay News
I agreed to meet our contacts in East Berlin on Friday, which
just happened to be the first full day of the open wall/border.
Because of the historic nature of the events in Berlin, I was
unable to reach our friends in East Berlin by phone since all lines
between the divided city were constantly busy. We traveled to
East Berlin on a daily visa and headed to the Adventist Church
in the hopes that our contacts would find us there.
At the church we found two women waiting for us. As soon
as we arrived one woman tried to call our East German gay
friends. As she dialed the phone she told us an old East German
joke, "When you call someone in the GDR (German Democratic
Republic) and they do not answer, you say they have gone to the
West." She added with a smile on her face," I guess they really
have gone to the West."
Growing Gay Movement in the GDR
In the GDR there are 11 clubs sponsored by the government
for the lesbian and gay community, and 17 "discussion groups"
sponsored by churches. The churches of the GDR were the first
to begin to address the needs and concerns of the gay community.
It is believed by most Europeans that the GDR formed official
groups only after the success of the church groups.
Courage is the official GDR gay/lesbian organization. In its
information leaflet it states, "We are a group of working people in
a club for working people who have learned from experience that
working together in a common interest produces results. We are
gays, lesbians and others who have experienced difficulties,
whether it be professional, or simply the laughter of neighbors, or
our anger at some tragic event, or the disappointment at the
reaction of acquaintances, friends, children or parents when we
told them: I am gay, or I am a lesbian."
While the official groups have the sanction of the
govemment-which in the past meant the ability to travel,
organize freely, and obtain funds-the Church groups seem to
have the power of trust. As the democracy movement in the
GDR grew out of the churches so now is the gay movement
growing from these same organizations. The gay community is
following a path set by the democracy movement of the GDR.
And for the most part gay men and lesbian women of the GDR
do not wish to leave their country, but rather to stay and develop
a community for themselves.
Two gay East Germans, Peter Birmele and his lover of 21
years, Volker, had no time to run off to test the new freedom by
taking a trip to West Berlin. After all, they had to prepare for the
opening of a new film in Berlin, a film for which Peter and
\folker had waited a lifetime.
The film, Coming Oui, is the first dramatic film about gay life
in East Germany sanctioned and produced by the state film
company. The film comes on the heels of the publication of a
new book, A Rather Normal Man, a book of essays from gay
men about their lifestyles in the GDR. Peter is pleased with life
as a gay man in East Berlin. He and Volker live in a spacious
three-room apartment with their prized record collection of Edith
Piaf & Marlene Dietrich. Both have good jobs, and Peter has
started a gay discussion group.
While there are no gay political organizations in the GDR,
several churches have started gay discussion groups that meet
weekly. Each week a new topic is examined. Topics include
Theatre in East Berlin showing first film about gay life in
the GDR sanctioned by the state.
"Should One Have a Committed Relationship?” and "What Can 1
Do To Better My Relationship?" In fact, it appears that most of
the topics are relationship-oriented.
There has been no problem in getting information from the
outside world to gays in the GDR. As with communications in
general, if you live in East Berlin, you will be able to receive
western TV and radio transmissions. There are two weekly gay
radio programs broadcast in West Berlin that find their way into
the East. Gay newspapers from around the world are also mailed
to the various gay discussion groups.
There are five discussion groups in East Berlin; three are
sanctioned by various religious groups and two are run by the
state. There is also one lesbian discussion group that meets
monthly.
The state also runs a gay disco in Berlin as well as a cafe and
a bar. There are no laws against homosexuality, but even
German society has problems dealing with gay school teachers.
While most East Berliners look forward to crossing the wall, gay
East Berliners are in no rush to see their brothers and sisters on
the other side.
For one thing, most East Berliners can not afford an evening
in a gay bar in the west The average weekly salary is 200 East
Berman marks. Using the black market rate of exchange, I was .
able to figure out that this is equal to $40.00 a week.
And if they were able to afford the evening out, they would
still have problems finding the gay bars, cafes and centers in a
city they have not been allowed to see in 28 years. There seems
to be a feeling among East Berlin gay men that they are safe
from AIDS as long as they do not have affairs with westerners.
As Dr. Jurgen Kolzsch, who treats PWA's, admitted, "I'm worried
about the new openness and what problems it will bring us."
AIDS in the GDR
Dr. Jurgen Kolzsch is a quiet man except when he is asked
about AIDS and his country's response to the crisis. It is then that
Kolzsch becomes animated. "In the GDR (German Democratic
Republic) there are 80 people who are AIDS positive (HIV
positive); 16 have full blown AIDS, of which nine are living and
seven have died," he says. Kolzsch should know, since he is a
leading member of one medical team in East Berlin that is
treating East German AIDS patients.
Kolzsch says that all of the GDR AIDS cases were sexually
transmitted except for five who received the virus from blood
transfusions outside of the country. "In our new openness I hope
that our efforts to educate gay men about AIDS and safe sex will
remain with them when they go to the west," he says.
Kolzsch says that the education of the GDR about AIDS has
been accomplished, for the most part, through the efforts of the
gay discussion groups in Berlin, which have printed brochures
and leaflets about safe sex.
With an office at Humboldt University, Kolzsch has begun to
treat AIDS patients with AZT. People with full blown AIDS are
given a fiat and work so that they can maintain their dignity, he
says. Individuals coming to work or study in the GDR must now
have an AIDS antibody test If found positive, they will be asked
to return to their own country.
As I emerge through checkpoint Charlie from East to West
Berlin, I am kissed and applauded by the crowds who think I'm
an East Berliner. A TV crew comes over and asks me in German
how it feels to be free. I tell them that I am an American.
Everyone laughs. But I think about freedom and what that will
mean to the gay community of the GDR. I also realize that I
could not have done this report six months ago.
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