Friedrich-Paul von Groszheim: Gay Survivor of Nazi Persecution and the Holocaust

Friedrich-Paul von Groszheim was one of the few openly documented gay survivors of Nazi persecution — a man whose life reveals a lesser-known chapter of the Holocaust. Born in 1906 in Lübeck, Germany, he grew up during the turbulence of the First World War and the fragile democracy of the Weimar Republic. In the 1920s, he became part of Germany’s vibrant gay community, a world that would soon be violently destroyed after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933.Under Paragraph 175, which criminalized sexual relations between men, thousands of homosexuals were arrested, imprisoned, and sent to concentration camps. Von Groszheim was first arrested in 1937 during a mass roundup of gay men. He was brutally beaten and tortured, held for months in freezing conditions without adequate food or sanitation. Arrested again in 1938, he was given a horrific choice: castration or deportation to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. He chose castration — a decision that likely saved his life.Though deemed “physically unfit” for military service during World War II, von Groszheim was later arrested again, this time as a political prisoner, and imprisoned in Neuengamme concentration camp. There he endured forced labor, starvation, disease, and constant abuse by SS guards and kapos. Many prisoners wearing the pink triangle perished; he survived.After the war, persecution did not end. Homosexuality remained criminalized in Germany for decades. It was not until the 1990s that Nazi-persecuted homosexuals were officially recognized as victims. Von Groszheim eventually broke his silence, declaring: “I’m living proof that Hitler didn’t win.” He died in 2006 at the age of 100. His life stands as testimony to resilience, memory, and the long fight for recognition and justice.This episode is part of the series Survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution.Watch the full documentary and explore hundreds of historical films at:WorldHistory.tv