VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Paragraph 175 (2002)
Writers/Directors: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
QQQQ
Between 1933 and 1945, according to Nazi documents, approximately 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality. Roughly half were sentenced to prison and approximately 10,000 to 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. The death rate of homosexual prisoners in the camps is estimated to be as high as sixty percent (among the highest of non-Jewish prisoners), so that by 1945 only about 4,000 survived. This amazing documentary from Oscar-winning directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Times of Harvey Milk, Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt and The Celluloid Closet) examines the experiences of gay people in Europe during the Nazi era. The film uses intimate personal testimonies and haunting images to tell a moving and complex story of persecution and resistance -- from the wild days of Weimar Berlin, through the dark times that followed. Not rated -- PG-13 equivalent.