Paragraph 175
Survivors of Nazi persecution recount the erased history of LGBTQ lives under Paragraph 175, transforming traumatic memory into an intimate record of endurance.
Overview
A poignant exploration of a hidden chapter in history, revealing the resilience of those who survived.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- haunting
- intimate
- harrowing
- history study
- lgbtq history viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a powerful, intimate, and historically important recovery of Nazi persecution against gay men and lesbians.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Heinz Dörmer, Annette Eick, Albrecht Becker, Gad Beck, and Pierre Seel recount persecution and survival in their own voices.
The film foregrounds Nazi persecution of gay men and lesbians under Paragraph 175 as an overlooked chapter of the Third Reich.
Personal testimonies are rendered alongside evocative images of the survivors' lives and wartime era.
The survivors' recollections explicitly raise questions about memory, history, identity, and the lasting consequences of persecution.
Films like Paragraph 175, and why
Shoah
oral-history documentary form, survivor testimony, and intimate examination of historical persecution
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt
lgbtq historical testimony confronting fascism, memory, and suppressed wartime history
The Last Days
archival and personal-account documentary about persecution under Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
A Film Unfinished
survivor-centered historical documentary using testimony to recover overlooked Holocaust experiences
Movie Details
- Directors
- Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein
- Release Date
- 2000-01-22
- Runtime
- 74 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (42)
Cast
- Rupert Everett
- Heinz Dörmer
- Annette Eick
- Albrecht Becker
- Gad Beck
- Pierre Seel
- Heinz F.
- Klaus Müller
- Karl Gorath
- Magnus Hirschfeld
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Paragraph 175 about?
- Survivors of Nazi persecution recount the erased history of LGBTQ lives under Paragraph 175, transforming traumatic memory into an intimate record of endurance.
- What is Paragraph 175 like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Paragraph 175 as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Paragraph 175 violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Paragraph 175 as graphic.
- What did critics think of Paragraph 175?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a powerful, intimate, and historically important recovery of Nazi persecution against gay men and lesbians.
- Which films are like Paragraph 175?
- Films with a similar feel include Shoah, Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, The Last Days, and A Film Unfinished.
- How long is Paragraph 175?
- Paragraph 175 runs 74 minutes.
- Where can I watch Paragraph 175?
- In United States, Paragraph 175 streams on Criterion Channel.
