A History of Sexualization and Moral Corruption of Twentieth Century Germany and America

The twentieth century witnessed evolving attitudes toward sexuality and morality in Germany and America, shaped by social upheavals, scientific advancements, and political ideologies. In Weimar Germany (1919–1933), post-World War I liberalization fostered cabaret culture, the decriminalization of prostitution via the 1927 Law for Combatting Venereal Diseases, and Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Science, which advocated for homosexual rights and sex education amid debates over public indecency. The Nazi regime (1933–1945) suppressed these reforms, promoting Aryan reproduction through eugenics while persecuting "deviant" groups, leading to an estimated 100,000 arrests under Paragraph 175. Postwar West Germany experienced a sexual revolution in the 1960s–1970s, influenced by the contraceptive pill and student movements, challenging Adenauer-era conservatism. In America, the 1920s "flapper" era introduced freer social norms, followed by the 1960s sexual revolution driven by the pill, Kinsey Reports, and counterculture, culminating in legal shifts like Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Roe v. Wade (1973). Both nations grappled with tensions between liberation and backlash, including moral panics over media and youth sexuality, reflecting broader transitions from Victorian restraint to modern individualism.