Building LGBTQ+ Communities in Germany and the United States: Past, Present, and Future

Year 2: Munich, Bavaria, Germany

LGBTQ+ individuals and their communities have been organizing to assert their rights for over a century, especially in Germany and the United States—two countries that were early pioneers and that have currently achieved more equality than many other places. But many challenges still persist, especially as a backlash to greater LGBTQ+ rights has been visible in both countries.

A comparative examination of the history, present, and future of LGBTQ+ rights will generate new understandings, leadership skills, and policy lessons for both countries and many others around the world. This AGI project fosters cross-cultural exchange with participants from diverse backgrounds by sharing personal testimonies, successes and failures, and best practices through week-long study tours in the United States and Germany.

Program Synopsis

The Süddeutsche Zeitung

The Süddeutsche Zeitung (often stylized as SZ) was the first print journal permitted to publish in Germany after World War II by the Allied powers. Headquartered in Munich, it is considered one of Germany’s newspapers of record—among others such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine, Der Spiegel, Die Welt, and Die Zeit—with a reputation for high-quality journalism covering local, state, national, and international affairs. Among its diverse reporting, SZ has given consistent attention to the rich and complex history of the LGBTQ+ community in Bavaria and Munich.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung maintains editorial independence by separating newsroom decisions from the influence of corporate leadership. Of Germany’s major newsprints, the Süddeutsche Zeitung is viewed as a center-left outlet, in comparison to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which is regarded as a center-right news source. Journalists and senior editors independently determine coverage priorities, a practice that helps preserve the paper’s journalistic integrity.

Germany’s media landscape benefits from a high level of public funding. The average German household pays approximately €18.36 per month for public broadcasting—significantly more than the roughly $1.60 per year paid by the average American to support entities such as NPR and PBS. This financial support has contributed to higher levels of public trust in news organizations in Germany compared to many other Western democracies. Nonetheless, far-right parties in Germany regularly campaign for the reduction or elimination of public broadcasting funding.

In 2023, Markus Söder, minister-president of Bavaria and a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), made headlines on a podcast by calling for a statewide “Action Plan” for LGBTQ+ inclusion. Bavaria remains the only federal state in Germany without a document for LGBTQ+ policy planning, which would aim to support policymakers in ensuring representation, safety, and inclusion for LGBTQ+ communities. The announcement surprised many observers, particularly journalists at the Süddeutsche Zeitung who closely follow LGBTQ+ issues in the region. While some viewed the proposal as positive, it was met with skepticism by LGBTQ+ advocates and progressive voices who questioned the CSU’s commitment to meaningful implementation, given its conservative track record.

So far, no steps have been taken to institutionalize such a policy framework at the Bavarian state level. The Süddeutsche Zeitung has reported extensively on the CSU and its coalition partner, the Freie Wähler (Free Voters, FW), since they formed the state government in 2018 and 2023. The coalition has sparked controversy through both rhetoric and policies perceived as undermining LGBTQ+ rights, particularly due to the more conservative, anti-LGBTQ+ statements and policies championed by Freie Wähler party members. One example is the CSU/FW’s move to ban gender-sensitive language in schools and public institutions. This includes grammatical tools such as the gender asterisk (*), colon (:), or gender pause, which are used in German to promote gender-neutral or inclusive language.

Language continues to play a central role in how journalists approach LGBTQ+ coverage in Germany. For example, the Süddeutsche Zeitung and other major outlets have increasingly adopted the term “Geschlechtsangleichung” (gender affirmation) in place of the outdated and pathologizing term “Geschlechtsumwandlung” (gender reassignment). This shift in specific language has been broadly viewed as a progressive development, better reflecting the lived realities and identities of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.

Munich Coordination Office for LGBTIQ* Equality

Die Koordinierungsstelle zur Gleichstellung von LGBTIQ*, or the Munich Coordination Office for LGBTIQ* Equality, is a municipal entity directly affiliated with the office of the Lord Mayor of Munich. Its primary mission is to facilitate communication between the LGBTQ+ community and the Lord Mayor, ensuring that LGBTQ+ issues are addressed in mayoral policies.

Founded in 2002 as the Koordinierungsstelle für gleichgeschlechtliche Lebensweise (Coordination Center for Same-Sex Lifestyles), the office grew into the Office of LGB matters. In 2004, it conducted the “Munich under the Rainbow” study, which gathered data on discrimination to guide future actions. This research expanded the office’s scope, allowing it to focus on various underserved groups within the LGBTQ+ community, including youth, elderly individuals, the homeless, and refugees. In 2020, the office was officially elevated to a permanent administrative unit under the Lord Mayor.

The office’s operations are shaped by the Lord Mayor, the city council, and political priorities in Munich. With broad support from the community, the office maintains an executive director, four full-time staff members, and five team assistants.

The Coordination Office tackles a wide range of initiatives for Munich’s LGBTQ+ community, offering policy advice, conducting research, and supporting city council proposals. With 30,000 public servants employed by the city, the office plays a key role in ensuring that LGBTQ+ issues are considered in municipal policies. Additionally, it offers networking opportunities, organizes community committees, and provides professional advising and counseling for individuals in need.

The office has led collaborating initiatives, such as working with the Munich police to launch a campaign against hate crimes—an important step forward for both the LGBTQ+ community and law enforcement. Other initiatives include raising awareness about LGBTQ+ history under National Socialism in partnership with the NS-Dokumentationszentrum in Munich. The office has also been instrumental in creating resource packages for LGBTQ+ families and parents of intersex children, as well as providing shelter for trans and intersex individuals and survivors of domestic abuse.

Despite its successes, the office faces ongoing tensions with the conservative Bavarian state government, particularly regarding gender-inclusive language in schools. While the Bavarian state has outlawed the use of such language, the Munich City Council, with the support of the Coordination Office, has pushed back, ensuring that inclusive practices continue in local schools.

Overall, the Coordination Office for LGBTIQ* Equality serves as a vital link between policymakers and organizations conducting outreach and providing services in the city of Munich that serve LGBTQ+ folks. The work of their office helps to provide direction for the LGBTQ+ community in Munich and ensures policymaking and services deliver on promises to protect rights and promote equality.

LesCommunity e.V.

LesCommunity e.V. was founded in 1986 under the name Lesbentelefon e.V. during the gay rights and feminist movements in Germany. Initially focused on providing counseling services for lesbian women—without a physical location—the organization gradually expanded its offerings and scope.

In 1995, LesCommunity came to administer the LeTRa Lesbenberatung, and in 2016, they established the Regenbogenfamilienzentrum (Rainbow Family Center). These programs culminated in LesCommunit’s founding of the Lesbian-Queer Center in 2020, a shared space in Munich that serves as a hub for their various initiatives. The center provides psychosocial counseling, support for refugees, and other services.

LeTRa Lesbenberatung functions as the counseling center for LesCommunity, assisting refugees and other FLINTA*-identifying (female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans, agender) individuals in need of social services. This program of LesCommunity primarily serves women and individuals under the FLINTA* umbrella. However, its outreach includes broader collaboration with the Munich LGBTQ+ community, notably through joint efforts with Sub e.V., an organization serving gay men.

Since 2020, the organization has welcomed the public to its physical space for open houses and social events three days a week. Security-related funding is provided by the Koordinierungsstelle zur Gleichstellung von LGBTIQ* to ensure a safe and inclusive environment.

The Regenbogenfamilienzentrum program supports queer families through resources and political advocacy aimed at improving visibility and representation in local government. While it receives core funding from the City of Munich, additional support comes from donations and membership fees.

LesCommunity’s LeTRa Lesbenberatung also plays a vital role in refugee support, especially for individuals fleeing homophobic regimes. The organization has seen an increase in asylum seekers, particularly from Uganda following the passage of harsh anti-homosexuality laws in 2023. LesCommunity currently serves around 650 counseling clients, including many asylum seekers through LeTRa, with a counseling team of four part-time staff.

LGBTQ+ refugees are often placed in remote locations outside major cities like Munich, where discrimination is more common and access to support is limited. LesCommunity helps clients navigate the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), despite LGBTQ+ organizations typically being excluded from the interview process. Refugees, especially queer women with children, frequently encounter bias in the asylum system. Additionally, individuals seeking gender transition must exit the asylum system entirely and reapply with their new gender documentation to pursue legal recognition, adding further barriers. The LesCommunity’s counselors help asylum seekers in Munich as well as in the surrounding region navigate these hurdles to build a life in Germany. 

Siemens Energy

Siemens Energy is a global energy technology company working across the globe. With a mission to support sustainable solutions for the energy transition, it specializes in power generation, transmission, and storage, offering products and services to reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy efficiency. Employing large numbers of people across many different countries, Siemens Energy strives to build and maintain an inclusive work environment among its diverse employees. Part of the strategy involves decentralizing its inclusion & diversity (I&D) initiatives. The company has fifteen councils that represent Siemens Energy’s regions across the globe. This strategy aims to balance the global and regional perspectives without forcing a one-size-fits-all inclusivity policy on different regions—rather guiding them to develop initiatives that work best for their community.

Recently, Siemens Energy conducted a self-identification survey across forty-seven countries; the company hoped to better tailor inclusivity initiatives on the international level to better support regional leadership. The survey found that their existing services were primarily serving the needs of white men without disabilities and gave the company important information on how to grow their I&D efforts to better assist employees with different—often intersectional—identities. The voluntary survey aimed to gauge the diversity of the workforce and better help leadership position the company to best support the needs of employees. Ethnicity questions in the survey were difficult to implement because definitions of ethnicity do not exist across all countries and societies. Siemens Energy decided to use U.S. definitions but recognized that this will inevitably require refinement in the future. The survey also received the most “preferred not to say” answers on questions regarding sexuality. From this initiative, Siemens Energy leadership recognized the need to prioritize psychological safety by addressing a number of key issues, including microaggressions among colleagues and improving reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. From these findings Siemens Energy was able to put out a request for input on how the workplace can be made more accessible.

Siemens Energy Pride Network is another way in which the company’s I&D initiatives are tailored to the communities/regions where the employees are based. With understanding of local culture and expertise on regional politics, Pride Network leaders in the localities are best equipped to take into account the cultural and political nuances of the community and best apply I&D approaches in the workplace.

Siemens Energy also has a long tradition of sponsoring “Christopher Street Day” Parade in Germany, how the German LGBTQ+ community refers to Pride parades in honor of the Stonewall Uprising in the United States. Having annually sponsored Munich and Berlin Pride for many years, the company recently decided to change this approach by sponsoring international Pride parades on a rotating basis to demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ Pride in all communities where they operate.

The company also holds its leadership accountable for I&D initiatives, with its CFO also serving as its Chief I&D officer. The CFO chairs quarterly meetings with I&D leaders in the global network. These meetings provide I&D leaders with opportunities to speak with leadership about ongoing issues and what adjustments the company’s leadership can make to best secure and promote equity, belonging, social partnerships, and accountability.

Siemens Energy actively seeks out local partnerships for I&D activities, for example with Pride events. The company’s outreach helps them identify and build partnerships with community organizations—they also accept proposals from organizations and build partnerships this way.

In parts of the globe where diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are being characterized in negative ways politically, Siemens Energy is prioritizing fine-tuning messaging on the topic. It recognizes that discussion of DEI/I&D can be complicated and has nuance as well as intersectional dimensions, so making it more understandable for individuals internally and externally helps demonstrate that I&D initiatives benefit everyone.

Muriel Aichberger

Muriel Aichberger is a Munich-based freelancer specializing in LGBTQ+ advocacy and consulting, supporting organizations in refining their messaging on LGBTQ+ issues. Their primary goal is to help businesses and institutions develop inclusive language that effectively communicates the benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.

Aichberger began their advocacy work in Vienna, where they were involved in a house-squatting initiative and collaborated with local police to improve hate crime reporting. These early experiences laid the foundation for a career focused on advancing LGBTQ+ rights through both grassroots activism and institutional engagement.

Now operating in Munich, Aichberger consults small and large businesses on LGBTQ+ messaging. They also deliver lectures on communicating with far-right individuals and groups. These talks on addressing far-right, often anti-LGBTQ+, actors emphasize understanding the human condition as a starting point for dialogue, aiming to bridge messaging gaps and foster more effective policy and communication strategies among public and private sector leaders. In consulting work with small businesses, Aichberger often takes a top-down approach, developing guideline sheets and best practices for leadership to create more inclusive workplace cultures.

As the landscape of LGBTQ+ activism in Germany has evolved—with milestones such as marriage equality, increased access to healthcare, and progress in HIV/AIDS awareness and research—Aichberger’s focus, along with many LGBTQ+ activists in Germany, has shifted toward strategic communication. Their current work centers on helping decision-makers craft language that not only reflects inclusion but also considers the specific impacts of policies on the LGBTQ+ community.

City of Munich Library of Diversity

The Munich Bibliothek der Vielfalt (Library of Diversity) is a library hosted at the Munich Municipal Technical College for Design. It was started as a project to fill the gap in standard libraries, which lacked stories about queer people, people with disabilities, themes of inclusion, and the complex topic of intersectionality. The library is housed under the Department of Legal Affairs in the Education Ministry of the City of Munich.

After opening in February 2025, the library serves as a meeting place and safe space for students and community members in Munich and in the greater region. The space particularly benefits neurodivergent students, who often lack accommodating spaces.

Students help maintain the space by creating merchandise that is sold, and profits from the merchandise sales are used to purchase new books. The library is currently building a collection of books that have been banned in many schools in the United States that discuss queer topics. The Municipal Technical College for Design’s Gay-Straight Alliance meets in the library once a week. The library also helps faculty navigate diversity among students. It has had notable impact by publishing guidelines for teachers in Munich schools about the needs of trans and non-binary students. This in turn has better equipped teachers to create inclusive classrooms.

Sub e.V.

Sub e.V. was founded in 1986 as a peer-to-peer organization for the gay male community. The original operation was housed in a small, one-room space. They have grown into a multi-room facility in the “Glockenbach” quarter of Munich—the traditional queer neighborhood. In their current space, Sub e.V. offers multiple meeting and social spaces for its community along with a bar open every day to the public.

Sub’s team offers counseling services for refugees, which began in 2020. Their counseling work involves assisting refugees with navigating the asylum system in Germany and connecting those in need with attorneys in the case their claim is rejected by the Ministry for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Their work extends to men who have been victims of sexual violence, which often carries stigma in the LGBTQ+ community as well as externally. Male survivors often lack resources due to the stigma, and Sub fills this gap. Sub’s staff includes psychological specialists who help victims with emotional rehabilitation. Collaborations also extend to LesCommunity’s LeTRa program, which generally serves as a sister organization in addressing these issues. They maintain five safehouses around the city for individuals experiencing violence in refugee camps. However, these facilities do not meet the demands of those facing violence and abuse, which is ongoing issue for LGBTQ+ individuals in refugee camps outside of Munich and across Germany.

Preparation for the asylum claim process with the Ministry for Migration and Refugees with Sub e.V. counselors include going through their experience that caused them to leave their country of origin and claim asylum in Germany, as well as preparing them for meetings with the asylum office. Currently many of their asylum cases are from Tanzania, Congo, Yemen, Syria, Sierra Leone, and mostly Uganda due to the introduction of the death penalty for homosexuality in 2023.

Sub also houses their program titled “Strong,” an anti-violence initiative that collaborates with the City of Munich police. Starting in 2020, their program collects statistics on hate crimes in Munich. Given the complicated history between the police and the LGBTQ+ community in both Germany and the United States, this project has been instrumental in building stronger, more positive relations with law enforcement in Munich for queer folks.

Die Grünen-Rosa Liste

Die Grünen-Rosa Liste (Greens–Pink List) is a voting group comprising twenty-four seats in Munich’s City Council. The Pink List voting member focuses specifically on issues affecting LGBTQ+ residents, and the partnership with the Greens strengthens their shared commitment to progressive policymaking in the city. Since 1996, the Pink List has been successful in gaining and holding onto one seat to represent the voting group in the Munich City Council. This seat, in partnership with the Greens, helps to advance progressive policymaking and the promoting of LGBTQ+ equality.

Serving in Munich’s City Council is a voluntary role; members receive no compensation and typically maintain other professions. The council consists of eighty members, none of whom represent individual constituencies. Instead, the council operates under a list-based electoral system, where party candidates are ranked. Depending on election results, each party is allocated a proportional number of seats, allowing ranked members to join the council. Voters can cast their ballots for a single party or distribute their votes among multiple parties.

The faction’s LGBTQ+ advocacy includes promoting self-determination rights for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals, as well as incorporating inclusive language into legal frameworks. As significant strides toward equality have been made across Germany in recent years, the faction’s political efforts have increasingly focused on defending these hard-won rights. This shift to conservative policymaking agendas in a traditionally progressive party has caused tension among supporters and party members as efforts are made to combat far-right policymaking aimed at undoing decades of progress.

Locally, the faction played a key role in establishing a queer family center in 2016, designed to provide direct support to LGBTQ+ individuals without relying on state-level intervention. More recently, the faction was instrumental in the unanimous adoption of an LGBTQ+ strategy for the city. This policy framework aims to ensure that future legislation considers the needs and rights of the LGBTQ+ community. With the Bavarian state government led by the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party, the Greens-Pink List leadership in Munich are able to lead progressive policymaking on the local level, making Munich a more inclusive city for the LGBTQ+ community.

Dachau Memorial

The Dachau Memorial commemorates the victims of persecution in Germany during the Nazi regime, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. The original concentration camp Dachau was operational during the entire Nazi period from 1933 to 1945. Aerial photos taken by American and British forces discovered the camp prior to the end of the war, along with many other camps across Europe. Following the end of World War II, the camp was converted into a refugee camp for German expellees from former German territories and Eastern Europe and other displaced individuals, lasting until the 1960s.

Persecution against homosexual men was legally institutionalized prior to the Nazi regime. Paragraph 175 was codified in 1871 under the German Empire, making homosexual acts among men illegal. Bavarian police were militantly persecuting gay men during the 1920s; however, the Nazi regime sharpened this law with much stricter enforcement. The number of homosexual imprisonments increased dramatically during the first years of the Nazi regime. In its entirety, Paragraph 175 existed for 123 years.

Destroyed documents made it difficult to determine death and survival rates among LGBTQ+ victims of the Holocaust. Of what data is known, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality under the Nazi regime. Around 50,000 of these men were sentenced by civilian courts, and an additional 6,400 to 7,000 were sentenced by military courts. Researchers believe approximately 5,000 gay men were put in concentration camps and that 50 percent died. Gay prisoners not in camps but in regular prisons remained imprisoned at the end of the war—the American and British troops did not liberate those who were in regular criminal prisons due to the preservation of Paragraph 175 after the Nazi regime. Gay men also did not receive the status of persecuted persons following liberation.

Dachau was also an experiment center, and gay men were often subjected to experimentation. These activities included tactics to change an individual’s sexual orientation, often involving harsh treatments such as starvation. Medical practicing on individuals was common, and at least 100 prisoners died due to exposure to chemicals and diseases. While gay men did not receive experimental medical treatments in Dachau, this practice was employed in other camps such as Buchenwald. Here, gay men were often given hormones like testosterone to see if changes in sexual orientation could be accomplished. In Dachau, 7,000 women were also imprisoned for various reasons, but records do not show if any were imprisoned for homosexuality. Most women prisoners in Dachau are recorded as imprisoned for being Jewish.

In 1985, the gay community in Munich tried to install a pink triangle plaque at the memorial along with plaques for many other persecuted groups to commemorate the losses. At the time, the Dachau management did not think that this was appropriate because of the laws considering gay men criminals. After a ten-year fight to get the stone into the museum, the Munich gay community successfully memorialized the losses in Dachau. The gay community also received support from the committee of survivors who met Jewish representatives and stated that all victims in the camp should be included.

Forum Queer Archive Munich

Originally founded as an archive focused on the lives and experiences of gay men, the Forum Queer Archive Munich has since expanded into a comprehensive queer archive, dedicated to preserving the works, correspondence, and histories of queer individuals, especially those connected to Munich. The archive operates with a membership model, comprising over 100 members who actively participate in decisions about the development and direction of the collection.

In recent years, the Forum has carried out a variety of initiatives, including conducting oral history interviews with queer Munich residents and curating exhibitions in collaboration with other institutions. A notable ongoing project is the exhibition “Ein Haus ohne Mauern Bauen” (Building a House Without Walls), presented in partnership with the Amerikahaus Munich, which explores queer life in the city after World War II.

The Forum receives annual funding of €70,000 from Munich’s Department of Arts and Culture (Kulturreferat), which helps sustain its operations. It continues to expand its collection through donated materials and regularly engages with schools, offering students hands-on insights into queer archival practices and historical preservation.

As queer archives have grown across Germany and Europe, Forum Queer Archive Munich has built relationships with similar institutions in countries such as Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands—fostering a broader network of queer memory and knowledge sharing. At its core, the Forum remains committed to its mission: collecting, preserving, and honoring the lives and stories of queer individuals.

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This program is generously funded by the Transatlantik-Programm der Bundesrepublik Deutschland aus Mitteln des European Recovery Program (ERP) des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz(BMWK) (Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany with Funds through the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Action (BMWK)), the AGI Harry & Helen Gray Humanities Program and funds from The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF).