| Popis: |
This dissertation enhances and complicates the history of Nazi racial and sexual policies by examining the quotidian politics of ten brothels staffed by and for prisoners that operated in concentration camps in Germany and its occupied territories. Instituted in1941 under the command of Heinrich Himmler with the goal of providing rewards for diligent labor among “prominent” male camp prisoners, the brothels constituted a unique space in which competing Nazi ideologies of race, power, and sex collided. Thisdissertation not only explores how the brothels functioned as part of a Nazi-inspired laborincentive program for “prominent” prisoners, but also reveals their unannounced functions, such as serving as laboratories of sexual experimentation for the “reeducation” of homosexual prisoners. It shows too how prisoners instrumentalized sex and sexuality to their advantage. Although the majority of women and some men could not choose their level of participation in the brothel, in many instances they were able touse their time in the brothel to their advantage. For some female prisoners forced into prostitution and for male prisoners earning the privilege of brothel visits, sexual activity inside the brothel provided brief moments of intimacy within the dehumanizing atmosphere of the camps. Sexual activity behind the brothel doors thus became a reaffirmation of humanity for certain prisoners and a pivotal element of their survivalstrategy. This history of the brothels makes three crucial interventions. The first is a reconceptualization of the choices made by women forced into prostitution byproblematizing concepts like “volunteerism” and “prostitute” in this setting, this study makes plain the circumstances surrounding the agency of these women. The second is to complicate and add to the literature on the “gray zone” and notions of “cooperation”under Nazi rule. The third is to provide a nuanced, detailed analysis of the functioning of sex, race, and power in Nazi Germany. This research transforms and adds to our understanding of the role of sex in Nazi policy. Despite the regime’s desire to harnesssexuality, it proved that even in a closely controlled atmosphere, to be beyond the state’s control. |
