States of Liberation</p> — Samuel Clowes Huneke

States of Liberation traces the paths of gay men in East and West Germany from the violent aftermath of World War II to the thundering nightclubs of present-day Berlin.

In this groundbreaking account of male homosexuality in Cold War Germany, Samuel Clowes Huneke uncovers how the history of gay persecution and liberation continues to shape life in reunified Germany today.

Following a captivating cast of characters, from gay spies and Nazi scientists to queer politicians and secret police bureaucrats, States of Liberation tells the remarkable story of how the two German states persecuted gay men – and how those men slowly, over the course of decades, won new rights and created new opportunities for themselves in the heart of Cold War Europe. Relying on untapped archives in Germany and the United States as well as oral histories with witnesses and survivors, Huneke reveals that communist East Germany was in many ways far more progressive on queer issues than democratic West Germany.

States of Liberation won the David Barclay Book Prize from the German Studies Association and the Charles E. Smith Award from the European History Section of the Southern Historical Association. It was a finalist for the Waterloo Centre for German Studies Book Prize.

Praise of States of Liberation

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By carefully examining the lives of gay men in the postwar era, Samuel Clowes Huneke’s gracefully written and deeply researched book provides new insights into the differences – and similarities – in West and East German states and society.” James J. Sheehan, Dickason Professor of Humanities Emeritus, Stanford University

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Samuel Clowes Huneke’s highly anticipated and superb book disturbs complacent Cold War-era assumptions about liberal democracy’s ‘natural’ inclination toward expanding rights and state socialism’s alleged failures.” Monica Black, Professor of History, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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Samuel Clowes Huneke brilliantly excavates the half-forgotten story of gay activism on both sides of the Iron Curtain, with startling results for those who assume only capitalist democracy can cradle our futures.” Dan Healey, Professor of Modern Russian History, University of Oxford

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States of Liberation is a pioneering, field-shaping masterpiece.” Jason Johnson, German Politics & Society

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Written in clear, engaging prose, full of insight, and carefully researched, States of Liberation is a must-read book for everyone interested in German history and in LGTBQ activism today.” Javier Samper Vendrell, Central European History

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It is rare for a first book to be as impactful as States of Liberation. Due to its varied source material, sophisticated analysis, and decades-long time frame, the book will be of use not only to specialists but also for any European historian hoping to integrate more queer history into the classroom. By laying bare how anti-gay animus changed over time and how many of our assumptions about queer activism are misguided, Huneke makes an original contribution worthy of a wide readership.” Michael O'Sullivan, American Historical Review

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It is an impressive achievement. States of Liberation makes a major historiographic intervention in the history of sexual citizenship, and deserves a wide readership not only among historians of sexuality but anyone interested in better understanding Cold War Germany.” Craig Griffiths, German History

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'East Germany was an extraordinary place for gay people in the 1980s.' That startling statement, so counter-intuitive to the conventional wisdom about the defunct German Democratic Republic (GDR), appears in the last chapter of States of Liberation, historian Samuel Clowes Huneke’s groundbreaking comparative study of gay activism in East Germany and West Germany. In the book’s preceding chapters, Huneke meticulously details the 'convoluted' path that liberation took in a divided country.” George de Stefano, PopMatters

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Huneke’s ground-breaking new book is ambitious and eloquent.” Mark Fenemore, Journal of the History of Sexuality

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Huneke’s expertise in public history shines throughout this book. He treats his oral history narrators with compassion and integrates their stories seamlessly through the chapters. Additionally, Huneke’s work offers the exciting prospect of bringing these stories to an audience that may have little background knowledge of queer German history, or German history at all.” Christopher Ewing, Journal of Social History

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[An] exciting new monograph.” Alexandria N. Ruble, Journal of History