An angel in Sodom : Henry Gerber and the birth of the gay rights movement

Elledge, Jim, 1950- author.

Book 2023

Born in 1892 in Germany, Henry Gerber was expelled from school as a boy and lost several jobs as a young man because of his homosexual activities. He emigrated to the United States and enlisted in the army for employment. After his release, he explored Chicago's gay subculture: cruising Bughouse Square, getting arrested for "disorderly conduct," and falling in love. He was institutionalized for being gay, branded an "enemy alien" at the end of Wo...

Item Details & Discovery

Explore Topics & Themes:

Gay liberation movement United States History 20th century

Gay rights United States History 20th century

Gerber, Henry, 1892-1972

More in this Genre:

Biographies

View technical details & catalog information

ISBN:

9781641606059
1641606053

Description:

xiv, 290 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-278) and index

Contents:

An introductory note: "Henry's epistles to the perverts"
Part I: Chicago. "I had no idea that I was a homosexual"
"I had always bitterly felt the injustice"
"To promote and to protect"
"Infecting God's own country"
Part II: New York. "Which way do YOU take it, and for how much?"
"Escape from the bughouse of this fairytale kultur!"
"For Christ's sake, leave me out of it"
"Favored by nature with immunity to female 'charms'"
"I nearly fell out of my chair!"
Part III: Washington, DC. "What homosexual in his right mind wants to marry or be 'cured'?"
"Notorious as a homosexual paradise"
"This fascist world"
"So much poppycock"
"Everyone is after their scalp"
"As if we did not know!"
"Born 1000 years too soon, or 1000 years too late"

LCCN:

2022941128

Control Number:

3250576

View in Classic Catalog