Kurt Hiller, J.D.
  (1885 - 1972)

Lawyer and Author

After the publication of his law dissertation "The Right over One's Self," he came in contact with Hirschfeld in 1908 via Arthur Kronfeld. Hiller joined the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (WhK), in which he was a member until its end.

Hiller was critical, if not dismissive, of Hirschfeld's theories on sexual intermediaries. However, this did not prevent him from working intensively with Hirschfeld in the WhK, nor from writing two respect-winning obituaries for Hirschfeld after 1945.

In 1926, on Hirschfeld's recommendation, Hiller revised the "counter proposal" of the "Cartel for the Reform of the Sexual Penal Code." After intensive debate about the future tactics of the WhK (which culminated in Hirschfeld's resignation from the chairmanship on November 24, 1929), Hiller was elected as the second chairperson of the WhK. He held this position until the dissolution of the WhK.

In addition to his engagement for the rights of homosexuals, he was a well-known activist for pacifism in the 1920s. In 1933 he was arrested three times, was held in the Columbia House, and later in the concentration camps Brandenburg and Sachsenhausen. After being released in 1934, he succeeded in escaping first to Prague and then to London. From there, he returned to Hamburg in 1955, where he tried to reestablish the WhK in 1962. However, he remained alone in his efforts.



     
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