„Die Erste, die ich kannte…“ – Lesbische* Lebenswelten zwischen 1945 und den 1980er Jahren

On 29.4.2026, the "Hotel Silber" is offering an evening on the topic of "Lesbian* lifeworlds" at 6 pm. The focus will be on the experiences and thoughts of contemporary witnesses. Three of them will be interviewed. Musical entertainment will be provided by the choir "Musica Lesbiana". This will be followed by a musical radio play by Ute Reisner.

The realities of lesbian* women's lives remained invisible in academic historiography for a long time - their voices, experiences and struggles were missing from the archives and public memory. It was only through the persistent work of committed activists in the 1970s that lesbian history became increasingly visible. The research project "Between invisibility, repression and lesbian emancipation - women-loving women in south-western Germany 1945-1980s" at the Universities of Freiburg and Heidelberg follows in their footsteps.

Together with 29 contemporary witnesses, the voices and experiences of lesbian* women in Baden-Württemberg were made visible. The researchers looked at political and cultural areas as well as legal and private norms and the medical perspective. To this end, they not only read thousands of patient files and visited various feminist archives, but also spent over 120 hours talking, laughing and crying with contemporary witnesses. The results of the research work will be presented on April 29, 2026 in the "Hotel Silber".

Cooperation partners: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg, Initiative Lern- und Gedenkort Hotel Silber e. V., Heidelberg University; the project was funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts.